The Action of the guitar is probably one of those terms as a player, especially a beginner would have heard of when first encountering a guitar technician. What exactly is the Action of the Guitar? It is the amount of space between the string and the frets of the guitar. Why is the Action of the Guitar particularly important? It is because, the Action of the Guitar determines how comfortable it is to play the guitar. Although there are many different kinds of action available that each individual players prefer, I personally like very low action on my guitars, usually measuring 1mm at the 12th fret(This is only for electric guitars).
What are the advantages of having low actions. The lower the action, the less pressure required for you to fret the notes. Meaning it's a lot easier for you to play. However, for players who center around the first 3 frets of the guitar, the action probably wouldn't make that much of a difference.
What are the disadvantage of having low action then? Well, the string get robbed of it's vibration property therefore giving you less crystal clear tone. What is then a good action to have? According to Rich Harris from Ibanezrules.com, he usually sets his guitars at 1.5mm measured at the 12th fret. That is adequate enough for easy playing and giving enough space for the string to vibrate.
My personal preference is 1mm however, what is yours?
