How To Adjust the Action on Your Acoustic Guitar

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Күн бұрын

This is how you adjust the action on your acoustic guitar, including lowering the action and raising the action.
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In this episode of “Gibson’s Guide to Guitar Setup and Maintenance,” Gibson Master Luthier, Jim DeCola, shows us how to adjust the action on your acoustic guitar without turning it into a pile of expensive kindling. Jim also shows off his ingenious, DIY bridge adjuster.
If you want to lower the action of your acoustic guitar safely, follow Jim’s step-by-step guide on adjusting the action. If you want to raise the action on your acoustic guitar, Jim also shows you the safe way to higher the action, in a way that ensures your guitar sounds as good as it should!
Master Luthier Jim DeCola shares an ingenious piece of DIY technology he created to more easily and accurately adjust the bridge piece of acoustic guitars. It’s a tool anyone at home can make with a piece of smooth glass, some sandpaper, a little glue, and a small piece of wood. Does it work? Consider, Jim’s a guy who sweats 32/1,000ths of an inch, so yeah, it works. And after you watch this video, you’ll be able to adjust your action up or down with relative ease. Jim also covers what to do in a gigging situation where your acoustic guitar action is thrown off, but you don’t have the time, or the benefit of a workbench, or your own guitar tech. And if you’ve ever wondered, “What would Jim do?” if a sudden change in humidity threw off your action, you’re about to find out.
For more detailed information on guitar setup and maintenance, or more complicated DIY repairs, be sure to check out Gibson’s FREE Virtual Guitar Tech service at www.gibson.com/Support/Virtua...
Chapters
0:00 Lowering action on acoustic guitar
7:38 Raising action on acoustic guitar
10:05 How climate affects guitar action
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Пікірлер: 179

@gibsonguitar 2 жыл бұрын

Let us know in the comments below what other topics you would like Jim to cover!

@jeffthomson1777 2 жыл бұрын

How about how to repair lifting pick guards mine is starting to lift on my hummingbird

@david25876 2 жыл бұрын

With an acoustic guitar the goal is to transfer as much energy as possible from the strings to the sound board. Having a lot of mechanical devices between the strings and the top reduces the amount energy transferred, changes the sound/tone, reduces volume and so on. With an electric the energy is being transferred via magnetic coupling of the steel string vibrating through the magnetic field of the pickups magnets.

@philhood4604 2 жыл бұрын

Installing locking tuners

@nicero870 2 жыл бұрын

I have a question. What grit sandpaper do you recommend?

@BkBk-gy6vr 2 жыл бұрын

One you take material away you cant put it back. So how would you know once you take it down and lower the action that your now not going to have buzzing?

@davidd4117 2 жыл бұрын

For the metric folks...he talks a lot in 64ths of an inch...that's very close to 0.4mm. So 4/64 will be close to 4 x 0.4 = 1.6mm. Hope that helps.

@ashadams2529 Жыл бұрын

Legend

@seanyoung8085 Жыл бұрын

That’s exactly what I needed. Thank you David.

@Johnny_Doe Жыл бұрын

So his he taking off 2/64 based off the lower E at the 12th, but what about the low e at the 12th? I assume cos he draws a straight line on the saddle it works itself out?

@HeyJoeyYea 11 ай бұрын

Why ppl still using those inches ratios. Can't get it, there is nothing accurate more than real numbers

@stolenhal0 9 ай бұрын

I pity people who cannot understand fractions. Metrics are great computers and machine work, but fractions are superior for woodwork and number of things built by hand.

@chadrochelle9895 3 ай бұрын

I can't believe I've been afraid to mess up my guitar for YEARS. I watched this video and adjusted my action in 10 minutes after picking up a few supplies. My Hummingbird plays like a different guitar. I can't thank you enough 🙏

@russelbrown4307 3 ай бұрын

Thank you so much Jim! My fingers especially thank you. Thanks to your video the repair went just about perfectly.

