The correct pickup heights & action for me are money on this guitar

[Abe]

Dead level can work with a very light touch.

I'm leaning back in this direction. Tweaked it a bit more and now I seem to have decided on pretty level and straight with maybe just a slight amount of squish relief with no actual space to see. Nothing sounds bad unless I go excessively rough in playing style. With first and last frets fretted all strings touch all frets. Just more playability this way for me.

 

[Eagle]

I'm leaning back in this direction. Tweaked it a bit more and now I seem to have decided on pretty level and straight with maybe just a slight amount of squish relief with no actual space to see. Nothing sounds bad unless I go excessively rough in playing style. With first and last frets fretted all strings touch all frets. Just more playability this way for me.

If all strings touch all frets it is possible you have a tiny back bow. Setting dead level needs a straight edge really to ensure that is not an issue.

 

[Abe]

I think it's short of right on and still the slightest amount forward. I did straight edge it the best I could and a big reason this guitar satisfies me is a good level fret job, making this work and function apparently.

The strings do bubble out a bit, just not with visible space, as in they are more squishable in the center of the fretted 1st and 22nd / they have a bit of give to them being pressed further against the frets, so I'm pretty sure it's still slightly frontwards and a hair shy of dead level. No relief space to see but they can be pressed down to see and feel the slightest bounce. I don't think there has to be that visible space to qualify as relief, as relief can amount to that give (not bent strings). Also everything rings out fine on every open string and fretted note available on the axe. No fart outs on the notes at all.

I suspect this setting will however make it all the more likely that after some seasonal changes it will need tweaking back to the sweet spot.

-edit: Maybe I should specify that what I mean by "touching" is no visible space. (There is still room making for them more completely touching by pressing on them.)

 

[Eagle]

I think it's short of right on and still the slightest amount forward. I did straight edge it the best I could and a big reason this guitar satisfies me is a good level fret job, making this work and function apparently.

The strings do bubble out a bit, just not with visible space, as in they are more squishable in the center of the fretted 1st and 22nd / they have a bit of give to them being pressed further against the frets, so I'm pretty sure it's still slightly frontwards and a hair shy of dead level. No relief space to see but they can be pressed down to see and feel the slightest bounce. I don't think there has to be that visible space to qualify as relief, as relief can amount to that give (not bent strings). Also everything rings out fine on every open string and fretted note available on the axe. No fart outs on the notes at all.

I suspect this setting will however make it all the more likely that after some seasonal changes it will need tweaking back to the sweet spot.

-edit: Maybe I should specify that what I mean by "touching" is no visible space. (There is still room making for them more completely touching by pressing on them.)

They either touch or they don’t. You will be able to see light with even 1/1000”.

 

[Abe]

Apologies. Semantic standards.
My guitar makes my approval.

Have a nice day.

 

[Eagle]

Apologies. Semantic standards.
My guitar makes my approval.

Have a nice day.

I’m a tech 35years I understand perfectly. I’m not sure you do.

 

[Abe]

Well I’m not really a blow up balloons and have popping each other battles on the internet kind of guy, as I have no need to be.

I’ll tell you this though. The guitar plays nicely and I’m happy with it and the setup I gave it. Tweaked it according to my feelings. Didn’t even cost me the 16¢ I used either, as I got to keep that coinage. Yea, thanks for the help. I was lost and clueless without you and your contribution of vibes to my music.
Cheers.

 

[Abe]

So having recently utilized access to MusicNomad Relief, String Action, & Pickup Height Gauges to double check my work, everything checks out as accurate measurements like I intended them to be, verifying that there was no need to pay someone for being pretentious. Accurate slight relief of slightly forward from straight, accurate action, accurate pickup heights. Enjoy your guitars, as that's what they're for!

 

[Eagle]

So having recently utilized access to MusicNomad Relief, String Action, & Pickup Height Gauges to double check my work, everything checks out as accurate measurements like I intended them to be, verifying that there was no need to pay someone for being pretentious. Accurate slight relief of slightly forward from straight, accurate action, accurate pickup heights. Enjoy your guitars, as that's what they're for!

Even bad ideas and poor practice sometimes work.
You can cut the grass with a pen knife but it doesn’t make it a good idea.

 

[Alex Kenivel]

 

[norminal]

Even bad ideas and poor practice sometimes work.
You can cut the grass with a pen knife but it doesn’t make it a good idea.

This is quote material!

 

[Eagle]

I have . People have used picks and tried to say it is a good idea. To make a measurement accurately against something that moves easily by moving the tool it is just fundamentally dumb.

 

[Abe]

Well to be clear, these things are what I double checked it all with. And one thing, the relief, was never measured to an exact marking, ie even the 0.006" feeler gauge in the fancy MusicNomad tools is going to displace a string that is having an estimated 0.0025” - 0.0045" of space at the relief point for example. So knowing it’s the slightest bit forward from straight and less than 0.006” because of it displacing the strings, gives me enough info. All other measurements got to check out as lining up etc. I could acquire whatever is available for relief feeler gauges thinner than 0.006" but there's no need to, as at the end of it all it comes down to feel and sound more so than what these gauges (or coins) measure in #s.

 

[Eagle]

You only use a feeler gauge for relief with a straight edge.

 

[Abe]

It checks out with the straight edge, and plays clean with strings barely having any relief at all. Don't know if the quality control is always there with this model or if I really lucked out with the level fret job.