I uncounsciously played with super high action for around 4 years when i first got my own electric guitar (Jackson Randy Rhoads Flying V) I used my dads strat with an already pretty high action before that, and didn't notice that relatively small Change from pretty high to super high. I always wondered why my friends guitars seemed to easy and comfy to play compared to mine. Somewhen i learned about adjusting the neck and string height and applied it to my Jackson. I personaly like lower action better but in hindsight i am glad i practiced with such a high action for so long when i started, bc i really strengthened my fretting hand and all that.
I'm the same way. I didn't realize how high the action was on my higher frets. I've felt like I plateaued the last few years (also playing a Jackson RR) I learned to shred on a horrible setup.
The main benefit to lower action and lighter strings isn’t speed, it’s less wear and tear on your hand and wrist as you age which allows a longer period of useful time as a guitarist.
I have the action on my electrics set quite low but I also play acoustic a lot including my 12 string. This seems to work for me in terms of keeping up my hand strength so I don't have to worry about losing any left hand strength or endurance as a result of the ease of playing my electrics with the low action.
Oh man, you made me raise my string action a year ago and now you're making me go back again, lol! Luckily I have a new jackson with low action coming in, so that I can try first.
That playing at the beginning was impressive. Very fast, and there seems to bea lot of power behind that picking hand. But when you listen to it at half speed, the intonation is just horrible. Not sure if it's due to the high action / thin string gauge, or just failure to set the intonation properly.
my two cents about this: the audio processing makes any music slower but not prettier. Also: he is playing to make it sound good at the speed he is playing at the moment. So when you play fast stuff, you do everything to make it sound good at fast speed. When you play mid-tempo stuff, you could apply a technique to make it sound good at mid-tempo. when you play slow stuff (let's say long and few notes), you apply yet again other techniques to make it sound great at this slow pace. Everybody: have fun practicing and playing!
It's the action. That is super high for electric guitar, or even a bass and not ment to be that high in the first place ever, because intonation will be horrible no matter what with that setup. I think until certain point you will get the advantage of not getting any fret buzz with a high action, but that action is wayyy beyond that. Nowadays i would say that 2mm at the 12th fret is already considered being a high action while something between 1,5-2mm is a medium action and anything below 1,5mm starts to be quite low action.
I played always on low action for many years.. because i tought its the "way" to shred, and i was amazed by Steve Vais and Satrianis shredding.. But after a while that became boring.. Then i bought a Gibby LP because i wanted a more resonant and more powerfull sounding guitar. I cant imagine playing anymore on low action. My strenght, speed and precision improved really dramatically after i started to play on higher action LP. When i play an Ibanez nowadays and its paper thin necks it just feels boring and i dont have much inspiration to play on thin necks..
High action must effect intonation. Just imagine the action at one inch. Surely the note will change pitch as it approaches the fretboard vs open note pitch. If that doesn't work for you imagine the strings 6 inches off the neck, at some point you will realize, the distance from the strings to the neck effects intonation.
Damn, your playing is impressive. Must've been tough to practice with such a high action. I luckily changed mine early on but I liked the video nonetheless :)
I played with extremely high action for years, it does build your arm,wrist, and fingers. It can get frustrating at times trying to hit certain notes, if you spend a solid 30-60 minutes warming up it makes a difference and you can shred and play fast.
i used to learn w/ high action. just got my first electric guitar with low action, it's cool, but im not comfortable with it. so i changed it and never been this happy
the action to 0:01 to 0:012 is something you can use your guitar as a bow and arrow, haha... just nuts, very much like Yngwie's 4mm at low E and 5mm at high E. I don't think its recommended to beginners, it's so hard to enjoy playing like that. Then at 0:41 its the opposite which is insanely low, the string seems to be touching the frets already which is bad for the tone...I still think the normal 1.5mm is the best, the middle ground which you don't compromise either the tone or play-ability. Thanks for sharing.