@WysteriaGuitar 2 жыл бұрын

You sir are a natural teacher. Nice video thanks!

@giacomopandiani6290 2 жыл бұрын

Never thought about having a spare saddle with higher action!!! Thank you!!!

@mikeg.9238 2 жыл бұрын

I did this exact same thing and it worked perfectly. Great info for people who might think it's difficult👍

@McCambira 7 ай бұрын

amazing man! I have a J45 and I'm using 0.11 gauge strings on it with an action on the 12th fret on the 6th string of 6/64" and on the 1st string of 4/64". It's very comfortable! Congratulations on the beautiful video and the valuable tip.👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

@philcory5043 2 жыл бұрын

Jim is Great 😎 Please do more real world "get you through the gig" fixes. All of my Gibson Guitars sound beautiful and gained good praise as soon as I gigged them. Non of my others ever did this. Keep it up 😎

@hopehenley3002 Жыл бұрын

Thank you for posting this excellent presentation!

@pjstamm2112 9 ай бұрын

Fantastic guide. Thank you!

@rjlong89 2 жыл бұрын

Thats the acoustic i want. Wow. Beautiful

@PILATUS1968 Жыл бұрын

i wanted to see rod adjustment this guy took it a whole new level

@gabi.genova Жыл бұрын

Amazing thank you for this video , so informative !! 😊

@jukejointjack 10 ай бұрын

Fantastic advice, crucial thanks my friend

@TheSoulsandRevive 2 жыл бұрын

Very informative! Any idea on when the "Acoustic making' process series will run on 'Gibson TV? Looking forward to that. Cheers.

@anthonycashero7605 2 жыл бұрын

Nice guitar Jim. Good info. Thanks.

@stephensmith60 Жыл бұрын

I've used the smooth/roughness of my concrete porch, when I don't have a fine sandpaper. Works great!

@justinkingery2489 3 ай бұрын

Dang. That glass and fence idea is wonderful. Cheers.

@theotherside001 Жыл бұрын

Thanks a bunch Nick !

@VicHightaian Жыл бұрын

great info in this vid! Rock ON!

@nycshelbygt500 2 жыл бұрын

Carry a normal action saddle and a high action saddle in your kit just in case, if you are a traveling musician that flies to gigs or goes between different climates regularly. If you carry spare sets of strings, spare saddles will complement your acoustic guitar kit.

@normcorecowboy6863 2 жыл бұрын

That’s a great tip!

@stolenhal0 9 ай бұрын

Excellent idea.

@DoctorMandible 7 ай бұрын

Hard case + humidity pack in the case will help reduce this movement. And it maintains the guitar

@kristinhess1704 2 жыл бұрын

This gentleman is idolic. I just learned more in the first two minutes of this video than I have thus far in a lifetime about adjusting my guitar. Leave it to Gibson to work with such caliber of genius. THANK YOU!!!!

@rodneythekingcobra 2 жыл бұрын

Love these videos!!! Tks

@unleashed1966 4 ай бұрын

Excellent video!! Thanks for posting!

@gibsonguitar 4 ай бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it!

@VoidFame 7 ай бұрын

Hey all. Just tried this out today and it worked well. I used a square dowel and fixed it with epoxy to a piece of glass. I used double sided duct tape to fix the 100 grit sand paper. All bought from Home Depot. Worked fine, was tedious. I did have an issue of uneven wear. I inspected it by placing the saddle on the glass to see how it was tilting, and I simply turned which side was hugging the dowel to correct the issue. My acoustic has great action now (although I went a little too far cause my D string at the 12th fret buzzes, thankfully not too much for me to care). That being said, definitely be aware of how much you take off. I thought I was being conservative but I should have been more conservative and tested it as I went along.

@Cherry_Sunburst Жыл бұрын

EXCELLENT...Video!

