Extremely low action

[Kicking_Television]

i borrowed my brothers semi-hollowbody electric for some plugged in playing (i only have acoustic) and the action is so low the strings will vibrate on the first fret. the action gets better as it gets closer to the body. i'm sort of a newb when it comes to guitar maintenence so i was wondering how i would go about fixing this. it's annoying the hell out of me

[MrRain422]

You probably just need to adjust the saddles (the little area that the strings rest in at the bridge). It's pretty easy to do if you have an allen wrench of the proper size.

[ginandcigarettes]

Hmmm... some tests first

 

(1) Capo the first fret and play the guitar. Does the action improve? Keep capo'ing up the neck and see how it affects the action.

(2) Capo at the third fret. Look at the strings as they pass over the first fret. Is there any space between the string and the first fret?

(3) Capo first fret. Press the D string down at the last (highest) fret. While pressing, look at the D string as it passes over the 7th fret. Does the string touch the fret? Is there space? How much (measure if possible)?

(4) Look at the profile of the frets (as if from playing position). Do certain frets (especially the lower ones) look taller than others?

 

The reason for all of these tests is that the action at the bridge is unlikely to have a massive affect on the action at the nut and it's sometimes the case that raising the action at the brige to get rid of buzz will make the guitar unconfortable to play (I suspect a abnormally low-cut nut or a rather tall first or second fret). The 3rd test is to gauge the relief of the neck (the degree of bow) which can also affect buzzing, though I doubt this is your problem (on the other hand, I'm consistently wrong about a lot of things).

 

Still, you might try to raise the action at the bridge and see if you can find a happy balance between higher action and comfortable playing as replacing the nut and dressing the frets are things best left to professionals (which is to say, if you're ever uncomfortable working on your guitar, take it to a professional -- though, not Guitar Center, they don't know what the heck they're doing).

[a.miller]

you can also try to adjust the truss rod, which controls the "bow" of the neck with the intention of keeping the strings off of the fretboard. This is usually adjusted with an allen wrench and can be found inside the body of the gutiar where the neck meets the body, or on the headstock under a little screwed-on cover.

[jff]

Make sure you know what you're doing before you mess with the truss rod. You might be able to find a guitar repair book at your library that will have all the info you'll need on setting up your guitar to your liking.

[ginandcigarettes]

Make sure you know what you're doing before you mess with the truss rod. You might be able to find a guitar repair book at your library that will have all the info you'll need on setting up your guitar to your liking.

 

Seriously, yes. I would recommend doing the tests above before you start messing with anything. Why would you fix your brakes when your oil is leaking?

 

There are 4 things that have a big effect on action and buzzing:

 

(1) Height of bridge saddles

(2) Neck relief

(3) Fret height

(4) Depth of nut slots

 

Find out which of these it is before you do something you regret. Given your problem, I think research with reveal that it's probably 3 or 4. Low nut slots and fair degree of relief (bow) would make it buzz on the low frets and normal on the high frets so cranking the truss rod (straightening the neck) would worsen your problem. Find out what the problem is.

 

If you want to learn to set up your guitar, I recommend How to Make Your Electric Guitar Play Great! by Dan Erlewine. You'll also need a set of feeler gauges from any auto parts strore, and a ruler graduated in 64ths and a set of nut files, both from Stew-Mac.

[Kicking_Television]

could it be a simple as increasing teh gauge on my strings, i know it'll put a little more pressure on the neck bending it back?

[Kicking_Television]

could it be a simple as increasing teh gauge on my strings, i know it'll put a little more pressure on the neck bending it back?

the bridge saddles were quite low but i moved then all the way and still no effect at the frets closer to the nut.. i'm gonna go out and buy new higher gauge strings today, i need to new strings anyway

[ginandcigarettes]

the bridge saddles were quite low but i moved then all the way and still no effect at the frets closer to the nut.. i'm gonna go out and buy new higher gauge strings today, i need to new strings anyway

 

Yeah, that probably won't work either. If you wanted to add more bow to the neck, you can just loosen the truss rod (typically, turn the truss rod nut counterclockwise), which will do the job better and more accurately than getting heavier gauge strings. Using a pen or white-out or something, mark a dot on the truss rod nut and another on the guitar (such that the two dots line up) so you can tell how far you turn the nut and you can put it back if you don't like the change (though truss rod adjustments can take a day or so to become fully apparent so be patient). Try loosening it a quarter turn and see what that does.

 

Of course, this is purely an educational exercise as your problem is not caused by saddle height or neck relief. Visualize a guitar neck bowing. As you add bow, the greatest change will be in the middle of the neck where the peak of the bow is. You have to add a lot of bow before you see much change at the nut and at this point you might find the middle of the neck unplayable. I am willing to bet that your nut is cut too deep or the first few frets are too high. You will probably not be able to fix this yourself as they require files and permanent alteration of the guitar (these are fixes that I probably would rather pay someone to do). Take it to a professional, spend money.

 

Oh yeah, changing strings is a good idea (I'm neutral about a higher gauge, though) as strings that are old and worn can buzz or otherwise sound weird.

[anodyne]

i usually pay $45 and have my guitars set up by a REALLY good tech every so often. he cleans them up really nice, too. this was especially helpful in my old band when i'd get stuff all over my guitars at shows.

[squarewave]

I second the recommendation for the pro setup...

 

A friend loaned me an inherited mediocre Mexican Tele with ridiculously low action that nobody could play.

After a $40 to the best tech I know, it was played great and actually sounded pretty decent.