String height, radius, and picking

Playing Technique
#1

My guitar’s neck has a radius and normaly i would set my string height following the radius, and because of that the strings in the middle are somewhat higher thee the lower and higher strings.
As an expiriment i now put the lower and higher strings to the same hight as the middle strings.
I always try to hit the strings with as less of the pick as possible and always have the feeling i had to compensate the path the pick follows due to the difference in string height.
Now it feels easier hitting every strings with the same amount of pick.
Downside is of course that you have to get used to the somewhat higher action on the lower and higher strings.

I am not sure yet if leave it this way, but sofar it feels good.

String radius and cross picking
Inside picking and high action
#2

The radius of the neck has never really phased me when it comes to picking - I’d say that this may be because most of my guitars have a raidius at the bridge anywhere from 16-20", but then again my favorite guitar, a Strat I’ve owned since the late 90s, has a constant 10" radius, which isn’t THAT flat.

For me, string height is set solely to balance ease fretting vs clean bending.

2 Likes
#3

I would guess that the easiest escape is when the strings are not flat, but are in an arc, like a cello or violin; indeed, I would guess that this should really help cross-picking motions, the smaller the radius, the better.

I have recently been thinking about drinking one flavor of KoolAid for everything, so I am down to exactly one guitar pick (Dunlop Flow 2.0mm), one string gauge (8–38, but perhaps with some minor tweaks for more uniform tension), one tuning (4ths), and I have too many bridges (Floyd, Floyd, Wilkinson, ToM); this makes me wonder if I should at least look at the bridges and try to make their spacing all the same, as well as their relative heights. I’m wondering if two identical guitars is all that one really needs, ideally setup exactly the same way, where there are some really fundamental questions that one should ask, like “is my Floyd going to float, or be dive-only?”

#4
#5

I don’t know, for now i feel it is the opposite.
Now that the strings al have the same height at the spot i pick i feel it is easier to hit the strings with the same minimal amount of pick more easy, i don’t feel it is more difficult to escape.
still have to get comfortable with this for the left hand though.

#6

What’s your neck radius?

#7

It is a Blade RH4 with a 12" radius

#8

If the strings are the same height, isn’t there a problem while bending?