Wound G on a fixed bridge

eatmorham

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Dec 3, 2017
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So a little over a year ago (after picking the guitar back up following a few years of not playing due to life happening) I bought a shiny new (to me) 2013 Mira S2. The first 24 hours are great. However, that G string just sounds off. I tune, retune, tune some more. Just always sounds off. Really bad on the second fret. A little less noticeable elsewhere. New strings didn't fix it either. So I compensate by running the G a little flat and that's ok but I'm thinking that I shouldn't HAVE to do that. Sure it's not a core model but I expected more from a PRS.

I google it and read about how I need a new nut or new bridge and how there are compromises all over the fretboard and I should learn to love the dissonance. The sound are pretty cringe-inducing so I start thinking about how to convince the wife that I need to throw some more money at this guitar that I just bough that is supposed to be so awesome.

One day I read something somewhere about how wound strings having better intonation than plain strings. However, I'd read over and over and over (and even saw a video of Paul himself talking about) how the fixed bridge is great so long as you don't use a wound G. Ultimately I figure I can invest in a set of strings with a wound G and try it. What's it going to hurt right? I end up getting a set of D'addario 10's with a 0.018 wound G. Strung her up, tuned her in, and BAM, the intonation is dead on now. I've been playing like this for a while now and I'm happy with the way it sounds. I really don't think that this impacts the playability at all. The wound G is pretty much just as bendy as the unwound.

So any ideas on why doing this thing that PRS says I shouldn't have done fixed the problem I shouldn't have had?
 
I've been using D'Adarrio EXL110W's for years. The unwound G on the110's is .17, and the wound G on the 110W's is .18. Not much difference. I just like the feel and the sound of the wound G string.

Glad they work for you!
 
Thanks for the replies,
Yes, that's exactly what I'm using now. I also tried some from a company in Nashville called Stringjoy that will put together custom sets that were really good.
I actually like the wound G. Since I generally switch back and forth between acoustic and electric it actually seems a little more normal. I'm just glad I didn't spend a bunch of money to fix my issue.
 
Gosh, I’ve never had intonation problems with any of my (many) PRSes with fixed bridges, so maybe the person who had the guitar before you did something with the nut slot, or misadjusted the bridge (it moves in and out via the grub screws in front; you might already know this).

You can also always get an adjustable bridge for it.
 
You can also always get an adjustable bridge for it.

Ah, good point. Perhaps I should have added that I have an adjustable bridge on my Hollowbody Spruce. Previous owner put it on. When I swapped the strings that were on it (unwound G) to my set (wound G), the intonation was spot on.
 
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