[spmilligan]

Hello, can any one tell me roughly what sort of a gap is there supposed to be between the frets and the strings. Is it measured at any particular fret and string.
The reason i ask is that i am starting to practice barre chords and i seem to be putting a lot of pressure to barre all the strings, i know its going to take a lot of practice but fingers and thumb seem to start aching quite quickly and was just wondering if the gap was too big. Thanks

[dutchman063]

I think its something like 2mm at the 12th fret between the top of the fret and the bottom of the string..of course some people like it higher and some people prefer it lower but you always run the risk of buzzing if you go too low..

[allthumbs]

Just got to the guitar tech forum and read through UGB's sticky thread about string buzz. He tells you exactly how to check for the correct string height.

[jaycav]

just hold down the first fret on the lower e and pluck it, if it buzzes then youre strings are too low. strings that are too high tend to give off a slightly sharper note as you go up the fret board, you dont want this. theres a few ways of altering the action, either adjusting the screws on the bridge (it should be quite apparent which ones to adjust) or adjusting the truss rod in the neck, alot of people dont recommend doing this, but i did it today and it turned out perfect! for a tutorial, google "truss rod adjustment" and click the first link

[nostraits]

I have often seen references on the 'net to "just change the truss rod setting" when referring to the 'action'. I am new to guitar playing and am no expert, but I have been keen to find out more. So I have these sites bookmarked. They explain about truss rods, 'relief' and 'action'.
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FRETS.COM Acoustic guitar instrument care, repair for players, luthiers

[allthumbs]

We also have threads here about adjustments in the Guitar Tech forum.