@musicsoundgear 2 жыл бұрын

Great video. He makes it look so easy. Thanks

@stevecrider2352 2 жыл бұрын

Well done video

@jameswhite1450 2 жыл бұрын

Man, I love your videos. I like to make a suggestion that you use metric as well.

@toddknaster9731 2 жыл бұрын

Great video. I have a J 45 with piezo. Can you tell me if you have to lower the bass and treble sides different amounts do you scribe each side to the correct measurement and then draw a line and sand? Thanks

@rodrossi9749 2 жыл бұрын

Damn.....so much needed info......so many wonderful guitars......so little time....... Thanks for a little love for the acoustic players ! KEEP IT UP ! PS: Jim can cover fret crowning ?

@BradySzabo 2 жыл бұрын

I liked the trick about using a piece of wood for a fence. I have to do this with my Hummingbird. I'd like to get it down to 2 mil.

@SausageWardog 10 ай бұрын

I always thought the truss rod would adjust your action, this seems really simple and obvious now I've watched it.

@johnduffy6546 4 ай бұрын

Very informative. My guitar needs some tweaking. I think I can handle this. Thank you.

@thmmke6926 2 жыл бұрын

A guide to changing pickups at the pots vs cutting and splicing the wires together, I went to cutting because I wrecked so many pots soldering and grounding the new pickup, or is it best to just use new pots?

@jaredjones4210 2 жыл бұрын

I Have two new J45s thats I'm trying to pick between. A 60s model and a standard. 60s is very easy and fun to play but the standard has that deep bass I'm lookin for. They have different size nuts, Documents show both actions from factory are the same but when measured they are not. The 60s model j45 is 1mm lower on the low E at the 12th. Could the standard be made to play closer like the 60s by sanding the sandle?

@gcouture604 4 ай бұрын

Is there any issue with filing radii with a nut file to individually lower each strings action to preference? I did this with an older guitar and it seems fine. I suppose this could inhibit the strings ability to vibrate by being constrained by the grove but I can't seem to notice the difference. Thanks

@majorwheelock974 Жыл бұрын

Is it normal for a new acoustic guitar to have a saddle filed down to almost no break on the high e string? Did the set up guy do it wrong? The guitar is a Gibson J45 Custom. Very informative video

@BillAllor 4 ай бұрын

Good video I would have suggested to clean out where the saddle sits in the guitar in case any debris or dirt is down in there a little bit will throw you off

@arthritisankle 2 жыл бұрын

How do you know if the nut is right or if you need to adjust the truss Rod first?

@lukekulik4936 Жыл бұрын

What grit sandpaper did you use?

@nonfarmedbeats1293 11 ай бұрын

Thank you for making this as hard as it possibly could be 👍

@kimsteelemusic1 10 ай бұрын

what grade sandpaper did you use? thx!

@es78xx Жыл бұрын

my takamine guitar has 2 saddles. do i just do the same with each one seperately?

@rzh3443 2 жыл бұрын

Interesting. I’d like to see how you sand down a saddle if the needed reduction is unequal between the E strings ! I suspect there is a jig for that?

@BradySzabo 2 жыл бұрын

I would draw a line and use a hand file. You could always try a fingernail file. StewMac has some nice tools you may want to check out.

@4everPhloyd Жыл бұрын

The warranty card on my SJ 200 indicates.006 and .004 . On my inspection the low is .006 and the high is also.006. Nothing has been changed so how can I lower the high e to .004?

@flapjackbeans Жыл бұрын

Ive just bought a new 2022 Gibson Hummingbird and I have to ask why does the nut have like teeth pointing down at each end of it ? it hurts my hand when playing in first position. Also my strings seem very tight! standard E 440 tuning the tech at the UK shop which is 160 miles from home said he had dropped action a little from Factory set? But Its hard to play compared to all the MARTINS i have owned one the last 50 years.

