What do they mean by a guitar being high in action?

Question

What does a guitar of High action mean, and whats the difference between steel strings and nylon strings, and what usually comes on an acoustic guitar? And how do i determine which size guitar i get? And if there is a specific guitar you suggest for a beginner would you please let me know.

Answer 1

high action was already covered, well, hmm, my acoustic has ridiculously high action...it's hell.... make sure you look for a guitar with low action....seriously...

steel strings/nylon strings: steel things are made out of steel (metal), nylon strings are made out of nylon. pretty self explanatory. =) nylon strings are usually on classical guitars, and steels are on electrics and acoustic. the difference between classical and acoustic is that classic is somewhat bigger.

get the size guitar that feels comfortable to you. just playing playing them at the store and holding them, you'll know when one's too big for you. some have bigger bodies (the main part of the guitar) either in size or thickness...if you're short you want a smaller guitar... you also have some that are shaped so you can play those high high frets, if you need that, get that, they're the guitar with the "caving" near those high high frets. however as a general rule of thumb, unless you're a really quick 8 year old on yahoo answers, don't get a children's guitar ;)

for a beginner....hmmm I dunno. Get a quality acoustic guitar I would say, one that you can play comfortably. Once you can play an acoustic comfortably electric is a breeze. What kind you get all depends on your budget really... get the one that sounds best to you for your budget.

Answer 2

Lots of great answers here. All of them correct and full of information. Action is sort of subjective though. I play a Martin D-28 that some people think has high action. A good friend of mine plays a vintage Gibson Dove that I think has action that is too low. If your guitar is not warped or not intoned properly or does not have some other mechanical problem, the action of the guitar only needs to satisfy the way you play.

Some things to consider, if the action is too low, the guitar often doesnt sound right. You can get string buzz and if the strings are not at the optimum distance from the back of the guitar...the soundboard...you lose something in quality. (That's my complaint with my friend's Dove!)

Adjusting action on an electric guitar is easier to adjust than on an acoustic for the most part. If the guitar sounds good and the action is a little rough, try to deal with it and get your fingers stronger before you make drastic changes to an acoustic.

Answer 3

OK alot of questions....
1. High action refers to the distance between the string and the fretboard... high action is harder than heck to play... adjustments need to be made on the bridge (if possible) Cheap-o guitars are notorious for this.
2. The diff. between nylon and steel strings is just that- nylon strings are made out of nylon and steel strings are made of steel. Nylon strings are most commonly used on classical or flamenco guitar, whereas steel covers the rest. A typical acoustic will come with steel strings unless otherwise noted.
3. Get a full size guitar.
4. Yamaha makes GOOD beginner guitars, or check with www.musiciansfriend.com and their ROUGE series, surprisingly good also.

Answer 4

in addition to all the above answers, i find nylon strings alot easier to play than medium gauge steel acoustic strings. but i suppose thats a matter of personal opinion:)

Answer 5

High action means that the strings are relatively far from the fingerboard, and harder to press down behind the frets. Your questions are best answered by a trip to a guitar store, where you can try out several. What kind of music do you want to play ?

Answer 6

action is how far the strings are off of the neck
its easier to play with lower action
and what do you mean what size?

Answer 7

It means how far away the strings are from the fretboard. You can raise or lower the action by raising or lowering the bridge.