Lemmy's high man!!

[Marky L]

Was just watching a bit of Motorhead live on youtube (2010, Rock In Rio - Portugal) and noticed in a shot how high Lemmy looks to have his action. I grabbed a pic and you can really notice it on his E string (can't recall the song but he was battering away at the A and D).




Does it make hammering away at chords on a Ric easier?

[Jerry_B]

Is a high action so much of a sin then?

[sprocketflup]

[quote name='Jerry_B' post='1023953' date='Nov 14 2010, 08:54 PM']Is a high action so much of a sin then?[/quote]

Often wondered that myself - i use quite a high action coz im a clumsy f**ker

[Marky L]

[quote name='Jerry_B' post='1023953' date='Nov 14 2010, 08:54 PM']Is a high action so much of a sin then?[/quote]

Not in the slightest and I know it has been discussed on here, but I think in general most actions are on the lower side of medium.

Edited November 14, 2010 by Marky L

[Cat Burrito]

James Jamerson had a high action. It doesn't bother me on a bass. If I was playing fast lead melody lines it might though

[Jerry_B]

[quote name='Marky L' post='1023960' date='Nov 14 2010, 08:58 PM']Not in the slightest and I know it has been discussed on here, but I think in general most actions are on the lower side of medium.[/quote]

But that doesn't tend to suit playing with a plectrum, let alone hammering away like Lemmy does

[EssentialTension]

I prefer a higher action. It gives a better tone in my experience.

[daz]

A [i]high[/i] action is when you can wiggle a finger between frets and strings.

[icastle]

[quote name='Marky L' post='1023948' date='Nov 14 2010, 08:51 PM']Was just watching a bit of Motorhead live on youtube (2010, Rock In Rio - Portugal) and noticed in a shot how high Lemmy looks to have his action. I grabbed a pic and you can really notice it on his E string (can't recall the song but he was battering away at the A and D).




Does it make hammering away at chords on a Ric easier?[/quote]

I would imagine that the action is set high so that he can really use some force behind that plectrum without the strings smacking into other frets at the same time.

[AndyTravis]

More power to him.

I'm so lazy with my left hand, the strings are nearly on the frets with the set-ups I do for myself.

Whenever I do a setup for anybody else, I always ask what they prefer, as far too many people take a 'set up' as make the action as low as possible.

[Doctor J]

[quote name='Marky L' post='1023948' date='Nov 14 2010, 08:51 PM']Was just watching a bit of Motorhead live on youtube (2010, Rock In Rio - Portugal) and noticed in a shot how high Lemmy looks to have his action. I grabbed a pic and you can really notice it on his E string (can't recall the song but he was battering away at the A and D).




Does it make hammering away at chords on a Ric easier?[/quote]
That's not high action, that's the string recoiling from him beating the sh*t out of it. Look at the G string, were the action as high as the E string suggests it wouldn't be that close to the edge of the frets in a picture taken at that angle.

[acidbass]

[quote name='Doctor J' post='1024143' date='Nov 14 2010, 11:47 PM']That's not high action, that's the string recoiling from him beating the sh*t out of it. Look at the G string, were the action as high as the E string suggests it wouldn't be that close to the edge of the frets in a picture taken at that angle.[/quote]

Good call, actually. You can see a slight bit of bend in the string from it's recoil.

[Lfalex v1.1]

As a slight aside. I see he's advertising Kronenbourg 1664 playing an acoustic version of Ace of Spades.
Traitor! Traitor!

[Marky L]

[quote name='Doctor J' post='1024143' date='Nov 14 2010, 11:47 PM']That's not high action, that's the string recoiling from him beating the sh*t out of it. Look at the G string, were the action as high as the E string suggests it wouldn't be that close to the edge of the frets in a picture taken at that angle.[/quote]

I thought the same originally, except that as I mentioned while watching the whole clip you can see he is playing the A and D strings and doesn't go near the E. You can also see the E isn't moving at all suggesting it hasn't just been played either.

One of my P's has a higher action and I'm thinking I might take it a bit higher now and see what life is like at those dizzying levels!

[KevB]

If you are playing aggressively on a ric and have too low an action it's very easy to keep smacking the pole pieces on the bridge pickup. I know he now uses customised rics without the standard PU's but he would have used one for a long time and maybe developed his high action then as a result.

[Marky L]

[quote name='KevB' post='1024552' date='Nov 15 2010, 12:55 PM']If you are playing aggressively on a ric and have too low an action it's very easy to keep smacking the pole pieces on the bridge pickup. I know he now uses customised rics without the standard PU's but he would have used one for a long time and maybe developed his high action then as a result.[/quote]

Yup, that was what I was a-pondering.