@reason2dance 2 жыл бұрын

@Gibson TV | You sell guitars globally and always measure locally. Please keep in mind that there is also a metrical measurement system in the rest of the world. Regarding guitar maintenance, my suggestion for the future would be that you also communicate the corresponding information for the guitar setup in metric data such as millimeters or centimeters in the future. Thanks very much!

@user-pf5qu9rc3r 4 ай бұрын

very helpful thanks RE Smith Sylvester Ga

@bimwopbarn47 4 ай бұрын

thanks that is nice and easy. would you do something similar to lower the action at the nut?

@konarain 4 ай бұрын

Every string pivots from the nut..maybe not for action..AlohAs

@danharris2253 2 жыл бұрын

I have a 68 SJ with beautiful checking and not a crack I can find. It’s starting to get a little bit of bellying. Bought a Bridge Dr. (bridge pin version so I don’t have to drill the bridge) but haven’t gotten around to installing. Would be cool to see you do a little vintage acoustic work. Feel free to contact me and use mine lol

@headstockharem4 2 жыл бұрын

Great info! How about fixing a bridge that is pulling away from the top?

@rzh3443 2 жыл бұрын

Go to the Rosa String Works channel. He has several videos showing , in detail, how to do this. Not for the under equipped or faint of heart !

@tompaul2591 9 ай бұрын

Get deep shaped c clamps instead of standard if that makes sense. Harbor freight sells some. Get some glue under the bridge if you don't want to take the whole thing off. Clamp down the bridge using pads so as not to mar the bridge finish. A piece of paneling or pegboard works. Leave them evenly tightened for oh maybe 24 hours, remove then clamps and it should be fine. I fixed a lower end Yamaha like this. If you have a Gibson, Martin etc, you may want to take it to a luthier.

@antonyrobinson9973 2 жыл бұрын

I need a metric version of this.

@nickswango869 2 жыл бұрын

It would be nice to know what grit the sandpaper used was. I'd assume a pretty heavy grit as quickly as he sanded down that saddle.

@david25876 2 жыл бұрын

150 or 180 works fine. You can finish with 220 if you like.

@frankdion2174 Жыл бұрын

What grit was the sandpaper???

@zelumali5599 2 жыл бұрын

Great explanation! How about a video on adjusting the neck relief using the truss rod?

@mikeg.9238 2 жыл бұрын

Zel. I adjusted mine as much as possible and it was still to high , I removed the bridge carefully with needle nose pliers and and sanded 1/8 of an inch off. It worked out perfect , you just have to make sure it's exactly even...

@budgetbarista 2 ай бұрын

@@mikeg.9238I had this issue with a used and neglected J45 I just bought so this video was so helpful!

@michaelwoods3850 8 ай бұрын

This is beyond my abilities

@NoUseForAName0626 2 жыл бұрын

Since I'm the First comment do I win that, Sheryl Crow Country Western? 😂😂 I've honestly wanted one of those guitars forever now!! I have and/or had many Gibson acoustics but fairly recently I got a 2012 Advance Jumbo.. it's by far my favorite guitar I've ever played or owned!! It's seriously absolutely incredible!! 🤘 #OnlyAGibsonIsGoodEnough

@JAROJAN63 2 жыл бұрын

Please consider for the future, this channel is observed also by 'metric zone' viewers ( for instance entire Europe :) ), thus be so kind and give all numbers/measurements in both sytems units, thanks. ;)

@user-dv8pe2sh1y 2 жыл бұрын

top guitar 🎶🎶🎶🙌🙌🙌👍👍👍👍👍

@mikepawlikguitar Жыл бұрын

Be careful with all this. All this setup work only works on perfectly level frets, and with a neck that's been correctly tightened to the right amount of relief/straightness. If the relief is wrong and your frets have high spots, sanding down your saddle will invariably cause dead frets, sitar-type sounds, and extreme buzzing when playing open chords at the nut/first few frets.

