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Last Updated on March 18, 2023 by Guitarist Authority
This is our review of the best acoustic guitars with low action.
Guitars with low action are the ultimate beginners guitar. They are not only for beginners however, guitars with low action are also beneficial depending on your style, the music genre and string gauge.
If fingerstyle picking or using thinner string gauges. lower action may be beneficial. This is however, not an exact science. Feel is everything here and your own playstyle will determine how low/high you’re most comfortable.
The term “low action” refers to the distance between a guitar’s strings and fretboard. The lower the action, generally, the easier it is to play as you do not have to push down on the strings as hard.
For beginners, low action guitars are usually recommended because they’re more comfortable when playing. Finger pain and fatigue are greatly reduced with lower action enabling you to spend more time learning.
Our pick for best guitar with low action is the Fender CD-60. It’s dreadnought body and spruce top provide booming volume and it’s low action make it a breeze to play for hours.
In this post we’ll go over some of the best acoustic guitars with low action.
Best Acoustic Guitars With Low Action
Fender CD-60 Acoustic Guitar
- Body Shape: Dreadnought
- Body Material: Laminated Mahogany
- Top/Face Material: Laminated Spruce
- Fingerboard: Walnut
- Finish: Gloss Polyurethane
- Bracing: Scalloped X
- Frets: 20
What we like about these guitars with low action?
The Fender CD-60 is an affordable, great looking acoustic guitar for beginners, available in three different colors: Black, Natural or Sunburst.
It features a mahogany body, spruce top and uses scalloped X style bracing. The rosette is white pearloid acrylic and the body is finished with gloss polyurethane.
The fingerboard is made of walnut and has a radius of 12″ (305 mm). The neck has a “C” shape, is finished with gloss urethane and has white pearloid dot inlays. The scale length is 25.3″ (643 mm).
It comes equipped with Fender Dura-Tone 880L Coated 80/20 strings (.012-.052 Gauges) and black pickguard.
The Fender CD-60 has a walnut bridge, the bridge pins are white, with black dots. This guitar has chrome hardware and die-cast tuning machines.
Fender FA-235E Acoustic-Electric Guitar
- Body Shape: Concert
- Body Material: Laminated Mahogany
- Top/Face Material: Laminated Flame Maple
- Fingerboard: Indian Laurel
- Finish: Gloss
- Frets: 20
What we like about these guitars with low action?
The Fender FA-235E is an acoustic-electric guitar that provides a lot of value. It is available in: Natural, 3-Tone Sunburst or Moonlight Burst finishes.
This guitar is made with a mahogany body and flame maple top. It has the concert body shape and is finished in gloss.
The 20 fret fingerboard is made from Indian laurel, the neck is made from nato and is finished with gloss urethane. The fingerboard has a radius of 11.81″ (300 mm) and the scale length is 25.3″ (643 mm).
The Fender FA-235E comes equipped with Fender Dura-Tone 880L Coated 80/20 strings (.012-.052 Gauges).
The bridge is made from Indian laurel, the hardware is finished in chrome and the tuning machines are open-back geared.
Ibanez PM1MH Acoustic Guitar
- Body Shape: Parlor 2
- Body Material: Nyatoh
- Top/Face Material: Sapele
- Fingerboard: Nandu Wood
- Frets: 18
What we like about these guitars with low action?
The Ibanez PN1MH brings big sound in a smaller body.
This acoustic has a parlor style body made from nyatoh as well as a top made from sapele.
The fingerboard, made from nandu, contains 18 frets and has white dot inlays. The neck is made from nyatoh.
This guitar comes equipped with Ibanez IACS6C strings (0.012-0.053 guages).
The bridge is made from nandu and the tuning machines are chrome open gear tuners w/ivory knobs.
Ibanez PC15 Acoustic Guitar
- Body Shape: Grand Concert
- Body Material: Nyatoh
- Top/Face Material: Spruce
- Fingerboard: Nandu Wood
- Frets: 20
NOTE: This is NOT in English but gives a good idea of what the guitar sounds like. You are able to use auto-translate closed captioning to read what he’s saying.
