Can your action be TOO low?

[lowdown]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1390858185' post='2350628']
it's bloody hard work requiring great strength, skill and stamina.
[/quote]

And that's just to get the full metal jacket Codpiece on.

High action for me, on fretted and fretless.
I tend to hang around on just the back pick up for a tight punchy sound.
[size=4]Low action for me just ends up being floppy and sloppy.[/size]
Everyone each to their own.

Edited January 28, 2014 by lowdown

[Spoombung]

I bought a bass from a Basschatter a few years ago and the action was set so low every note I plucked buzzed or went dead. His other basses were set the same way. I've no idea how he played them like that... and he's a pro!

Maybe I've got a heavy touch? Not sure...

[DiMarco]

I like my action low as possible on most basses eventhough my right hand thumb is named Mjölnir.

[FinnDave]

Fender specify 6/64" (I think that's about 2.5 mm, but I don't do metric so can't be sure) between bottom of all strings and top of 17th fret which, although I set mine up to suit my playing, is pretty much dead on where it ended up. I would therefore define 'low action' as anything less than that, and 'high action' as anything more.

[Dingus]

[quote name='SpaceChick' timestamp='1390856261' post='2350581']
Sweetheart, you are asking the wrong question.... High action, low action.... You'll be a feeble nancy-boy regardless
[/quote]

Yeah, I had heard that rumour, too.

Yes, your action can be too low, but how low is too low depends very much on the individual player. Measuring your action at the twelfth fret can be misleading though, if all you do is measure the distance between the open string and the top of the fret, because in effect all you measuring is the height of the nut, and that can vary a great deal. If you measure your action at the twelfth fret with the strings depressed at the first fret ( therefore effectively taking the nut out of the equation) then you are getting a much more accurate representation of how the relative string heights are adjusted at the bridge.

Funnily enough, over the years it has come to my attention that the action on my basses seems to get higher as I play them . I can start out at the beginning of a session with what seems to be a respectably low setup, on the cusp of buzzing a little bit, just how I like it, and then as time progresses that bit of buzz dissipates and the action feels higher. I used to think it was because I am getting progressively more fatigued and therefore subconsciously lightening my right hand touch , but recently I have begun to wonder if I might have some Uri Geller- like phenomena going on , where the raw power of my funky playing combined with the intense sexual energy I generate with or without a bass guitar in my hand is actually causing the necks of my basses to bow away from the strings and develop a bit more relief as I play them.

Edited February 6, 2014 by Dingus

[Mark Dyer]

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

Yes.

[Annoying Twit]

Sorry to be ignorant, but I'm not 100% sure what 'digging in' means. I'm guessing it means to pluck harder, but is there more to it?

I do find that I'm developing my playing in a direction where I like to give the strings a good hefty pluck (fingers or pick). I have my Ibanez SR760 set up with action as low as it will go without buzzing, and that's lower than anything else I have. (The rest are around 4mm at the 12th fret). I find the Ibanez as it is less satisfying to play as I feel I have to pussyfoot around it a bit, rather than being able to just let go.

[Roland Rock]

[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1392971385' post='2374704']
Sorry to be ignorant, but I'm not 100% sure what 'digging in' means. I'm guessing it means to pluck harder, but is there more to it?

I do find that I'm developing my playing in a direction where I like to give the strings a good hefty pluck (fingers or pick). I have my Ibanez SR760 set up with action as low as it will go without buzzing, and that's lower than anything else I have. (The rest are around 4mm at the 12th fret). I find the Ibanez as it is less satisfying to play as I feel I have to pussyfoot around it a bit, rather than being able to just let go.
[/quote]

That's precisely what digging in is, and a good example of how action can be too low

[Roland Rock]

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1391689997' post='2360173']I used to think it was because I am getting progressively more fatigued and therefore subconsciously lightening my right hand touch , but recently I have begun to wonder if I might have some Uri Geller- like phenomena going on , where the raw power of my funky playing combined with the intense sexual energy I generate with or without a bass guitar in my hand is actually causing the necks of my basses to bow away from the strings and develop a bit more relief as I play them.
[/quote]

If anything is too low, it's your medication dosage.

[iconic]

[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1392971385' post='2374704']


The rest are around 4mm at the 12th fret).
[/quote]

are you limbo dancing under them when not playing;)

Edited February 21, 2014 by iconic

[discreet]

[quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1392971947' post='2374709']

If anything is too low, it's your medication dosage.
[/quote]

That's right - Dingus needs more powerful drugs.

[Thunderbird]

My action is 1.25mm at the 12th which I always thought was low but my mate bought his bass around and is is way under a mil he gets fret buzz but his playing is still great sounding so it is so down to personal taste

[RandomBass]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1390761286' post='2349180']

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!
[/quote]

Out of the closet at last, I see....

Actually you should man-up and give it a try as it stands at the moment, and see how you get on with it. You never know, maybe you can be tempted back after all...

Cheers

Geoff

[Annoying Twit]

[quote name='Thunderbird' timestamp='1392975357' post='2374743']
My action is 1.25mm at the 12th which I always thought was low but my mate bought his bass around and is is way under a mil he gets fret buzz but his playing is still great sounding so it is so down to personal taste
[/quote]

I haven't measured it, but I think my Ibanez is about 2mm at the 12th. And that seems really low to me. I've played some basses which had a low or maybe even lower action that I enjoyed more, but they seemed to have more string tension than any of mine. I presume that to get more string tension, I'd need a heavier gauge string set.

[discreet]

[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1392975810' post='2374751']
I presume that to get more string tension, I'd need a heavier gauge string set.
[/quote]

Not necessarily - my Fender flats (9050ML 50-100) aren't heavy at all, but they are high-tension, or low-compliance, or whatever the correct terminology is. About the same as Chromes, I'd say.

[discreet]

[quote name='RandomBass' timestamp='1392975752' post='2374748']
...you should man-up and give it a try as it stands at the moment, and see how you get on with it.
[/quote]

I can't get the action much lower on this bass anyway, so I've actually been playing with the higher action for nearly a month now, and it seems quite normal to me. To the extent that the action on my other bass seemed too low - so I've raised it a bit.

[Count Bassy]

[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1392975810' post='2374751']
I haven't measured it, but I think my Ibanez is about 2mm at the 12th. And that seems really low to me. I've played some basses which had a low or maybe even lower action that I enjoyed more, but they seemed to have more string tension than any of mine. I presume that to get more string tension, I'd need a heavier gauge string set.
[/quote]
And of course higher tension then means that they become harder to fret again, and harder to bend.

[DiMarco]

High tension is lovely for slapping though. Makes life much easier.