Adjusting the Action on an Acoustic Guitar
Acoustic guitar action refers to the height of the strings above the fretboard. It is also used to describe the general feel and playability of a guitar. Generally a guitar’s string height is measured at the 12th fret. This center measurement gives a good point of reference to tell how high the strings actually are. Action is also measured at the first fret. I’m sure you have heard people comment on guitars with “high action.” This just means that the strings are too high off the fretboard. Obviously, “low action” would mean the opposite.
Now that we know what action is, why is it important? Action is probably the most important part of any guitar setup. Proper acoustic guitar action not only controls the comfort and playability of the guitar, but it also helps the guitar stay in tune and maintain intonation. Acoustic guitar action is a little different than electric guitar action in that acoustic guitar strings need more room to vibrate. Think about it like this. When you play an electric guitar, you don’t really need to strum that hard in order to get a loud sound—acoustic guitars do. Also, acoustic guitar strings are much thicker than electric strings. Acoustic guitars need a higher action than electric guitars to prevent the strings from buzzing. Generally, the higher the action on a guitar, the more difficult and uncomfortable the guitar is to play and the lower the action, the easier and more comfortable the guitar is to play. Usually an action setup is a compromise between having the strings high enough not to buzz on the frets and low enough for comfortable playability. If you picked up an expensive guitar in a music store and found that it was uncomfortable to play, it could be that the action is not properly set. The feel of this guitar has nothing to do with the price or even the quality of the guitar; it is probably just not setup correctly.
After reading all of this, you are probably wondering how high should your action be. The truth is that it depends on your playing style. Acoustic guitar action and volume are directly related. That is why classical guitar players have higher action than steel string guitar players. Before there were amplifiers, classical players had to project their sound, so people could hear them—thus higher action was required. Lower action allows guitarists to play faster and more comfortably without compromising the volume. Essentially, the action on your or anyone else’s guitar is pure preference. There is no right or wrong string height, to an extent. Most guitars come out of the factory with standard action settings that the manufacturer deems appropriate. Some of these setting are not always the most comfortable for individual players’ styles. I will show you how to set your action to an industry standard action setting. Beyond that, it is up to you to fine-tune the action on your guitar to fit your personal style.
MusikStoreLive 