2018 S2cu24 action
- Thread starter Eddie kim
- Start date
dmatthews
Dave's not here
I bet you can do it with a little knowledge and patience. I don't know the specs though.
dogrocketp
I drank the PRS kool aid, and it was tasty!
Step one- look down the neck and see if there is more relief (curve) than you like. Remember, on PRS, you don’t ever need to move the truss rod more than about a quarter turn. Look at the trem. Is it parallel to the body? What gauge strings are you using? Because of your situation, I’d start with 9-42 to build your hands up. Wait 2-3 hours for the wood to react. Check for correctness. Do you have a radius gauge to set the bridge saddles?
dogrocketp
I drank the PRS kool aid, and it was tasty!
I can walk you through it if you have the patience. If not, I's suggest you take it to a luthier who knows PRS well. After the first real setup, you can easily maintain it.
pac90
Helix user
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Eddie, here is a great book from black crowes tech:
https://www.amazon.com/Guitarists-Guide-Maintenance-Repair-Maintain/dp/1458412156
and you'll need a string action gauge like this, to make it quick ans easy:
https://www.amazon.com/String-Actio...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=TMKFVQSBTDC1XAJP11CB
and reference PRS site for starting point:
https://www.prsguitars.com/support/setup
anything else or specific you can crosscheck with a search on youtube, and if you want a laugh while you learn, dave's world of fun stuff is a good channel eg strat setup
https://www.amazon.com/Guitarists-Guide-Maintenance-Repair-Maintain/dp/1458412156
and you'll need a string action gauge like this, to make it quick ans easy:
https://www.amazon.com/String-Actio...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=TMKFVQSBTDC1XAJP11CB
and reference PRS site for starting point:
https://www.prsguitars.com/support/setup
anything else or specific you can crosscheck with a search on youtube, and if you want a laugh while you learn, dave's world of fun stuff is a good channel eg strat setup
dogrocketp
I drank the PRS kool aid, and it was tasty!
Try Philadelphialuthiertools.com for the tools. My concern is that the action is too high for a reason. Do you have 9’s on it? And strats should be set up a little differently than PRS.
bodia
Authorities said.....best leave it.....unsolved
Eddie, here's a great video walk through of a complete set up
Eddie kim
New Member
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I saw that video.
Guitpicky
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Basic setup is easy. Familiarize yourself with what you're going to do with a few YT videos, use proper tools and take your time. A lot of the tools can be purchased cheaper from other sources, like auto parts or hardware/home improvement stores. No point in paying 30 bucks for a five dollar feeler gauge.
One of the best setup videos of all time is the Joe Walsh LP setup video on YT. He's using an LP but it goes over the setup basics in a clear and direct manner without getting technical about it. You have a different guitar but watching it will give you confidence that you're not going to wreck anything.
I was a bit hesitant at first because I bought some pretty nice guitars and didn't want to **** anything up but with a little care and patience it's all doable. Start with the easy stuff and work your way up as needed
One of the best setup videos of all time is the Joe Walsh LP setup video on YT. He's using an LP but it goes over the setup basics in a clear and direct manner without getting technical about it. You have a different guitar but watching it will give you confidence that you're not going to wreck anything.
I was a bit hesitant at first because I bought some pretty nice guitars and didn't want to **** anything up but with a little care and patience it's all doable. Start with the easy stuff and work your way up as needed
andy474x
Knows the Drill
I would go after it as follows:
1. Check neck relief - you want to push low E string down at the first and last fret, simultaneously, and have just a little space under the string at the 12th fret. Doesn’t take much, just enough to be off the frets by the thickness of a heavy gauge pick, or two. Season to taste, or if you get a lot of string buzz. This step might be all you need, it often is for me.
2. If your action is still high, check your trem plate from the side - lay the guitar flat on a table, and look at it so you can see if the trem plate is angled away from the body - it should be level (parallel), not necessarily touching the top. If it’s angled up, tighten the screws that hold the trem claw until it’s level (re-tune, re-adjust until you get it level at proper tuning).
