Carl Verheyen on Action vs. Tone

Agree, When I first started playing, I had my tech go as low as possible with no buzz. Recently I brought a Strat to him for a set-up and get nut cut right. When I picked up guitar, action was set at medium....hmmm. I went home to find out, I like strings a little higher after all, allows me to get my fingers under the string and I found my tone improved a little.

Carl Verheyen on Action vs. Tone

I think most Fenders are just made for action that's a bit more on the medium side. I don't know this for certain, but I always figured it had to do with the way the strings on Strats and Teles pass through the body and hit the saddles. I also think the typical 25.5 inch scale length on Fenders is part of the recipe.

Carl Verheyen on Action vs. Tone

I can definitely hear a difference with higher vs. lower action, and to me, a "medium" instead of low action will really bring out the difference in the feel of different scale lengths too...for example, Gibson vs. Fender. I'm surprised to hear Verheyen uses 9's. I've always used 10 or 11 ga. sets, but I may give the 9's-with-higher-action a try.

Carl Verheyen on Action vs. Tone

Most of the more experienced players I've come in contact with seem to prefer a more "medium" action. I think it really does affect one's tone and I know it makes string bending easier. I own Gibsons, Fenders and Charvels and over the past couple of years I've started raising the action on all of them and I can really tell a difference. I've got arthritis in my hands so I also use light strings but people frequently comment on how big my guitars sound.

Carl Verheyen on Action vs. Tone

It seems like a lot of people just bought into the "bigger string= better tone" concept for years because of Stevie. But why make the guitar harder to play? Using a higher action and a lighter string gives you the best of all worlds, as far as I can tell. Bending is easier, your sound is clearer, you can gain a little speed (and therefore confidence) in your playing.

Carl Verheyen on Action vs. Tone

Guitar techs second-guess my requests for a 'medium' action...and when I go to pick up my guitar, I see that they erred on the side of caution and made it lower than I requested... :( Medium action with 10's on my Strat (10.5's on my Les Paul) gives me the opportunity to bring out my slide on the seldom occasion when it's needed and this also eases the transition to playing acoustic which is usually higher action and thicker gauge, still. It's really hard for most folks to go from rubber band 9's on a Les Paul to, say, 12's on an acoustic...try doing that and going to a 12 string acoustic with acoustic-medium gauges! IMHO, 'tone' might not necessarily be the result of string height, but clearer notes, the pick digging into the string a slight bit more, and the guitar 'fighting back' all affect how the delivery happens...these are just some of the myriad nuances that constitute tone.

Carl Verheyen on Action vs. Tone

I have been a pro guitar roadie, set-up tech and of course I am a player myself. I have also worked many years (decades!!!) in guitar retail. For the most part, I have observed mature players want a higher action as they realize that it is a little tougher to play, but you have to play tougher to get that 'bigger' sound. Younger players in general and the current crop that use extreme detuning often wonder why the get no 'ooomph' from their sound. When I explain that you just need a little more tension or resistance from the string itself, they often don't want to deal with the extra work to get there. Plus if an instrument has bigger frets, it eases the amount of strength one needs in their wrist to fret the note. THANKS for the forum for everyone to share their idea!! Blessings Out. Kurt Phillips guitars/WARHAG

Carl Verheyen on Action vs. Tone

I'd be interested in knowing exactly what is meant by "medium action". For Strats, Fender specifies a string height (measured at the 17th fret) of 4/64" for both the low and high E strings. How much higher than this is reasonable, especially considering that the higher the strings are from the frets, the more one runs into intonation problems?