New Fire Red Burst SE Custom 24 - First Impressions

mtyler06

New Member
Joined
Feb 9, 2018
Messages
11
My new (and first) PRS guitar showed up Saturday, and here are my initial thoughts and impressions after a few hours of playing.

Looks and feels beautiful! The neck is very comfortable and the overall size and weight of the guitar feels nice. The color and finish is gorgeous, aside from the tiny blemish (which is difficult to even find) that made it a "demo" from Sweetwater. The pickups sound great compared to the 1987 Ibanez RG550 I'm used to. Despite some other feedback I've seen/heard, the split coil position with the right amount of tone dialed in sounds great to me. I can definitely see myself using it often to play clean stuff. The tone control is much more responsive and effective than my old guitar.

Now the negatives.....tuning stability has been nothing short of awful, especially if I even look at the tremolo bar. It won't even stay in tune as well as the 31 year old super-skinny neck and Floyd rose tremolo on my old guitar (which is a constant pain). The setup will need to be re-done locally and I'm hoping it will improve things in this department. When looking at the bridge, the action of D string is set quite a bit higher than the rest, making it look and feel awkward. Also, there are only 3 tremolo springs installed as opposed to 4, which seems to be the norm for PRS. Not sure if that has any effect on tuning stability, but it seems strange that it's different?

Overall I love the guitar so far, and hope to get the tuning issues squared away. Apparently as an FNG I can't add pics until I post a few times, but will add some ASAP.
 
My new (and first) PRS guitar showed up Saturday, and here are my initial thoughts and impressions after a few hours of playing.

Looks and feels beautiful! The neck is very comfortable and the overall size and weight of the guitar feels nice. The color and finish is gorgeous, aside from the tiny blemish (which is difficult to even find) that made it a "demo" from Sweetwater. The pickups sound great compared to the 1987 Ibanez RG550 I'm used to. Despite some other feedback I've seen/heard, the split coil position with the right amount of tone dialed in sounds great to me. I can definitely see myself using it often to play clean stuff. The tone control is much more responsive and effective than my old guitar.

Now the negatives.....tuning stability has been nothing short of awful, especially if I even look at the tremolo bar. It won't even stay in tune as well as the 31 year old super-skinny neck and Floyd rose tremolo on my old guitar (which is a constant pain). The setup will need to be re-done locally and I'm hoping it will improve things in this department. When looking at the bridge, the action of D string is set quite a bit higher than the rest, making it look and feel awkward. Also, there are only 3 tremolo springs installed as opposed to 4, which seems to be the norm for PRS. Not sure if that has any effect on tuning stability, but it seems strange that it's different?

Overall I love the guitar so far, and hope to get the tuning issues squared away. Apparently as an FNG I can't add pics until I post a few times, but will add some ASAP.

Congrats! Stick with it, you won't regret it!
 
Friends... please don't give me flack for this, but...

With all due respect to PRS, maybe it's time to really address this SE tuning stability issue. It seems like everyone who posts an SE NGD says something like "I love everything about the guitar, except the tuning..." I can't tell you how disappointed I was after I sold my C22 SE stoptail for a 2017 trem model, since I had to tune the new guitar all the time. Didn't stop me from buying a core model after that, but I said no way to a trem model (yes, I know the US models are different) and went with a McCarty as I wasn't prepared to risk it. We can all watch Skitchy's video, buy a Core or Tusq nut, and shell out another $200 for an aftermarket tremolo bridge, but there shouldn't be a need for it. There are plenty of sub-$1000 guitars (heck, sub-$500) on the market which don't have these issues.
 
Friends... please don't give me flack for this, but...

With all due respect to PRS, maybe it's time to really address this SE tuning stability issue. It seems like everyone who posts an SE NGD says something like "I love everything about the guitar, except the tuning..." I can't tell you how disappointed I was after I sold my C22 SE stoptail for a 2017 trem model, since I had to tune the new guitar all the time. Didn't stop me from buying a core model after that, but I said no way to a trem model (yes, I know the US models are different) and went with a McCarty as I wasn't prepared to risk it. We can all watch Skitchy's video, buy a Core or Tusq nut, and shell out another $200 for an aftermarket tremolo bridge, but there shouldn't be a need for it. There are plenty of sub-$1000 guitars (heck, sub-$500) on the market which don't have these issues.


I gotta say I agree. All of my trem SE’s have needed work right away, whereas the stoptail ones were all good to great fresh outta the box. It wasn’t a big deal for me ‘cause I’m handy but not everyone is.

I don’t know how they could do it without the guitars costing more or messing with the profit ratio but...

The nut could at least be cut for bigger strings to start with. The trem block could be burnished inside the string holes, when you need to poke out the ball ends of strings from the block because they’re getting stuck, that’s a problem that can contribute to issues when using the bar.... I’m not sure if the blocks are cast with the string holes, or if they’re drilled out but, ideally they could just use the next size up bit for it.

I mean, I absolutely love my trem SE’s but, I replace a bunch of sh!t on them to get them where they need to be.
 
I realize this may not be feasible for everyone due to neck profile preferences, budget, etc., but the S2 Satins aren’t such a big leap up in price and solve these problems while giving you a whole lot more guitar. Once you factor in the cost of upgrades, the S2 Satins are an even better deal.

That being said, there is no S2 substitute for my Bernie and upgrading a nut and locking tuners was fairly cheap (100€) and saves me a lot of aggravation.

