Ideal Action in a new acoustic guitar??

Discussion in 'Beginner's Q&A Forum' started by mailshivam7, Jan 4, 2012.

  1. mailshivam7

    mailshivam7 New Member

    Hello everyone,,i recently purchased a new Pluto-Jumbo-HW41C-201SB Acoustic guitar!!
    IT sounds amazing like i heard from everyone!!
    Bt. wat i noticed is,,I can see the height of the strings from the fretboard increases gradually from somewhat 12th fret!!!
    the height is not much,,it is about 0.2-0.3cm
    And i even do not require a lot of effort to play and all the strings produce notes on each fret!!
    I just want to ask is this the ideal action in acoustic guitar,,or is there some sort of neck bend or something..
    Waiting for ur expert comments!! :)
    thanks
     
  2. mymusicmyguitar

    mymusicmyguitar Active Member

    Well ideally the action(Distance from String to the fretboard) increases more towards the neck of the guitar. So dont worry. If the action is too high and if your fingers are getting stuck which bending the string then u need to take it to a luthier to get the action adjusted.
    For bend keep the guitar vertical and then look through the 1st fret till u see the bridge. If there is a bridge or a curve u will notice it else u r good.
     
  3. mailshivam7

    mailshivam7 New Member

    @mymusicmyguitar:
    Thnx a lot sir!!
    No the action is not that high at all,,Actually my last givson guitar suffered from a huge neckbend,,so i m scared dis doesnt happen to my new 1..
    So Can u suggest me any way dat i prevent neckbend and high action in my guitar in future!!
     
  4. mailshivam7

    mailshivam7 New Member

    @mymusicmyguitar:
    Thnx a lot sir!!
    No the action is not that high at all,,Actually my last givson guitar suffered from a huge neckbend,,so i m scared dis doesnt happen to my new 1..
    So Can u suggest me any way dat i prevent neckbend and high action in my guitar in future!!
     
  5. mymusicmyguitar

    mymusicmyguitar Active Member

    -Most IMP - Always place ur guitar on a STAND...
    -Maintain the standard Tuning. Avoid tuning beyond that. Its not like you cant but then it not so good for ur guitar in long run. U can use a capo instead or u can play on a different scale but by maintaining the standard tuning frequency.
    -When u know u r not going to play for a few days always loosen up the strings and then keep it.

    Thats all i can think off.
     
  6. thehundredthone

    thehundredthone Well-Known Member

    Logic behind this?
    And how many are a few days? I think it's pertinent only if you're going to leave it lying around for weeks and months.
     
  7. mymusicmyguitar

    mymusicmyguitar Active Member

    Well people who dont use a stand to keep the guitar tend to keep the guitar lying on the floor or aligned to the wall. The strings already add lot of tension on the neck and keeping in that position adds to the tension on the headstock.. This process isnt quick. It takes lot of time to develop bend when placed in such position but it surely does add to the neck bend problems.

    Dont u think its a best practice to loosen up the strings when you know u r not going to play guitar for a few days. For me i tend to practice a lot and even 2 - 3 days mean a lot of gap for me......
    One more advantage of this is u get the hang of tuning ur guitar(with ears not tuner)
     
  8. Sumanovo razor

    Sumanovo razor New Member

    i think 1 step down tuning will do..too much loosing up the guitar will increase the tension in the truss rod which will bend the neck in the backward direction.due to the round shaped butt of the guitar it might fall if you have aligned to the wall...you may put it inside your guitar's hardshell or soft case if you dont have a guitar stand
     
  9. harmonizer

    harmonizer The Son of the Moon

    I have a similar guitar to it....and i wud like to say that its the pluto's way....1st it ruined my fingers with its tight strings...there was a time i wasnt able to play a single note beyond 12th fret...but now i can...my fingers r strong enough that my ESP feels too smooth and easy to play....in exchange of this useful fingertip pain..it gives the best sound in its range....its a charm :)
     
  10. Sumanovo razor

    Sumanovo razor New Member

    gb&a have more tight strings as compared to pluto...but the pluto i played had an intonation problem on the 12th fret...dont know the model name it has a single cutaway,natural ,tobacco sunburst colour,jumbo size...without electronics...my personal experience with pluto was not dat good...gb&a was way better...just change the strings on it...
     
