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Hi guys, I know this is a highly subjective question but what is the typical action you aim for when setting up your guitars? I know, the customer, the style, the type of guitar and all the other variables etc, but just a general, ball-park, generic type of thing to the nearest 64th of an inch will suffice!

Larry

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http://www.presnallguitars.com

bass side 4-5/64ths treble side 2-3/64ths

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John Mayes
http://www.mayesluthier.com

Hi John, is that measured with a caliper, feeler gauge, or yardstick? (Having been in your shop, I know you can work to these tolerances, but can you find the allen wrench for your fly cutter????).

Larry

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http://www.presnallguitars.com

unless i have know the player i go a bit higher than john at the 12th, generally looking at 5-6/64 and 3-4/64, but i get a lot of string thumping bluegrassers. at the other end of the spec, at the first fret i go for 0.024 and 0.016 to start. for players i know i will go significantly lower if their playing style warrents.

I snagged this info from the LINT site. Credit to them and info provided Courtesy of Steve Lamb Jr.


Factory Specs for Acoustic Setups

   

Neck Relief Measured from 7th-9th Fret

Martin .010 All strings

Gibson Flattops .012 All Strings

Taylor .010 All Strings

Guild   Recommends holding at 1st & 14th
        6th .006 ± .002
        1st .020 ± .002

Nut String Height, Bottom of string to top of 1st

Martin
Bass E .024
Treble E .016

Gibson
Bass E .030
Treble E .020

Taylor
Bass E .023
Treble E .019

Guild
Bass E .022 ± .002
Treble E .020 ± .002

String Height at 12th. From bottom of string to top of fret

Martin
Bass E
3/32"- 5/64"
Treble E
1/16"-5/64"

Gibson
Bass E 3/32"
Treble E 2/32"

Taylor
Bass E 3/32"
Treble E 1/16"

Guild
Bass E
.085-.093
Treble E
.070 -.078

Thanks Ronn

Thats really interesting Information

it is interesting to note the variation in the published figures.

but if one thinks about it it should become apparent that uniform relief across the strings is not achievable with different string heights from bass to treble unless one were to build in a weird hump around the 7th-9th fret.crazymanmichael38541.7412962963

John, I read your post wrong at first...now I see what everyone is saying...(what can I say, I'm a product of the Alabama public school system! They tried hard, but didn't have much to work with in my case...)...I have the guitars strung now with the action fairly high, thinking that I will let them "pull up" for a few days...then go back and tweak them regarding the 14-20th frets and action at the saddle...is this a normal practice?? Thanks for all the info, especially RCoates for the manufacturer's standards...good stuff!

Larry

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http://www.presnallguitars.com

yeah I'm a basketcase.. I know..

And yeah guitars do flex the first few days so watching them and
adjusting as needed is SOP.

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John Mayes
http://www.mayesluthier.com

Well, given your sense of humor I thought you were giving me fractions of 64ths...but it was late and I'd just gotten in from flying around all those big thunderstorms and was a bit loopy...I'm home now and going out to the shop tonite to set the action on 2 of these guitars so now I have a baseline to go by...if I get them within an inch I'll be lucky! By the way, your website's looking great!

Larry

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http://www.presnallguitars.com