LOVE my new PRS but ongoing tuning issues - need some help

[docteurseb]

This is a Core guitar. I would be surprised if the nut has issues like many experience with the SE guitars.

I wouldn't, I had my couple brand new PS and Core with less than ideal nut slots (binding).

Edited: in fairness at least one of those guitars sat for a while at the dealer as well as my home before testing the tremolo, thus the prolonged string pressure would possibly suffice to eventually cause binding in the nut slot.

 

[mranonymous]

I hope the guy who setup your guitar knows to take the spring tension off the trem before moving the pivot screws. Otherwise... expect damage (which could result in tuning issues)

I fortunately don't think he messed with the pivot screws at all as he didn't mention that. I think he just did a basic setup - action, truss rod adjustment, new strings, some lube, etc

This is a Core guitar. I would be surprised if the nut has issues like many experience with the SE guitars. If the trem knife edges are seated correctly and the screws are adjusted correctly, as they appear to be, my suspicion is the locking tuners are not tightened enough. I have solved slipping strings by cranking down a little more on the locking screw.

Thanks for the input. I just checked and the tuners on a few strings did actually seem pretty loose. I tightened them down pretty hard (not incredibly hard, but carefully until they were nice and secure.) While I was at it, I also tightened the screws on the outside of the tuning pegs, as those always seemed a bit loose to me as well compared to my other guitar. I played for about 5 minutes, and the tuning actually does seem a bit better from those adjustments. The high E and A strings still had to be tuned a few times in those 5 minutes though, so I will need to see how things are a bit later tonight when I do my longer practice session

Whatever you do, DO NOT TURN THE 6 SCREWS THAT THE TREM IS MOUNTED TO THE GUITAR WITH WITHOUT DISCONNECTING THE SPRINGS. If you do, you may permanently ruin the trem. An additional spring should not be necessary. I have several, set up with either 3 or 4 springs depending on the feel of the guitar. I would look at the tuner screws. Also are the top locking screws on the tuners tight? if your luthier, or you haven't tightened them sufficiently, the guitar will not stay in tune.

Gotcha, thanks for the heads up. I'm definitely not going to mess with any of that myself as I am not experienced enough to trust myself with anything aside from minor adjustments. If I have to take it to someone else though, I will be sure to reiterate this with them

 

[dogrocketp]

Just ask them if they have worked on PRS guitars before you take it in. I tune my guitars at the beginning of a practice session or gig, and then retune after every break. That's all they need, and I'm a nut about playing in tune. PRS are known for staying in tune.

 

[mranonymous]

Just ask them if they have worked on PRS guitars before you take it in. I tune my guitars at the beginning of a practice session or gig, and then retune after every break. That's all they need, and I'm a nut about playing in tune. PRS are known for staying in tune.

Good to know. And yeah, that's how my 2011 Custom 24 was - it stayed in tune extremely well. I made some minor adjustments so I will know how well they helped a bit later tonight when practicing

 

[bodia]

I’d put that Sammy bar in and beat the snot outta the trem for a little while. Seriously. Help break it in.

 

[mranonymous]

K... it's very hard to say but seems that the bridge screws are not all level. The HI E one seems a little lower that all the others. Also... if you swapped for 10s the stock gauge for PRS guitars is 9s so the nut was made for thinner strings. If you dont touch the nut strings will not be free to move in it and you'll lose tuning for sure. Also check that all the screws and nuts of the tuning machines are correctly tightened. You have not to apply too much force but they have to be tightened, at least. I've gone slightly mad to make my SE keep tuning but now is almost frozen. I'm pretty sure it's a stupid thing, trust me. When you'll discover it you will be so happy. Anyway: first chapter: NUT. Are you sure the "luthier", who seems to me to have done not a beautiful setup on that guitar (saddles seems a little too flat radiused), have enlarged the slots? Also the floating bridge seems not parallel to the top. You should check also that. Seems a little lower on the back side.

This is a Core guitar. I would be surprised if the nut has issues like many experience with the SE guitars. If the trem knife edges are seated correctly and the screws are adjusted correctly, as they appear to be, my suspicion is the locking tuners are not tightened enough. I have solved slipping strings by cranking down a little more on the locking screw.

Whatever you do, DO NOT TURN THE 6 SCREWS THAT THE TREM IS MOUNTED TO THE GUITAR WITH WITHOUT DISCONNECTING THE SPRINGS. If you do, you may permanently ruin the trem. An additional spring should not be necessary. I have several, set up with either 3 or 4 springs depending on the feel of the guitar. I would look at the tuner screws. Also are the top locking screws on the tuners tight? if your luthier, or you haven't tightened them sufficiently, the guitar will not stay in tune.

