GardMan
Enlightened Member
I have found that a tad over 3/32" works well for my mix of strumming and picking. I generally shoot for about 0.105", but the range on my 5 dreads is about 0.095" to 0.110" (measured with StewMacs gauge, which is marked in increments of 0.005").
On the other hand, the action at the first fret on my dreads is lower than most luthiers/techs would set... I take them as low as I can w/o buzzing when open, or back buzzing when fretted. When capoed between frets 2 & 3, there is only the tiniest gap between the string and the top of the 1st fret for strings 4-6, an almost imperceptible gap beneath the 3rd string, and strings 1 & 2 are just barely touch the top of the 1st fret. It works for me...
On the other hand, the action at the first fret on my dreads is lower than most luthiers/techs would set... I take them as low as I can w/o buzzing when open, or back buzzing when fretted. When capoed between frets 2 & 3, there is only the tiniest gap between the string and the top of the 1st fret for strings 4-6, an almost imperceptible gap beneath the 3rd string, and strings 1 & 2 are just barely touch the top of the 1st fret. It works for me...