How to lower action on an Acoustic

[messenger]

Can anyone tell me how to lower the action on an acoustic guitar? Is this something that should be left to a pro, or can anyone do it? My intonation is also off some (mostly on my low E). Should I take my guitar to a tech, or start messing with it myself? I've never done anything on an acoustic. Thanks.

[kaboom]

I'll take it upon myself to beat everyone to the punch.

 

Action should be adjusted at the saddle. If it is too high, use sand paper attached to a level surface (such as a certain someone's marble cutting board) and sand the bottom of it. If it is too low, try shimming it (also see Little Brother's Clay Shim trick).

 

Or go look at www.frets.com.

[messenger]

OK, I know this is probably a dumb question but, does the saddle just pop out when pulled on?

[Danocoustic]

 

Originally posted by messenger OK, I know this is probably a dumb question but, does the saddle just pop out when pulled on?

Yes, it should.

 

Part of why I like this place so much is that you can ask ANY question and not get beat up for it. If you don't know, ask! Bunch o' helpful folks around here.

[RainsongDR1000]

Luckily, lowering the action isn't going to mess up your guitar (as long as you leave the truss rod alone) worse that can happen is you sand the saddle too short and have to get another for $5.oo. I was always trying to get the lowest action without buzzing and I'd inevitably get greedy to go a tad too far and end up with buzzing. I've found you can sometimes shim it with a sliver of business card to get rid of the buzz. You should n't mess with the truss rod unless you know what your doing. It's not used to raise or lower the action anyway. Just to straighten or give a slight concave bow to the neck.

[messenger]

The neck is pretty good. No real need to be messing with it. Slight concave, but not too bad. Just the action is pretty high, and the intonation is out a bit.

[UGB]

I've heard some suggest to go ahead and buy a new saddle to make your adjustment on. That way if you screw it up, you still have your original one.

[RainsongDR1000]

 

Originally posted by UGB I've heard some suggest to go ahead and buy a new saddle to make your adjustment on. That way if you screw it up, you still have your original one.

 

 

I 2nd that idea:)

[Brian Ormond]

-Ditto the "Don't mess with the truss rod" advice unless you really know what you're doing. I used to venture a 1/8 turn maximum on my guitar, but even that can be

too much-so take it to a professional for adjustment. This may or may not need doing as you describe a concave neck. A good tech will measure its extent and decide with you whether it needs alteration or whether it will be satisfactory as is.

 

-Having access to a vertical belt sander with a fine grit belt can make turning out a newly sculpted saddle easy at just the cost of the blank for each iteration. Lowering action will involve saddle modification plus fret dressing-another job best left to someone skilled at it. Truss rod adjustment will only help if your neck is out of adjustment-again-a job for someone who knows what they're doing. -Of the truss rod adjustment, fret dressing and saddle reduction-only the saddle reduction is a good bet for a newbie-but as RGB and RainsongDR1000 point out-retain the original saddle and prepare your improved saddle from a blank.

 

-I gasp now at adjustments I once made in ignorance/risks I exposed my instrument to, so best practice would be to let an experienced instrument tech

do the action change. A good instrument tech can also "comp" (compensate) your saddle for best intonation at all scale points-a routine procedure needed by pro musicians to optimize tuning for each string. This involves the saddle top edge ground forward or back for each string to optimize scale accuracy, and despite its brutal sound-it looks fine and pays off in optimal tuning on all strings at all points on the scale.

 

Best of luck with your guitar!