Custom 22 S2 setup problems

[sean65]

Hi Guys,

I've had a pretty rough time of my S2 ownership.

The guitar was bought just after release in the UK which is about 26 months ago.

After about six or eight months of playing, I noticed I was getting some strange sympathetic harmonics from the top E and B strings. I took it in to a reputed shop for a setup. This didn't cure the problem which returned after a few weeks so as it was still under warranty I took it back to the shop where I bought it. They were pretty unhelpful and said there is nothing wrong with it and it just needed a setup for which they would charge me.

I decided to get a second opinion and took it to my usual tech who thought there might be some very slight neck twist which he could dial out with a PLEK setup. This seemed to remedy the problem for about 4 month but the the problem returned worse that ever and the top two strings were buzzing on every fret and even when played open. I suspected the Tremolo might be an issue and replaced it with a USA Mann Made unit. This didn't help either.

I contacted PRS Customer Service who were very keen to take a look at the guitar and arranged collection. They reported back to me that it needed a good setup but admitted that even then they had to file the saddles on the new term to give the string some grip as the open strings were still buzzing.

When I received the guitar back it played fine for a few weeks then went out again and the B string buzzes when open and in every fretted position. I was told by the PRS tech that the only adjustment I would need to perform if I had any future problems was the truss rod.

I've adjust this in very tiny increments over a period of several weeks to try and dial out the B string buzz without success.

Ironically, I never had a guitar which played so good and so bad in equal measure. I'm thoroughly frustrated with this guitar now and in its current state I wouldn't even be able to sell it.

Should I ask PRS to swap it out for me and provide a playable unit or would they entertain a trade in if I were to upgrade to a CE24 for example.

The majority of the 26 months I've had this guitar it's been driving me crazy with this issue.

Any advice gratefully received
Sean

NB - I've just noticed the Tech Forum. Should I repost on that forum or can this post be moved?

 

[andy474x]

I had this exact issue with a stoptail SE model, if it's happening all the way up the neck it's most likely a bridge issue. Unless your action is just crazy low, of course. Mine was a sitar like sound, very plinky and unpleasant.

The b and high e strings seem to be common victims of this problem. I ended up buying a new bridge for the SE, which I see you've already done. I would say next try switching the saddles around and see if putting two of the other four in place of the e and b strings helps (don't believe saddles in PRS trems are string specific, but not sure about the Mann).

What it boils down to is a bad point of contact where your string exits the saddle. Make sure your trem plate is aligned parallel to the top of the guitar, just a millimeter or two off the top. Being bent forward too far could result in a poor break angle of the strings over the saddles. Also, I think it helps for the saddles to be raised at least slightly, to increase the angle. And make sure both adjustment screws are even and in firm contact with the bridge plate.

You may have already tried all this, if so my apologies, but it's a good place to start.

 

[dogrocketp]

See if the tuners are loose. I have an S2 custom 22 also that had a similar problem. Tightening the top nuts on the tuners took care of it.

 

[sean65]

Thanks for your feedback guys.

Yeah, I'd pretty much tried all those thing before I sent it back to PRS in the UK.

Here is part of the reply I received as feedback from PRS which maybe of some help to others" -

"Once the truss rod was sorted I could see that the string height was too low at the bridge but the saddles were also sitting high on the tremolo so had little room for further adjustment. I therefore raised the tremolo and lowered the saddles (you get a better transfer of tone if the saddle height screws aren’t extended so far). As a matter of course I adjusted the tremolo angle/tension and intonation too and lowered the top three nut slots a little.

In theory now everything was set correctly but the plain strings were still sounding a bit fuzzy so I filed a tiny groove in their saddles to give the strings a bit of grip and that sorted it. So, to sum up, I think the issues were due to the set up being wrong and the strings vibrating on the saddles."

I suspected it was a saddles/tremolo problem and that's what made me decide on the John Mann unit so I was kind of surprised to read that he had to file the saddle on the new unit.

Next time I restring it I'll have a closer look and perhaps move up to 11 gauge.

Cheers
Sean

 

[clasbtenn]

This is just my personal opinion. I am not going against what others have suggested. With your guitar tuned to pitch, A-440, if you fret each string, one at a time at the second fret, and look closely and tap the same string at the first fret, you should see a very slight amount of opening between the underside of the closed string and the top of the first fret. This is how a correctly cut nut should respond. If the slot at the nut is cut too low, your string may be slightly buzzing off the first fret.

You should not have to make any extreme bridge adjustments, and you should be able to get the action, and your choice of string gauge to work wherever you would normally have it set.

As an example, I lost most of the use of my radial nerves in my left forearm. This is where one gets the strength to fret and bend strings. I had to go from medium action and 10's, to the lowest possible action I could, and my strings are now gauged .007-.033. When I say low action, I mean all the way down as far as would be allowed without string buzz. I had my guitars re-plekked and a new bone nut installed on all of them for just this reason. I have no problems fretting out, or choked off notes when bending. I do all of my own setups.

If your guitar will not allow you to freely set it up to your personal taste, I would also consider checking the nut, as I just mentioned. If the nut is correctly cut, and you still have problems, sell the guitar and start over with another one.

Good luck finding the problem and correcting it.

 

[charliefrench]

When I went from 9 to 10 gauge on my SE Custom 22 the B & E strings gave me the sitar sound effect too. I had already noticed the forward tilt on the bridge and was sort of expecting it. I measured the gap this tilt created between the bottom of the bridge and the post-shelf it sits on with feeler gauges and bought a pack of five copper heatsink shims, 20x20mm and 0.3mm thick. Using the bridge as a template I scribed the area of the two shims I used and cut them with scissors, superglued them in place and refitted the bridge. My photos will hopefully explain better. Bridge did not slide in as easily as I hoped it would and I had to level/file the shims down a it. Sorry but I did not think to photograph them in this state.

It worked.

[/IMG]
Taken before I filed down the shims to fit the bridge more easily

[/IMG]
Still leaning forward a little but much better than it originally was. The studs are really sloppy inside the bushings anyway.

[/IMG]
Unless you look closely underneath you cannot see the fitted shims