So earlier I ended up tightening the locking tuners down as you all suggested. When I did it, I noticed a few of them were a bit looser than others, so I tightened them pretty hard without going too crazy. I just finished my practice session (about 2 and a half hours) and the tuning was MUCH better. The one remaining issue is that the High E is still having issues. In that session, I barely had to tune any of the other strings, which was amazing. But I had to tune the High E a good 20+ times.

With this info in mind, is there anything more specific that might make the high E go out of tune? It's not a string that I bend more than the others, so I don't think it has to do with that. Also, I have stretched the high E plenty of times

 

[sadmoodyfrazier]

So earlier I ended up tightening the locking tuners down as you all suggested. When I did it, I noticed a few of them were a bit looser than others, so I tightened them pretty hard without going too crazy. I just finished my practice session (about 2 and a half hours) and the tuning was MUCH better. The one remaining issue is that the High E is still having issues. In that session, I barely had to tune any of the other strings, which was amazing. But I had to tune the High E a good 20+ times.

With this info in mind, is there anything more specific that might make the high E go out of tune? It's not a string that I bend more than the others, so I don't think it has to do with that. Also, I have stretched the high E plenty of times

If you remember I told you right that the only off bridge screw that seems to me a little off is the HI E one. So after detuning the strings with something under the bridge to avoid bridge bite (I use a thin sponge), take off the springs and try to adjust that sucker to flat level like all the other screws. The bridge should move easily as possible with all the screws leveled. Also if the nut is not slotted properly... well you know...

 

[mranonymous]

If you remember I told you right that the only off bridge screw that seems to me a little off is the HI E one. So after detuning the strings with something under the bridge to avoid bridge bite (I use a thin sponge), take off the springs and try to adjust that sucker to flat level like all the other screws. The bridge should move easily as possible with all the screws leveled. Also if the nut is not slotted properly... well you know...

Gotcha, thanks. I originally wasn't going to try it myself, especially since I have a satin guitar that is more easily susceptible to damage, but I am considering giving it a go. So just to reiterate:

1. Detune the strings to release tension
2. Raise the bridge and put something soft like a sponge underneath of it to prevent bridge bite
3. Remove all springs
4. Adjust the bridge screw to make it level

Is this basically it?

 

[sadmoodyfrazier]

Gotcha, thanks. I originally wasn't going to try it myself, especially since I have a satin guitar that is more easily susceptible to damage, but I am considering giving it a go. So just to reiterate:

1. Detune the strings to release tension
2. Raise the bridge and put something soft like a sponge underneath of it to prevent bridge bite
3. Remove all springs
4. Adjust the bridge screw to make it level

Is this basically it?

Basically yes. Put the sponge under the bridge BEFORE detuning. After removing the springs you should take out the 4 center screws, tune the outer ones until you have 1/16" distance of the front straight part of the bridge from the top on both sides of the bridge. Then you can place the 4 center screws and adjust them to the same height without touching the other ones. Then you can place the strings and setup the instrument.

 

[mranonymous]

Basically yes. Put the sponge under the bridge BEFORE detuning. After removing the springs you should take out the 4 center screws, tune the outer ones until you have 1/16" distance of the front straight part of the bridge from the top on both sides of the bridge. Then you can place the 4 center screws and adjust them to the same height without touching the other ones. Then you can place the strings and setup the instrument.

Sounds good. Bit of a stupid question - the screws are directly underneath the strings of course, so I'm assuming that they will be more accessible when the strings are loose?

 

[sadmoodyfrazier]

Sounds good. Bit of a stupid question - the screws are directly underneath the strings of course, so I'm assuming that they will be more accessible when the strings are loose?

Of course. Anyway you should not turn the screws when strings and springs are mounted, this is sure. But if you want to make a real tiny adjustment... I mean... if you see that a screw is a cent of millimeter higher or lower don't be afraid to adjust it even with springs and screws on. If you turn the screws a lot when you have screws and springs mounted you will ruin the knife edge for sure but a very tiny little adjustment does nothing.

 

[mranonymous]

Of course. Anyway you should not turn the screws when strings and springs are mounted, this is sure. But if you want to make a real tiny adjustment... I mean... if you see that a screw is a cent of millimeter higher or lower don't be afraid to adjust it even with springs and screws on. If you turn the screws a lot when you have screws and springs mounted you will ruin the knife edge for sure but a very tiny little adjustment does nothing.

Gotcha, yeah it looks like the screw is off by a very small amount so I may try that first.Thanks!

 

[sadmoodyfrazier]

Gotcha, yeah it looks like the screw is off by a very small amount so I may try that first.Thanks!

Beware! A little tiny adjustment. A fraction of millimeter. Not more.

