Kind of underwhelming experience SE Custom 24

[Cedarburger]

I just got an SE Custom 24. I was somewhat disappointed: 13th fret was bad. It was like the radius was too small for the fingerboard-you could get a piece of paper underneath it. It would not intonate. Had to have it reseated, crowned, filed, and polished.

Has anyone else had an experience like this?

 

[WEDGE]

Used?

 

[Cedarburger]

Used?

Yes, it was used.

 

[Draconomics]

Yes, it was used.

I just got an SE Custom 24. I was disappointed. 13th fret was bad. It was like the radius was too small for the fingerboard-you could get a piece of paper underneath it. It would not intonate. Had to have it reseated, crowned, filed, and polished.

Has anyone else had an experience like this?

I was hoping to sell all my guitars and get 3 or so PRS, but now not so sure. I will update after playing for a bit.

So...as someone who owns like five SEs, some nickels of wisdom...

This being a used guitar...there is always a good chance the previous owner didn't do proper fretboard conditioning. Frets pop out sometimes if the board gets crazy dry, and can even sprout out of the sides. Thats not really a fault of the builders, I would blame the prior owner.

That said, I have seen new ones with frets that have lifted, but it's VERY few and far between. At the end of the day, the SE is easily one of the best (maybe the best) import guitars, period. Im sorry this was your first taste of the SE line, but I can assure you they are amazing guitars for the price. Do bear in mind, any guitar will need to be setup to your taste, and SEs do take a little extra work to optimize them, but its so with it. I do my own mods and fretwork on them so I just spend my time, but I would pit my SEs against American ones any day. They play better than most $3000 Les Pauls I've had the unfortunate pleasure of dealing with. Stick with it and I think you'll come to enjoy your SE.

Btw, if you keep your custom 24 and plan to use it for years to come, two big upgrades I recommend: replacing the saddles with mannmade machined ones and replace the nut. Those will be about $100 worth of upgrades, but I swear it's worth it.

 

[SinSir]

Part of the used game and wouldn't blame a brand for the previous owners care

 

[WEDGE]

Yeah it’s hard to bag a manufacturer for a used guitar with issues.

 

[Russ73]

I buy used S2s and they're bangin all day...but I have an SE Mira that's perfect but I understand your disappointment ....maybe it needs some work or you got a bad one??

 

[Broseph]

This is the same reason I won't do fenders. New, used. It didn't matter. 2k+ guitars that needed set ups and fretworks right away. Cheaper ones that were junk. I had it. Way too much a crapshoot with fenders quality controls. I felt like the guitars were fighting me and buzzing out over simple things.

 

[dmatthews]

I understand, but don't judge a manufacturer by a single used purchase.
Best of luck in the future.

 

[Willmunny]

My recent used se custom 24 that I purchased is very nice indeed, Ymmv

 

[Bluegrif]

I recently bought an SE Custom 24-08 to review and was very impressed. Nearly as impressed as I was with the SE Silver Sky I also bought for review. I was so impressed with that one I’ve decided to keep it. Flawless.

 

[Julian]

With all due respect I love my PRSi but the fact that it’s already been settled that it was the previous owners fault and not PRS is a little ridiculous considering we have no idea. And frankly, it doesn’t matter who’s fault it is: figuring out who’s fault it is isn’t going to fix the guitar. Rather than assigning blame, it’d be more productive if we suggested potential solutions.

Do you know a luthier with a fret press? That could help, as well as some fretboard conditioning

 

[alantig]

With all due respect I love my PRSi but the fact that it’s already been settled that it was the previous owners fault and not PRS is a little ridiculous considering we have no idea.

Nobody said it was definitively the previous owner's fault. They said exactly what you said - that because it was used, we can't say whose fault it is. The OP put the blame on PRS. The responders said because it's used that you can't jump to that conclusion. The closest was one post saying that if the previous owner didn't do basic fretboard maintenance, then the blame would be on the owner. The post did not say that the previous owner actually did that, only raised it as a possibility.

It's the same thing you're saying - we don't know.

