Actually, because of the excellent fret job, this guitar has the lowest action of all my guitars! Can bend with ease and fast runs are no problem, but it did take a couple of days to gain a bit of accuracy with fingerpicking. This gives an action comparable to my 6 strings with 10's on them. Tuned down to D and left it there since then. Also, no real bridge bulge that 12 strings are notorious for. Got to concert pitch with zero neck relief (my favourite, don't hate) and the action was super low. Tensioned the truss in stages over 2 days and tuned the guitar up slowly. Strings were loose to around C when I got this and the truss was slightly loose, which is how it should be shipped. The guitar was shipped with d'dario EXPs which have lasted longer then the phosphor bronzes that I usually use, so that's converted me. The profile is fairly slim, but still enough of a handful to give plenty of leverage for fretting chords. The neck is finished all over in satin, which I love ever since I got my Tanglewoods with the same. The frets are medium and are nicely leveled and crowned. Also the bushings weren't loose or finger tight like most cheap guitars. The tuners are nicely geared and though played for 1 week for 2-3 hour each day, have only needed tuning once since initial. The headstock, which looks very shiny and cheaply finished in the Amazon photo actually has a dull satin finish to it which is quite classy. It feels rugged with a rough texture to it so that it doesn't slip off your lap. The plastic back doesn't feel cheap like I worried it would. The guitar felt very solid as soon as I pulled it from the box. Had this thing a week now and have to say that I'm very surprised. I got this one in the hopes that the Applause range shared the same qualities as the higher spec Celebrity line and with the difficulty of playing 12 strings compared to 6, figured that the Ovation neck profile would make it easier to play then the traditional 12 strings. I had tried a couple of Ovation 6 string guitars in the past and they had been very easy to play and very solid in build.