Can your action be TOO low?

[discreet]

[b]Can your action be TOO low?[/b]

Much is to be said for having a low action on a bass... ease of playing and so on.... but can your action be TOO low? I recently acquired a new (old) bass on which the action is quite a bit higher than my current bass, and as it has an unusual saddle arrangement, I am having to wait for an appropriately tiny hex key to be delivered so I can lower the action at the bridge.

Meanwhile, I have rehearsed the bass with said higher action - and loved it, for these reasons:

1. A higher action makes you work a bit harder and seems to put an edge on your performance.
2. There is a tendency not to fly around the fretboard and be more discriminating about note choice.
3. You can 'dig in' far more (should you need to), before experiencing fret buzz and rattles.
4. Because of the above (imho), the rehearsal recording sounded somewhat more dynamic than usual.

So... should I leave the action where it is and butch it out?
Or should I be a right feeble nancy-boy [size=4]ponce and lower it to a painted-on level ASAP?[/size]

I thank you!

[Platypus]

Never understood the fascination some guys have with having the action set lower than a snakes belly

[krysh]

it depends. a good bass can provide low action with little buzz even when you did in. some techniques only work easily with low action, but usually the tone improves with a little higher action. choose what's best for you.

[LukeFRC]

I can get a wide verity of sounds with my right hand that I loose if I lower my action.

I like the custom Strings the boys at Alpher got made - they are fairly low tension but chunky round core gauge which means you can have both the higher action and fly around the fretboard if that's your thing.

[ambient]

I don't think it can be too low, depends on your personal playing style. I have mine as low as I can get meaning a lot of people can't play my basses without a lot of buzzing and fret rattle.

It can be too high though, if it's very high then the notes will be sharp when you play them.

My one tutor at uni was always going on about my action being too low, and not being able to 'dig in'. I don't like a high action though, and tend not to get asked for gigs where I need to dig in.

[3below]

My experience is that too low and you lose tone. I also like being able to use plenty of string attack with right hand. Each to their own though

[KiOgon]

TBH I would have a different bass for 'digging in' my normal set ups are as low as I like because I normally play with a very light touch. I wouldn't compromise my choice of action just for the sake of digging in - I'd have another bass set up for it.

Cheerz, John

Edit: In other words - I couldn't/you can't have 1 bass set up for all styles of playing, another excellent reason for more basses

Edited January 26, 2014 by KiOgon

[Beer of the Bass]

I find that with the action below a certain point (assuming correct neck relief and a good setup), I can play a little more fluently and pull off things that I might not manage otherwise, but in practice I have a lot of relief and an action at the high side of medium at the moment.
I do find that on instruments with a really low action, I struggle to lighten up my right hand enough and I have to constantly think about not playing too hard, both on electric bass and guitar. This may come from being used to playing double bass with Spirocores and a heavily strung archtop guitar.
My gut feeling is that I should probably work on this through practice rather than setting up my electric bass and guitar with hefty strings and a high action, but I'm not there yet...

Edited January 26, 2014 by Beer of the Bass

[Cat Burrito]

I don't like the action too low so certainly relate to the first 3 points about working harder, not flying around and digging in a bit.

[Clarky]

I had a Mike Lull where the action was incredibly low and I found that it showed up every single flaw in my technique (as the frets are so close to the strings you get all sorts of unwanted sounds if you don't dampen or strike cleanly). I like my action low but wafer thin mint low was a step too far

[Lord Sausage]

Digging in? Are you doing gigs in the Somme!?

Edited January 26, 2014 by Lord Sausage

[Lozz196]

I`ve played some Basschatters basses that obviously suit their style but as I play with a, shall we say "muscular" style their set-ups would just end up with a load of fret-rattle with me ham-fistedly hitting away. But then I play punk and I think as much of the sound in punk comes from the hard hitting/aggression as it does from the speed. That said a few purchasers of basses I`ve sold have commented on the low action/nice set-ups so maybe my action isn`t as high as I originally thought.

[Cat Burrito]

[quote name='Lord Sausage' timestamp='1390762815' post='2349220']
Digging in? Are you doing gigs in the Somme!?
[/quote]

Have bass will travel... and maybe make sandcastles in the process

[Paul S]

Me, too. I give the strings a fairly hefty wallop when I get going and having the action too low just doesn't work. On two basses I've acquired fairly recently I have had to raise the action - one was a Squier Jazz Deluxe, the other a Shergold Marathon - on both the neck was virtually straight and the strings barely hovering above the frets. Yet, played lightly, no buzz. Too good for me!