 

[Julian]

Nobody said it was definitively the previous owner's fault. They said exactly what you said - that because it was used, we can't say whose fault it is. The OP put the blame on PRS. The responders said because it's used that you can't jump to that conclusion. The closest was one post saying that if the previous owner didn't do basic fretboard maintenance, then the blame would be on the owner. The post did not say that the previous owner actually did that, only raised it as a possibility.

It's the same thing you're saying - we don't know

I agree, we don’t know. However it’s worth mentioning that the amount of times there has been qc issues (new and used), people will look for any reason to not hold PRS accountable.

Regardless, when correctly set up they’re great instruments. Again I’d ask a luthier or PRS if a fret press could help the issue.

 

[AZGiant]

So...as someone who owns like five SEs, some nickels of wisdom...

This being a used guitar...there is always a good chance the previous owner didn't do proper fretboard conditioning. Frets pop out sometimes if the board gets crazy dry, and can even sprout out of the sides. Thats not really a fault of the builders, I would blame the prior owner.

That said, I have seen new ones with frets that have lifted, but it's VERY few and far between. At the end of the day, the SE is easily one of the best (maybe the best) import guitars, period. Im sorry this was your first taste of the SE line, but I can assure you they are amazing guitars for the price. Do bear in mind, any guitar will need to be setup to your taste, and SEs do take a little extra work to optimize them, but its so with it. I do my own mods and fretwork on them so I just spend my time, but I would pit my SEs against American ones any day. They play better than most $3000 Les Pauls I've had the unfortunate pleasure of dealing with. Stick with it and I think you'll come to enjoy your SE.

Btw, if you keep your custom 24 and plan to use it for years to come, two big upgrades I recommend: replacing the saddles with mannmade machined ones and replace the nut. Those will be about $100 worth of upgrades, but I swear it's worth it.

Totally agree. Have multiple SE and not an issue with one of them. So folks take care of their gear, and some dont

 

[Cedarburger]

I think it came off wrong. I didn't intend it to sound like I "blame" PRS. I was really just asking if anyone had a guitar with a funky fret. I also have not had a chance to spend significant time with it. I have always wanted a PRS, and am excited to have it especially since I got it set up.

I did have a luthier press the fret. He is the one who alerted me to the issue.

 

[Warmart]

Excellent, hope your problems are over - these bishes have a tendency to multiply, no one knows how they do it ;P P.S. wth are my emojis not available?!

 

[Draconomics]

I think it came off wrong. I didn't intend it to sound like I "blame" PRS. I was really just asking if anyone had a guitar with a funky fret. I also have not had a chance to spend significant time with it. I have always wanted a PRS, and am excited to have it especially since I got it set up.

I did have a luthier press the fret. He is the one who alerted me to the issue.

Nah, youre fine! I would just hate for this experience to leave a bad taste about SE's for you. I felt very much the same after I got my 35th Ani a couple years back. It too had a lifting fret and an A string hat refused to intonate, and man...if that would have been my first PRS, I'd have been equally disappointed. Mine was new too, even worse. If I didnt trust these guitars and know they are better than that first impression, I'd never recommend them to anyone. Hope it works for you now and you get alot of enjoyment from your SE!

 

[Cedarburger]

Ok, update time. I found a new guitar tech. He is amazing. There was just something off when I got it back from my former tech. So, I take it to the new place and tell the guy, "I have this PRS SE. Will you just play it and take a look and tell me if you see anything awry." He plays it, then goes into tech mode checking fret heights, looking down the neck, checking it over. So, he says it needs fretwork, neck was over adjusted which messed up the action. I picked it up yesterday, and I cannot believe how nice it is. He said that a couple frets were not pressed, but the factory would never notice. Fair enough, the distance was about the same as the thickness of a piece of paper. So, anyway, it is sweet now. Can't believe it. I have decided to sell a bunch off, but this one stays. I love it so much that...
https://forums.prsguitars.com/threads/should-i-01-santana-se-possible-ngd.52596/#post-737195

 

[SamIV]

I picked up an SE 245 recently, Korean model, that I just can’t put down. And I am not a big fan of the thicker neck. I seem to play is as much as my S2’s or even more though. Also considered, and still in the process, of slimming down the neck. But I pick it up and play it and forget about the neck thickness. So don’t give up on all SE’s.