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Once I started fixating on string height, I bought this Sunlego ruler tool for 5 bucks on Amazon, which is the best fiver I've spent on gear in a very long time! Incredibly useful, easy to use, and removes all guesswork--even comes in its own little leatherette case :)
@wim Yeah, if I whack the string as a downstroke with the entire weight of my wrist, on a 10 gauge strings, you'd be hardly able to avoid string slapping against the frets at any acceptable action. That doesn't qualify as choking, to me. Choking is when the sustain is drastically reduced, usually followed with buzzing. We can split hair all day long though, it is what it is...
There's no reduced sustain with this guitar, at least nothing radical. When you listen to Tchavolo, there is definitely the sound of a string slapping against the frets. But that's not the sound of choking or fretting out. In recent videos with Fappy, I've heard that, notes choking out. Which, I think somebody said that these days he needs to play guitars with ultra low action.
@Rico59 I just got one myself. I always used a caliper but the purpose built action height ruler is a lot easier. And for the price it's no brainier. $7.99 on Amazon in the States. The brand is Junlego, by the way. When I typed the other, the search was giving me Lego related stuff.
I thought it might be Junlego, but that sounded too out there, so I figured maybe it was an S...🤣
I couldn't fit a 1.38 Jazz III on top of the 2.00 gator but I was able to fit the cardboard from a pack of Argentine's on top of the gator with a little room to spare...so I'm guessing my action's probably a typical 2.2-2.4 at the 12th?? Not to imply anyone should trust my math at this point, including myself lol
Two 1.38s together would be about 2.75, which is pretty ballpark for the 6th string. 2.0 or a bit higher is good for the 1st string
Light vs med. Argie strings makes a big difference in the feel, for a given action.
Neck relief also greatly affects the feel (but changing neck relief with the truss rod also changes the action).
Three credit cards are about 2.5mm. A dime and a penny is about 2.6mm. A CC and a penny is 2.3-3 (CCs vary).
Thx guys. I use Argentine 11s on all my guitars (primarily because I find them more durable/long-lasting), although I do have a pack of 10s I might try on the Altamira again. Anyway, I tried a 2.5 plastic pick and it touches the low E so I'm still thinking it's gotta be like 2.3-2.4. As for the high E, the 2.0 gator touches but just barely so it's probably 1.8-1.9. On that note, when I drop a 2.0 gator from the top, it gets caught around the G string (sorry Wim).
You could try temporarily shimming the bridge feet with very thin picks -- e.g., .a 0.50mm pick under each foot -- just to see how you like it (but give it a little time, and the tone may not be great with them). At that height, you could also try Argentine 10s.
Honestly, I really like the action where it is but I'll def use some shims again if I try out the 10s - I do prefer plastic shims although I usually cut up an old credit card instead of using picks. And yeah, the tone suffers a bit but it's a lot better than having any strings fret out lol
removing my stupid jokes.