Forum - Banjo Ben Clark

Technical Question

#1

Hello y’all !

For the last couple weeks , I always felt like I had to ‘dig in’ with the pick a little more when I would get to the High E string on the guitar, and after taking a closer look, I realize that the high E string is actually lower than all the other strings (it has a lower action). After doing a quick google search , I found some some people saying that this is something that acoustic guitars are ‘supposed to have’.

I plan on getting it looked at because I feel like it hinders my playing when I play specific tunes. My question is , for those who play guitar, do all 6 strings have the same action on your guitar? Maybes this is something that @Jake can chime in on as well . I would really appreciate it.

: )

#2

Generally, action height decreases as you move from the low E to the high E. For example, you might measure your action from the top if the fret to the underneath side of the low E at the 12th fret as 5/32", while the same measurement might be 4/32" for the high E. Depending on your personal preferences, your string type and gauge and your touch, you may set the action differently, but most times the action is slightly lower for the high E compared to the other strings. If it is radically different, then you may want to adjust it accordingly.
Keep in mind that the string height may not be your concern as much as the fretboard radius. A tight radius may have you reaching for the high E more than 1/128" difference compared to your B string.

#3

I have also noticed that, and I think it’s not so much that it has lower action, I think it’s a compensation for the radiused fretboard. Go check again, you should see that the low E is also slightly lower than the others.

#4

Thanks so much for the feedback guys ! Although I don’t have a string measuring device, I do have another guitar that I can do a compare and contrast with . I noticed that on the second guitar, the High E string is in fact slightly lower , but on the first guitar, the High E string is significantly lower. I’ll have to take it to a shop though to get a second set of eyes to take a look .