Broken, Broken.... and ..... Broken - S2 594

C

coiltapbroken

New Member
Joined
Jul 21, 2022
Messages
8
OK - apologies for any spelling mistakes - it's late and I'm kind of annoyed...

Story is I went to my local guitar shop with the intension of buying a Gibson LP - about 6 weeks ago.

Long story short:

i) I ended up buying a PRS S2 594 - nice burst and played great back to back with the Gibsons..... got it back home and the pickup selector switch was either already faulty or became faulty within minutes of playing it properly. (yes I know I should have checked at the store - but you know how it is).

ii) sent an email to the sales guy who said "it's probably bedding in" (or similar)....

iii) It didnt "bed in" so I took it back to the shop (was one week later) - was told they don't do refunds or replacements and I would have to have it repaired.

iv) Err - no - I insisted on a replacement - got a replacement (after a heated conversation) - got it home and the bridge pickup coil tap wasn't working on the replacement guitar (yes I know).

v) Took that one back - got a replacement (yada yada) - now 6 weeks later the neck coil tap has failed on the second replacement (not been out of my music room and not played much ... I have mailed the shop and I'm not naming names at this point as I am awaiting a response -

3 guitars - 3 issues -

I play gentle folk guitar - I am an old man and do not subject my guitars to anything other than a cosseted life.

Am I

i) Just unlucky AF.
ii) Job
iii) Subject to a **** shop who get **** PRS guitars sent to them to palm off on idiots.
iv) Other

What the hell is going on with these guitars -

Anyone else?

Coiltapbroken (again).
 
I bought an S2 594 about 2 weeks ago. First thing I did was rip out the electronics and replace the pickups. The stock electronics are Korean crap. I put in Bourn pots and a switchcraft switch. It's not you!. The electronics in the S2's are known to suck. Pickups are OK, but I went a different route. I'm 68 and take care of my guitars too. Why they chose to put crap switches and pots in, is beyond me. It's like a $25 difference in parts. Change the electronics and enjoy your guitar.
 
Your experience is certainly unusual. I’ve never had that much bad luck with the s2 or SE line consistently. Sure something may go wrong but not to the extreme you have experienced. I would try to work with the shop to see if they can install a USA 594 drop in electronic set. Marginal cost to them since they can order it directly from PRS and easy to install.
 
That drop in set is for a Core 594. The posts on the tone pots are too long for the S2. Your tone knobs will be high off the body. Don't ask me how I know. Just have them install new Bourn pots and a new switch.
 
Thanks for the replies - Given how much the guitar was (not cheap) I'm not willing to let this go or update at my own expense - why PRS would put such **** electrics in an otherwise decent instrument is beyond me. I'll see what the shop come back with - not holding my breath on that but will take is as far as it needs to go. Not buying PRS again that's for sure - never had any issues like this with any other major brands, even with "cheap" guitars. I'm expecting a reply back from the shop today.
 
I've had a coffee now. I'm just being pigheaded this morning - even if I get it repaired or get yet another replacement it's only going to happen again - I'll go the Bourns pots route - as kindly recommended by FDHog, if the shop wont do it for me I'll dig out the old soldering iron. - @FDHog would you be able to confirm whether it's the one below you used - I would be really grateful if you could.....

Bourns Push/Pull Pot Audio Taper Solid Shaft 500k Code: PDB183-500SS-1​

Depth of pot (excluding threaded shaft): 25mm
Width of pot (including solder tags): 19mm x 26mm
Diameter of pot shaft: 9.5mm
Diameter of solid shaft (where the knob attaches): 6mm
 
Aha - there's my problem then - nice soldering (not)





There's my problem right there - Green and white have detached themselves from the pot post - terrible soldering work there.

I'll resolder it myself - I'm still going to swap these pots though......


chaazI8.jpg
 
Short Shaft bourn Pot with split shaft. I used CTS pots for Volume. The pot you're showing is a solid shaft. You're gonna have to squeeze the split shaft closed a little to get the knobs on. No Biggie.
 
