Best action for DGT SE

caspingus

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Jan 31, 2023
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I've just taken delivery of the DGT SE gold top. While I'm excited, the action is extremely high, measuring 3mm on the low E (12th fret) and 2.5mm on the high E.

This support page mentions:
  • Treble-side string height at 12th fret: 1.8/32" - 2.3/32" (1.4mm -1.8mm)
  • Bass-side string height at 12th fret: 2.2/32” - 2.4/32" (1.5mm - 2mm)
So the setup on mine is well outside the norm. If it's one thing PRS is known for, it's consistency, and this is far from it.

I note a slight upbow, so while I could adjust the truss rod, the extent of the action height makes me think I need to start adjusting saddle height.

My question is, has anyone else experienced similar with the DGT SE (or any other SE)?
 
My SE Custom 24 did not have those issues, which if I read correctly are kinda extreme (upbow). But mine had a non functioning tone pot capacitor and a lot of “zing” on the higher strings. When I think about how meticulous the inspection team at PRS is, and the statement that they looked over every SE to assure they’ll are up to their standards, I have some difficulty accepting that instruments such as yours and mine made it into circulation. But then again, a basic fact regarding the very definition of being human is that we are not perfect, and we make mistakes. In my case, I actually visited the factory in Maryland and they fixed the tone pot for while I took a tour. (I forgot to mention the zing) When I got it home, I soon decided on upgrades, but that’s another story. For your guitar, I’d suggest a thorough setup, starting with the proper neck relief. That will most likely solve your issues.
 
Did you order it online? If you picked it up local bring it back for a proper set-up. My first guess is they rushed out the first batch to meet demand and well when you rush anything you miss things. I hope I’m wrong but time will tell. If you feel comfortable doing the adjustments yourself then just adjust the relief ( I do it by eye, I know silly) then set your action to your comfort. Factory specs are just that , not a have to have it that way. I always set-up my guitars to suit me. Good luck and welcome to the forum.
 
Start with the truss rod. Based on your wording, it sounds like you bought it online. Any guitar shipped - especially in winter - is going to be susceptible to weather-induced changes. It's not unheard of for a neck to shift and need a tweak. I've had it happen on several guitars, including one I picked up in person and drove home in good warm weather. Perfect in the shop, but two days later it was unplayable - strings pretty much right against the frets. Took a few tweaks over a couple days, but it's been stable since then.

And I wouldn't sweat the numbers too much - action is a very personal thing. Treat the PRS numbers as a starting point - you may prefer your setup to be a tad higher or lower.
 
According to the article support recommends dialing in the neck relief prior to bridge adjustment. With a capo on first and the string depressed at the 12th the bridge should be isolated from the relief determination.

At that point you can begin lowering the bridge. I wonder if the taller fretwire will put your string height a bit higher than that mentioned on the ' support page. I would do it in stages,
when you wail on the guitar and it buzzes you have overdone it. I find that the is a spot when played unplugged that the strings sound dull prior to buzzing - I stop prior to that point. However I p ractice and play around thehouse unplugged so it may be a bit higher than necessary.

You may need to look at how well the nut was cut … any sharp notes at first or second frets or does the guitar when tuned go sharp on certain strings with a capo at first or second fret.

When you lower the bridge you may have to adjust saddles to correct intonation … and that might limit how low your strings reside.

My SE Paul’s was fine from the factory …. Good thing as it has the non-intonable bridge so limited to string size PRS recommends … had to buy a bunch of strings to fill in my sets.
I tend to buy Multi-pack strings and those from my Sire H7 would not work.

Last thought is whether the guitar needs to acclimate or settle if you just received it.

Color me jealous … you have at this point in time a rare set of birds - enjoy it.
 
I've just taken delivery of the DGT SE gold top. While I'm excited, the action is extremely high, measuring 3mm on the low E (12th fret) and 2.5mm on the high E.

This support page mentions:
  • Treble-side string height at 12th fret: 1.8/32" - 2.3/32" (1.4mm -1.8mm)
  • Bass-side string height at 12th fret: 2.2/32” - 2.4/32" (1.5mm - 2mm)
So the setup on mine is well outside the norm. If it's one thing PRS is known for, it's consistency, and this is far from it.

I note a slight upbow, so while I could adjust the truss rod, the extent of the action height makes me think I need to start adjusting saddle height.

