I'm just curious about my action. I've always considered myself to play with a medium action but I was wondering if that is the truth compared to other Strat Fiends. I've got my high E set up about 6/64 of an inch from the bottom of the string to the top of the 17th fret. My low E is 7/64 of an inch measured the same way. According to Fender these should both be the same(4/64"), however I did set it up that way initially, but I discovered that it played, felt, and sounded better with the low E string's saddle raised a bit and as a result, this caused me to raise the 5th and 4th strings to fit the 9.5" radius. Got rid of the slight buzz i was getting from the 4,5, and 6 strings when I dug in hard. I didn't raise the 3,2,and 1 string as much although I did incorporate the 9.5 radius shape to set the sequential height. I know my action is higher that what Fender recommends for the 9.5 inch radius on my '98 American Std. Strat (4/64 of an inch for both bass and treble is the reommended height). My relief is set as recommended by Fender {(0.010in). I feel like I have a great setup, at least for me, as all setups should be tailored to the guitarist. I was just wondering what kind of relief and action yall use on your beloved Strats? Have any of yall had any problem with string buzz using Fender standard setup(including truss rod adj.) numbers using heavier strings .011s? I did notice using the 11s with the recommended setup cause quite a bit of fret buzz. However, raising them just alittle solved the problem. Another question. SRV had a high action, does anyone know any specs on his setup. If you know any guitarist that has a high action and can give me some specs let me know. Also, as stated above, I would really love to know how you guys set up your Strats. Specs like relief and sting height (above 17th fret) would be very intriguing to me. I would also like to hear what advise yall can give me on nut work to handle the .011s.

Thanks Guys,

Russ

Mine is higher than a lot of people, but compared to the Fender specs, its pretty darn close. I like higher action in general and don't understand why so many people want to get it as low as possible. I want my stings to have room to move, and allow me to play them hard as well as soft.

Here is mine:

Relief:
.012 at 9th fret [.3mm]

Action (capo at 1st fret):
at 17th fret
Bass .070 [1.78mm]
Treble: .070 [1.78mm]

I really don't pay attention to what factory specs are. They are a basic guideline and starting point but in the end, it's all up to you and how you want your guitar to play. Here's how mine ended up. I wasn't after any specific settings, just set them up to feel the way I wanted.

Strat: 2mm at 12th fret on both low and high E's.
Tele: 2.25mm at 12th fret on low E, 1.75mm on high E.

One tip that I would suggest if you haven't already. Make sure your saddles follow the radius of your neck. I tend to exagerate mine just a teenie bit.

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2004 American Deluxe V-Neck Strat w/Kinman Blues
2007 American Deluxe Tele w/Kinman Broadcasters
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Eddie Bowers

I don't know if I'm just not familiar with your setup method but the Fender setup guide indicates that the relief should be measured using a capo on the 1st fret, depress the the 6th string at the last fret and take a measurement from the bottom of the 6th string to the top of the 8th fret. The Fender Standard should be 0.010" for a neck radius of 9.5 to 12 inches. 0.012 for 7.25 inches, and 0.008 inches for a radius of 15-17 inches.
Action should be measured without a capo on strings 1 and 6 and should show about a 4/64" (0.0625") gap from bottom of string to top of 17th fret. No capo should be used to check this according to Fender. You may have mistyped youre response but if you do have a different procedure and recommended setting I am interested to learn them.

Thanks,

Russ

SonOfIAm,

I understand what you're saying. I also use the Fender recommendations as a template but then adjust until I'm happy. I just checked my setup against your measurements and my strings are just slightly higher. I've always enjoyed a higher action than Fender recommended and I just wanted to know how many other Strat players felt that way as well. My personal opinion is that I can get a better tone with heavier strings at a heigher action simply because you can dig in alittle more than if you had a low action. Now I'm not saying this is better in anyway than having a lower action I'm just saying I believe it works better for me. And yes I use the fretboard radius to set my saddle height, exaggerating just slightly the middle strings.

Russ

I have always played with medium action as I tend to like to dig in when I am playing.But as I have been sidelined for 16 months and am awaiting surgery to fix nerve damage in my thumb I had to change my whole setup just to play a lil bit.As I cannot bend a string at all I have been using techniques that were never a big part of my style (TAPPING,3 NOTE PER STRING SCALES SWEEPING, AND LEGATO PLAYING)which are all best suited for the action being as low as possible.When my friend who is a shredder ,set my guitar up for me as he would his it was very weird at first but since my thumb has got to be right under the neck at all times it makes this playing so much easier to pull off.As a matter of fact you would not be able to pull a lot of these techniques off with high to medium action.

