VintageMike
TDPRI Member
In an interview I read, Stevie's guitar tech said his action was really high-like a 1/2 inch. If I kept my action low and lowered the pickup height, would that basically do the same thing, in theory?
SRV Strat setup
- Thread starter VintageMike
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Mr. Lumbergh
Poster Extraordinaire
As far as the relative pickup-string height, sure. But high action (it was on the high side but wasn't a half inch btw, I've seen #1 in person) also give greater clearance from the fretboard. So, buzz is eliminated and sustain is improved, even when beating on the strings- and that is a key component of his sound, the authority with which he hit them.
Nope. It wont be the same.
Stevie had insanely high action, mainly due to his style of "attack."
Combine that with the completely ridiculously heavy strings that he used .013 e .014 e - etc. and the action had to come up to avoid buzzing.
He did switch to .011 e strings later in life, at the begging of his guitar tech, and because his fingers were pretty abused.
I've never heard of him having the action lowered with the lighter strings either.
Just the way he played, and why he and his sound were so unique - and awesome!
Stevie had insanely high action, mainly due to his style of "attack."
Combine that with the completely ridiculously heavy strings that he used .013 e .014 e - etc. and the action had to come up to avoid buzzing.
He did switch to .011 e strings later in life, at the begging of his guitar tech, and because his fingers were pretty abused.
I've never heard of him having the action lowered with the lighter strings either.
Just the way he played, and why he and his sound were so unique - and awesome!
what interview? His number 1 has been measured and it was
around 6/64ths at the ow E and 4/64ths at the high E
thats medium-high action. No where near 32/64ths!
Vladimir
Friend of Leo's
VintageMike
TDPRI Member
The interview with his tech Rene Martinez
Aaarrgh! This imperical measuring system is gonna drive me insane!
2.3mm vs 13mm
which one makes more sense?
Its been measured at 2.3mm
13mm is goofy high
No way it's 1/2". That's like a lap steel.
No way it's 1/2". That's like a lap steel.
sounds like a fish tale
how high was it?
"a half inch if it were a mm!"
rogb
Tele-Afflicted
kennl
Friend of Leo's
That Erlewine measurement is unusual. All the single coil Tele and Strat pickups I have ever adjusted sent a balanced signal (equal VU meter setting) between the high and low "E" strings with the high "E" pole piece closer to the string. That measurement, along with Ceasar Diaz's amp mods and Stevie's use of 15" speakers points to a signal chain with accentuated low end at the source and speaker. That, and the heavier strings, would slap the preamp of his amps with a hot signal.
rogb
Tele-Afflicted
It wasn't only 15" speakers, here's a photo from GP Dec1993 where SRV's amp setup is examined (sorry about the quality of the phone pic)
Attachments
Mike Simpson
Doctor of Teleocity
Aaarrgh! This imperical measuring system is gonna drive me insane!
I feel the same way about the metric system...
All SRV lore aside, low pickups with low action would NOT do the same thing as high action.
With high action, the distance from the string to the pickup changes as you play further up the neck, so the pickup output increases as you move up the neck, but output is lower when playing open chords.
This happens with any action height, but the higher the action the more the distance between string and pickup changes as you pull the strings down to the frets and closer to the pickups.
With high action, the distance from the string to the pickup changes as you play further up the neck, so the pickup output increases as you move up the neck, but output is lower when playing open chords.
This happens with any action height, but the higher the action the more the distance between string and pickup changes as you pull the strings down to the frets and closer to the pickups.
to give you an idea, this is what 13mm looks like
I believe this is actually lower than 13mm lol
so SRV used action at least this high if not higher
and he walked up hill both ways, chopped a Mt. down
with his hand etc....
My guess it was an offhand remark ,"he used really high action, like 1/2" !
he wasnt being literal
I believe this is actually lower than 13mm lol
so SRV used action at least this high if not higher
and he walked up hill both ways, chopped a Mt. down
with his hand etc....
My guess it was an offhand remark ,"he used really high action, like 1/2" !
he wasnt being literal
ThermionicScott
Poster Extraordinaire
My guess it was an offhand remark ,"he used really high action, like 1/2" !
he wasnt being literal
That's always been my guess. And try intonating a guitar with action that high!
tap4154
Doctor of Teleocity
^^^^^^ That's even high for lap steel or squareneck reso!
I've always found that you can get lower action with heavier string. Tension is larger, so they don't vibrate as strong.
If you look at the gauges posted, it's not even that wild. The e-strings is heavy at .13, but then you have .15 and .19, which isn't that insane given that it is tuned down to Eb.
mojosman
Tele-Meister
There is a guy over on Strat talk that tells a story of Meeting SRV backstage when touring for In Step. The board member got to play #1 while seated on a couch backstage. He said the action was uncomfortably high. My recollection was there were many reasons for this, most have already been mentioned here. Another reason not mentioned here yet was his crazy big Buddy Guy style bends. With a lower action bending under neighboring strings causes issues.
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