How to raise the action on a 594

[Revelation]

The action on my guitar is a little too low for my taste. I want it just a tad up. How do you do that if the neck is straight? If I adjust it with the truss rod, won't it change the neck to its not straight anymore? If you raise the bridge it moves the strings further away from the pickups.

 

[ViperDoc]

I would recommend adjusting your truss rod one quarter turn counter-clockwise at most per turn to reduce tension and add neck relief. You should have a very slight back curve on your fretboard for proper action up the neck. I use a neck relief gauge from stewmac to measure this accurately, but for mild adjustments by feel, you can certainly make an improvement. Adjusting the bridge height should not be necessary unless it’s been changed from factory.

 

[Bogner]

Even if the bridge is unchanged from the factory that doesn't mean it is set where you want/need it to be. Your only real simple options to raise action is bridge height and neck relief. I wouldn't change the nut. If you like a flat (read as straight) neck then I would simply adjust the bridge. Ultimately it depends on how much of a change you want. Depending on how much things change you may or may not have to adjust pickups. Regardless, it is a pretty simple fix overall.

 

[ViperDoc]

Check these out:

Don't be nervous about adjusting that truss rod! - StewMac

Erick Coleman shows how quick and easy it is to evaluate a neck and adjust the truss rod.

www.stewmac.com

Understanding guitar truss rod adjustment - StewMac

In this video guide, Dan Erlewine from StewMac will show you how to adjust your truss rod with confidence to achieve that perfect playability and sound.

www.stewmac.com

Basic Set-up Instructions - StewMac

Basic Set-up Instructions

www.stewmac.com

 

[FDHog]

The action on my guitar is a little too low for my taste. I want it just a tad up. How do you do that if the neck is straight? If I adjust it with the truss rod, won't it change the neck to its not straight anymore? If you raise the bridge it moves the strings further away from the pickups.

So just raise the pickups. I don't see the issue.

 

[Rod/]

So just raise the pickups. I don't see the issue.

And raise the bridge. No biggie. I like very strait necks.

 

[JasonE]

The neck being straight is a good thing. If you have back bow in it you will get fret buzz. The 594 is super easy to raise the action. Just use the thumb wheels under the bridge to raise it a little bit. Loosen the strings a bit and turn the wheels like you were trying to unscrew them from the guitar. You can't really hurt anything doing this.

 

[RickP]

As noted, if you want to raise the action, the normal way is to raise the bridge to suite, then raise the pickups to match. Neck adjustment is fine, and not the un-reversible thing its made out to be, but I normally reserve that for actually correcting the neck itself. What you are doing is the reason adjustable bridges and pickups were invented.

 

[vchizzle]

Stew Mac has great info. I bought a Dan Erlwine repair book years ago and it’s been very handy. That said, it’s much more info than a beginner needs for simple adjustments. Make small adjustments, they’re all reversible. Keep track of what you do and do one thing at a time.

https://support.prsguitars.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408310362523-What-are-the-factory-specifications-for-my-U-S-PRS-guitar-setup-

Really all you need to do is check neck relief, adjust if necessary. Check string height. You can buy 2 cheap tools at any hardware store and need a capo. 6” steel pocket ruler that measures to 1/64” and a feeler gauge.

Factory pickup heights should be listed in the link. You can measure where they’re at now before making any other adjustments.

First- capo 1st fret, hold low E on last fret. Over the actual 8th fret- using .010 feeler gauge, slide between the low E and 8th fret. Should be just a tiny bit of resistance sliding the gauge through. This is a feel thing, which is probably why PRS lists measurements in the link above now. Should only need a 1/4 turn in either direction on the truss rod to get the feeler gauge sliding under properly.

Second- remove capo, measure from 12th fret to bottom of each E string. 2.5/32” on low E and 2/32” on high E.

That’s how it was listed on PRS site years ago and how I’ve set my guitars up for the last 25 years. They have YouTube videos as well on a bunch of guitar upkeep type things too.