I almost broke not one but two PRS guitars

Casi1

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Jun 19, 2017
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1,313
Yep...

My 408 and my Custom 24 were almost goners last night.

Or at least it felt that way.

This is how the tragedy went down:

It was recommended to me to lower the pickups on my 408 to reduce muddiness. Ok... I figure I can take it to my luthier and pay him $25 for 5 minutes of work OR I can just do it myself. I choose to do it myself. Me and Youtube can do this!

So I'm turning the lil screw to the left then I'm checking the sound then turning the lil screw. Uh oh... Pickup stopped moving and now screw is sticking up looking all crazy. I turn some more. Bad decision. I play the high E and the most horrible sound comes out of this PRS. Like a hiss / screech. Sounds like a bat out of hell (and not Meatloaf's version). Sad me furiously googles what to do. I end up cutting strings and freeing the pickup and as soon as I did that the pickup just dropped into the guitar.

:confused:

The next hour is a blur but I'm sure tequila was involved.

Next thing I remember is looking at my Custom 24 and my new black pickup rings, thinking once again 'I can pay the luthier or just do it myself'. Guess which one I thought was the best option. Thats right. I take one last glance at my Cu24 and note that from the bass side, the bridge pickup looks SO much taller (closer to strings) than the neck pickup.

Next thing I know my cream rings are on the floor and I'm getting beat up by four lil springs. I will hate springs for the rest of my life now.

At least an hour passes and by some miracle, my custom 24 has black rings now. I plug the guitar into my amp and suddenly realize that the guitar doesnt sound the same. It sounded awesome before. Sad me realizes (too late) that the pickup heights are now different than they were before and all I remember is that the bridge pickup was supposed to be A LOT closer to the strings than the neck pickup. My Custom 24 now looks awesome but sounds like shyt.

:oops:

I just want somebody to buy me a JM PRStrat to make it all better again. I promise I wont touch the pickups this time.
 
Look at it this way...you are learning how to work on your guitars. You won't make that mistake again, and once you finally gete them back to correct, you haven't lost anything.

There is a set up guide on the website that will tell you how to set the pup height. ;)
 
I just want somebody to buy me a JM PRStrat to make it all better again. I promise I wont touch the pickups this time.
That guitar has become sort of the Macbeth of guitars. Mention it by name, and people get all cranky, crazy, and defensive. Probably best to call it the “SPRS” rather than the whole JM thing. ;-)
 
Funny thing is I was thinking recently, how hard can it be to switch out my white rings for some black ones?

On second thought, The white ones are fine!;)
 
The PRS rings are a godsend for those pickup height springs. It's much worse with the generic Gibson style rings.
Truth!
Especially since they have the little plastic nubs that hold the spring in place for you.
I was pleasantly surprised the first time I took the rings off of my PRS
 
Funny thing is I was thinking recently, how hard can it be to switch out my white rings for some black ones?

On second thought, The white ones are fine!;)

My neighbors probably think I'm insane. You know its bad when you start yelling at the lil innocent springs.

I may have yelled something like 'SQUISH DOWN YOU LITTLE MOFO!'

Repeatedly.

:mad:

I'm 5'10'' and these tiny 1.5 inch springs kicked my @ss for hours last night.
 
The pain and suffering was worth it though:

vBAi5pJ.jpg
 
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