1st fret string height preference.

I took my new 2011 R9 Lemon Burst (my first ever Historic) for a set up to my tech. He is a really good tech and renown and has done lots of work for me in the past. I mentioned to him that the bridge radius wasn't matching the 12" fretboard radius and the nut action needed to follow a graduated radius, particularly the G string needing lowering. I gave him the measurements from the top of the the 1st fret to bottom of string as follows:
E .015
A .014
D .013
G .017
B .013
E .013
The open strings played without any buzz. The neck had .006 relief at the 9th fret (my preference) and the action at the 12th fret was Low E (2mm) High E (1.5mm).

When I picked it up a week later and played it, my tech put too much relief in the neck at .020. I thought this odd as he likes to setup a straight neck. I straightened it back to .006. The strings buzzed against the first fret. I took the measurements.
E .015
A .013
D .011
G .017
B .013
E .010
The A & D have the worst open buzz. The D in particular is too low. He didn't lower the G at all.
I get the feeling he may have botched the nut when lowering the action, that's why he put in so much relief, or, he has forgotten to straighten the neck after the fret dress when doing the nut action. He didn't touch the bridge radius like I asked. I eventually did this myself.

Either way, I'm taking it back to have a new nut installed. I have ordered a nylon nut.
My question to players is what is your preference for string height at the first fret and what would you recommend. I play mostly 60s London Blues using 10-52 strings. I'm thinking maybe a good 1st fret action would be .010 on high E and graduating by .002 to .020 on the low E.
I would be grateful for any suggestions.

I match the height on the nut to the first fret for what I have for clearance at the first to second fret. As far as neck relief, I find every guitar is different. I put in as little as needed. The guitar dictates how much. The nut should match the radius of the fret board just like the bridge, but I also make sure there are no buzzing. String tension comes into play as well. Some guitars can be set up lower than others.

The height of your G string at the first fret would drive me crazy, because you can feel that sticking up.

Though I believe in measuring, I finish by feel. You need to have the correct amount of relief in the neck, before you cut the nut.

I smell some myth !!! I read about how nuts are cut wrong from the factory and need to be fixed. I have owned over 25 Historics over the years and I have had a few warped necks(Both 03 Brazillians, but I have never had a nut that was wrong. I wonder if this isn't propagated by guys who will charge 50 bucks for a set-up. Bottom line set your own guitar up the way you want and dont mess with anything that does need to be changed. It is really not necessary to measure things. Use your minds eye to set it up so that it feels right. It is liberating to learn how to do this yourself. Good luck with your guitar and thanks for your post.

All of my historics have their relief set to .004 - .006 with the bridge saddles slotted to follow the 12 inch radius of the neck. My action at the first fret is as follows:

E: .010 - .012
B: .012 - .014
G: .014 - .016
D: .016 - .018
A: .018 - .020
E: .020 - .022

I use the Stew Mac Nut Slotting Gauge to set this up. Finally my action at the 12th fret is .050 for the high E and about .055 for the low E. I get no fret buzz and bending strings do not choke out.

Everyone will have a different setup based on how they like things. I like this kind of setup except for my R6 which has higher action to accommodate slide work.

It's not a myth. This is the exact measurment when I bought it and I am the sole owner. The nut had been plek'd. I'm not a guitar tech. I like to work on my own guitars because I'm usually disappointed with the work some tech's do with finer details. I was hesitant to do it on my Historic, which is why I paid a tech a lot of money to do it for me.

I really like your action set up Tom99SS. This is the action I set on my Fenders. I wasn't sure if you could go lower on a Les Paul, which is why I was looking for advice. I think I will set up my Historic the 12-22, and lower by 0.02 on each string if needed.

Thank you everyone for your posts.

To each his own! I guess I'm in the DoctorMO camp on this. I mainly do it by feel and don't care if a string is .012 or .013. If I like the way it plays, it's good!