Lowering Action on Acoustic

[abnewton88]

I have a couple of acoustics, but one that I love. Unfortunately I have always felt that the action is just a little high. I was wondering if there was any way I could lower it by adjusting the truss rod. (doubt it) So my second alternative was to see a technician and have him do it. Could anybody explain the procedure and maybe tell me how much it would cost?

[J.]

It depends, you guitar may just need a setup, which can run anywhere from $20 to 100 depending on where you go and what you need done.

 

First off, they'll make sure the neck has just the right amount of tension in it. A neck with too much relief will often have high action as you move up the fingerboard, and sometimes a slight tightening of the truss rod can alleviate this problem.

 

If the truss rod is set correctly and there isn't a problem with the neck angle (which would be a whole 'nother ball of wax) you can also lower the action by filing down the saddle. Most of the time they'll simply remove the saddle and file/sand some material off from the bottom and put it back in. This is quite effective as long as there's room. Sometimes a saddle can't be filed any lower, especially if you've lost most of the ramp angle up from the bridge pins and/or the saddle is barely peeking up above the top of the bridge as it is.