  11. alpha1

    alpha1 I BLUES!

    Actually it shouldn't matter whether guitar is on stand or lying around.
    The tension at the neck / nut / tuning pegs is around 47 kg load for electric guitar strings (D'Addario : String Tension Guide)
    and the same is higher = 80.6 kg load for acoustic (MPUSTC String Tension Calculator)

    Now what would be the weight of a guitar? Not more than 5 kg for an electric. Acoustic would be even lighter.
    And WHAT would be the weight of the NECK? Not more than few hundred grams.

    So when the guitar is lying on its back, what would be the change in string tension? Weight of neck = fraction of a kg. This is the increase in tension.
    But what happens when the guitar is lying on its back but the neck is resting on the floor, and thus there is a stress due to the guitar body? = levered weight of the body = say 2 kg. This is the decrease in tension.

    and what is the neck designed for? about a 100 kg load.


    Now about loosening the strings when not playing.
    Well is there anything special happening when we play the guitar? Except the string and body vibrations - NO.
    So why would you keep the guitar in tune if you play daily.
    BUT keep the strings loose, if you plan not to play regularly?

    The truss rod is pre-stressed opposite of string stress direction. To create a balance.
    When there is no string tension - there is only the truss rod, and we can expect backward bending of the neck. Why would you want that to happen?
     
  12. vendettarevived

    vendettarevived New Member

    Interesting thread. My teacher also advised me to loosen up the strings if I am not going to practice for a few days, but I didn't do it, mainly because of the point made above, stating that the truss rod is pre-stressed in the opposite direction. Wouldn't just tuning it a step down be a better alternative?
     
  13. mymusicmyguitar

    mymusicmyguitar Active Member

    Good piece of information!!!!
     
  14. alpha1

    alpha1 I BLUES!

    Our world is being run on traditions and beliefs ... with no rational or logical backing :(

    (Actually the stress on neck/tuning pegs figures in my post above should be half of the string tension, not equal. Since the string is tethered at both ends - the force on both ends should add up to the stress on the string, ergo the stress should be half)
     
  15. horsesmouth

    horsesmouth Active Member

    ^i guess not.. Figure this..

    T-->[-----------<--T---:----T-->----------]<--T
    :) is any point on the thread)

    The logic is if you hang a 5 kg load by a string, string tension is 5 kg-f, and so is the load at fixed end.
    So alpha1, you were right the first time...
    If the figure's unintelligible, forgive, I typed it on my cellphone..
     
  16. wylder

    wylder Member

    From my experience, nothing unusual happens to the guitar whether you leave it tuned to standard or drop tuned. Over the years, the neck wood will yield to the stresses and might bend a very tiny bit. To correct this, your guitar has a truss rod which when tightened straightens the neck back to original level. This is why you should get your guitar set-up once in a while.

    As far as leaving it a stand or case or whatever, besides the obvious possibility of damage due to dropping the instrument I don't see any advantage of one over the other. If anything, it would be better to leave it in a case to avoid too much of temperature and humidity related issues. When the humidity in the air around the guitar increases, unfinished parts of wood absorbs moisture and expands. Similarly, heating expands solids in general. So when different joints (neck and fingerboard / wood and paint) get heated, differential expansion causes bending/cracking (like a bi-metallic strip).

    So if you really are concerned about your valuable guitar, leave your guitar in a case in a cool place. Also, use a wax polish and fretboard oil to keep moisture out.
    For acoustic guitar you can get a hydrometer to monitor and a humidifier to regulate humidity. The necessity of all this obviously depends on the value of your guitar...
     
  17. alpha1

    alpha1 I BLUES!

    Oops, you are right...
     
  18. abkinz

    abkinz New Member

    Hi all,

    I too purchased the same guitar i.e Pluto hw41-201 Jumbo. Though it sounds amazing, but there is an annoying buzz on the 2nd fret in B-string. When I tried adjusting the truss rod to remove the "buzz", the action has become too large to the tune of 5-6mm at the 12th fret. Any suggestions to remove the "buzz" without setting the action too high???

    Abhilash
    Assam
     
    Last edited: Jun 14, 2013

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