[murphaph]

Hi all,
First question from a new guy so bear with me!

I just started taking lessons on guitar and I bought a Yamaha CG101. It sounds lovely to my (untrained) ear but the action is quite high and it's sometimes difficult to fret even say A. I presume the higher action means I will develop stronger muscles in the hand and that can only be a good thing, though the fingertips are suffrin' right now ouch! I read that higher action guitars also tend to have less fret buzz problems. Is this true? Will a 'tougher' guitar at the start make me better longer term?

[si16]

I'd say a guitar like that is more likely to cause you to give up than keep playing. First of all it's tougher to play, secondly you won't get the sound you want out of it as you're more likely to get muted strings, thirdly it will cause a lot more tension in various parts of your arm/wrist/shoulder as you need to work harder to get the strings pressed down properly.

You would be doing yourself a big favour by getting it set up properly as soon as possible, it will probably cost in the region of 30-40 Euro.

[murphaph]

What will the luthier do to set it up?

[busaclub]

I'd say your best bet is to bring it to a pro or back to the shop where you got it they should bring down the action easy enough worth it though

[allthumbs]

A high action is not your friend for all the reasons in the above posts. A setup can consist of several things as needed. The truss rod will need to be adjusted. You may also need the nut filed down and or the bridge shaved, It depends on all the factors that are contributing to the string height.

[murphaph]

When is a high action a good thing? I presume there must be some reason why certain guitars are made with a higher action than others. Better when one gets more experienced?

[Aside]My guitar teacher gave me a sheet of the basic chords that she made herself. It's got D with the same finger position as I find in my "guitar for dummies" but it only tells me to strum the bottom 4 strings in the book whereas my teacher's sheet has the bottom 5 to be strummed. It sounds perfectly melodious to me, are they both right?

Thanks for all the feeback so far guys, really appreciate the friendly nature here.

[Ldavis04]

Originally Posted by murphaph

When is a high action a good thing? I presume there must be some reason why certain guitars are made with a higher action than others. Better when one gets more experienced?

[Aside]My guitar teacher gave me a sheet of the basic chords that she made herself. It's got D with the same finger position as I find in my "guitar for dummies" but it only tells me to strum the bottom 4 strings in the book whereas my teacher's sheet has the bottom 5 to be strummed. It sounds perfectly melodious to me, are they both right?

Thanks for all the feeback so far guys, really appreciate the friendly nature here.

Yes both are right...the triad D cord consists of the notes D F# A. The open fifth string is A, so its all good.

[allthumbs]

Within a certain range, height of strings is a personal choice. Finger pickers like the strings low. Strummers like them a bit higher. Guitars will fall within that range if they are set up. Guitars straight out of the box from the factory tend to always be high. It is easier to just throw the strings on and not bother with fine adjustments. Some stores don't have people with the skills or the desire to set up every guitar that comes in. High action is good for playing slide guitar and that is about it.

[murphaph]

Interesting. I'm fascinated by all this. So if I saw a D chord in a tab, I could play it either way and it would sound ok?

[scott58]

Originally Posted by busaclub

I'd say your best bet is to bring it to a pro or back to the shop where you got it they should bring down the action easy enough worth it though

I agree. I have an estaban guitar that was almost worthless to play and had it been my first guitar I probably wouldn't still be playing. I took it to the shop and had the neck straightened, action lowered and Martin strings put on it and it's like a totally different guitar. I had to look at it again when I picked it up to make sure it was! The improvement was amazing. It's still more difficult to play then my Deans, but I always use it to start my practices and when I get something down switch to my better guitars. Real happy with it now and the shop only charged me $25 to have it done.

[Dewy]

Yes you can play the Dmaj with the open A string just about every time and it will work.

I do have a "cheapo" guitar I use as a "trainer"... its more difficult than my other guitars... but not "too" difficult.

[Stratrat]

si16 and Allthumbs hit it on the head - an excessively high action will do you no good, and only cause frustration. There are guitarists who prefer their action a little higher (i.e. hard strummers who want to avoid fret buzz), but excessively high action won't do anybody much good (except slide players, as AT mentioned). The reasons for high action were mentioned above - manufacturers don't take the time and effort to set up mass-produced guitars before boxing them up and sending them out, and the stores often don't bother with it either. Having a setup done on your guitar will make it far more playable and enjoyable.

[MCH]

To become a better player, productive practice and plenty of it is the key. Having a nice playable guitar will be easier when doing all of that practicing.

[murphaph]

So, if I go into a shop to get it done, what will they ask me? What do I ask for? Just to have my guitar "set up" and that's it?

[Dewy]

yes, I would discuss with them your Status (beginner or advanced) and ask them about what string size is best... but you really should get at least a medium gauge.

But when the Tech plays your guitar... he'll know what you mean by "set up".