String Height on Jackson Guitars

[SylentCommando]

I was just wondering what everyone sets their string height at with a Floyd Rose or Lic Floyd Rose. I wanted to set my Jackson back to factory spec and looked it up in the owners manual and it said 1.5mm treble side and 1.5mm Bass side. Does the Floyd bridge have to be level on both sides? I emailed Jackson/Fender and they said we set the action height at 4/64" (1.5mm) on the Bass Side and 3/64" (1.2mm) on the Treble Side -all measurements are made at the 17th Fret. I always set the action at the 12th fret on my other guitars. Any input would be appreciated.

Cheers

[Force]

Why? Wouldn't you set the action to what you like? If you must, go with what they've told you because action is an individual thing, some like it low & some like it high (drugs are bad mmmkay). Bear in mind, if the neck &/or frets aren't top notch, low action ain't gonna happen.

[paranoid]

I'm with Force! don't worry about a set measure. if it feels good to you that should be all that matters! but for the floyd to operate at its best it should be level with the stings from front to back. as far as side to side this should not get to far from level unless your guitar has some real set up problems. also do not adjust your trem posts with tension on the strings, this will most definitely dull the knife edges and then that floyd will not like to stay in tune!

[xenophobe]

A Jackson in proper working order should be able to go lower than you actually want. I generally have them set about 2mm at the last fret-ish. The tradeoff is string buzz and sustain, and if you like really low action you'll need to find the balance that is comfortable to you.

[Axewielder]

also do not adjust your trem posts with tension on the strings, this will most definitely dull the knife edges and then that floyd will not like to stay in tune!

Nah.

[lefty]

I like to set mine around 5/64 with a capo on the first fret. That's fairly high by
modern standards, but I like the guitar to 'fight' me a little. That being said, I've got
a couple that are down to 3/64. There's no right or wrong really. If your fretboard's flat
and fret job is good, you should be able to get 4/64 with no prob...

[toejam]

also do not adjust your trem posts with tension on the strings, this will most definitely dull the knife edges and then that floyd will not like to stay in tune!

Never had that happen, and I've been adjusting trem posts under full tension for about 28 years.

[pianoguyy]

I have guitars that do not get lubed because I like the drag that they give - as someone else said - the fight.
I have some that are so lubed that you could slide off of them.
I have guitars that have level action - same height across all frets.
I have guitars that are lower at the first fret and higher at the last fret.

In other words -
No set standard for me. It is all about 'the feel'.

[msaint65]

Like pianoguyy, I have string heights all over the place - for me the neck shape is another factor for how the action is set.

[Brandenburg]

i generally try to keep my guitars action about the same.. around 2mm at the 12th fret..

[Matt_B]

Never had that happen, and I've been adjusting trem posts under full tension for about 28 years.

Same here. The knife edges go under significantly more stress with normal usage then they do when the posts are adjusted. All my experience is with German-made OFRs not imports.

[flyinbryan]

ive always used coins as feeler gauges.
for reference:
dime = 1.35mm
penny = 1.50mm
quarter = 1.75mm
nickel = 2.0mm

I just checked my soloist and mine are about a 1.5 at the 12th fret and the bottom of the strings. ive only had it a week and will likely raise it just a tad.

I checked my rrxmg and its right at 1.75mm. I will prolly set the soloist similar to the rhoads cuz it just sounds better a little bit higher to me.

I also have an agile al3000 (they are extremely nice guitars in my opinion) and I run it at about 1.50mm

I also have a 1959 Gibson es175 that is stupid low action, like about 1.25, and it rings out clear as a bell, but it has TINY frets, like half of a jumbo sized fret. maybe that has something to do with why it can be so low with zero buzz. (or maybe its because they built them different back then??? don't know.)

[wrldeatr7]

Regarding changing the action on a Floyd Rose, this is what the FR site says:

"When tuning is complete, check the action of the strings off the neck. If your action is to high or to low, adjust the action with the two rocker screws (bridge pivot screws) using the 3mm Allen wrench. This adjustment will slightly change your tuning. If your fine tuners run out of range you must repeat steps 1 through 7."

That makes it sound like it's OK to change the action under full tension. But I've also heard it said often to never ever do that, so I emailed Floyd Rose asking specifically about modifying action, since their tech support site mentions "how to" do all sort of things but not how to change the action properly. This is the response I got:

----
Generally for the Floyd Rose Original and Pro bridges, there isn't much of a need to adjust the bridge height beyond adjusting the truss rod of your guitar to raise or lower the action. There are no saddle screws to adjust individual strings, but to lower or raise the actions there are a few things you want to make sure of first.
1) You need to make sure the nut is correct for the width and radius of your neck. I'm not certain if this was the bridge that came with your guitar or if it was an upgrade, but If you remove the locking nut, you with see an R followed by a number. I've included our locking nut sizing chart.

http://511e2271871424c2f15c-3b98a00d4daf07766c9421b476b3ba14.r8.cf2.rackcdn.com/FRNUTCONVERSIONCHART2013.pdf

If the nut was not installed properly or is the wrong size for your neck, this could affect the action of the neck.
2) On a correctly set up Original Floyd Rose, the bridge base plate should be level with the body of the guitar. If you find that it's too far forward or recessed too much into the guitar, you can use a combination of adjusting the two mounting studs that hold the bridge in place and adjusting the tremolo claw screws inside the body cavity. If the springs do not have enough tension or the mounting studs are screwed too far in, this will greatly affect the action.
3) Whenever making an adjustment on the bridge, make sure that the strings are not tuned to pitch. Detune them and keep the nut unlocked during these adjustments.
----

A strange response. Personally I wouldn't adjust the truss rod for the sake of modifying the action. Action is one thing, relief another. But he does recommend "detuning". Still, even when detuned, there's plenty of tension and the knife edges will cut into the bridge posts when these are turned. But many of you here say it doesn't matter much. I recently got a guitar with a FR so this is interesting to me.

[Matt_B]

...I emailed Floyd Rose asking specifically about modifying action, since their tech support site mentions "how to" do all sort of things but not how to change the action properly. This is the response I got:
Generally for the Floyd Rose Original and Pro bridges, there isn't much of a need to adjust the bridge height beyond adjusting the truss rod of your guitar to raise or lower the action. There are no saddle screws to adjust individual strings, but to lower or raise the actions there are a few things you want to make sure of first.

A strange response. Personally I wouldn't adjust the truss rod for the sake of modifying the action. Action is one thing, relief another. But he does recommend "detuning". Still, even when detuned, there's plenty of tension and the knife edges will cut into the bridge posts when these are turned. But many of you here say it doesn't matter much. I recently got a guitar with a FR so this is interesting to me.

The fact that the response you received states that you shouldn't need to adjust the bridge makes everything that person said suspect.

[wrldeatr7]

The fact that the response you received states that you shouldn't need to adjust the bridge makes everything that person said suspect.

Yeah, that too. Perhaps they operate under the assumption that guitars come perfectly setup.