3. If you’re still high, move your saddles down by turning the hex keys counterclockwise. Start at the high and low E strings, they bottom our first, and that way you’ll know how much room you have to play with on the others. I don’t worry about a string radius gauge, you certainly can use one to match your fretboard radius, but I usually end up deviating slightly from exact anyways, most of the time you will want the bass strings a little (very little) higher.
4. If your action is STILL high, next step is to adjust the bridge itself. You will need to loosen the strings and remove the claw springs so there’s absolutely no tension, or your mounting screws can break when you turn them. I like to, and recommend, just taking the strings off when you get to this step. The lowest you can go is to have the trem plate decked, right flat to the guitar body, although I think with the precision of PRS build, that extreme is rarely necessary. Use some playing cards (or similar), before you detune or remove strings, and see how many fit between the bridge plate and body. Then decide how much you want to take the bridge down (half as high, 1/3, whatever) after you remove the strings and springs, put that many cards back under, and put some light adhesive tape over the cards to hold them in place on the guitar top. Then you can drop the plate down on to the cards, and screw each mounting screw in just until it barely starts to lift the back of the plate up, and back it off 1/4 turn. I know that part sounds counterintuitive, but if you do it, you’ll see what I mean. When you’re done, look at them from the side to make sure your screws are level, and your knife edge is in the notches of the screws evenly on each screw. Voila. The John Mann trem installation video is a great resource for this part, too.
I might be dumbing that down beyond what you need to do the job, but I hope it helps. Fancy tools are nice to have, but not absolutely necessary, I have one of those 6”, stainless precision rulers, and that’s all I need to do my setups.
1. Check neck relief - you want to push low E string down at the first and last fret, simultaneously, and have just a little space under the string at the 12th fret. Doesn’t take much, just enough to be off the frets by the thickness of a heavy gauge pick, or two. Season to taste, or if you get a lot of string buzz. This step might be all you need, it often is for me.
2. If your action is still high, check your trem plate from the side - lay the guitar flat on a table, and look at it so you can see if the trem plate is angled away from the body - it should be level (parallel), not necessarily touching the top. If it’s angled up, tighten the screws that hold the trem claw until it’s level (re-tune, re-adjust until you get it level at proper tuning).
3. If you’re still high, move your saddles down by turning the hex keys counterclockwise. Start at the high and low E strings, they bottom our first, and that way you’ll know how much room you have to play with on the others. I don’t worry about a string radius gauge, you certainly can use one to match your fretboard radius, but I usually end up deviating slightly from exact anyways, most of the time you will want the bass strings a little (very little) higher.
4. If your action is STILL high, next step is to adjust the bridge itself. You will need to loosen the strings and remove the claw springs so there’s absolutely no tension, or your mounting screws can break when you turn them. I like to, and recommend, just taking the strings off when you get to this step. The lowest you can go is to have the trem plate decked, right flat to the guitar body, although I think with the precision of PRS build, that extreme is rarely necessary. Use some playing cards (or similar), before you detune or remove strings, and see how many fit between the bridge plate and body. Then decide how much you want to take the bridge down (half as high, 1/3, whatever) after you remove the strings and springs, put that many cards back under, and put some light adhesive tape over the cards to hold them in place on the guitar top. Then you can drop the plate down on to the cards, and screw each mounting screw in just until it barely starts to lift the back of the plate up, and back it off 1/4 turn. I know that part sounds counterintuitive, but if you do it, you’ll see what I mean. When you’re done, look at them from the side to make sure your screws are level, and your knife edge is in the notches of the screws evenly on each screw. Voila. The John Mann trem installation video is a great resource for this part, too.
I might be dumbing that down beyond what you need to do the job, but I hope it helps. Fancy tools are nice to have, but not absolutely necessary, I have one of those 6”, stainless precision rulers, and that’s all I need to do my setups.
dogrocketp
I drank the PRS kool aid, and it was tasty!
A cheap radius gauge and an electronic tuner will probably be all you need. By the way, is it an S2 Custom 24, and what color is it?
Eddie kim
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It’s violin amber sunburst in top 2 top lol. Haha
