Hi all. I've got a question and since I've only been "playing" for 6 years or so (never out, bedroom only), I'm hoping some more experienced players can assist me.

I've tried adjusting my string height/action per the general guidelines put out by Fender and it just seems too high for my liking. I watch vids of my guitar heroes and it always appears as if their strings are literally a hair's width off the fretboard. My action has me having to strangle the fb/neck to finger the notes, or so it seems.

I enjoy playing blues licks with some bending, and it seems that when the action is high, the string being bent goes under the string above/below it, causing the non-bent string to ring out (unintentionally). Of course, my experience with low action is that I bend the string and it "bangs" into the next nearest string, making it difficult to bend fully. I'm aware that my amateurish playing is probably the culprit but I'd love to be able to have low action and still be able to bend.

My question for the forum is, does low action truly impede your bending abilities? How should proper bending be done? Should the string being bent go under the adjacent string or should it naturally "hit" the adjacent string? How do you arrive at a happy medium between low enough action that you don't have to strangle the neck/fb but high enough that bending is easier? By the way, my only electric is an 08 'MIA Std Strat with maple fb that I absolutely love, and I use 9 gauge strings on it.

Thanks for reading my long-winded question, and any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

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2008 MIA Standard Strat 3-tone Sunburst
2007 Taylor 310 Acoustic
Fender Blues Junior NOS Amp
Digitech Bad Monkey OD pedal

Hi Raf
If you are familiar with the Fender guidelines and you have successfully gotten the strings within those parameters with no fret buzz on the open strings then you can begin to tweak your string height. Keep in mind that the lower you go the lighter your touch needs to be on the fretted string or you will find that your string will be buzzing against adjacent frets.

If there is a quality tech or luthier at your local music store I would take it there and ask them to set it up for you. It would be worth the money spent and ask if you can watch him while he's doing it. Test it while you're there so any adjustments can be made before you leave. If Windwalker or Martian see this they could give you more specific tips that might help. I set up my own guitars but occasionally get frustrated because I can't get something exactly like I think I want it. I'll take it to my trusted techie and he'll fix it to my liking in 5 minutes or less. I think its more psychological on my part but what takes me an hour to do he can do in the blink of an eye.

As far as string bends go you are choking out which is not uncommon. I typically only bend a whole step or less on any string and I use 9s as well. Instead of choking the neck with your fretting hand try resting the tip of your thumb against the middle of the neck giving your fingers more reach and allowing the tip of your finger to cover more of the string. When you bend the string the tip of your finger should catch the string above (or below) the bending string muting it before it can cause any unwanted noise. Hope this has helped.

Note that I haven't read any posts here other than your's.

Keep in mind certain givens: You know how to play and you know your way around setting up basic action guidelines for your guitar. Herein are the operative words: "Basic" and "Guidelines". Plain and simple, if you feel your action is too high, lower it. I don't have a clue what Fender's "Guidelines" for a setup are and I've been playing Stratocasters since 1968 with .009 gauge string sets, no less. That old saying, "You can please some of the people some of the time..." is a classic example of what I'm talking about. Some people swear by Fender's guidelines. The first (and last) time I read them, I knew they weren't for me by any means. My point is, go with what is comfortable and functional for YOU.

As to the bending a string issue, you will always be coming into contact with the string(s) next to it during your bend. Don't go under or over them. As you bend the intended string, if the one(s) next to it can be heard, mute them with your picking hand, thumb, finger, pick or whatever. If they can't be heard, there's no issue.

The fact that you are not comfortable with your bends reinforces the fact that your action is not optimized for YOU. Again, forget the "guidelines" and experiment with your action. Now if it somehow this experimentation does turn into an absolute mess (which I rather doubt), you can always resort to the guidelines to put it back the way it was.

Don't be afraid. Consider the fact that every time you play, your enjoyment will be a thousand times better once you've custom tailored the action on YOUR guitar to YOU. Further, with this accomplished, guaranteed you'll be playing stuff you never thought possible. Go for it!

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You dig?

Hi!
Just a few words about setup. IMO the clue is to get the truss rod correct adjusted. As long as that is ok, you might set the height of the strings at any desire! Check Fenders guides !
I searched for to find out more about setup:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dEZxByk ... plpp_video
Interesting and funny guy to watch - and I was glad that it seemed that I had learned it the correct way of doing it during the years......

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A-man

Thanks everyone for your tips. I'll play with it a bit to see if it helps. I probably need to go practice a bit more, as well. Better technique will probably lead to better results.

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2008 MIA Standard Strat 3-tone Sunburst
2007 Taylor 310 Acoustic
Fender Blues Junior NOS Amp
Digitech Bad Monkey OD pedal

Unless you play with a very light touch, low string height will inevitably have the side effect of fret buzzes. It may not buzz everywhere, but it will buzz and more so if you get excited and really dig in. Now, saying that, you have to find what works for YOU. A proper setup and excellent fret work will make any guitar play well, with lower action and less buzzing and chocking out. The string height on your "heros'" guitars isn't really as low as you may think. Most play with a medium to high action, which is essential for clean bends (especially on fret boards with less than 9.5" radius). Use lighter strings if it is too hard to fret your strings. Otherwise, it's all in the hands. Good hand strength is essential. Low action and low frets makes bending harder too because too much of your fleshy finger tips will contact the actual fret board wood and slow you down....and the lower frets make it seem like your guitar is too hard to play because you have to push harder with those squishy finger tips to fret the string against the fret because you skin will wrap around the string and hit the fretboard before the string actually frets.