Just what the title says. If you slip the pick under the E,B,G strings at the 12th fret, and it's held there, your action is way too low and you probably can't get a good tone. Raise it!
The black gator is 2mm thick and something in 2.3mm-2.6mm is an acceptable range for the action on the high E string (source:
Bob Holo). Action is measured from the top of the fret to the bottom of the string at its midpoint, those 2mm picks should clear easily and fall right out.
Comments
The main reason I veered back away from big actions was intonation - the higher you go, the harder it is to get things to play in tune, and nothing sounds worse than an out of tune instrument. It's a fine line, I reckon. I used to have around a 3.5-3.7 action at the low E, which seems absolutely crazy now. This new Dupont does seem to have a higher tolerance that other guitars I've played for (relatively) lower action without crappy tone/buzzing.
I run my old Busato at about 3.0/2.3 because it likes it that way. I've been playing a traditional model prototype lately - its on the lower side at about 2.6/2.0. with 10/1000" relief. It plays well, but its definitely low. With that kind of setup, I'll probably have to shim it when the humidity drops this summer.
But definitely - you're right Wim - if trebles are thin and pingy and the action is low, try shimming it up a little. And of course, as KFM mentioned here earlier -- make sure the bridge fits the top.
This is a bit off the subject but I have noticed few things about intonation during the years with gypsy jazz guitars and every string type (10 or 11 Argentine or Galli silk & steel or d'Addario) should have a bridge that has been made (intonation correction) for that particular string type. If you have a bridge that has perfect intonation with lets say Argentine 11s then changing the gauge to 10s will definately make the intonation worse. For some reason most of the luthiers want to make bridges that doesn't have any intonation correction between G- and B-strings and this might be good with 11 argentines with moderately relief but the intonation is horrible with 10 argentines with the same action!
It is my opinion that a luthier may be able to construct a perfectly made guitar, but not all can achieve a great set up. I think some have a feel of how a guitar could play with their help, that doesn't always come from coldly applying a set of measurements. If that was the case, every Plek'd Gibson would play like a dream! While dialling in those measurements is good starting point, IMO it takes a certain feel to know how to tweak those to get the best out of a guitar, as each guitar can be a little different.
Have to maintain humidity in my Chicago apartment, which is annoying. Else the guitar moves heaps.. sadface.jpg .. Haven't had to deal with that when living in Paris nor Melbourne.