 

[bodia]

Gotcha, yeah it looks like the screw is off by a very small amount so I may try that first.Thanks!

Do this. This is the guy that invented the original PRS trem back in the 80s.

 

[Rider1260]

Once you have checked to see if your trem is set properly THEN tune up to pitch and do a bunch of dive bombs , heavy trem use , tune up to pitch and repeat a few times ( its tons of fun )
the tuning will get better and better !!!

 

[mranonymous]

Do this. This is the guy that invented the original PRS trem back in the 80s.

This is excellent and exactly what I needed, thanks! Love how he uses the allen key to check the height. I personally hate relying on eyeballing rulers so this is a really good tip

Once you have checked to see if your trem is set properly THEN tune up to pitch and do a bunch of dive bombs , heavy trem use , tune up to pitch and repeat a few times ( its tons of fun )
the tuning will get better and better !!!

Will do thanks! Will likely be working on it tomorrow

 

[HANGAR18]

I got my new Custom 24 about a month ago. I love everything about it, except for one big thing - it just struggles with tuning.

So here is the basic rundown:

When I got the guitar last month (2017, Brand New Old Stock), the tuning was really bad. It would go out of tune almost instantly, even after a week or so of playing a lot.

So I found a local master luthier (well-known guy in the area, hundreds of amazing Yelp reviews and he has his own line of guitars), and he did a really good job. The tuning was a lot better when I got it back.

However, I still find that I have to tune it too much. If I am practicing/playing for 2 hours, I have to tune multiple strings at least 20 times in that span.

I can rule out the following:

- It is not my playing style, because I also own a Majesty on which I play the same stuff, and it stays in tune great

- I don't think it's my false expectations for PRS, because I used to have a 2011 Custom 24 and it stayed in tune extremely well. Also, from what I read online, most people's PRS guitars keep tune well

- It's not the new strings, because I have played it for many hours since I got it back from the luthier, and I have stretched them on multiple occasions

On an older forum post, someone said that the single most important thing for PRS tuning is that the "6 pivot screws" are set right. Is there an easy way I could diagnose this?

Tuning issues drive me absolutely crazy, but I love the PRS. If I could get this issue figured out I would be so happy with it. Any help is highly appreciated!

EDIT: Also forgot to add - I haven't even attached the tremolo bar yet, so all of these tuning issues are occurring from normal/non dive playing

When you install new strings, do you do that "string stretching" bit with your fingers before tuning them to pitch?
Do you also tune to pitch from down to up?

 

[alex1fly]

I wouldn't, I had my couple brand new PS and Core with less than ideal nut slots (binding).

Edited: in fairness at least one of those guitars sat for a while at the dealer as well as my home before testing the tremolo, thus the prolonged string pressure would possibly suffice to eventually cause binding in the nut slot.

I'm curious about this binding in the nut slot issue caused by prolonged string pressure. I picked up two Santana SEs off of Reverb in the last month (to compare and keep one), and one of them has two abnormally low nut slots and bad binding in another nut slot that I was suspecting was caused by the guitar sitting for 5 years unplayed in its gig bag. The guitar will get a new nut, I've just never seen this before but it makes some sense to my lizard brain.

 

[mranonymous]

When you install new strings, do you do that "string stretching" bit with your fingers before tuning them to pitch?
Do you also tune to pitch from down to up?

Yeah, I stretched the strings at least 5-6 times over the course of many days. Probably overkill, but I just wanted to rule that out. And yes, I make sure to tune down to up

I'm curious about this binding in the nut slot issue caused by prolonged string pressure. I picked up two Santana SEs off of Reverb in the last month (to compare and keep one), and one of them has two abnormally low nut slots and bad binding in another nut slot that I was suspecting was caused by the guitar sitting for 5 years unplayed in its gig bag. The guitar will get a new nut, I've just never seen this before but it makes some sense to my lizard brain.

This is actually something interesting I never thought about. My guitar was brand new, but it was old stock from 2017. So maybe it sitting for those few years could have had caused a nut issue like with what you suspect of yours. I am going to adjust the bridge tomorrow to try to rule that out, and if no dice then I will take it somewhere to get a new nut

 

[HANGAR18]

Yeah, I stretched the strings at least 5-6 times over the course of many days. Probably overkill, but I just wanted to rule that out. And yes, I make sure to tune down to up

Well, you can wreck a string too by overstretching a string. I've destroyed brand new strings by over stretching them while I was learning to get the hang of it. The other common cause of strings going out of tune is corrected by "locking" the strings in place by using a specific wrapping technique on non-locking tuners.

String locking at timeline 14:00 to 29:41
String stretching at 30:45