My Strat's action was a little high for my taste. So between adjusting the truss rod and lowering the bridge saddles I got the action I was looking for. But I notice that some of the tone has left. Why would that be? Just because the strings are closer to the fretboard? I have a tendon problem in my fret hand so I need the action to be close but not buzzing. Any help?

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Not exactly sure what you mean by the tone having "left", but perhaps the magnetic field put out by the pickups is inhibiting the vibration of the strings. The lower the action, the greater the pull of the magnetic field. Have you tried lowering your pickups to see if that makes a difference? Some players like 'em pretty much flush with the pickguard...

A lot of your tone comes from your finders alone. The fact that the action was higher meant that you had to work harder to play. Harder picking and overall "aggressiveness" while playing contributes greatly to tone.

Also, you may want to try lowering the pickups as much as you lowered the strings. That may work too!

-Edvin

*Edited because of false statistics and percentages as pointed out by BigJay hehe

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No matter how much you pay for an instrument, in the wrong hands it will always sound "cheap."

Gear:
2007 MIM Stratocaster (Lace Sensor Golds)
Peavey Valveking 112
Behringer TU300, CS100, NR100
Dunlop Crybaby Classic
Marshall BB-2
Ibanez TS-9

Mate i experience exactly the same thing and have noticed it for 20 odd years now. Theres a quality of string sound with higher action that you just do not get with low action guitars. I've never found a reason (though i have noticed that higher action lends to more consistent intonation up the board) for it to happen or would hae duplicated it to a lower action setting. It could simply be some psychological reason like you hit the strings more confidently with a higher action. Leading to a more authorative, consistent note or group of notes.

The good news is, your not mad. Its a real dilema. I've a telecaster set higher than anything else i own and have switched numerous times trying to determine the cause.

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No no and no

That's interesting, Nikininja... I guess my action's always a little on the higher side for electric guitars. When I was a flamenco-only type player I always thought my guitar had a lovely low action, and it does when you compare it to the average classical guitar. In Strat terms, though, it's definitely high. When I got back into electric playing, I kept my action up a bit so I wouldn't get too lazy.

I dropped a guitar off for a Plek treatment the other week (still waiting to get it back), and the guy in the shop asked if I wanted the action lowered. I told him it was fine the way it was, and he said "Ah, you like the tone, huh?". That's right, wanker, I thought to myself, but I feel guilty now!

Yep that SRV metal being ripped off the fretboard sound .I will atribute that to high action .

Thanks for your answers, I thought I was crazy. I might raise the saddles a bit.

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I realise that this is subjective, but this is where the Strat shows it's age in the best possible way.

The strat is at it's best when you have to fight it a little - when it's biting back. It encourages you to be a bit percussive with it, to tweak it hard, maybe even slap it a little. That for me is when the tone really starts to come out. When I have a Strat in my hands, it's a physical experience.

Played in this way, I can get feel and tone out of the guitar that I can't find in my Charvel or Les Paul a-like guitars. They're too polite - they don't have the dynamics handling. Perhaps it's why I wouldn't dream of using a Strat for high gain distortion playing

I can't possibly be the only player who feels this way..

I also have had tendon problems with my left hand, having operations on two fingers. As a result I have always played with a low action and light strings. On my acoustics I notice a huge drop in volume and tone with a low action, but it's a compromise I need to make. I was told by my guitar tech that a lower action inhibits the vibrating movement of the string. It does not move as much when picked so there is a loss of tone. Seems this would also apply to electrics??

You have been researching John Lee Hooker i take it...He says almost the exact same thing about his Gibson ..I have always played dirty and im not talking making mistake dirty...I play aggressive..To me playing guitar is like making love to a woman sometimes its slow easy an sweet but other time rough aggressive and full of passion...Another thing you don't need high gain to play heavy..To me heavy distortion is mechanical sounding...I want to hear a guitar scream in its natural voice...

The only thing that would prevent the strings from vibrating because of lower action would be as mentioned above the magnetic pull from PUs or the touching the frets, obviously the latter creating an un-mistaking buzz.

Check your pickup height first. You may be getting string pull.

Not John Lee Hooker, but I've certainly read similar comments by Ritchie Blackmore when he spoke about switching from his ES335. As it happens, I think he was entirely right.

However, you and I agree on the heavy distortion thing..

Perhaps the guy who started this thread, should be looking for a more refined low action guitar - a Vigier would be ideal or something thats been thru a Plek machine. I sympathise with his Tendon problems, I live in fear of damaging my hands or suffering wear and tear over the years