measuring string height

[jerry_picker]

 

Originally posted by Pope on a Rope Actually it takes longer to measure it than it does to set it by feel or sight. When you measure the height you are adding time to the set up by adding extra steps. The only reference point you need is the point where you feel the string height is not right for you and adjust from there. You 'can' start at a point and adjust to your playing style. You do not need any type of measuring device to set up your guitar. Once all the holes are drilled and the guitar is assembled there is really no need to ever have to measure anything on the guitar again. It can all be adjusted by sight or feel.

 

 

It CAN.

But for a noob, it is very helpful to have objective, measurable guidelines, since they may not have enough playing and technical experience to have any point of reference.

 

You CAN learn a Paganini caprice by ear, and intuit the fingerings. However, most students of guitar use standard notation. A written, measurable reference is useful.

[Mighty Coogna!]

I like to use an old opticians ruler (small stainless steel rule marked in inches & metric) - What I like about it is that the measurements start right from the end.

 

I use metric for string height. And go from 1.5mm - 3mm depending on the guitar. Usually 2mm works well.

 

Measured from the top of the last fret to the bottom of the string.

 

64ths are sort of hard to read accurately on a ruler.

[potaetoes]

 

Originally posted by Pope on a Rope Actually it takes longer to measure it than it does to set it by feel or sight.

 

 

False.

[tlbonehead]

Originally posted by TimmyII hi, i did a search on this HC forum, but couldn't find an answer for my question. i also ran a google search and i couldn't find an answer there either, so here goes: if i'm to measure my string action height from the 12th fret what height is the preferred one? i got tons of measurement guides, but NONE of them explicitly explained how they measured the height in totality; i.e. they told what the height should be, but not where to measure it from etc.. so, i need to know 1. whether i measure the height on TOP of the fret (not at all the same as from the fretboard) and BOTTOM of the string 2. from WHICH fret (i.e. 12th) i measure it 3. which STRING do i measure it from (bass or treble E) 4. and then what HEIGHT do i set it to (preferably in millimeters)

I've never measured in all my years. I just play it and adjust based on that.

[cratz2]

 

Originally posted by potaetoes False.

 

 

I take your false and raise you a false.

 

I'd drive myself crazy trying to get each string exactly 3/64 of an inch. Or you can adjust the truss rod, then set the height of each so that there is very little buzzing up and down the string.

 

For you guys that go entirely on measurement, what happens when all your strings are exactly 3/64 of an inch off, but your A and D strings buzz? Do you just leave them because on paper, it should work?

[Snowcow]

Originally posted by Pope on a Rope Actually it takes longer to measure it than it does to set it by feel or sight. When you measure the height you are adding time to the set up by adding extra steps. The only reference point you need is the point where you feel the string height is not right for you and adjust from there. You 'can' start at a point and adjust to your playing style. You do not need any type of measuring device to set up your guitar. Once all the holes are drilled and the guitar is assembled there is really no need to ever have to measure anything on the guitar again. It can all be adjusted by sight or feel.

 

Hooray, someone who knows what he's talking about.

[Guest Anonymous]

Measured from the bottom of the string to the top of the 12th fret, 5/64" height for the 6th string, 3/64" for the first string are ideal action settings for any guitar if the goal is being able to play anything on it, including chords or lead. In metric measurements, the 6th string will be 2 mm high, and the first string 1.5 mm high. Fine tuning the action for feel is a necessity, as is having a starting point.

 

.012" of relief is too much for an LP--the ideal setting is .008".

[Pope on a Rope]

 

Originally posted by potaetoes False.

 

 

Please explain how it is false.

[Snowcow]

Originally posted by GuitslingerTim Measured from the bottom of the string to the top of the 12th fret, 5/64" height for the 6th string, 3/64" for the first string are ideal action settings for any guitar if the goal is being able to play anything on it, including chords or lead. In metric measurements, the 6th string will be 2 mm high, and the first string 1.5 mm high. Fine tuning the action for feel is a necessity, as is having a starting point. .012" of relief is too much for an LP--the ideal setting is .008".

 

What a joke ...

There is no such thing as "ideal action settings for any guitar"!

Throw away your measuring devices and just make adjustments which facilitate comfortable playing (which is different for all guitarists).

1.5mm, 2mm, .012" etc. ... :D unbelievable

[exafro]

Snow, why would Fender and Gibson provide factory specs if it was useless? I know what you are saying, I just set up one of my guitars today without using any type of measurement for action, but you could say it with a little less attitude.