@mellissadalby1402 4 ай бұрын

Pretty much everything he said to do is the same as everything I do, so I guess my instincts are OK. EXCEPT his saddle bone sanding jig is an excellent idea and better than what I do. When it comes to raising the action, I have had great luck just using cereal box material as shim material. Sure, a business card would work great too if you have one handy. In other news, I have found that by gluing a bit of wood to the bottom of the saddle bone (need to remove a corresponding amount of the bone to match the wood thickness) I can eliminate the Piezo "quack" artifact. For one of my Gibson Advanced Jumbo guitars, I have a "Summer" Saddle bone and a "Winter" saddle bone. Conveniently, the wooden saddle on that guitar has open ends, so I can just loosen the strings and slide out the one saddle bone and slide in the other saddel bone.

@boss123400 2 жыл бұрын

Expensive guitars should come already setup and with a new set of extra boxed strings in the case for reference on string size to use or most used like 11 or 12's. Shouldn't need a reset for a long time...it's your name on it, make it count with attention to detail and value to the customer...

@nickswango869 2 жыл бұрын

Well they don't. It's always been incumbent upon the dealer to do final setup on the guitar, and that's why Gibson guitars are notorious for coming with the nut slots too high. But you can't set a "one size fits all" action at the factory. Good luck finding a dealer who actually knows how to set up a guitar these days...

@david25876 2 жыл бұрын

Setup is really determined by the player so the dealer usually performs the setup. Manufacture builds in enough room for changes.

@AcousticWarrior 8 ай бұрын

6 64ths isn’t factory spec I just bought a brand new in box n case Gibson j45 and the action was 5 32nds at the 12th fret on the low way too high

@marionfarrell1716 2 жыл бұрын

I don't understand how imperial measurements are still a thing. Metric is so much easier.

@McCambira 6 ай бұрын

Hey guy, How much relief should I get in my neck?

@RobAndKim444 7 ай бұрын

can a Hummingbird with high action really throw off the tone on the guitar? (very playable action around the first few frets, then gets pretty high around the 5th and beyond)

@Harrisabd 3 ай бұрын

That’s how mine is, I’ve lowered the action and adjusted the truss rod but then it’s buzzing now around the 3-4th frets

@RobAndKim444 3 ай бұрын

@@Harrisabd that seems to be the only solution other than taking it to a qualified luthier

@alansimpson8962 Жыл бұрын

Hope for the best

@Dami1rush 2 жыл бұрын

I bought a SG Standard 61 and the action is nothing compare to my LP. the SG's action is higher. 2.5 mm , I try to make it down but impossible... a big buzz in let ring and on the frets... what can I do? Is it normal 2.5mm 2.75mm for a SG?

@lemokolyon 6 ай бұрын

2,5mm for low E, 1,5mm for high E, is normal. If you low the strings they will ''frizzz'' more.

@michaeltrowbridge7174 2 жыл бұрын

We're can you get one of those gages

@williamtsol636 2 жыл бұрын

👍

@worldwide1376 2 жыл бұрын

Very surprised that there was no mention of verifying the string height at the nut.

@CapnHilts 4 ай бұрын

Did he say what grit sandpaper to use?

@rustysruger 3 ай бұрын

No unfortunately

@blastofo 9 ай бұрын

Shouldn't you check/adjust the truss rod before sanding down the bridge? If I fret the first and last fret at the same time, the action is still high between them, so lowering the bridge may not help. I'm also concerned if I lower the bridge too much, it could cause intonation issues. How much is too much?

@todds5956 8 ай бұрын

The very first thing he said was do this if everything else is good, neck and nut set up properly.

@rareform6747 2 жыл бұрын

I do this eye ..

@eBobbyo 9 ай бұрын

On my 12-string, the strings are too high near the nut.

@6minus3minus2 6 ай бұрын

For the metric people: 4/64 inch is about 1.6mm. 6/64 inch is about 2.4mm

@lemokolyon 6 ай бұрын

Oui, les sites de lutherie donnent 2,5 mi grave, et 1,5mm mi aigu pour des cordes métal.

