Want The Same Action Stevie Ray Had?
Monday, June 9th, 2008
We all want the same action Stevie Ray Vaughan had. I mean guitar action, string height, neck relief, fret level. I’m talking the way the ‘action’ on his guitar is set up. Why would someone want a guitar ’setup’ like Stevie Ray’s? Well for one thing, he is one of the best blues guitar players that ever lived. A relatively close second to Jimi Hendrix.
‘Lenny’, was one of Stevie Ray’s favorite guitars. Because I do some setup work and understand the specs Stevie Ray used for this particular guitar, I wanted to share the specifications with you. I reviewed a ‘Lenny’ guitar, and boy oh boy is it setup nice. Briefly, I love to do setup work, it’s very mechanical and precise and I enjoy setting up guitars for people and then hearing them say “it never played like this before.” I am not a guitar maker though, I am a setup artist.
Stevie Ray’s ‘Lenny’ Setup specs:
Scale length 25-1/2″ with a compounded 7-1/4″ to 12″ compound radius.
Frets are huge, .110″ x .055″ new.
Strings are GHS Nickel Rockers, super large guage .013″to .058″. Must have had giant super human strength in his hands!
Nut action is .o20″ on low E at nut and 3.5/32″ at 17th fret. On the high E the action is .012″ at nut and 5/64″ at 17th fret.
Simply put, these are the most critical points of adjustment. Not the only ones, but combine the different adjustments in the proper order and you have a guitar set up like Stevie Ray. Realistically speaking, if you have the specs, than it can be setup up your way or to your favorite guitarists specs.
Personally I like an even lower action, or string height over the frets. As low as I can get it without fretting out. I came up with my own strategy from reading and trying setup adjustments from many players, such as Jeff Beck and Eric Johnson, to name a few. I also craft a bone nut as a replacement nut for all of my guitars.
With that being said, I don’t recommend doing your own setup work. Especially if you have never done a setup or don’t have the correct tools. I would like to suggest trying it on a cheap guitar the first time. If not, for a perfect setup find a competent luthier and give him the setup specs that you want.
Got any questions? Fell free to ask Guitar Players Center via our comment area. I will attempt to answer all questions. If you like the vibe, please share it with others. Enjoy.