My question is, has anyone else experienced similar with the DGT SE (or any other SE)?
My DGT SE had high action, quite similar to yours. I took care of that via saddle height adjustments. I haven’t checked relief yet.
 
I've just taken delivery of the DGT SE gold top. While I'm excited, the action is extremely high, measuring 3mm on the low E (12th fret) and 2.5mm on the high E.

This support page mentions:
  • Treble-side string height at 12th fret: 1.8/32" - 2.3/32" (1.4mm -1.8mm)
  • Bass-side string height at 12th fret: 2.2/32” - 2.4/32" (1.5mm - 2mm)
So the setup on mine is well outside the norm. If it's one thing PRS is known for, it's consistency, and this is far from it.

I note a slight upbow, so while I could adjust the truss rod, the extent of the action height makes me think I need to start adjusting saddle height.

My question is, has anyone else experienced similar with the DGT SE (or any other SE)?
Like others have said, it's most likely that the neck has moved due to a change of moisture content in the wood from being transported. It's not a fault, it will happen to most guitars with weather changes and it's the reason there is a truss rod at all. Some, like roasted maple necks or carbon fiber reinforged necks will move less. You can absolutely expect to lower the action with 1 mm or more with a truss rod adjustment.

Edit: Oh, and a new guitar will usually move more until it "settles". With most of my guitars I've had to adjust the truss rod less and less the longer I've had them.
 
Until you have done it a couple of times ... setting relief sounds like a difficult skill ... and something that
should be done as a last ditch effort. It really is not and with care you can get very comfortable with it.
Quarter turn at a time ... and you should release string tension prior ... tune back up ... either add a bit more
or release a bit .... really small turns are usually needed.

Great to learn as wood responds to temperature and humidity .... carbon fiber does not .... so you may find
the need to do this a couple times a year ... unless you live in a vacuum or a temp/humidity controlled bottle.
I did have a friend who lived on the coast in Alaska ... he and his children all played very expensive rare string
instruments ... violin, viola, cello ... and he had a room that was regulated for both ... its cost was a fraction of
the cost of one of the instruments.

I hear folks complaining about the tuning of their guitars ... not staying set .... I live in Texas and most of the year
the temp varies enough in the house that I will retune from morning to evening and repeat the next morning.
 
Slight upbow? Did you switch to lighter strings? 008's or 009's?

I'd loosen the truss rod and straighten the neck. Maybe even allow a slight amount of relief.

Then adjust the intonation and string height to your tastes.

Should be relatively easy unless you've never done it before.
 
I've just taken delivery of the DGT SE gold top. While I'm excited, the action is extremely high, measuring 3mm on the low E (12th fret) and 2.5mm on the high E.

This support page mentions:
  • Treble-side string height at 12th fret: 1.8/32" - 2.3/32" (1.4mm -1.8mm)
  • Bass-side string height at 12th fret: 2.2/32” - 2.4/32" (1.5mm - 2mm)
So the setup on mine is well outside the norm. If it's one thing PRS is known for, it's consistency, and this is far from it.

I note a slight upbow, so while I could adjust the truss rod, the extent of the action height makes me think I need to start adjusting saddle height.

My question is, has anyone else experienced similar with the DGT SE (or any other SE)?
Enjoy the new guitar!

The problem is that shipping a guitar in various US and overseas climates results in moisture absorbed or released by the wood, which is hygroscopic. So the setup can change pretty dramatically. And with the SEs, there's no hard case to buffer the temperature and humidity changes, there's a cardboard box and a gig bag. Those offer almost no buffering with those kind of environmental changes.

First the guitar is made overseas, in one climate, then shipped on a boat with high humidity for however long that takes, through however many climates, then is shipped overland to Maryland, then is shipped to a dealer, then may or may not sit around at the dealer or be hung up to go through more acclimatization, and then is shipped to you through more climate. It's really tough to control what happens to a setup with that many transshipments.

And winter is the worst time of year for all of that. It's cold, it's dry, the difference in temp between indoors and outdoors is large. In fact, for many years Martin would not ship guitars in winter because of the setup and finish problems caused by climate. Of course, guitar makers can't afford to do that any more.

So yes, PRS is known for consistency, but even PRS can't control what happens when the guitar isn't in their possession. But setups aren't difficult and your dealer should have done that to factory spec. However, some dealers haven't got a clue, including some of the biggest and most well known.

