I 've waited a few years and saved up to finally get my flamenco guitar. It finally arrived at 6:40 this evening. The jury is out though. I am waiting for it to warm up after its cold UPS trip before tuning it and trying it out; but the action seems a little high up the neck. What should I be looking for in terms of distance of strings from the neck at, say, the 12th fret? It is very frustrating not having the opportunity to try a number of them out at the same time to see how they play and sound. I have 48 hours to decide if I like it; unfortunately it came very late in the day on a very busy week.

Chris

First of all your sofa looks exactly like mine. I put my case in the same place when practicing. No higher than 3mm on the 6th string and 2.8mm on the 1st IMO. I adjust mine to 2.5mm at 12th fret on all the strings. I get more buzz than you might like. Start with sanding the bottom of the saddle and try 3mm and see how it feels. Also they may have the nut high, but be careful sanding it. Try a cejilla and see if this helps. If so the nut may be high. If you plan on returning it, I wouldn't mess with it. It never hurts to buy a couple of saddle blanks and make spare saddles of different heights.

Hello Chris,

Action at 12th fret can be as low as 2mm or even slightly less. However, fretwork and other set-up issues have to be dialed-in perfectly in order for such low action to sound right. As Manos Lentas said, less than 3mm, both bass and treble side. I'd say 2.5 is my basic set-up, and I adjust it from there, as needed, depending on customer's preference. Congrats on your new guitar!