guitar - is my action too high?

aardvark

aardvark

aardvark

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ok, so i decided to learn to play the guitar and got one a week ago - an epiphone LP standard.
what i've noticed is that i am having difficulty, for example, pressing the 4 string without the 3 string catching on the fleshy pad of that finger (mainly index finger) and i am thinking maybe the action is too high?
if i measure the 6 string at the 12th fret its 4-5mm to the fret board. the 1 string is a little closer at 4mm.

does this sound right or is that i simply don't have enough practice to hit the notes correctly yet?

cheers
 
aardvark said:
ok, so i decided to learn to play the guitar and got one a week ago - an epiphone LP standard.
what i've noticed is that i am having difficulty, for example, pressing the 4 string without the 3 string catching on the fleshy pad of that finger (mainly index finger) and i am thinking maybe the action is too high?
if i measure the 6 string at the 12th fret its 4-5mm to the fret board. the 1 string is a little closer at 4mm.

does this sound right or is that i simply don't have enough practice to hit the notes correctly yet?

cheers
Click to expand...

Two answers to your one question:

1) Your action does sound pretty high (and uneven);
2) Practice will help get your digit position correct, but I wouldn't worry about catching strings unless you want them to ring (then the first part of this applies).
 
thanks.
i might have a go a lowering them a bit - am i right in saying that the only issue with too low an action is buzzing?
and the action on all strings should be even? (a quick google on guitar action gave some people saying the action should be 3mm on the 6th string and 2mm on the 1st string, but that sounded odd as it would be uneven)
 
The action is never the same all the way down the neck. The neck isn't perfectly straight. 5mm sounds very high to me, might want to lower it a bit.
 
mrthingyx said:
No - there's learning to play Smoke On The Water and having everybody in the guitar shop groan...
Click to expand...

.....or Stairway to Heaven! That's one song you should NEVER play in a guitar shop when trying out a new one!
My first acoustic guitar was a piece of cheap tat with the highest action I've ever seen. At the time I didn't know any different so just persevered.
 
It can be worthwhile getting your guitar properly 'set-up'. A lot of guitar shops will do this for about £20 or if you know a half decent guitarist they will be able to set your guitar up better than it currently is and will make playing a lot easier and hopefully your guitar will be properly tuned all the way up the neck.
 
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