What we like about these guitars with low action?
The Ibanez PC15 is guitar that provides full, balanced tone.
This guitar has a grand concert body made from nyatoh. It has a spruce top with black pickguard,
The 18 fret fingerboard is made from nandu and the neck is made from nyatoh. The inlay is white dots.
This acoustic comes equipped with D’Addario strings (.012-.053 guage).
The bridge on the Ibanez PC15 is made from nandu wood. The tuning machines are chrome die-cast tuners.
Ibanez PC12MH Acoustic Guitar
- Body Shape: Grand Concert
- Body Material: Okoume
- Top/Face Material: Okoume
- Fingerboard: Laurel
- Frets: 20
What we like about these guitars with low action?
This Ibanez PC12MH acoustic packs a warm, balanced tone.
The back, sides and top for this grand concert style acoustic are made from sapele.
The nandu wood fingerboard has 20 frets and white dot inlays. The neck is made from nyatoh.
This Ibanez comes equipped with Ibanez IACS6C strings (.012-.053 guage).
The bridge is made from nandu and come with chrome open-bridge tuners.
Jasmine S-34C Acoustic Guitar
- Body Shape: Grand Orchestra
- Body Material: Sapele
- Top/Face Material: Spruce
- Fingerboard: Rosewood
- Bracing: Jasmine Advanced “X” Bracing
- Frets: 20
What we like about these guitars with low action?
A great budget option. The Jamine S-34C is a lot of guitar.
The grand orchestra style body is made from sapele and contains Jasmine Advanced “X” Bracing. The top is made from spruce and the guitar is finished with gloss.
The rosewood fretboard has 20 frets and has pearloid dots for inlays. The neck is made from nato and the scale length is 25.5″ (648 mm).
This Ibanez comes equipped with Phosphor Bronze Light Gauge .012-.053 strings.
The bridge is rosewood with a synthetic bone saddle and the hardware is chrome.
How To Adjust The Action On An Acoustic Guitar
Adjusting the action on an acoustic guitar can be accomplished in a few easy steps. If you’re uncomfortable with this, or do not get the result you desire, visit your local music shop or luthier for a professional setup. Be sure to know the different parts of a guitar before proceeding.
Check for neck relief
Place one finger on the first fret and another on the last fret. Check the action between the strings and the frets. If there is a gap between the string and frets, your guitar has neck relief. Too much relief can cause intonation issues.
If the string is touching the frets, your neck may have backbow. This is one of the causes of fret buzz.
Places on the guitar to adjust action
There are three places we can make adjustments to guitar action. The truss rod, the saddle and the nut.
Truss rod adjustment
Truss rods can be either single or double action.
A single action truss rod when turned clockwise will lower relief and straighten the neck or put it into backbow. If you turn a single action truss rod counter-clockwise, the string tension is what pulls the neck back into upbow/relief.
A double action truss rod operates the same as a single action when putting a neck into backbow but instead of using the string tension to provide relief, the truss rod itself forces the neck into upbow/relief.
Note: Be sure to only make small adjustments, 1/8″ or less.
Saddle Adjustment
This is where it gets more involved, now we start making permanent adjustments to the guitar. As mentioned before, if uncomfortable, stop here. Visit your local music shop or luthier.
First, compare fretboard radius with saddle radius using your radius gauges. These measurements should be similar, ideally identical. If they are, great! Move on to the next step. If not, you’ll need to adjust your acoustic guitars saddle. This can be accomplished by sanding it down or adding a shim.
Nut adjustment
Like the saddle, permanent adjustments are the only option here. You can further adjust action by filing the string/fret slots in the nut with special nut files for your string gauge. You may also need to file down the overall height of the nut so your string are not too deep in the slots.
Our Verdict
Our favorite pick from our list of best guitars with low action is the Fender CD-60 acoustic guitar. It’s a great sounding, great value guitar with low action. It’s well built and has great playability.
If you are looking for a great beginner option or budget genuine Fender, you can’t go wrong with the Fender CD-60.