Both options are perfectly viable, and considering the price points, still fairly reasonable when compared to the competition.
 
The nut has been a problem from the get go. It's the only thing I absolutely feel I have to replace on my SE guitars. I have found that a proper setup to my gauge of strings and a new nut are all I need to keep my SE's in tune. Some are 3 springs, and some are 4. It all depends on the neck angle and bridge height. I use the trem a lot, and like them to go up slightly more than a half step, except my SE Tremonti custom. I flatten that sucker against the top when I play. The neck carve on every line is slightly different. To me, that alone would give me enough reason to prefer one model over another.
 
My new (and first) PRS guitar showed up Saturday, and here are my initial thoughts and impressions after a few hours of playing.

Looks and feels beautiful! The neck is very comfortable and the overall size and weight of the guitar feels nice. The color and finish is gorgeous, aside from the tiny blemish (which is difficult to even find) that made it a "demo" from Sweetwater. The pickups sound great compared to the 1987 Ibanez RG550 I'm used to. Despite some other feedback I've seen/heard, the split coil position with the right amount of tone dialed in sounds great to me. I can definitely see myself using it often to play clean stuff. The tone control is much more responsive and effective than my old guitar.

Now the negatives.....tuning stability has been nothing short of awful, especially if I even look at the tremolo bar. It won't even stay in tune as well as the 31 year old super-skinny neck and Floyd rose tremolo on my old guitar (which is a constant pain). The setup will need to be re-done locally and I'm hoping it will improve things in this department. When looking at the bridge, the action of D string is set quite a bit higher than the rest, making it look and feel awkward. Also, there are only 3 tremolo springs installed as opposed to 4, which seems to be the norm for PRS. Not sure if that has any effect on tuning stability, but it seems strange that it's different?

Overall I love the guitar so far, and hope to get the tuning issues squared away. Apparently as an FNG I can't add pics until I post a few times, but will add some ASAP.

Hi there. You shouldn't be having tuning issues. The guitar is set up and then re-checked before it ships to the dealer and then I know Sweetwater does another set up and inspection on the instruments before it leaves their place. Did you change the string gauge or are you still using the same 9-42's the factory uses? If you're still using the same gauge strings, hit up your retailer or us at the factory for an evaluation.
 
Hi there. You shouldn't be having tuning issues. The guitar is set up and then re-checked before it ships to the dealer and then I know Sweetwater does another set up and inspection on the instruments before it leaves their place. Did you change the string gauge or are you still using the same 9-42's the factory uses? If you're still using the same gauge strings, hit up your retailer or us at the factory for an evaluation.

I haven't made any changes, just unpacked and started playing. After having to retune it the first couple of times I did stretch the strings using the method from the PTC article on your website, but so far that is the only thing I tried. I will reach out to Sweetwater first since they were the last to inspect it and see if they have recommendations. If they can't help I will contact PRS directly. Thanks!
 
The nut has been a problem from the get go. It's the only thing I absolutely feel I have to replace on my SE guitars. I have found that a proper setup to my gauge of strings and a new nut are all I need to keep my SE's in tune. Some are 3 springs, and some are 4. It all depends on the neck angle and bridge height. I use the trem a lot, and like them to go up slightly more than a half step, except my SE Tremonti custom. I flatten that sucker against the top when I play. The neck carve on every line is slightly different. To me, that alone would give me enough reason to prefer one model over another.

What kind of nut do you use for the replacement?
 
Here's a collection threads I saved for my nut/tuning issues. I'm new to an electric guitar and found the tune stability was less expected. I don't use the trem. I ordered the core nut and haven't put it on yet. Coming from an acoustic I found the 9's a bit rubbery. Before committing to the new nut and not caring if I screwed up the old one, I'm trying some different strings. I have 10's on it now and widened the nut slots for the E,A and D strings. That in addition to a bit of nut lube on the nut and bridge has done wonders for stability.

https://forums.prsguitars.com/threads/replacement-nut.19706/#post-290523

https://forums.prsguitars.com/threads/prs-se-tusq-nut.2065/

https://forums.prsguitars.com/threads/i-like-yer-nuts.20072/#post-294224

https://forums.prsguitars.com/threads/any-tips-about-to-take-the-nut-off-the-se.23724/#post-326072
 
Here's a collection threads I saved for my nut/tuning issues. I'm new to an electric guitar and found the tune stability was less expected. I don't use the trem. I ordered the core nut and haven't put it on yet. Coming from an acoustic I found the 9's a bit rubbery. Before committing to the new nut and not caring if I screwed up the old one, I'm trying some different strings. I have 10's on it now and widened the nut slots for the E,A and D strings. That in addition to a bit of nut lube on the nut and bridge has done wonders for stability.

https://forums.prsguitars.com/threads/replacement-nut.19706/#post-290523

https://forums.prsguitars.com/threads/prs-se-tusq-nut.2065/

https://forums.prsguitars.com/threads/i-like-yer-nuts.20072/#post-294224

https://forums.prsguitars.com/threads/any-tips-about-to-take-the-nut-off-the-se.23724/#post-326072

Thanks for the info!
 
What kind of nut do you use for the replacement?
I got the US core nut (wide) from the PRS shop.

I had no issues with tuners or bridge on my SE. My CE was a little sticky though.
Both are now sporting MannMade NOS2000.
My SE tuners are fine when properly strung.
 
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