I think the angle he's holding his guitar at for the 0:41 shot is making the low action look lower. If you pause at the right time, when the strings and fretboard are actually flat to the camera, it's actually a pretty reasonable height, maybe 1.2-1.4mm.
I just purchased an Epiphone Hummingbird, fitted with 0012-0053 and it showed me how lazy my fretting hand had become and also how soft my callouses were.
Great playing, but your tone it is not suitable for my ears, maybe you have too much gain or i don't know, but great video, you have quite the chops for that string action, is fascinating.
I'd reckon it is too much treble for your ears. Probably sounds suitable when he plays solo guitar in a metal band. Not so good for solo concert in church or jazz trio?
What about neck relief? You prefer straight, or do you tinker around with it? I find myself getting stuck in this process of constant adjusting my neck and bridge to find this mythical "sweet spot" with my guitars. Every once in awhile I'll find that sweet spot and the guitar seem to come to life and play itself. Then of course I can't leave well enough alone and go and mess with the action.
Whatever action that allow one to play effectively and comfortably. I am ok with 1.2mm +- .1 at 12th. Anything lower i have problem bending. Anything higher i am like waiting for lift to land at correct floor
@@naegleriafowleri2230 mine is at 1mm. It's really tough to eliminate string noise. Bending is easy. But muting when playing bar chords is tough because the strings are already so close to the frets. I'll probably raise it to 1.5mm. Seems to be the best of two worlds.
Sir, may I ask a question, I’m a beginner and I’ve been playing acoustic guitar for more than one year now. I want to play an electric guitar. Please help me decide on what kind guitar I will buy, here are the list: 1) Yamaha Pacifica 012 HSS pickup, USD207. 2) Yamaha EG112GPII, HSH pickup, USD260 - with free GA15 amplifier 15w, Gig bag, strap, etc. 3) Severo Les Paul model electric guitar USD163.
Can I ask how low is the action on each side in millimeters? I'm asking because I've always used around 2mm for bass and 1.6 for treble but I recently changed to 1.5 bass and 1.25 treble. How low is too low??
This is pretty much in line with what I just experienced switching from a high action guitar to a much lower action guitar. I was like, why can't I play clean anymore, it should be easier! What you said all made sense. I'm excited to practice now on that 2nd guitar and clean up my playing. Side note - I find it strangely harder to do clean bends and vibrato too. More string noise. Might just be the pickups on the 2nd guitar. Not sure yet.
One year I played on stock squirt bullet strings action what’s not bad now I have new Gitar Kramer Baretta special I set itt up for lowest action I realized I don’t need to push so hard now i can work on me speed and I change strings from 10 regular to 8,5 primo
better have both a low action and a high action guitar higher action sounds a lot better but lower action makes you feel like you play a whole different instrument
I roll my eyes whenever someone makes this comment. We know, already. Sometimes it's also appropriate to play fast ... And y'know what? If you can play fast, you can also play slow!
0:11 - 0:30 Yeah good speed but no music there. Dont spend all your time practicing speed. Instead. Practice your musical and melodic sense to. In the musical context, you more need melodic line than the speed. Except your guthrie govan who can combine both...
"HowToPracticeGuitar" guy should follow whatever channel is called "HowToRecordAudioForGuitar" (or similar). Geez, that clipping in the Intro section!!!! I AM DEAF NOW!!!
Well there's not gonna be much room for improvement if you're already playing 1000 bpm. Lowering my action help with slides and bends and with my fat fingers.
I prefer low action, because I lean towards high string tension and I play with rather short finger motions. In addition, low action helps with tiresome Suffocation and Deicide-style death metal riffs incorporating a lot of fast, palm-muted power chords moving around the lower frets.
Both of those action heights are extremely unplayable. One punishes your soul and sucks the life, fun and joy out of guitar playing. The other kills and destroys all traces of anything resembling tone. How about some common sense?
High action causes bad intonation. If you want shredding to be more difficult, stop playing an Ibanez. Lol 😆 I have a prestige, so you know my action is low! Cool comparison video nonetheless.
