DGT String-Change Disaster?! Daddario=Tone kill??

[brandonsicobo]

Today I restrung my brand new DGT for the first time with Daddario Medium Nickel Wound and truth be told, my heart was broken. Everything I loved about my baby was gone; there was more buzzing than I could of ever anticipated from the strings! When first I bought it, every note was flawless without any buzz but now even open E buzzes ridiculously!

I am aware that the DGT's are shipped with PRS DGT strings, however I thought I would give Daddario a try. Also, I am completely new to the Phase III locking tuning system but I still think that it is relatively unlikely I strung it wrong which leaves me dumbfounded as to how my beautiful guitar arrived at such a state.

Just to clarify, all I did was change the strings... one of my guesses would be that it has something to do with the magnets in the pick ups responding differently to different metal, but I'm really not much of a guitar tech. I usually let my good man at PMT (a UK store) handle these things for me (set ups etc) but he's left and now I am on my own



Has anyone else experienced such, or have I done something wrong? Could it be that I need a set up?

Thank you

 

[jetydosa]

The factory DGT strings are DAddario. Have you stretched them out really good? Sometimes strings are extra stiff when you first put them on, buzzes etc, but after some stretching and 10-15min playing they settle in.

 

[ADD]

You may also have installed "dead" new strings. Try another set. I really like the D'addario's NYXL- they sound better to me and stay really well in tune.

 

[bodia]

Aren't the mediums 13s? DGT comes with 11s. Perhaps that has something to with it?

 

[brandonsicobo]

This may very well be the case. Having only restrung 10s on an electric prior may reflect my impatience with 11s- having said that, I do REALLY like the tone of 11s and the beefier feel!

 

[swede71]

Don't worry brandonsicobo,what happened was a new set of strings is bright compared to the strings you are used to.Give it a few days of intense playing and things will start to sound less brigh and buzzy.The nickel wound mediums are the correct strings for the DGT as it come setup from factory.If you have some experience of guitar maintenance I would suggest you do your first setup.Stringheight and neck relief.

 

[brandonsicobo]

If this is really the case, then that is crazy dude! To think that this has never happened to me before and it does the first time I that restring my new PRS is crazy and scary!

 

[brandonsicobo]

Thank you very much swede71. This is very reassuring and I will probably have to invest some time learning how to do my own set ups etc... But ofcourse I'll practice on my Mexican strat first .

 

[swede71]

My DGT had the same "problem".The neck was straight when I took it home from store and Stringheight was too low for my personal preference.Easy fix and voila it sounded great .As a general rule,guitars with a floating trem are very finicky,the tension between strings and springs needs to be perfect.With a floating trem it's better to change one string at a time instead of taking them all off and have the cleaning ritual every stringchange.

 

[dsenoj]

Did you take all the strings off at once? If so, the trem may have slipped out of alignment. That causes all kinds of issues.

 

[mapleleaf14]

+1 on the NYXL strings...they are fantastic IMO.

 

[G-Man]

First thing to check is the tremelo position vs the guitar body. If leaning in our out, you will get buzz for sure. When looking directly at the side of the tremelo block, it should be at roughly the same angle as the pickup rings and pretty parallel to the body deeding upon the slope of the carve.

 

[vchizzle]

Aren't the mediums 13s? DGT comes with 11s. Perhaps that has something to with it?

+1 You need a full setup making a jump like that.

 

[watelessness]

Hmm. Did you use the same gauge strings? What happens if you put the old strings back on?

 

[Rachmaninoff]

+1 You need a full setup making a jump like that.

Exactly... that's pretty basic, dude.

 

[G-Man]

I went from 10's to 9's and had the same problem. The tremelo was the biggest problem, sagged forward. Yup, I hear all of the female anatomy jokes coming at me. Also have to look at what the nut has been cut for.

 

[Huggy Love]

Sounds to me like you did not use the same gauge strings, if that's the case you either replace with the exact same gauge set or have it setup to the gauge you choose. If you loved the sound and feel of your DGT I would suggest not changing.

 

[DHW]

duplicate

 

[DHW]

D'addario mediums are 11-49 so those should be fine but 11's are sold in multiple configurations, one being with a wound third. The dgt set has an unwound third which would have a tension difference that would throw the trem off for sure. As someone else said if the trem slipped out of the slots it would also cause issues like that. It should not be sitting tight against the heads of the mounting screws. If it is I would loosen the strings and pop it back into place. If it is in the slots then you probably need to look at getting a setup done. Just the change in environment from the store to your house could, potentially, change the relief of the neck. If all that stuff looks ok just give the strings time to settle in and see where you are at.

Are you positive you took 11's off it? It's possible the store strung it up with something lighter and set it up for them, especially if it had been hanging in there for a while.