Having trouble pushing strings down. strings high up

Welcome to the forum Casey- Hope you're enjoying your new toy.

I can't tell for sure about the action (string height) from your photos, but it looks alright to me. It's never quite parallel to the neck, though it can/should be pretty close. How close varies according to your taste and your instrument. For acoustic guitars, it's always a little higher than most electrics...but yours looks similar to my acoustic, at a rough eyeball.

If you want to double check that, find a steel ruler with markings up to 32nds of an inch, and measure your exact string height to post here. The standard measurements to take are of your highest and lowest strings (smallest and biggest) at the first fret, and at the 12th fret. Measure from the top of the fret to the bottom of the string, and post your numbers here.

If it's really too high, someone here can recommend a good guide for "setting up" the guitar. It's easy to do, and everybody should learn how!

And don't worry that you're finding it hard to "push down" the strings- everybody does, especially when starting. It gets easier!

Best,
Ande

it was 6/32 and thats accurate because i used a liitle engineering majigerr lol. so i figure thats not that bad but im thinking about switching to some lights because im only 15 and my fingers are pretty weak. Plus, i want to move on to bar cords as fast as possible. thanks very much for the reply though. 8)

6/32 does seem high to me. I'll be honest, though- I'm not much of an acoustic guy. All of my electrics are WAY lower than that, but electrics always are. I'll wait for someone who owns a few of the acoustic beasties to chime in, but it seems to me that your guitar may be in need of a setup.

And you are VERY right not to be afraid of barre chords. They are EASY. (Once you can do them, that is. :wink: Until then, a challenge- but an important one.)

Ande

it was 6/32 and thats accurate because i used a liitle engineering majigerr lol. so i figure thats not that bad but im thinking about switching to some lights because im only 15 and my fingers are pretty weak. Plus, i want to move on to bar cords as fast as possible. thanks very much for the reply though. 8)

I have heard 3/32 as a "normal" height. Take a look here
Can you get the guitar set up a the place you bought it? Until you have a bit more experience, I wouldn't advise doing it yourself (unless you are really good with tools)

Barre chords take a fair bit of hand strength, and even more on an acoustic.
Don't rush things. You have spent 15 years *not* playing a guitar. It'll take some time for you to get good at it.

it was 6/32 and thats accurate because i used a liitle engineering majigerr lol. so i figure thats not that bad but im thinking about switching to some lights because im only 15 and my fingers are pretty weak. Plus, i want to move on to bar cords as fast as possible. thanks very much for the reply though. 8)

That's pretty high even for an acoustic. It should be about half that. I'd take it in to where you got it, and ask them to do a setup on the guitar.

well my dad won this guitar in a raffle and gave it to me for a present ( what a cheapo) lol but i cant go anywhere to get it set up but im getting a teacher and he is the main guitar on the dark side of the moon if u heard of them. he may be able to do it but i cant go back to where i bought it because i didnt buy it. I'm not sure what u mean when u say "set up"? because my guitar is already in one piece with string and all. but im pretty sure it has another meaning. So 6/32 is too much? u said that i might be able to do it myself? I am pretty skilled with tools i build my own computers and fix my moms car lol. but i do not do a lot of wood work.. Thanks for the help everyone

I'm not sure what u mean when u say "set up"? because my guitar is already in one piece with string and all. but im pretty sure it has another meaning.

http://www.google.com/search?q=Acoustic+Guitar+Set+Up

It's basically adjusting the guitar to play properly and comfortably.
Given that your guitar has it's strings about twice as high as they should be, it's something that you should get done.
Any guitar shop should be able to do it for a price (I don't know where you are, but I've heard in some cities anywhere from $25-45)

Take a look at some of the pages in the above link, and see if it's something you feel up to doing. Bear in mind that you don't know (yet) what a properly set up (adjusted) guitar actually feels like, because you've never experienced one.

Also, your guitar could probably benefit from a fresh set of strings. Who knows how long those ones have been on there, or what quality they are. A set up should always include putting on new strings.