I don't know if its just me, but I like low action and to hit the strings pretty hard. For me, at my low action, I have to add relief so the strings won't buzz. Anyone else like this?

It seems with low relief, you have to raise the action at the saddle too much for me

_________________
Guitars:
1. mid 70's Ventura MIJ Gibson l6-s clone (Pre-lawsuit) in Black with Rosewood FB and EMG 81 BR/ 85 Neck
2. ESP KH2 Neck Thru
3. 2008 Am Std Strat in 3 tone sunburst

FirstStrat,

Measuring (with a 6" steel ruler or feeler gauges) from the bottom of the 1st string and 6th strings to the top of the 17th fret (no capo involved) what is your action? Assuming you know how to measure relief (capo at 1st), reading taken at 8th fret, what is it? Are there any problems with having a guitar with a relief of 0.017 or greater. Seems to me that one would get to the point where the pull on the neck would begin moving up toward the headstock possibly causing the neck to break. Now FirstStrat I am not saying your guitar is going to break, I'm just curious if anyone knows the highest relief in which the guitar will suffer no damage. Also, I would like to hear more measurements of actions. 1st and 6th strings at 17th fret. Bottom of string to top of fret, if you will. I am becoming more interested in this as I try to find some info on the net about great guitarists and their acitons. As well as the definiitions of high action, low aciton, medium action, etc,,,,

Thanks,
Russ

Mine is different on each guitar. I like my neck to be as flat as possible and the string height as low as it will go without buzzing.

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I didn't Lose my mind, I traded it for this guitar.

You're not alone with having a higher action DeadAhead.

I set mine at the 17th fret *with a capo on the 1st* (I believe Fender recommends the capo)- Action is 5/64 (2mm) on all strings-This automatically gives a correct bridge radius. Sometimes I adjust the 6th and 5th string a little higher (2.4mm) to get rid of the slight buzzing you get at the lower end of the fret board. It's not usually heard through an amp.

I like a straight neck. I usually have no relief to maybe .05. This also adds a nice tension.

I use gauge 11-52. I find heavier strings give better tone and sustain and less tuning probs. I like to work hard when bending. It allows for better expression. I used to use 11-49 but the E-A-D strings felt too slinky. I find with heavier strings there is less buzz due to the reduced elliptical vibration with heavier tension. I like to play hard and dig in, and softly when I need to. I find a higher, stiffer action gives a brighter tone.
I recently tried 12-52. No buzzing at all! I play alot of acoustic, so I find i need a balance when I play an electric. To me, .010 strings and under buzz somewhat.

SRV setup 7/64 on the low E and 5/64 on the high E. Relief is .012 at the 9th fret. he also used really heavy strings.

I recommend Dan Erlewine's book "How To Make Your Guitar Play Great"- it also has a setup guide of different players at the back.

Incidentally, does anyone know how Pete Townshend and Andy Summers setup their Strats these days?

I've never measured the height, I've just always gone by feel. On my '73 Strat, its a little bit more on the high side, but that's just what feels comfortable to me. My friend who is a shredder can't stand it lol.

However on my other strat (which has a compound radius neck and FR trem) the action is as low as possible w/out buzzing or fretting out anywhere. That one is set up to do one thing and one thing only; shred.

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The mind is like a parachute; it doesn't work unless its open-FZ

This pretty says it for me. As a matter of fact, I don't have a clue what Fender's specs are (nor do I care). As soon as I get a new (or new to me) Strat, 99% of the time this always involves a straighter neck, lower action, reradiusing the bridge and focusing the pickups.

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You dig?

Typically I like my action between medium and low, and almost always play with 10's. But, I recently made alot of mods to my strat, so am still tweaking the relief and saddle height, as I still have some buzz at and above the 10nth fret.

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"I started out with nothing, and still have most of it"

mine raises as the strings get thicker. 3/64ths on the high E bottom of string to top of 12th fret with the string just touching the ruler mark. To 5/64s on the low E with the string being just clear of the ruler mark.

Pedantic i know. All my guitars are set to the same measurement the relief is as near as i can get it identical too.

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No no and no

Mine is 4/16" - my steel rule measures in sixteenths, so 4/64ths then! on the high E side, down to slightly higher, but not quite 5/64ths (ish) on the low. My neck is set with the recommeneded relief for a 9.5" radius neck: 0.3mm. Yet the high E still chokes off when I bend up (never more than a whole tone), on most of the neck. Any ideas Niki?

If anything the high E is higher than 4/64s because the bottom of the string lies on the top of the rlar mark delineating 1/16th, at the 17th fret.