Action height

[Kevin K]

Press the strings down on the first fret (take the nut height out of the equation) and measure at the 12th from top of fret to bottom of string.

Just curious of what most players are playing now.

I have mine set to 5/64ths on the G and 1/16th on the E. Like the sound and have no problems with playing at that height but sure it's easier with lower but doesn't sound as good.

[swinginmandolins]

My action measure at the 12th, fretted at the first is about .044 G and E.(below 3/64) Low action takes some getting used to, but once you develop a lighter touch you can pull just as much tone out of the instrument. You loose some volume, but for me that is a easy trade off to be able to play with a lighter touch, and not get as fatiqued.

[acousticphd]

take the nut height out of the equation

But the nut height IS part of the action equation... Why are we taking it out ?

Mine would tend meaure 4 to 5 64"ths on the E side and 5 to 6 64"ths on the G. #I adjust it as low as I can on every instrument; the limitation, especially on my older instruments with some neck relief, is string height over the upper fretboard extension, which is usually not in plane with the playable portion of the fingerboard.

[Yuletide]

take the nut height out of the equation

But the nut height IS part of the action equation... Why are we taking it out ?
True enough. A fairer measure might be to measure the height above the first and 12th frets on the E and G strings.

On guitars I decide what nut height I want by putting a capo at the first fret, then adjusting the saddle to give me the approximate height I want up the neck, then using feeler gauges to measure the height of each string at the second fret, then filing the nut slots so that the height above the first fret open is the same as the height above the second fret when fretted at the first fret. The difference in playability can be dramatic, making it very clear that nut height is a major element in action. Of course, anyone who's ever had sore fingers from playing an instrument with poor nut height knows this, right?

[Kevin K]

AcousticPHD,
The nut height is part of overall setup as is neck relief, what I was getting at is everyone had their preferred nut height, what is the height at the 12thfret or bridge side of things.

[John Flynn]

Like the original poster, I usually stick with about 5/64ths on the G and 1/16th on the E. It varies with different mandos and different strings, but that is a good average, and a good compromise. I agree you can get decent tone out of a lower action and lighter touch, but you can't make up for the lost volume, and even with a good setup, I get buzzing with a lower action, no matter how I play.

[Kevin K]

Also, something interesting I've ran across, #If string tension is relaxed some (strings not tuned to pitch), and you check intonation and bring the saddle height up and then tune,.... the volume and tone is much better than setting up with no string tension at all. #Just bringing the saddle up to desired height under some tension made a big difference than just setting the height with no tension at all. #Height of strings still the same just tension and no tension being the difference, same strings and all.

Does this help the saddle, post, bridge connection? #Help the bridge make better contact wih the top under pressure?