@nikhiliyer9371 2 жыл бұрын

For a second, I tonight it was Mr Satya Nadella!

@timrussell1559 2 жыл бұрын

Question by a complete novice: What is the logical reason that an acoustic guitar does not have an adjustable type of bridge similar to an electric? Even a mechanism that would raise and lower an existing acoustic saddle seems as if it could be easily engineered. Just curious. Great vid!

@nickswango869 2 жыл бұрын

Gibson had adjustable saddles on their acoustics in the 60's. Everyone hated them and they were said to be tone killers.

@david25876 2 жыл бұрын

I believe it might because the goal in the acoustic guitar design is to physically transfer as much energy as possible from the strings to the wood top. If we add a lot of mechanics then this could/would attenuate that transfer of energy. I am electric the energy is transferred through magnetic coupling of the steel string and the pickups magnet.

@rzh3443 2 жыл бұрын

They actually reintroduced the adjustable saddle as an option on the custom shop models. I have a Hummingbird , bought new, from 1969 that had an adjustable rosewood saddle . The bridge started to lift so I had a fixed bone saddle installed with a new bridge. Huge difference to the good with sound projection. As one of the other replies said , the adjustable mechanism damped some of the sound transfer to the top. Not sure if they solved that with newer version. I would avoid it though.

@erikj345 10 ай бұрын

@@rzh3443 sounds beautiful

@gregorywilson3318 2 жыл бұрын

☯️

@onthetrailwithbart523 Жыл бұрын

Do people ever just carry a dozen saddles with gradient widths?

@Dodgyguitarist 9 ай бұрын

What on earth are those numbers 😂 what’s wrong with mm? Great tips though 👍🏻

@danielpleitez-martinez7638 5 ай бұрын

What about using Allen key instead of this

@lemokolyon 6 ай бұрын

2,5mm for the low E 1,5mm for the high E It is the average accepted distance.

@MrFusion101 4 ай бұрын

nut first then truss rod, then string height. Don't go straight for the bridge

@ChuckNicholsonTRM 2 жыл бұрын

Acoustic FLATTOP guitar. (says the archtop guy angrily). ; )

@RumoursOfFamine Жыл бұрын

Get to the reason we clicked on the video

@roberttalbot7200 5 ай бұрын

Hey to make it easier in the future : why not use 2/32'' and 3/32'' instead of 4/64'' and 3/64'' ? Not all rulers have 64'a of an inch, and who can count a 64 th of an inch with the naked eye? Rock on!

@joshuasole5989 2 жыл бұрын

What is a 64th in mm

@johnpaul6966 Жыл бұрын

2/64 is 1/32

@richardwhite1593 2 жыл бұрын

IS THAT MEASUREMENT FROM THE TOP OF THE FRET TO THE BOTTOB OR TOP OF THE STRING ? WHEN YOUR A PRO YOU TAKE A LOT OF THINGS FOR GRANTED , YES ?

@david25876 2 жыл бұрын

From the bottom of the string to the top of the fret.

@chrisdaviesguitar 2 жыл бұрын

Shouldn't the nut be filed properly from the factory?

@david25876 2 жыл бұрын

Action is player specific. Dealer will usually will do this for you. Gibson builds in enough room to adjust as desired.

@nosbig11 2 жыл бұрын

How do they know how you like the set up????

@david25876 2 жыл бұрын

@@nosbig11 when you buy the guitar the dealer will did setup to your liking. If you buy it in line then you could define the action you want.

@nosbig11 2 жыл бұрын

@@david25876 good luck with that!!!

@chrisdaviesguitar 2 жыл бұрын

OK, to clarify my point further, I bought a 2016 Gibson Flying V on line. The nut was very badly done, it affected the tuning and made the 3rd string play sharp on the lower frets. Gibson's response was, if anyone else alters the guitar, my warranty would be void.