JakeBrownBass Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 My jazz bass has higher action than i'd normally use but it just sounds better with the action higher. My Siggery has the lowest action on a bass that i've ever used and i've set it up to perfection for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conan Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 Some of it seems to be down to the quality and construction materials of the instrument, but I am a pretty heavy-handed player and I like a bit of space! That said, why make life deliberately hard for yourself? I guess what I am saying is I like it "high enough". Never measured it, but I'm estimating around 4-6 mm at fret 12. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ficelles Posted June 12, 2011 Share Posted June 12, 2011 I'm about 4mm at the 12th fret on the Jazz and the Corvette, about 6mm on the WAV. Although none of them actually have frets. ficelles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomBassmonkey Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 I know I already replied to this thread, but I only put what I think action should be, not what it actually is for me. Most of my basses are around 2mm, a bit over a pound coin at the 12th fret. I play hard and get some buzz, it's fine through the amp though and it adds a bit of agression. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 [quote name='kevin_lindsay' post='1266320' date='Jun 12 2011, 05:08 PM']Paul Turner (Jamiroquai) has all his basses set with high action - around 1/2" at the 12th fret. He has a monster tone whenever he plays. But, whenever I play his instruments up at "the dusty end" I find my fingers slipping under the strings due to the height if them!! Pino's basses are set with a medium action, not so low you can't dig in without thf bass rattling, and not high so it's s pig to play. I guess it's all down to personal preference, huh?[/quote] Sorry, I'm still getting over this one...HALF AN INCH? Anyway, while I like a low action for noodling about, I tend to thwack the strings a bit playing with the band, and like some other guys, I don't like much fret buzz, so my action's as low as I can get it without too much of that. I'd say a couple of mm at the 12th on the FrankenPs, and a bit more on the Ray, which is strung with Heavy Gauge at the mo. All my basses have Hipshots, which I accomodate with a bit more string height for the sudden tension drop. Having said that, my Fortress had a fret dress recently, and partly thanks to the JAN1, I've got the action on that down to approximately three-eighths of Bugger All, as my Grandad used to say... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike257 Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 I've got it massively high on my 'ray - had it set up that way a few years back as I [i]really[/i] liked to dig in. Find that with my new band I'm playing more technical stuff and I'm occasionally having to down the Stingray for something a bit more playable, as the fast/tricky stuff just doesn't sound good at all when I'm fighting the action. The Sandberg came with a really low action and plays like butter, but never gave me the problems with clicking and buzzing that the Stingray did, so it stayed that way. I do like it high, but if it works the way it is, then why change it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Not measured it. I just go for the lowest possible action that avoids fret buzz over all genres of music I play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmo Valdemar Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 I still don't understand how a high action helps the string vibrate better... Surely the string isn't aware of how far away it is from the neck? If it's vibrating freely between the bridge and nut it should be the same regardless of action. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charic Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Usually prefer high but not overly fussed these days Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wil Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 [quote name='Cosmo Valdemar' post='1267261' date='Jun 13 2011, 01:29 PM']I still don't understand how a high action helps the string vibrate better... Surely the string isn't aware of how far away it is from the neck? If it's vibrating freely between the bridge and nut it should be the same regardless of action.[/quote] It's simply to ensure that the string can vibrate without hitting the frets at any point - it can take a fairly hefty action for that to happen if you're a hard hitter and you're fretting a note. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Rich Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Mine are all between 3 and 4 mm at the 12th fret. I like to be able to play cleanly whether I'm picking over the bridge pickup or up using the end of the neck as a thumb rest, a low action just doesn't allow me to do that. But not such high action that I can't add a bit of grit to the sound by really going for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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