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Guthrie Has Raised The Action on His Axe

 
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alexkhan



Joined: 10 Sep 2004
Posts: 2783
Location: Chino, CA

PostPosted: Mon Dec 28, 2009 9:07 pm    Post subject: Guthrie Has Raised The Action on His Axe Reply with quote

During the clinic tours, I get to handle Guthrie's guitar every now and then as an ad hoc roadie helping set up and tear down the simple rig for each clinic and show. I noticed that the action was noticeably higher and was wondering if something was wrong with the guitar.

The neck was slightly underbowed, so I tightened the truss rod but the strings were still fairly high off the fingerboard - definitely higher than the standard factory setup. I remember Guthrie used to set the action slightly lower than the standard height. So I asked Guthrie if this was a problem and he said he raised the action for better tone and dynamics as well as being able to play the slide easier.

The normal factory set-up is 4/64" or 1.6mm for the low-E at the last fret. The height on Guthrie's was at least 5/64" (2mm) or even a tad higher. I like to set mine a little below (around 3.5/64") standard height, so how Guthrie set his action would be somewhat uncomfortable to me. But, you know, it's simple physics: no pain, no gain. The higher the action, the better the tone and it also increases the dynamic range because you can hit soft or real hard with less string rattle and better sustain.

Tone has become an integral part of what Guthrie does and he has obviously made a conscious decision to go for better tone than being able to fly over the fingerboard on single-note runs. For rhythm playing to really digging in for that one killer bent note that sings, higher action is simply better. That's Yngwie's motto as well. Higher action simply sounds better and it increases what you can do with slightly overdriven amp tones. Another thing I noticed: the higher action doesn't seem to slow Guthrie down at all! Very Happy
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sumis



Joined: 22 Feb 2005
Posts: 570
Location: gothenburg, sweden

PostPosted: Mon Dec 28, 2009 9:59 pm    Post subject: Re: Guthrie Has Raised The Action on His Axe Reply with quote

alexkhan wrote:
During the clinic tours, I get to handle Guthrie's guitar every now and then as an ad hoc roadie helping set up and tear down the simple rig for each clinic and show. I noticed that the action was noticeably higher and was wondering if something was wrong with the guitar.

The neck was slightly underbowed, so I tightened the truss rod but the strings were still fairly high off the fingerboard - definitely higher than the standard factory setup. I remember Guthrie used to set the action slightly lower than the standard height. So I asked Guthrie if this was a problem and he said he raised the action for better tone and dynamics as well as being able to play the slide easier.

The normal factory set-up is 4/64" or 1.6mm for the low-E at the last fret. The height on Guthrie's was at least 5/64" (2mm) or even a tad higher. I like to set mine a little below (around 3.5/64") standard height, so how Guthrie set his action would be somewhat uncomfortable to me. But, you know, it's simple physics: no pain, no gain. The higher the action, the better the tone and it also increases the dynamic range because you can hit soft or real hard with less string rattle and better sustain.

Tone has become an integral part of what Guthrie does and he has obviously made a conscious decision to go for better tone than being able to fly over the fingerboard on single-note runs. For rhythm playing to really digging in for that one killer bent note that sings, higher action is simply better. That's Yngwie's motto as well. Higher action simply sounds better and it increases what you can do with slightly overdriven amp tones. Another thing I noticed: the higher action doesn't seem to slow Guthrie down at all! Very Happy


he probably got it from me Wink

thanks for the report on that. i do find it easy to play with low action, but easier to sound clean and full with higher action.

but you suhr guys are ridiculous! 5/64 (2mm) is considered low to medium in the rest of the world. 3/64 is for people whispering to their strings Very Happy

considering guthries uncompressed and open amp sounds, i could see him liking higher action.

not that it will make any difference for us mortals listening to him though.

there's a myth that low action makes anything easier. sure, some things will take less force, but damping will be harder, thus making it somewhat more difficult to play clean tapping with hi gain for instance. ia eklunds action is really high -- which probably is a must for his harmonics/whammy bar technique.

whatever, i suck.

.
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alexkhan



Joined: 10 Sep 2004
Posts: 2783
Location: Chino, CA

PostPosted: Mon Dec 28, 2009 11:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well, the thing about Suhrs is that they still sound great with low action! Wink

I need it low because I'm just looking for the lowest resistance possible during the little time I have with a guitar. I suck even more!
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Ed Yoon
Certified Guthrie Fan-atic
BOING Music LLC - Managing Partner
.strandberg* Guitars USA
Ed Yoon Consulting & Management
Guitar Center Inc.
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sumis



Joined: 22 Feb 2005
Posts: 570
Location: gothenburg, sweden

PostPosted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 8:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

alexkhan wrote:
Well, the thing about Suhrs is that they still sound great with low action! Wink

I need it low because I'm just looking for the lowest resistance possible during the little time I have with a guitar. I suck even more!


yeah, when i recieved my standard it was between 3/64 and 4/64 (i specified lower action) -- and i almost couldn't make it buzz!

.
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PGA n00b



Joined: 21 Mar 2009
Posts: 55

PostPosted: Fri Jan 01, 2010 10:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

guess what? Guthrie also raised the bar!!! Laughing

Confused Embarassed
ok, sorry
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Chinkee



Joined: 01 Dec 2010
Posts: 11

PostPosted: Fri Dec 03, 2010 6:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wow. I just measured the distance for the action on my guitar(not a suhr unfortunately.). I guess around 2mm is where mine is set. And that is how it has always been set from the get go. I always thought that was the lowest you could go! Lol.
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