[MiltyG565]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1390761286' post='2349180']
[b]Can your action be TOO low?[/b]

Much is to be said for having a low action on a bass... ease of playing and so on.... but can your action be TOO low? I recently acquired a new (old) bass on which the action is quite a bit higher than my current bass, and as it has an unusual saddle arrangement, I am having to wait for an appropriately tiny hex key to be delivered so I can lower the action at the bridge.

Meanwhile, I have rehearsed the bass with said higher action - and loved it, for these reasons:

1. A higher action makes you work a bit harder and seems to put an edge on your performance.
2. There is a tendency not to fly around the fretboard and be more discriminating about note choice.
3. You can 'dig in' far more (should you need to), before experiencing fret buzz and rattles.
4. Because of the above (imho), the rehearsal recording sounded somewhat more dynamic than usual.

So... should I leave the action where it is and butch it out?
Or should I be a right feeble nancy-boy ponce and lower it to a painted-on level ASAP?

I thank you!
[/quote]

Does one size fit all?

It's a bit of a muchness, isn't it? Some people will find a high action unplayable, some will find it encouraging. Although, I'd say that a lot of folk here are prone to a bit of "flying about" the fretboard, so will a high action suit them, even if they want a high action?

A very low action will stifle your tone, and make your strings more likely to buzz.

Potato/potahto.

[EssentialTension]

My preference is 'not too low', and not too much flying about either.

The 'not too low' applies yet more strongly if the bass is acoustic or semi-acoustic.

[Thunderbird]

I always used to like my action as low as it would go but now I am finding a slightly higher action better it is still low but not stupidly low. and the thing is most people have varying views about action anyway I was selling a bass that myself and a few other players I know thought the action was seriously low then this one guy tried it and thought the action was high so now I just set it as I like it and if I sell the bass on I just let the buyer set it up how they like

[lefrash]

I've found that over the years I've grown to prefer a slightly higher action. I can get a much wider range of tone from a single note, and i like to be as clean as possible. I think that its totally dependant on style of music though. If i was playing in a heavy rock band, I reckon id lower it a bit

[ML94]

I've always wondered about other bass players action and what they think about other people having low(very low) action. I have my action fairly low, it's low enough to slap and tap so that's really the lowest I'd go.

Someone also suggested to me when I first picked up the instrument that many players who have high action play with picks and are into rock, punk, metal and so on. What's the correlation with that then ?

I also remember just a few days ago I was watching an interview with Nath Watts (love his playing) and he says himself that his action is quite high and he detunes the bass half step so he can really dig in when he wants to. Funnily enough he dozen't play metal or punk.

[ambient]

It's personal preference.

I'm a huge fan of Jimmy Haslip, he must have his action really quite high, judging by his playing technique, he really likes to almost snap his strings.

I believe Anthony Jackson has a very high action too, and you can hear it in his playing, I was transcribing some of his lines from an album he did with Steve Khan the other day, you can really hear him digging in. Yet someone like Matthew Garrison has his action set ridiculously low.

[bubinga5]

the trouble with a very low action is, it doesn't give you much scope for different dynamics in your playing. starts to choke the notes when played hard.

[ambient]

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1390768674' post='2349328']
the trouble with a very low action is, it doesn't give you much scope for different dynamics in your playing. starts to choke the notes when played hard.
[/quote]

It depends, I play very lightly anyway, so I can play a lot more aggressively (relatively speaking), but still not get any fret rattle. It's all relative, if your normal playing is heavy, then you'll need a higher action any higher still if you like to 'dig in' during some passages.

[Spike Vincent]

I like a fairly high action, but I do bash the crap out of the strings.

[ML94]

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1390768559' post='2349325']

I believe Anthony Jackson has a very high action too, and you can hear it in his playing, I was transcribing some of his lines from an album he did with Steve Khan the other day, you can really hear him digging in. Yet someone like Matthew Garrison has his action set ridiculously low.
[/quote]

If AJ has high action I'd be amazed ! On some of his work he has those incredibly fast runs that sound effortless. Or it may just be down to the number of years he's always played on high action basses .

[gafbass02]

I struggle with anything much more than a 'painted on' action I have my strings crazy low, which gives access to a nice range of techniques. It does mean I have to be aware to relax and not attack it too much. I can 'look' like I am but I try to stay relaxed with a light touch and let the compressor and amp do the work.