Today I received the PRS I have been on the lookout for a very long time, A 88 custom 24, sweet switch. I have owned a number of PRS over the years pre factory, Artist III, Artist package Cu22, etc. But the old PRS have always been by thing and when this one piece quilt top tuned up on eBay with a buy it now I snapped it up knowing I was going to have to shift some stuff to claw the money back.
The guitar was grimy and sticky but felt amazing but I know it needed some work to get it back to its best. I was busy earlier and now having had some time there have been some alarming discoveries.
The head stock has been broken off and glued at some point, the break extends down to half way between the 2nd and third frets and I can't tell i current light conditions (its 3am here) if the fretboard was partially detached. that The repair is visible when you know it is there and look under strong light. it seems the whole of the back of the neck was resprayed with a crappy clear coat after the repair. It is really soft and was sprayed over the original poly with it being sanded, it can be scraped off with my thumbnail.
It's late at night and dark so it is difficult to asses the quality of the repair (I'll get it photographed tomorrow) but I wonder if this may be the issue that is causing the high e string to choke just before it reaches a full tone when bending. I can't tell at the moment as the whole setup of this guitar is so off, I have adjusted the neck to factory specs and left it to settle overnight. The trem needs to be completely set up it is flush to the body on the bass side but about 1.2mm off the body on the treble side. The saddles look like they are pretty worn so that could be causing the high e issue but there is no detectable fret sprout or high frets, but that nay change after a good cleaning?
I paid £2750 buy it now on eBay but the listing did not mention the repair and it does not really show in the photos. Its a used 34 year old guitar so I expected a few niggles but not this many, espcailly not the disclosed headstock break.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/265853902822
I need to get the pickups out and see if they are the original stock. They look good from the top but you never know.
I am trying to get my thoughts together before contacting the vendor, who is an experienced pro musician and really should know better. Any opinions or advice? I really like the guitar but it has had some real amateur work performed on it. I know it can be sorted out, worst case is a partial; refinish on the neck and refret if the board needs levelled but it is an expense I did not budget for and will struggle to afford in the near future.
The guitar was grimy and sticky but felt amazing but I know it needed some work to get it back to its best. I was busy earlier and now having had some time there have been some alarming discoveries.
The head stock has been broken off and glued at some point, the break extends down to half way between the 2nd and third frets and I can't tell i current light conditions (its 3am here) if the fretboard was partially detached. that The repair is visible when you know it is there and look under strong light. it seems the whole of the back of the neck was resprayed with a crappy clear coat after the repair. It is really soft and was sprayed over the original poly with it being sanded, it can be scraped off with my thumbnail.
It's late at night and dark so it is difficult to asses the quality of the repair (I'll get it photographed tomorrow) but I wonder if this may be the issue that is causing the high e string to choke just before it reaches a full tone when bending. I can't tell at the moment as the whole setup of this guitar is so off, I have adjusted the neck to factory specs and left it to settle overnight. The trem needs to be completely set up it is flush to the body on the bass side but about 1.2mm off the body on the treble side. The saddles look like they are pretty worn so that could be causing the high e issue but there is no detectable fret sprout or high frets, but that nay change after a good cleaning?
I paid £2750 buy it now on eBay but the listing did not mention the repair and it does not really show in the photos. Its a used 34 year old guitar so I expected a few niggles but not this many, espcailly not the disclosed headstock break.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/265853902822
I need to get the pickups out and see if they are the original stock. They look good from the top but you never know.
I am trying to get my thoughts together before contacting the vendor, who is an experienced pro musician and really should know better. Any opinions or advice? I really like the guitar but it has had some real amateur work performed on it. I know it can be sorted out, worst case is a partial; refinish on the neck and refret if the board needs levelled but it is an expense I did not budget for and will struggle to afford in the near future.