It's one thing to say they inspect them, but it's another thing to have employees who know enough to set up a PRS to factory spec, or even recognize the issue.
 
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Two things I forgot to mention. The intonation is out on all strings, sometimes by as much as 10 cents. This means chords are out of tune all over the neck.

Also, the coil tap doesn't work on the bridge pickup (so the neck and middle are affected as well).

These 3 things mean money to fix. I'll be sending it back to the place of purchase for a replacement.
 
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My SE Custom 24 did not have those issues, which if I read correctly are kinda extreme (upbow). But mine had a non functioning tone pot capacitor and a lot of “zing” on the higher strings. When I think about how meticulous the inspection team at PRS is, and the statement that they looked over every SE to assure they’ll are up to their standards, I have some difficulty accepting that instruments such as yours and mine made it into circulation. But then again, a basic fact regarding the very definition of being human is that we are not perfect, and we make mistakes. In my case, I actually visited the factory in Maryland and they fixed the tone pot for while I took a tour. (I forgot to mention the zing) When I got it home, I soon decided on upgrades, but that’s another story. For your guitar, I’d suggest a thorough setup, starting with the proper neck relief. That will most likely solve your issues
Two things I forgot to mention. The intonation is out on all strings, sometimes by as much as 10 cents. This means chords are out of tune all over the neck.

Also, the coil tap doesn't work on the bridge pickup (so the neck and middle are affected as well).

These 3 things mean money to fix. I'll be sending it back to the place of purchase for a replacement.
yeah, that one’s a mess. Nothing that can’t be fixed, but it never should have been sent to you in that condition.
 
Two things I forgot to mention. The intonation is out on all strings, sometimes by as much as 10 cents. This means chords are out of tune all over the neck.

Also, the coil tap doesn't work on the bridge pickup (so the neck and middle are affected as well).

These 3 things mean money to fix. I'll be sending it back to the place of purchase for a replacement.
It sounds like three super easy things to fix, unless there's something structurally wrong with the pickup. Most likely there's a bad solder joint on the push/pull switch. The intonation might improve by setting the relief of the neck correctly. You can check with the dealer if they will reimburse the cost of fixing these things locally instead, if you like the guitar otherwise. That will probably save you time and the enviroment a bit of pollution. A guitar technician will most likely be able to fix all three things within 10-15 minutes.
 
I received my goldtop DGT SE today - from the UK, and I am in Canada. Other than truss rod adjustment, it was almost bang on. What surprised me was the intonation. The top 3 high strings (E,B,G) were immaculately intonated, but the lower 3 strings (E,A,D) were very flat on the 12th fret.... had me wondering!
 
I've just taken delivery of the DGT SE gold top. While I'm excited, the action is extremely high, measuring 3mm on the low E (12th fret) and 2.5mm on the high E.

This support page mentions:
  • Treble-side string height at 12th fret: 1.8/32" - 2.3/32" (1.4mm -1.8mm)
  • Bass-side string height at 12th fret: 2.2/32” - 2.4/32" (1.5mm - 2mm)
So the setup on mine is well outside the norm. If it's one thing PRS is known for, it's consistency, and this is far from it.

I note a slight upbow, so while I could adjust the truss rod, the extent of the action height makes me think I need to start adjusting saddle height.

My question is, has anyone else experienced similar with the DGT SE (or any other SE)?
My SE changed dramatically once I had it home. Once it settled I adjusted the saddle heights. My tone pot stopped working and I fixed that by repositioning it. Great guitar.
 
I've just taken delivery of the DGT SE gold top. While I'm excited, the action is extremely high, measuring 3mm on the low E (12th fret) and 2.5mm on the high E.

This support page mentions:
  • Treble-side string height at 12th fret: 1.8/32" - 2.3/32" (1.4mm -1.8mm)
  • Bass-side string height at 12th fret: 2.2/32” - 2.4/32" (1.5mm - 2mm)
So the setup on mine is well outside the norm. If it's one thing PRS is known for, it's consistency, and this is far from it.

I note a slight upbow, so while I could adjust the truss rod, the extent of the action height makes me think I need to start adjusting saddle height.

My question is, has anyone else experienced similar with the DGT SE (or any other SE)?
Same thing here. About an 8th of a turn on the truss rod and lowering the saddles to taste did the trick. Action was comically high upon delivery. Really nice playing fiddle now.
 
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