sunhouse - Posted - 08/06/2008:  18:11:09

The secondhand National I bought was set up with a very low action for fingerstyle.
I've just received my new biscuit bridge and installed it last night.
So far I've taken the action down to 5/32" at the 12th fret.
It still feels a little high for barr chords but of course is great for slide.
Brozman says the action shouldn't be less than 1/8" (4/32") so before I go past this magical point I thought I'd ask the rest of you guys what height you use, bearing in mind I want it for slide mainly but also want to occasionally fret chords alone and behind the slide.
Cheers
Brian

Bunyan Bob - Posted - 08/06/2008:  19:27:36

Hmmm...I think it's whatever floats your boat. String gauge will also have something to say about your action too. When I was plunking around on my Duolian, I'd set it up like a regular acoustic, and then just learned to go easy on the slide. Then again, I was using the slide on my middle finger so it gave me a little better control.

Again, whatever floats your boat...there's no wrong answers when nobody's done it yet... Good luck!

"Never mind the dog, I''m the one who''s howling on the porch!"

Dobro Don - Posted - 08/07/2008:  08:50:03

On My Estralita (which I use as a "regular" guitar as well as a bottleneck instrument) I went with the action just a hair above what would be perfect for fingers only. With the right touch on the slide it works great as a bottlenecker and yet still plays well as a fingers guitar, too.

One thing that helped (for bottleneck) was to put slightly heavier strings on it. I mainly upped the ante on the high E string (the 1st String) by taking it from a 13 to 14 for bottleneck work. It seems to make that string "sing" a little better when sliding lead lines on it.

Don

---
"Music creates unity among peoples, cultures and nations. Music can touch the soul making it our universal means of communication."

- Gary Stroutsos Makoche Artist

Hooked on Resophonics - Posted - 08/07/2008:  10:39:03

I like my action about as low as you can go and not fret out the slide, right around 7/64" I use medium gauge strings with a 15 on the high end for slide, always tuned down to open D or G.

Danny Clayburn
soundclick.com/dannyclayburn

Alexpnorton - Posted - 08/07/2008:  12:28:24

Iuse string guages in the 12, 13 area I tune to open D the action is good for slide here 3/16. this is right to fret against the nut , to play in open E I capo at the 2nd fret and octive out at 14th fret , Really sweet action for slide/ fingering. I hope this makes sense, I play better than I type. .................................Alex

Alex p. Norton

Meantooth Grin - Posted - 08/07/2008:  16:21:40

like some one mentioned above, string gauge comes into play quite a bit.

I use really heavy strings 13s usually with a really high E string like a 17 or 18.

with strings that heavy you can set the action just above what would be comfortable for normal playing. Heavy strings sound better and move less when a slide is used.

you don't want to set your action super high though as this can cause intonation issues and unwanted string noise. I used to work at a guitar shop and had the pleasure of working on a les paul that someone had jacked the action up about a half inch off the fretboard in an effort to make slide easier. The string noise was unbelivable and the intonation was ridiculous.

also if you are doing higher tunings such as E for example 12s or 13s are NOT what you want.

you shouldn't go over a 58 on your low E in anytuning over a standard E note, its alot of pressure on the guitar. Sure it might take it and seem alright but in the long run you could have some serious issues.

sunhouse - Posted - 08/07/2008:  16:39:31

Yes thanks, I can see I'm going to have to paly it a bit at 5/32 and see how I go.
It seems ok for low open chords and slide but it's not very good when you want to barr and paly chords above fret 5.
Man the volume and sustain has certainly increased, probably due to the greater break angle and the way I've cut the slots in the saddle this time.