Do PRS guitars require high action?

[Torstein]

Then it's a very well built neck/guitar and/or you're playing with a soft touch. My SE sounds a little choked especially without distortion. Well it's an SE.

It's my favorite guitar as well as playability goes. I wish I could have that action on my strat!

 

[palfino878787]

Just got my first PRS, a Custom SE 24-08, a couple of weeks ago. Came with .09's switched to .10's as I play on all my electrics. Action was about 2.0 and 1.5. That's about where I play my Fenders and Gibby's. Truss at about .006. I had planned to get the PRS neck straighter and lower action than normal just to have one set low and straight and I heard PRS's were good for that. So with the .10's at 1.5 and 1.25 and Truss at .004 no buzz and certainly a different feel. Like so far, no problem with bends and gripping them.

Did you modify the nut to use 0.10s?

 

[Lewguitar]

I have eight PRS guitars. Two Core Custom 22's and the rest are SE's.

All have very comfortable, buzz free action. As do my Fender and Gibson guitars.

I use .010 - 0.46 strings on all.

I'd say my PRS guitars play as well as any guitar on the market and better than most.

 

[palfino878787]

Thanks,

I have eight PRS guitars. Two Core Custom 22's and the rest are SE's.

All have very comfortable, buzz free action. As do my Fender and Gibson guitars.

I use .010 - 0.46 strings on all.

I'd say my PRS guitars play as well as any guitar on the market and better than most.

could you provide more info about your setup? I have a Zack Myer SE with 0.09-0.42 but have 20 mm action and still some buzz around 8th fret onwards on Lower E

 

[Lewguitar]

Thanks,

could you provide more info about your setup? I have a Zack Myer SE with 0.09-0.42 but have 20 mm action and still some buzz around 8th fret onwards on Lower E

I do allow a little buzz if I can't hear it through my amp. If I can hear it through my amp, then I raise the action a bit until I can't.

And my necks are not perfectly straight. If I put a capo at the first fret and then hold down the strings at the highest fret I can easily slide a Fender Heavy pick under the strings and over the fret in the middle of the neck.

I don't use .009's. They're too light for me and I don't like the feel of the pick on it or the sound. I use .010 - .046.

I'm not an aggressive picker. I've been told I have a light touch.

I consciously shape my tone with my hands and my pick.

I use a Dunlap Ultex .73 pick shaped like your typical Fender medium. But I like the Ultex material better than celluloid or whatever Fender mediums are made of.

 

[palfino878787]

I do allow a little buzz if I can't hear it through my amp. If I can hear it through my amp, then I raise the action a bit until I can't.

And my necks are not perfectly straight. If I put a capo at the first fret and then hold down the strings at the highest fret I can easily slide a Fender Heavy pick under the strings and over the fret in the middle of the neck.

I don't use .009's. They're too light for me and I don't like the feel of the pick on it or the sound. I use .010 - .046.

I'm not an aggressive picker. I've been told I have a light touch.

I consciously shape my tone with my hands and my pick.

I use a Dunlap Ultex .73 pick shaped like your typical Fender medium. But I like the Ultex material better than celluloid or whatever Fender mediums are made of.

Thanks this is really helpful, did you need to modify the nut to use the .10s?

 

[Lewguitar]

Thanks this is really helpful, did you need to modify the nut to use the .10s?

No.

 

[Stinger22]

Did you modify the nut to use 0.10s?

I barely hit it with my files.

 

[El Fenix]

The action is high on my DGT. But then again, I tend to hit my guitars like they owe me money. Heavy hand.

 

[Jacque52]

I have three core models, Custom 24, Custom 22 and DGT and the High and Low E string saddles are bottomed out just like the first post listed here with the SE model. I am now hearing that this is quite common on PRS's for some reason which really surprises me. I need to find a way to get lower action on these guitars due to arthritis in my hands. I'm using 10-46 strings on the 22 and 24 and 11-49's that came on the DGT but am thinking of putting 10's on the DGT as well which may ease the action down a bit. After 50 plus years of playing I've never had a guitar (Fender, Gibson, Gretsch, etc.) that had saddles that couldn't be lowered. First post here so I'm guessing others have run into this. Please offer any advice as to what you guys have done to remedy this. I'm hoping to get a few more years of playing time in before I have to call it quits. Thanks for your help. Rock on.

 

[markd21]

Man, this was a read. I guess I'm lucky that none of this matter that much to me. My setup? No buzzing - regardless of string height. EB 9s, 10, 11, or 12s depending on the tuning. Slight back-bow in the neck so I can dig in deep between the 12th and 15th fret. Pickups at the height where the guitar sounds clear with even sustain.

I guess growing up with all the crap guitars of the 80s helped after all!!

 

[Simon Says]

IMO, it's the user error. I have two Core PRS guitars. 2022 Custom with perfect action, and 1999 even lower as I play it differently with no rattle, no bend choking.

 

[JasonE]

I have three core models, Custom 24, Custom 22 and DGT and the High and Low E string saddles are bottomed out just like the first post listed here with the SE model. I am now hearing that this is quite common on PRS's for some reason which really surprises me. I need to find a way to get lower action on these guitars due to arthritis in my hands. I'm using 10-46 strings on the 22 and 24 and 11-49's that came on the DGT but am thinking of putting 10's on the DGT as well which may ease the action down a bit. After 50 plus years of playing I've never had a guitar (Fender, Gibson, Gretsch, etc.) that had saddles that couldn't be lowered. First post here so I'm guessing others have run into this. Please offer any advice as to what you guys have done to remedy this. I'm hoping to get a few more years of playing time in before I have to call it quits. Thanks for your help. Rock on.

I like my action lower than PRS sets it at the factory. I have noticed that there is a little variation in how everything comes together. I have lowered the trem on a couple of my guitars and others had enough adjustment to them to get them where I wanted them. I bought a brand new PRS Studio last fall. The action was a little higher than I wanted it and where I knew I could get it because I have my other PRS guitars set to. I lowered the trem on it by 1/4 of a turn on each screw. You have to be careful on how you do this if you go down this road so you don't damage the knife edges on the bridge plate. I also found that a couple of my screws were not exactly lined up before I adjusted it. That lowered it just enough that I got the action where I wanted it and the saddle is not bottomed out.