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Topic: ideal string height above the fret board |
Jim Pitman
From:
Waterbury Ctr. VT 05677 USA
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Posted 14 Mar 2012 12:16 pm |
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| Is there consensus on the ideal string height for a non pedalled guitar, and what is it? |
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chris ivey
From:
california (deceased)
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Posted 14 Mar 2012 12:52 pm
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| probably not, but if it's too low your picks will hit the board. i dumped a really neat national new yorker for that reason. |
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Bill Hatcher
From:
Atlanta Ga. USA
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Posted 14 Mar 2012 5:06 pm
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| i like it as close as possible. and i like frets in the board rather than lines. just my preference |
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John Allison
From:
Austin, Texas, USA
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Posted 14 Mar 2012 5:20 pm
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I build my steels with a bridge slightly over 1/2" bolted to the body and set into the pickguard/fretboard surface for a string height of .440". Any higher than that and it seems awkward to me, though up to 1/2" seems pretty good. Any lower and your picks will probably be hitting a lot. As it is, I tend to dig in with the picks and have to concentrate on a lighter touch to keep from hitting the pickguard surface.
_________________
John Allison
Allison Stringed Instruments
Austin, Texas
www.allisonguitars.com |
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David Venzke
From:
SE Michigan, USA
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Posted 14 Mar 2012 5:39 pm
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Hey, Jim,
As you can already see there is no consensus. So just to split the difference between Bill Hatcher and John Allison I'll tell you that my ideal height is 3/8" ABOVE THE FRETBOARD. I've played them as low as 1/4", which seemed too low for comfort but never caused a problem with finger picks hitting the body, and I've played them with more than 1/2" (actually 5/8" or more) which seemed like I was floating way above the fretboard. So, 3/8" works best for me and that's what I try to get my string height at when I'm the one making or re-making a lap steel. |
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Hugh Holstein
From:
Rohnert Park, California, USA
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Posted 14 Mar 2012 5:40 pm
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| Stringmasters are 3/8" |
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Jim Pitman
From:
Waterbury Ctr. VT 05677 USA
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Posted 15 Mar 2012 9:42 am
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Thanks everyone.
Yeh, consensus is likely a pipe dream.
It sounds like in the vacinity of 3/8 to 1/2 of an inch is about average.
I know I set mine too low on my lap steel ~ 1/4" and sometimes I hit the neck with the bar. |
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Bob Russell
From:
Virginia, USA
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Posted 15 Mar 2012 8:59 pm
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| Bill Hatcher wrote: |
| i like it as close as possible. and i like frets in the board rather than lines. just my preference |
Just curious, Bill - why do you like frets better than lines? |
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Bill Hatcher
From:
Atlanta Ga. USA
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Posted 16 Mar 2012 4:13 am
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| Bob Russell wrote: |
| Bill Hatcher wrote: |
| i like it as close as possible. and i like frets in the board rather than lines. just my preference |
Just curious, Bill - why do you like frets better than lines? |
more 3 dimensional. also from playing fretted instruments, i just like to see them.
another thing i do sometimes is scale the fretboard such that instead of putting the bar over the fret, i put it just behind the fret. that way i can actually see the fret and get better bar placement. works for me, would probably not for others. |
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Bob Russell
From:
Virginia, USA
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Posted 16 Mar 2012 4:58 am
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| Quote: |
| Just curious, Bill - why do you like frets better than lines? |
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more 3 dimensional. also from playing fretted instruments, i just like to see them.
another thing i do sometimes is scale the fretboard such that instead of putting the bar over the fret, i put it just behind the fret. that way i can actually see the fret and get better bar placement. works for me, would probably not for others. |
Scaling so that the bar goes behind the fret makes a lot of sense to me. It'd make playing a lot more intuitive for those of us who crossed over from 'regular' guitar. |
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