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Guthrie's action?

 
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Random Hero



Joined: 23 Jul 2009
Posts: 1

PostPosted: Thu Jul 23, 2009 6:00 pm    Post subject: Guthrie's action? Reply with quote

I was just reading through some old threads on both here and the Suhr forum and noticed posts regarding Guthrie's action. It seems to be around 3/64" at the last fret, right? So that's what, about 1mm? Making it around 0.8mm at the 12th fret I guess? I take it this is higher on the low E side. Is that the same on his 10-14" floyded Modern too?

Currently on my Modern, it will hold a 0.96mm pick at the 24th, high E but I'm wondering if it's not a little TOO low and making me lazy Smile It feels really great and I have no chokage but it sure does make my Strat feel like a slog. Then again, a quote I've seen here is "why fight the instrument?" which is something I can only agree with. These Suhrs sure do play well.

Anyway, just curious.
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guitaral



Joined: 15 Dec 2008
Posts: 30
Location: Allentown, PA

PostPosted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 3:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

i'd also like to know the answer to this question.

also, what was his action like on the PRS?!? i have a custom 22 right now that is pretty low... just wondering. man, i'd kill for a suhr though
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PGA n00b



Joined: 21 Mar 2009
Posts: 55

PostPosted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 8:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

isn't 1mm on the last fret a bit low?
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sumis



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

PostPosted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 8:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

1mm is really low. rather use 2mm as a starting point, and lower it to taste from there. ultra low action might work for someone like guthrie, who's touch and command is beyond mortals. but for the rest of us, just low enough will make the guitar ring better, and the playing cleaner (easier to damp strings etc).

super low action might feel nice and easy, but doesn't necessarily equal cleaner playing.

.
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PGA n00b



Joined: 21 Mar 2009
Posts: 55

PostPosted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 3:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

^^hmm... there are lot's of very skilled players who prefer a high action because of the better sound (less snappy sounding, or less twangy etc.), e.g. Mattias IA Eklundh and Yngwie Malmsteen both have quite high action
IA has 5mm or something

so I don't think it has anything to do with how skilled a player is to set the action low, rather the other way around


maybe GG has his action so low because his guitar was setup with http://www.plek.com/
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sumis



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

PostPosted: Tue Jul 28, 2009 7:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

PGA n00b wrote:
^^hmm... there are lot's of very skilled players who prefer a high action because of the better sound (less snappy sounding, or less twangy etc.), e.g. Mattias IA Eklundh and Yngwie Malmsteen both have quite high action
IA has 5mm or something

so I don't think it has anything to do with how skilled a player is to set the action low, rather the other way around


maybe GG has his action so low because his guitar was setup with http://www.plek.com/


oh, don't get me wrong. the skill of the player doesn't mean anything. a great player can prefer high or low action. i'm just saying that a very low action takes a lot of hand control, dynamics and feel -- it's not only something that makes it easier to play, sometimes on the contrary.

control over your vibrato for instance is more difficult with light strings and low action than with medium. and with to high action and heavy strings it might be too difficult to control.

guthrie uses 10's and really low action. sometimes plays hard, and doesn't seem to have any problems with intonation bending etc. so go figure.

IA is a good example. to play his stuff cleanly (the whammy dips-releases, the tapping and harmonics) he needs to have high action (and his horrible laney tone Wink ). it would be much more difficult for him with low action.

yes it's harder to play with high action. but it's not always a shortcut per se to play with very low action.

depends on the player.

.
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phantomnote



Joined: 24 Jun 2009
Posts: 5

PostPosted: Wed Jul 29, 2009 2:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I don't see how tapping gets easier with high gauge. And on this years freak guitar camp his action was actually quite normal. He pulled the same stuff of though. Don't ask me why it was like that.

I agree about the Laneys tho. The Laneys tend to sound very horribly fizzy. I did try a Lionheart though, and it sounded mighty nice.
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PGA n00b



Joined: 21 Mar 2009
Posts: 55

PostPosted: Thu Jul 30, 2009 3:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

^^they didn't let him use his high action on his true temperament guitar, because the true temperament frets need a specific action, or at least not a super high one

how did you like the camp?
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sumis



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

PostPosted: Fri Jul 31, 2009 8:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

for many people, higher action makes left hand damping easier.

there are no set rules here. that's the point. low action can be a both a disadvantage and an advantage. so can high action. depends on style, touch and whatever.

i'm just opposing that low action automatically makes it easier to play.

for me to mimic guthrie (hubris, horrible thought), it's easier with higher action. that's just me. for yngwie stuff, lower action (while yngwie himself has high action).

i play like crap though, which might be taken into the eqation.

.
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