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Video Question: Guitar Action

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Date: April 21st, 2008 | Length: 13.38 | Instructor: Matt Brown

Jdemail78 says, "I hear a lot about guitar action but I'm not really sure what is good or bad. I had purchased an acoustic guitar that I believe had very low action (strings were very close to the neck of the guitar) and it was very easy to play but it ended up having some issues with fret buzz and other ringing sounds that I did not like and could not get corrected at the local guitar shop. I've since replaced it with a little bit better guitar and I no longer have any fret buzz nor do I have any ringing sounds but it seems like the action is higher (strings are much higher off the neck of the guitar) and therefore, for me as a beginner, it is harder to play. My question is when it comes to an experienced guitar player (which I am not...yet...) is it good to have a guitar with higher action or lower action? What would one typically prefer? Do really nice expensive guitars come with very low action making them easy to play but don't have any buzzing issues or is it a case where as you get better, higher action is ok because your better at fretting chords and notes? My curiosity with this comes from a hope that the guitar I have now, with it's strings higher off the fret board, will slowly become easier to play as I get better and I'll become ok with the higher action because it does sound better and cleaner than the one I had with the lower action. Also, please correct me if I have the "high action" "low action" descriptions backwards." Another benefit of being a member of JamPlay is the video response section. Our expert staff fields questions from our members and provides video responses each week.
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Other Video Responses:

- June 18th, 2008 (2 minutes, 35 seconds)
Paigew asks, "I got a cheap guitar off of ebay that was a mistake. I was taking of me strings when my nut fell of. What glue should I use to put it back on or should I take it to the shop to get it put back on." View Response
A shape barre chords - May 13th, 2008 (2 minutes, 38 seconds)
Theedge asked "Hi, I'm having some trouble with the A shape barre chords. My 3rd finger just won't bend enough to let the first string ring. While experimenting alternate methods I discovered that my pinky bends almost to a right angle and used it successfully in place of my 3rd finger. But the problem I have now is that this position is slow to switch to. So my question is : did you, during your experience, see anybody fingering an A shape barre that way successfully ? If the answer is no, do you think that my 3rd finger will become more flexible with time and practice or is that a physical limitation that cannot be perfected ? Thanks a lot." View Response
Solo Creation - March 21st, 2008 (1 minutes, 29 seconds)
Ragdoll asks, "Hello. Long story short, I have a really big problem with coming up with solos even after seeing your response to 3jennijarre's question. Please give me tips. thank you. " View Response
Finger Positioning - March 21st, 2008 (2 minutes, 11 seconds)
Fairchildj asks, "I have just recently began with Phase I of training. One issue that I am having is that I find placing my fingers in the right frets extremely difficult for my middle two fingers. My fingers curl on each other a bit 3rd finger overlapping the 4th finger...so when I place them on the frets, the 3rd finger wants to poing back towards the 2nd fret instead of where it should be on the 3rd fret. By sliding my hand a bit, I can overcome this but I don't want to pick up a bad habit that will limit my advancement in the future...any recommendations?" View Response
Progress When to Move On - October 31st, 2007 (1 minutes, 31 seconds)
Kirwin asks: "Well, This is all nice but, Mr S. Eulberg says you have to practise how much, what is my reference point? When shall I know that I made significant progress so that I can continue with next lesson. Thank you" View Response