How do you like your action?

[flatfeed611]

How do you guys set your action? To factory specs or a little higher/lower than that? I prefer it a bit lower than factory specs.

 

[Paz]

How do you guys set your action? To factory specs or a little higher/lower than that? I prefer it a bit lower than factory specs.

Good question, do people get their PRSi set up? I’m not sure mine needs it, until I go to heavier gauge strings.

 

[VStratto Music]

1,5mm on all 6 strings, so factory spec, makes sense for the saddles relief too, a long time ago I used to have less than 1mm which made it very very easy to do legato runs, but alternate picking, sweep picking, arpeggios and fast rythm playing would suffer, because there's not enough tension on the strings to resist against your pick attack, and when using another guitar like the 8 string my skills would not transfer so well.

Having the action at medium height I think it's best as long as you have the trussrod set up properly, this can be a pain in the ass with cheaper guitars because sometimes they have factory defects like bad frets especially, and when you set the trussrod almost flat, then there's noisy frets, notes that you can't bend as far because they will choke, etc. That's where paying for a better built guitar really pays off for me. Also medium height is best because your skills transfer better to other guitars.

 

[11top]

How do you guys set your action? To factory specs or a little higher/lower than that? I prefer it a bit lower than factory specs.

I’m with you. A frog hair lower normally. I also like a very slightly flatter board.

 

[flatfeed611]

I’m with you. A frog hair lower normally. I also like a very slightly flatter board.

Which PRSi do you own with a slightly flatter board?

 

[flatfeed611]

1,5mm on all 6 strings, so factory spec, makes sense for the saddles relief too, a long time ago I used to have less than 1mm which made it very very easy to do legato runs, but alternate picking, sweep picking, arpeggios and fast rythm playing would suffer, because there's not enough tension on the strings to resist against your pick attack, and when using another guitar like the 8 string my skills would not transfer so well.

Having the action at medium height I think it's best as long as you have the trussrod set up properly, this can be a pain in the ass with cheaper guitars because sometimes they have factory defects like bad frets especially, and when you set the trussrod almost flat, then there's noisy frets, notes that you can't bend as far because they will choke, etc. That's where paying for a better built guitar really pays off for me. Also medium height is best because your skills transfer better to other guitars.

Good point about medium height helping your skills transfer better to other guitars.

 

[11top]

Which PRSi do you own with a slightly flatter board?

Sorry, I wasn’t clear. I was referring to truss rod adjustment.

 

[markd21]

I have never measured, but most other guitarists tell me my action is pretty high. I have been told there is "fight" in my guitars even though I play 9s. I do put a bit of bow in the neck so the action is higher around the 12th fret than the first or 22nd.

 

[László]

I’m kinda like Steve; a little less relief suits me fine, though it’s a pretty small difference in my case. Action just a hair lower than factory works for me too, but so does the factory spec. I guess I can go either way.

“Dear Abby, does this make me wishy-washy?

— Dumbfounded in Detroit”

“Dear Dumbfounded in Detroit,

Yes, it makes you wishy-washy. You should change your name to Dweeb in Detroit.”

“B-but...”

“You heard what I said, Dweeb.”

 

[bodia]

I’m with you. A frog hair lower normally. I also like a very slightly flatter board.

Ditto. Although, I was gonna say a red hair!

 

[sergiodeblanc]

A little higher than spec, especially on the skinny strings.

 

[Screamingdaisy]

Factory spec.

I used to prefer a high action. When I was younger someone told me that the secret to EVH was that he hit the strings really hard. So, being around 19 or 20 I started hitting the strings as hard as fucking possible.

The last couple of years I’ve been trying to dial that back. I’ve switched to a thinner pick, turned up the gain on my amp a bit and try to let my gear do the heavy lifting. Now I’m able to lower my action and stuff that I thought I lacked the talent for to pull of is now leaping off the fretboard.

Money can’t buy my talent, but it can buy me a really nice guitar.

 

[DickBanks]

Low action, 11-50 strings, just a hair of relief, and a light touch to prevent fret buzz.

 

[11top]

At my age, I appreciate any action.

 

[AP515]

I'm a little higher than spec. Lenny was at a GC near me once for a PRS promotion. I took my Cu24 (green in the avatar) there for a free PRS set up. He set it up like he always does, and I had the gall to ask him to raise it just a bit. He happily did and I love it there, so in a sense it was still a factory spec set up!

 

[Wakester]

The thickness of one American Quarter.

 

[pauloqs]

I also like mine just a tad lower than factory specs. To be more specific, around 1.75mm (~0.069") on the low E and around 1mm (~0.039") on the high E. For reference, factory specs are 1.98mm (~0.078") and 1.59mm (~0.063) for the low and high E respectively. Usually that's a small enough difference that I do not experience any buzzing by keeping the relief to factory specs (0.245mm = 0.010").

 

[Bill SAS 513]

Usually a tad lower, and almost no relief...being past fiddy, I've noticed weird pains, in my wrist, trigger finger, etc...so I have lightened up on almost everything I play... has actually helped a lot, too.

 

[pauloqs]

Usually a tad lower, and almost no relief...being past fiddy, I've noticed weird pains, in my wrist, trigger finger, etc...so I have lightened up on almost everything I play... has actually helped a lot, too.

Just curious what you mean by lightened up. Are you referring to lighter string gauges or is it the lower action with almost straight neck is more conducive to a lighter and more relaxed touch in your technique?

 

[M.Gilbert]

My ideal setup on any of my standard tuned guitars (with 10-46 strings) is 3/64th on the high E and 3.75 to 4/64th on the low side, usually with somewhere around 0.005 neck relief at the 8th fret. But that is usually on guitars with a radius of 12", all the way up to 20" radius.
On both of my core Prs (Cu24 and 594), I've set them up right around 3.5/64th to 3.75/64th on the high E and 4/64th low side. For the majority of my playing, which is a mix of light and heavy picking, this setup works well. BUT the notes do get choked slightly on both guitars when bending about a full step on the high E only. Through an amp, especially with any gain, it's not noticeable. But once I bend to a step and a half the note gets noticeably more choked, and bending past that on any fret will choke them out completely. Oh, I forgot to mention that I measure action at the 24th or last fret, not the 12th fret.