Acoustic Action

[PaulR]

I recently discovered osteo-arthritis in the thumb of my left (fretting) hand. A cortisone shot is helping but I am not about to stop playing. Is it possible to get electric-like action on an acoustic? Barre chords are taking a toll on me! My acoustic is a Seagull SM6+ with a sound I am very happy with. No buzzes or fret noise at present. Should I seek out a luthier and see if I can improve things a bit? Thanks!

[Lance]

want to encourage you to buy another guitar but my Taylor 614CE plays a lot like an electric. The action is pretty low and is very easy to play.

That said, if Taylor can make them play like that, it's probably possible to make your guitar play more like an electric and give your hands a break. (of course, the assumption is that the neck and construction allows it)

[Wally]

Every guitar can benefit from a good set-up. Take a Taylor..I have never seen a new Taylor that plays as well as it can. I have one sitting in the shop waiting for a properly compensated bone saddle and a set-up as we speak. This goes for every new guitar.....Martin, Gibson, Larrivee, Guild, Takamine, Alvarez...on and on. They all need a set-up, and almost all USA made guitars need a new saddle.
Paul, try this....fret on and off at the first fret on each string while taking note of the action to the the fret. Then, either capo or fret the first fret and fret on and off at the 2nd fret. Compare this action to the action off of the nut to the first fret. More than likely, the action at the 2nd fret will be less(lighter) than the action at the first fret. Until the nut is regulated to the 1st fret properly, the guitar will not play well. After the nut is regulated properly and the neck relief is set, then action off of the bridge can be set for the needs of the player. Note: your saddle on that Seagull is not compensated properly. The only North American guitars that I know of that come with properly compensated saddles are the Collings, Santa Cruz, and the Bourgouise.
Also, Paul, I am sorry to hear about your arthritis. I keep my fingers crossed (loosely). My age is advancing and I fear the loss of flexibility. I do set-ups with decreased string tension to accommodate athritic customers limmitations. I hope that your situation can be helped.

[PaulR]

Thanks all for the suggestions! Hey Wally, about those setups, I live in the Seattle area and do not know of a good luthier. Most shops seem to have "one of the guys" do the setups. How do I find someone who knows compensation and regulating? That sounds like the ticket. The arthritis isn't terrible--I'll be turning 46 this summer, but the joint was getting visibly swollen.

[Wally]

Paul the best thing to do is to become acquainted with some of the basic points of guitar construction...namely line of neck and neck set angle. Without one-on-one interaction, this is a tough one. Once you can read these points, you can understand whether or not a tech/luthier has the knowledge necessary to make an instrument play well....and there are ranges of correctness at both ends of the 'action', right?
Reading the line of the neck.....I set the butt of the guitar down on the floor with the fingerboard facing a source of light. Look down each side of the neck from above the peghead. The ends of the frets will 'draw' a nice silver line that is easily read. Take note of the relief. Observe what the board does from the 12th fret on. Ideally, their will be relief from the 1st to the 12th fret and some slight 'fallaway' from the 12th fret on. You do not want to see irregularities. You don't want to see the board change directions at the body joint and form a 'v' type of thing. You don't want to see a hump at or beyond the body joint. Once you determine the line, then imaginarily 'shoot' this line of the neck on toward the bridge. With a radiussed bridge, from the G to the high E, you want to see that line hit the top of the bridge and the bottom of the saddle. On the bass side, you wold like to se the ine hit down into the wood of the bridge a slight bit. On a flat bridge as on a Taylor, you have to sight over the top of the nut and want to see the line of the neck hit the top of the bridge/bottom of the saddle in the area of the G string. Because of the flat bridge and the radiussed board, the ine of neck will hit into the wood on both the treble and bass side but be farther into the wood on the bass side.
If these two construction concerns are correct, then the guitar can be set up with any action a player prefers. I consider 6/64"(bass) and 4/64"(treble) at the 12th fret to be a medium action. This is, of course, with the nut properly regulated and neck relief at something less than .005". Below these settings at the 12th fret yields lighter action, and bluegrass players will want something above this...7 and 5 is fairly stiff.
Finding someone who can give a guitar a good set-up is a boon to any player of any level and will expand a player's possibilities and enjoyment immensely.

[PaulR]

I tracked down a Luthier, finally, bit the bullet and decided once and for all to invest in my Seagull. I realized that if the Luthier found that major work was needed, I would make a judgement call as to whether or not to proceed. Anyway, it required a slight neck angle adjustment at the heel, some light fret leveling and the usual truss rod, nut and bridge adjustments.

Let me tell you, it plays like something out of its league! Low action, no buzzes and the intonation is spot on! All the way up the neck is a breeze and barre chords are no longer my worst enemy. Hail luthiers! Can you tell I am impressed? If you like your present guitar, you will love it with the help someone who really knows can provide. I highly recommend it!