low action blows... bending problems and more

[Soap]

I think it depends on how you play. My opinion is that players who create tone with their fingers prefer the action a little higher.

Guys that play fast rhythm like death metal or such seem to like the real low action - and for power chords its no big deal.

But to create harmonic overtones using your fingers and picking attack during soloing somewhat higher action is preferable to get the best tone and harmonic complexities.

Some of the better Tone with your Finger guys like EVH or Michael Schenker do not have super low action and are not even the fastest players. But they have killer tone, are very expressive in their style of playing and to me that sounds better than the 300 notes per second guys.

+1

As for myself, I prefer medium to somewhat low action.
If the piece or section in the song requires a lighter hand I can do that if the songs calls for it, but to setup my guitar for a real low action feel, nah it doesn't happen.

[MBreinin]

I like my action pretty low, and I bend like crazy and also practically maul the guitar with my right hand...really, think SRV type of pick attack. It is a really bad habit that I think I originally developed because I wanted to play like SRV so badly. When I watch guys like Pete play I am amazed..it is like his right hand isn't even moving, but there are alot of notes coming out of there.

When I play "fast" it is almost all legato..I may pick one out of 15 notes, I don't know..I don't count. I can alternate pick relatively fast but I can't move from string to string very well in speed mode...but I can do EVH style hummingbird shit and whatnot.

Oh hell, when I was younger I liked my action higher and I played 11's and 12's too. Now I am fine with it low and playing 9s. I have nothing to prove.

Mike

[bratfink]

When I play "fast" it is almost all legato..I may pick one out of 15 notes, I don't know..I don't count. I can alternate pick relatively fast but I can't move from string to string very well in speed mode

I tend to do that to, it's annoying when you suck at picking compared to fretting doesn't it! I guess there is quite a large gap in my picking technique because when I get faster I almost stop picking altogether sometimes. I do everything on the legato including bends.

I am working on my picking but it's really painfully slow to come up to standard, plus I don't get alot of spare time being an engineer, which also sucks.

[axeman81]

I think maybe your problems have arised from low TENSION rather than low action....last night, I played an axe with 009 in standard E tuning, and when I got into the rhythm on my solos, I noticed that some of my full-note bends I would run into the same problem: "collecting" several strings together...I'm used to playing my soloist with 010. I think the lower tension makes for lightweight resistance on your fingers when bending, and when not accustomed to it, your playing technique can easily get screwed up.
Just a thought.

[MegaMarty]

when I see some people talking about "4-5mm on 12th fret", I was horrified!!! maybe it can make extremely beautiful tone, but I think I can't play that guitar maybe extremely low action can cause problems, but I can bend B string 4 frets(2 notes) on 10th fret, and it's 1 mm on 12th fret. also not collecting other strings. I think its a bigger problem to shred on a high action, than bend on a low action. also my tone is not awesome, but enough for me.

[horns666]

you gotta go with the .."whatever works for you" method on this one..

[Endrik]

It's not that hard to shred with high action, you just get used to it.
Yngwie has no problem with insane action.
Altho playing legato on the higher fretboard register may be though.

Anyway I always think that if you start working on your tone then you have to get the most out of the basic things. IMO to get a great tone you have to work on the first items of the rig first. The first and the most important thing is the player itself, then comes the guitar.

A Guitar must sound GREAT even without plugging in. Acoustically the difference is huge between low and high action.
Another thing is the string gauge, thin strings do sound thin. Fatter strings sound way better. The tone is much fuller and fatter.
Super heavy strings can sound very dull though.
Now comes the wood part, I like great quality woods like Mahogany, Koa, Ash, Alder etc. I also like thick guitar bodies and necks because the more wood you have to more tone you have. The thickness gives you a lot more sustain and warmth.
Now the pickups, I personally don't like very hot pickups because they lack dynamics. Lower output pickups deliver the warmth of the wood better.
You can always get more gain with the pedals and amps, but I don't want to mess with the pickups because I want to have as much natural sound as possible.

I like when the electric guitar has a very acoustical sound.
I'm used to get the most out of every item in the rig because I'm kinda poor and the country where I live doesn't have much to offer gear wise, so I don't have always great stacks of amps and cabs or high quality rack effects around me so I can just plug in, get a killer sound and rock. I've always had to work hard to get the best out of shitty gear wich is available.

So that's my opinion on tone tweaking.

[MBreinin]

I want to get this straight. You guys that prefer high action will bend beneath the adjacent string? I always just collect the strings as I go up, but I mute them from sounding. I would think that actually scooping below the string would produce more noise, especially if you touch it when you release the bend, causing it to sound. Also, that would feel odd to me.

In terms of pickups and body wood...I have found some guitars sound great with really high output pickups..some sound like mush. Some guitars sound great with a low output pickup and some sound thin and weak. It all depends.

Mike

[horns666]

I dunno, I play with extremely low action..outta neccessity I guess.

I gotta floyd on all my guitars, they are all tuned to D and I use 10's..I have NO bending or probs and my tone is as heavy as King Kong's balls on a hot summer night while wrestling his giant snake..

This is all subjective..again..whatever works for you..there are no "rules" to this ..IMO.

I prolly coudn't play most of your rigs and you prolly couldn't play mine..I find that to be the case all the time.

[VitaminG]

I want to get this straight. You guys that prefer high action will bend beneath the adjacent string? I always just collect the strings as I go up, but I mute them from sounding. I would think that actually scooping below the string would produce more noise, especially if you touch it when you release the bend, causing it to sound. Also, that would feel odd to me.

I was wondering that too. That seems to be what's being suggested. I can imagine trying to play like that - a hangnail gets caught on an adjacent string and as you release the bend - DOOOOOOWWWW. Of course, if you were going for a sitar sound it might work

[horns666]

G, I get to the sitar and then I back it off a tad!!

[Endrik]

I can make sitar sound when I use my TV remote controll like a slide

[wicked_lester]

I like a straight neck with low action. I'll even add a shim to get things even across the fretboard. With this setup, I've had no issues with fret-outs bending up 2-2.5 steps on either a Jackson or Ibanez neck. Now with a strat and it's radius, that's another story.

[wicked_lester]

G, I get to the sitar and then I back it off a tad!!

:ROTF:

[JZ06]

1mm on the high e at the 12th fret is what i like(i'd like it lower if possible)

how you guys play with it @ 4mm!! omg, i'd go insane

to each their own.