Action lowered

rustneversleeps · September 2019

Just had this done on a recent setup.Guitar plays better,but I’ve noticed a slight loss of volume.
Is this me ? or do I need a hearing test

earwighoney · September 2019

rustneversleeps said:

Just had this done on a recent setup.Guitar plays better,but I’ve noticed a slight loss of volume.
Is this me ? or do I need a hearing test

Yep, that seems about right. A higher action generally means a bit more volume, so lowering the action would lead to a slight loss of volume.

ICBM · September 2019

If the bridge saddle has been lowered, this reduces the effective leverage that the strings have on the top as they vibrate, so the top moves less and produces less volume.

If the relief has been reduced too far you may also be getting very slight fret buzz, which affects the volume and sustain well before it becomes audible as an actual buzz/rattle.

You may also get a thinner tone as well, which you may hear as a loss of volume.

rustneversleeps · September 2019

Thks Guys.hearing test money saved.It does seem to have thinner sound.As it’s an 000 size i tend to notice quite a bit.I wish I had left it alone now.I suppose I could I have raised back to what it was.

ICBM · September 2019

rustneversleeps said:

Thks Guys.hearing test money saved.It does seem to have thinner sound.As it’s an 000 size i tend to notice quite a bit.I wish I had left it alone now.I suppose I could I have raised back to what it was.

It's worth asking whoever did it what he did. If he tightened the truss rod, simply loosening it again - not necessarily right back to as it was - may get you back some or most of the volume and tone without making it much harder to play, and without needing any substantial work. If he lowered the bridge saddle as well that's harder, but you could try a small shim under it - disapproved of by purists but they often work perfectly well, if the saddle slot is not so shallow that the saddle tries to tilt when it's lifted.

There's usually a 'sweet spot' in an acoustic set-up where the action is just high enough to allow the tone and volume to develop fully - higher than that doesn't actually improve things much, but lower will kill it. If it was a long way above the sweet spot before and is only just below it now, it's quite possible that you could get the best of both worlds by raising it to somewhere in between.

rustneversleeps · September 2019

ICBM said:

rustneversleeps said:

Thks Guys.hearing test money saved.It does seem to have thinner sound.As it’s an 000 size i tend to notice quite a bit.I wish I had left it alone now.I suppose I could I have raised back to what it was.

It's worth asking whoever did it what he did. If he tightened the truss rod, simply loosening it again - not necessarily right back to as it was - may get you back some or most of the volume and tone without making it much harder to play, and without needing any substantial work. If he lowered the bridge saddle as well that's harder, but you could try a small shim under it - disapproved of by purists but they often work perfectly well, if the saddle slot is not so shallow that the saddle tries to tilt when it's lifted.

There's usually a 'sweet spot' in an acoustic set-up where the action is just high enough to allow the tone and volume to develop fully - higher than that doesn't actually improve things much, but lower will kill it. If it was a long way above the sweet spot before and is only just below it now, it's quite possible that you could get the best of both worlds by raising it to somewhere in between.

I decided to let the truss rod off quite a bit.The volume has increased and substain.Ive haven’t done this before so I was a bit apprehensive.Now I’ve done my other guitars.Its nice to have my old guitar back.
Thks again guys.

Kittyfrisk · September 2019

Glad you got your tone & volume back, but I'd take it easy with truss rod adjustments.
Do it in several small increments, not 'quite a bit' all in one go.

rustneversleeps · September 2019

Kittyfrisk said:

Glad you got your tone & volume back, but I'd take it easy with truss rod adjustments.
Do it in several small increments, not 'quite a bit' all in one go.

I think I did.I loosed it a 1/4 of a turn then let it settle for a while then a little more and could tell as it sounded right.Don’t know if this correct,but to check I capped first fret then fretted the 12th and placed a business card under the 5th fret on the top E string.(12 Fret Guitar)

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