FDHog said:
Short Shaft bourn Pot with split shaft. I used CTS pots for Volume. The pot you're showing is a solid shaft. You're gonna have to squeeze the split shaft closed a little to get the knobs on. No Biggie.
Click to expand...
Thanks - Appreciated!
 
I own three PRS S2’s and have had zero electronic issues. Can’t say I adore the pickups in all. I do have a gripe about the brittle finishes on all though. But that’s for another discussion. They all play great though. Think you have a bit of bad luck. Hope you get it sorted out.
 
That sequence of events is certainly unusual but such things happen. On my Single Cut I had to replace three pots as they became flaky one after another whereas the Custom still has the original pots and rotary.

On the other hand, anything in the electronics (apart from the pickups) can be changed for little money whereas anything wrong with fretwork is much more difficult and time consuming to repair.
 
FDHog said:
That drop in set is for a Core 594. The posts on the tone pots are too long for the S2. Your tone knobs will be high off the body. Don't ask me how I know. Just have them install new Bourn pots and a new switch.
Click to expand...
Put a brass washer on the tone pot stem before you put it in the guitar. THat will effectively lower the post height. Been there, done that. Evidently I've had better luck than most. There haven't been any changes out of necessity on any of my three S2's.
 
Still doesn't get you low enough if you use the 594 drop in electronics. The tone pot stem on the Core electronics is longer to deal with the bevel under the knobs on the Core 594. If you try to add washers, you won't have enough threads left on top. Just went through this last week. While you're in there, clean up the wiring. It's like a rat's nest compared to the Core models. The wires to the 3 way are way too long.
 
coiltapbroken said:
OK - apologies for any spelling mistakes - it's late and I'm kind of annoyed...

Story is I went to my local guitar shop with the intension of buying a Gibson LP - about 6 weeks ago.

Long story short:

i) I ended up buying a PRS S2 594 - nice burst and played great back to back with the Gibsons..... got it back home and the pickup selector switch was either already faulty or became faulty within minutes of playing it properly. (yes I know I should have checked at the store - but you know how it is).

ii) sent an email to the sales guy who said "it's probably bedding in" (or similar)....

iii) It didnt "bed in" so I took it back to the shop (was one week later) - was told they don't do refunds or replacements and I would have to have it repaired.

iv) Err - no - I insisted on a replacement - got a replacement (after a heated conversation) - got it home and the bridge pickup coil tap wasn't working on the replacement guitar (yes I know).

v) Took that one back - got a replacement (yada yada) - now 6 weeks later the neck coil tap has failed on the second replacement (not been out of my music room and not played much ... I have mailed the shop and I'm not naming names at this point as I am awaiting a response -

3 guitars - 3 issues -

I play gentle folk guitar - I am an old man and do not subject my guitars to anything other than a cosseted life.

Am I

i) Just unlucky AF.
ii) Job
iii) Subject to a **** shop who get **** PRS guitars sent to them to palm off on idiots.
iv) Other

What the hell is going on with these guitars -

Anyone else?

Coiltapbroken (again).
Click to expand...
That is weird, unfortunate and not the norm.
Maybe that dealer is not taking care/storage/handling the merchandise correctly.

I would return it and purchase elsewhere.

If you like that particular S2 594 you can contact PRS and see what they can do. But this might take longer than returning and getting a new.
 
The tone/push pull pot on my S2 Vela was a bit scratchy from day one. It's gotten to the point now where it needs to be replaced. It's very scratchy and there's no change in tone from 10 to 5 but it works from 5 to 0.

Speaking of replacement pots, what are the best pots and where to order them from? I want to replace the current pots with the concentric, stacked type pots so each pickup will have its own volume and tone control. This will eliminate the push/pull but I never use it anyway.
 
I went though three S2 594 with these types of problems, and fixed the cold solder joint and it was fantastic! Thus was in Sept 2020 and I feel the issues were caused by covid and the production line operation.

The tone/split pot is the same as Core. The Volume pot is alpha and could be replaced.

Give it a chance after the fix, it is a great guitar!!
 
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