Does action effect sound?

['59]

Howdy, I was playing a Tele with particularly high action at the guitar center and noticed that if I was playing higher up the neck and threw in an open string it stood out a little more than it usually did.

So then I got to fiddling around and noticed that when I play lower on the neck of this guitar, the strings sit quite a bit higher over the pickups. On a lower action guitar I'd think the string height over the pickup would be more consistent.

Am I going crazy or is this an actual thing that effects the sound of the instrument?

 

[NegativeEase]

Yes it does -especially volume -tone is more complicated

-first -you can strike harder with higher action without buzzing

-if the strings orbital path touch the frets anywhere on the neck it has a tonal and volume effect -so the lower you go the more artifacts and noise you get which is basically converting what would be sound into your pickups into heat and vibration into your frets.

Notice I never said any of this is "bad" -a lot of guitarists prefer some buzzing and artifacting.

 

[GuitarStv]

In addition to both things that NegativeEase has mentioned above:

If you have high action then the string physically moves more when you fret. Playing up high on the neck will move the strings much closer to the pickups than playing down low on the neck. Given that the pickups are the thing responsible for converting all of that string energy into sound, this change in distance can make quite a difference in how things sound.

 

[solspirit]

. Given that the pickups are the thing responsible for converting all of that string energy into sound, this change in distance can make quite a difference in how things sound.

I thinkthis makes a huge difference, your further away from the microphones, compare it to singing a song.

 

[BeKindRewind]

seems like sustain is more affected than actual "timbre" or "tone". intonation seems to be better too which also enhances the apparent sound I believe

 

[GuitarDoc]

Howdy, I was playing a Tele with particularly high action at the guitar center and noticed that if I was playing higher up the neck and threw in an open string it stood out a little more than it usually did.

So then I got to fiddling around and noticed that when I play lower on the neck of this guitar, the strings sit quite a bit higher over the pickups. On a lower action guitar I'd think the string height over the pickup would be more consistent.

Am I going crazy or is this an actual thing that effects the sound of the instrument?

Certainly that can have an effect. But pups can also be raised or lowered independent of the action.

 

[GuitarStv]

Certainly that can have an effect. But pups can also be raised or lowered independent of the action.

With high action an open string will be much higher over the pickups. When you fret a note up on the fretboard (say 17th fret or further up) on a guitar with high action the pickup will always be way closer to the vibrating string, changing the tone quite a bit. You can raise the pickups all you want but it won't change this discrepancy. It still exists with low action, but to a much lesser degree.

seems like sustain is more affected than actual "timbre" or "tone". intonation seems to be better too which also enhances the apparent sound I believe

Because of the string movement involved while fretting, high action will usually give worse intonation. Sustain seems to be impacted with very low action (where the string bangs into the frets), but there's no difference I can hear between medium and high action (if you really hammer the strings with the right hand you might hear it though).

 

[formula73]

I don’t think it effects tone.

That said, it absolutely affects tone.

 

[PFDarkside]

Try it on your own guitar. Adjust the pickups as well. That way you’ll know exactly how much it changes to you.

I usually have my 52 style Tele strung with 11s and high action, it definitely sounds different than if I use 9s and low action.

 

[PS412]

Depends on the night of the week.
Ahhhh?

 

[solspirit]

Depends on the night of the week.
Ahhhh?

lol

 

[Chistopher]

Try it on your own guitar. Adjust the pickups as well. That way you’ll know exactly how much it changes to you.

I usually have my 52 style Tele strung with 11s and high action, it definitely sounds different than if I use 9s and low action.

Well at that point the change in string guage is mostly what you're hearing.

I experimented with this using a glass slide so that I could push the string down to simulate lower action without deading the string, and the tone change was very subtle, way more subtle than I thought it would be. Most of the tone change was probably just a byproduct of the string changing pitch.

 

[PFDarkside]

Well at that point the change in string guage is mostly what you're hearing.

I experimented with this using a glass slide so that I could push the string down to simulate lower action without deading the string, and the tone change was very subtle, way more subtle than I thought it would be. Most of the tone change was probably just a byproduct of the string changing pitch.

I mean I’ve lowered and raised the action, and with raised action it sounds notes much more clearly and purely than when I have the action slammed down. The combo of the bigger strings and higher action makes me want to play cowboy chords, etc. on it. So yes, the string gauge is playing the biggest part, but something about it ringing free opens it up a bit I think.