String height

[dewey finn]

I just received the 3 pick up Special. The strings are really high. I messaged the seller and he told me he, '"personally set the guitar up with 6/64ths at the 12th fret." Holy high action! a 1/4" above the frets?

Do you like your action this high?

[hamerhead]

That's probably perfect for a slide player.

I like mine on the high side, but that's a little extreme.

[Jeff R]

That sounds more like the way you set up a Martin flattop for a bluegrass player who strings mediums and plays the thing like a drum kit.

 

[dewey finn]

I can't count to 20 unless I am bare foot. It is 1/4 of a inch over the frets.

[Ting Ho Dung]

Holy shit. 16/64ths? I like mine at 3

[tbonesullivan]

Factory Gibson setup I think used to be 3/64 on the high E to 5/64 on the low E at the 12th fret.

6/64 across the board is not obscenely high. I think Stevie Stevens likes a high action like 5/64.  Usually most people like a bit lower, but I find the tone is better with the action at around 4/64.

[BubbaVO]

Nope.

[gtone]

1/8" or a little less at 12th works well for me - I like to be able to dig in.  Also, playing slide is virtually impossible (at least for my playing style) with ultra low action. 

1/4" at the 12th is pretty nuts, especially for an acoustic.  My Gibson J-50's action was almost that high when I got it and I couldn't fret the bugger up the neck after years of playing electrics with 10's.  Luthier buddy fixed that up in a jiff tho'...

[fasteddie]

Eddie Van you know who, also liked his action really high. I do too, BTW, it makes for more meaningful playing.

[DaveH]

On 4/5/2018 at 5:29 PM, gtrdaddy said:

1/4” = 16/64”, or 8/32”

6/64” = 3/32”

 

Or...

1/4" = 0.250"

3/32 = 0.093" (less than 1/8", = 0.125")