anyone else loses creativity with low action?

**citizenk74** · 08-02-2015, 08:44 AM

Para - Your work looks immaculate. Very nice indeed. Well done!

**oldane** · 08-02-2015, 10:32 AM

I like the action a bit higher than the bare minimum. I also like heavier strings. I like to have a "feedback" from the guitar to the fingers. That way I also get a greater dynamic range and a cleaner tone (no string slap).

**pingu** · 08-02-2015, 10:54 AM

Originally Posted by oldane

I like the action a bit higher than the bare minimum. I also like heavier strings. I like to have a "feedback" from the guitar to the fingers. That way I also get a greater dynamic range and a cleaner tone (no string slap).

high action big strings ....
i'm natually clumsy so with this setup
i can play quite hard and it is more forgiving
of my inaccuracies/screwups ....

i'm so envious of you guys who can play
that minimal movement fast alt picking
thing .... love that ! can't bloody do it !

i do the more charlie chrisian downstroke thing with rhythm and punctuation

its no excuse i know , Frank Vignola can do
both ...

ok i'm gonna get on it .....

**fumblefingers** · 08-02-2015, 11:20 AM

the OP question taken at face value, is the craziest question ever.

but i guess it just means "is it distracting if the action is not comfortable or otherwise aligned with your preferences?"

the answer is... a resounding yes.

**Dave70** · 08-02-2015, 11:57 AM

Originally Posted by Doctor Jeff

Jack White agrees with you:

“I always look at playing guitar as an attack. It has to be a fight. Every song, every guitar solo, every note that’s played or written has to be a struggle. It can’t be this wimpy thing where you’re pushed around by the idea, the characters, or the song itself. It’s every player’s job to fight against all of that.”

Angry, angry young man.

**princeplanet** · 08-02-2015, 11:58 AM

Gee, I thought it was rather obvious that you have more dynamic range with higher action rather than lower. Dynamic range is REALLY important to me, I hate most jazz guitarist's sound because player's seem to have a wimpy dynamic range! Low action, picking softly with thin picks, overuse of legato, using compression, having tone turned all the way down - ughhh.....

Mind you, it takes a lot of strength playing quickly on thick strings with high action, and you absolutely risk "repetitive" injuries, so I completely understand why some guys go for low action, and / or thin strings

Also, a lot of you guys don't really care to sound "exciting" on the instrument, you seem to actually like uniform dynamics and I guess it's the traditional approach, so what would I know...

**Vladan** · 08-02-2015, 12:11 PM

I totally agree with White.

**fumblefingers** · 08-02-2015, 12:11 PM

Originally Posted by princeplanet

Gee, I thought it was rather obvious that you have more dynamic range with higher action rather than lower. Dynamic range is REALLY important to me, I hate most jazz guitarist's sound because player's seem to have a wimpy dynamic range! Low action, picking softly with thin picks, overuse of legato, using compression, having tone turned all the way down - ughhh.....

Mind you, it takes a lot of strength playing quickly on thick strings with high action, and you absolutely risk "repetitive" injuries, so I completely understand why some guys go for low action, and / or thin strings

Also, a lot of you guys don't really care to sound "exciting" on the instrument, you seem to actually like uniform dynamics and I guess it's the traditional approach, so what would I know...

i hear ya. and you're right, its tougher on the hands.

**vinlander** · 08-03-2015, 07:53 AM

I agree that higher action has definitely an effect on the dynamics and tone.
The higher the action, the more room for vibration but also more effort needed to fret.
In the best world, tone would not need to be sacrificed for playability; but that world doesn't really exist.
The older I get, the more I want to spare my tendons; the idea is to find the right balance between tone and playability.
If I have to sacrifice one however, it will have to be the tone...can't stand to play with a handicap.
The OP's question is relevant however, it is easier to be more lazy and let the automatic pilot on when your neck plays like butter...

**D.G.** · 08-03-2015, 02:24 PM

A low action guitar gives you a reduced set of possible articulations. A guitar with too high action also reduces your possibilities.

I keep the action on my Tele's pretty high as I don't want the string to "spack" out too easily (I hit really hard) and I want a lot of room to bend. On my gypsy guitar, I keep the action as low as I can get it and hit back by the bridge with a 5mm pick

Bending on that guitar has an entirely different feel to my Teles. My archtops are set in-between as they don't "spack" when hit hard, but I don't need the action as high for bending either.

As for "laziness", all my guitars are extremely articulate and bright (single coils only) so there's no chance to be lazy!