[GuyaGuy]

Originally posted by Snowcow What a joke ... There is no such thing as "ideal action settings for any guitar"! Throw away your measuring devices and just make adjustments which facilitate comfortable playing (which is different for all guitarists). 1.5mm, 2mm, .012" etc. ... :D unbelievable

 

 

i've read comments from pro guitar techs working for big names say that they do it by feel. nothing wrong with that. but first you have to understand what you're doing.

 

it's not just about it feeling good. it's about sounding good too. it's not just a a matter of "set it where you want" because if your strings are half an inch from the frets there is NO WAY you're going to get any kind of decent intonation. (when you fret a string you're pulling on the string--essentially detuning it.)

 

the other thing is that string height is directly related to pickup height. just messing around till it feels good means that there's now an arbitrary distance between the polepieces and strings. now, you can say that you just adjust that by ear. well, for me and for many others it's a lot easier just to know that the ideal distance (for us personally) is X so we don't have to muck around with pup height every time we adjust the action.

 

if you just do it by feel it's fine. probably means you've done it enough that you eyeball it for correctness. but those for starting out it doesn't hurt to know the mechanics of what they're doing.

[Guest Anonymous]

Originally posted by Snowcow What a joke ... There is no such thing as "ideal action settings for any guitar"! Throw away your measuring devices and just make adjustments which facilitate comfortable playing (which is different for all guitarists). 1.5mm, 2mm, .012" etc. ... :D unbelievable

 

In my experience, most people that set their guitars up by feel are willing to settle on the current state of the setup after they tire of trying to adjust things randomly.

 

Between trussrod adjustments and action settings, there are approximately 250 possiblities--are you going to experiment with all of them until you find the one that feels right? If you find the one that feels right, how will you find the right one again if the setup goes whack due to climate changes? It's called science brother, and it's the reason we're not still eating raw meat and living in caves, and doing everything else the hard-headed ignorant way.

 

The main problem I have with setting guitars up by feel is that no setup ever feels right for all styles of playing, not to mention that the way a guitar feels changes for me from day to day regardless of the setup. I'm never happy with the way a guitar feels, so I have to settle on a compromise that enables playing both rhythm and lead with relative ease, and having a guitar that stays in tune, intonates properly, and most important, sounds good.

 

Setting guitars up can be an artform, or it can be as crude an act as picking your nose, it all depends on your perspective and standards.

[tlbonehead]

Originally posted by GuitslingerTim In my experience, most peple that set their guitars up by feel are willing to settle on the current state of the setup after they tire of trying to adjust things randomly. Between trussrod adjustments and action settings, there are approximately 250 possiblities--are you going to experiment with all of them until you find the one that feels right? If you find the one that feels right, how will you find the right one again if the setup goes whack due to climate changes? It's called science brother, and it's the reason we're not still eating raw meat and living in caves, and doing everything else the hard-headed ignorant way. The main problem I have with setting guitars up by feel is that no setup ever feels right for all styles of playing, not to mention that the way a guitar feels changes for me from day to day regardless of the setup. I'm never happy with the way a guitar feels, so I have to settle on a compromise that enables playing both rhythm and lead with relative ease, and having a guitar that stays in tune, intonates properly, and most important, sounds good. Setting guitars up can be an artform, or it can be as crude an act as picking your nose, it all depends on your perspective and standards.

Well,let me pose this to you. I've set up guitars using actual measurements based on what I did with other guitars and after doing so, most of the time I go back and fine tune them w/o measuring to where they feel right to me. A certain measurement on guitar A might not be what fells right to me on guitar B. Certainly I understand those who say that until you know, it is good to have an actual reference point. But Once you get an idea of that, I don't think just throwing some numbers into your setting up is necessarily the way to do it. Not for me anyway.

[surfcat]

I have the stew mac measuring thing and it's great. It helps you compare a setup on one guitar to another-say one's buzzing and the other's not-then you can measure and see that-okay they're at the same height, now what-I need to look at something else like a truss rod adjustment. I find it very helpfull-buy it.

[potaetoes]

 

Originally posted by Pope on a Rope Please explain how it is false.

 

 

in the time it takes to pick up a guitar and hold it up to your eye so you can eyeball the releif, or pick it up and strum a bunch of chords up and down the neck to see how it feels, you could measure with a feeler gauge 3 or 4 times. it's a huge time saver to just figure out how much relief you want during initial setup, and then measure it from then on. saves time and removes all guess work.