Do all Axis strings lay this close to fret board??

[vette c5]

First of all I am a beginner when it comes to guitars. I am doing some research on the Axis guitars.
I have came across Kent Carlevi on YouTube and love his setup and tone.
Below are two screen shots on his guitar and my question is...

Is it common for all Axis strings to lay this close to the fret board? or is it a custom setup by Kent?

In action...

 

[DrKev]

It's hard to say with poor video resolution, camera angle, diffuse lighting and what not, though it doesn't look ridiculously low to my eyes. My guess is that it's close to a 'standard' setup but that is a guess based on very fuzzy information.

The simple fact is this - you can have the strings as low as you like provided you can stand the fret buzz. How low is "too low" will depend on the individual player.

Super-low action and fret buzz tend to go together. It's a fact of life. Why? Strings vibrate - they move back and forth in complex 3 dimensional patterns and they need space to to do so. Low action robs that space. How much buzz there will be depends on how the strings vibrate and that depends on the individual player (how hard they pick, their precise picking angle and motion, pick thickness etc.). I personally don't mind some if it's not intrusive through the amp with a clean sound. Distortion can hide fret buzz so some people really don't mind it at all. It's something every player decides for themselves.

And then of course there is the SRV-fan school of thought, where heavy strings and high action are the order of the day. There is no wrong way to set up a guitar, just millions of right ways - whatever works for each player.

 

[Jack FFR1846]

Kent uses one of 2 Axis guitars in his Youtube vids. By it's nature, the Axis is set up very well at the factory and typically only slight tweeks to the neck with season changes are needed. Changing string height on an Axis requires removing the neck and adding a shim. The bridge is not adjustable. I owned an Axis and the buyer of it asked me about string height changes, so I asked EBMM customer service. That is what they told me. For what it's worth, my Axis had action between 3/64" and 4/64", which is indeed pretty low. Vintage trem and hard tail bridges on other Music Man guitars are easier to change height on.

 

[TNT]

Yeah, once I set up my action so low, the strings were actually "under" the frets!!