**Epistrophy** · 03-22-2021, 06:50 PM

Originally Posted by pingu

high action big strings ....
i'm natually clumsy so with this setup
i can play quite hard and it is more forgiving
of my inaccuracies/screwups ....

i'm so envious of you guys who can play
that minimal movement fast alt picking
thing .... love that ! can't bloody do it !

i do the more charlie chrisian downstroke thing with rhythm and punctuation

its no excuse i know , Frank Vignola can do
both ...

ok i'm gonna get on it .....

It's actually far much easier to play with 5/64 and 6/64 action with medium relief setup when plugged in amp. When playing unplugged, everything is harder. Add some reverb, but not too much and everything is easier, fast lines, chording etc. For some reason, a bit heavier strings (12/13-52/53) are easier for me to pick with this kind of setup. If I have light strings with low action and I play in a combo, I can't play very well. I used to have action like that for pretty long and it worked for fingerstyle playing, but it's sloppy at times. My Strat has almost the same setup with 10-46 rounds. In my 150€ LP copy from J&D brothers has around 2,5mm-3mm action since it has quite thin neck, so I compensate it with higher action. I played unplugged for very long time until I got an headphone amp. Yes. I have big hands.

**Greentone** · 03-22-2021, 09:45 PM

I started playing with higher action when I learned that Roy Buchanan did it. This was about 50 years ago. I don't think I could turn back now.

**guavajelly** · 03-23-2021, 03:05 AM

I don't think you "loose musicality" with lower action – you just got to get used to it. Setup is a personal thing, but IMHO a little higher action allows to play with a little more dynamic range as you can hit the strings harder without buzzing out. String gauges also make a difference. It all depends on your touch.
The good news:

**kris** · 03-23-2021, 04:11 AM

The low action of the strings sometimes means that the guitar does not sound its full potential, you just have to experiment and adapt to your playing style as well.

**Epistrophy** · 03-23-2021, 06:08 AM

Originally Posted by kris

The low action of the strings sometimes means that the guitar does not sound its full potential, you just have to experiment and adapt to your playing style as well.

True!

**DanielleOM** · 03-23-2021, 07:15 AM

Originally Posted by Klatu

I've heard that Frank Vignola likes to keep his action high.

That does not surprise me. I have one of the Eastman Frank Vignola model guitars. A luthier once set that guitar up with a low action and found I just could not play that guitar that way. There is something about the dynamics of that particular model that really compels you to play with real energy. I just can't play it with a light touch.

**lawson-stone** · 03-23-2021, 11:21 AM

Originally Posted by gianluca

it's just me or there is someone else who loses taste and creativity when the neck action is too low?
I tried to setup the action of my 335 following gibson factory measures and while it still doesn't buzzs, and allows more speed, the too light touch of the guitar makes me loose musicality...
any thoughts?

Nope.

**oldane** · 03-23-2021, 11:37 AM

A now late friend of ours was a well known jazz trumpet player here in Denmark. Once it was time for a new trumpet (they corrode from the inside), he tried out a lot of different ones, among them a couple of Selmers. Now, Selmer is known for making instruments that are comfortable to play - woodwinds as well as brass - where the keys fall right under your fingers and the blowing effort needed is as little as possible. But he did not like that at all. As he said: "It was spooky. Those Selmers played all by themselves." He ended up with a much cheaper Yamaha which offered him the resistance he didn't find in the Selmers.

Our friends big inspiration was Louis Armstrong. The funny thing is, that Armstrong himself had an endorsement deal with Selmer for much of his career. The deal included a new trumpet every second year. The used, but not worn out, trumpet was then given by Armstrong to a musically interested child who could no way afford a top of the line Selmer trumpet. It has been known after his death that Armstrong, who had a high income, was very filantropic behind the scenes and gave away huge sums to various kinds of child welfare - likely because he himself partly grew up in a childrens asylum in New Orleans whose leader noted his musical talent and got him started on cornet.

**Jim Soloway** · 03-23-2021, 08:31 PM

Low action, light strings, and low tension are almost mandatory for me. The looser the better.

**kris** · 03-24-2021, 02:04 AM

It does not work with all guitars.

**Epistrophy** · 03-24-2021, 04:19 AM

Originally Posted by Jim Soloway

Low action, light strings, and low tension are almost mandatory for me. The looser the better.

Especially if you have small hands then yes.

**kris** · 03-24-2021, 04:33 AM

Low action, light strings, and low tension-susceptible to bending...

**Greentone** · 03-24-2021, 07:03 AM

I played a friend's Led Paul strung with (he claimed) 0.007s. I could not play this light, low action guitar in tune. My friend, meanwhile, had no problem. The player's touch is everything.