McCarty bridge angle problem?

[jaycal]

I just got a used PRS McCarty (2005), and I’m surprised the bridge is angled this much (bass higher than treble). I’ve owned a few PRS guitars in the past and I don’t remember it ever being this extreme (although it’s been years).

And this is with both the bass and treble sides set at 4/64 action. So at the recommended spec of 5/64 on the bass side, the angle would be even greater. And right now the treble side is screwed pretty much all the way down.

Think it’s a problem?

ADDING MORE PICS:

 

[]-[@n$0Ma☩!©]

Let's back up a sec. Forget how it looks. How does it play?

 

[jaycal]

A fair question! It plays pretty great. But so will most McCartys. If there's an issue with this one I'd like to sort it out ASAP.

 

[veinbuster]

A fair question! It plays pretty great. But so will most McCartys. If there's an issue with this one I'd like to sort it out ASAP.

It looks odd, but if the result is the action you want, I wouldn’t worry about it. A couple of my bridges are slightly offset from that angle. None as extreme as yours.

 

[jaycal]

Yeah basically I'm wondering if there's some underlying issue that might cause this, because I've never seen it this extreme on a PRS before.

 

[László]

Obviously, whoever owned it before you set it up incorrectly. If you're not good at making the adjustment yourself, have it looked at by a tech.

 

[jaycal]

Obviously, whoever owned it before you set it up incorrectly. If you're not good at making the adjustment yourself, have it looked at by a tech.

What to adjust, though? Neck relief is to spec, nut seems fine, and action is 4/64" on both bass and treble sides. Seems more like a possible manufacturing defect.

 

[Nice F Holes]

Assuming it was measured correctly, the causes for that would be a twist in the neck or a nut height/slot issue, or a bridge slot or twist issue. If none of that than an asymmetric carve I guess.

What is the action height at the 1st and 21st frets?

what is the thickness of the bridge at the 2 E-strings?

If the action is fine throughout the length of the neck then it’s aesthetic. If it were my guitar I’d want to understand what was going on, too. I’m ocd. It might be something I’d have to live with but I’d at least want to know that.

Assuming you can’t fix it by adjustment, you could hide it with a bridge change, one that allows you to adjust (file) slot depth. If the low E string side were not as deep you’d have to lower that side of the bridge.

Rather than measuring you could also pull the middle 4 strings and lay 2 straight edges across the remaining E strings, near the nut and bridge, and see if they’re parallel with each other, parallel with the neck, with the pickup rings, the flat section of the carve, etc.

 

[bluenova]

Check and make sure the neck isn’t twisted and the twist at the bridge is to compensate.

 

[László]

What to adjust, though? Neck relief is to spec, nut seems fine, and action is 4/64" on both bass and treble sides. Seems more like a possible manufacturing defect.

The two screws holding the bridge can be raised and lowered. It looks like as you face the bridge from the bottom, the stud on the right is screwed down tighter.

The action at the 12th fret should be 2/32 on the treble side, and 5/64 on the bass side, according to PRS. You might contact PRS Customer Service and double check.

https://www.prsguitars.com/index.php/support/article/prs_stoptail

https://www.prsguitars.com/index.php/support/article/prs_adjustable_stoptail

I highly doubt there's a manufacturing defect. But it is a 15 or 16 year old guitar, so something might have happened. Or it could be the nut slots. Have a tech look at it.

 

[jaycal]

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. I took off the strings and added some more pics to the original post.

Neck seems straight, yeah? Nut seems fine. Bridge looks to be original and in decent shape. I’m wondering if the body carve was just weird on this one and it left the factory like this.

 

[Nice F Holes]

I’m not too familiar with that bridge but the low E and A string slots look pretty deep. Does it look worn or like it was filed? Also the nut slots look deep. Generally 1/4 of the string diameter or less should be below the surface. I only have my Piezo bridge at the moment so can’t take accurate comparison pics.

With 16 years worth of a steel string running on a brass bridge, wear seems plausible.

 

[veinbuster]

I’m not too familiar with that bridge but the low E and A string slots look pretty deep. Does it look worn or like it was filed? Also the nut slots look deep. Generally 1/4 of the string diameter or less should be below the surface. I only have my Piezo bridge at the moment so can’t take accurate comparison pics.

With 16 years worth of a steel string running on a brass bridge, wear seems plausible.

Good eye. I looked at mine bridge of that style and at least half of the A&E strings are above the bridge surface.

The neck looks fine in the new photos.

 

[jaycal]

Height of the strings at the 1st fret seems correct. I think the PRS nut slots are just deep.

The bridge slots don’t look filed down at all. Grooves are smooth.

Going to email PRS and get their take. I’m expecting a “that’s within spec,” but we’ll see.

 

[Nice F Holes]

Thanks. In the pic of the bridge by itself you can see the clean, factory-machined V-shaped notch on the higher strings, but it looks more rounded and worn with the lower 2. It’s where the string leaves the bridge that matters.

Looking at the nut it looks similar, sharp straight slot on higher strings, more rounded on A/E.

If the neck is straight and the guitar is over 15 years old, I’d get a new nut put on, and probably a new bridge if it looks worn. If the slots are deep or worn it will affect tone. My nut slots are nowhere near that deep. They are wear and tear, replaceable components.

But if it plays and sounds good, then “necessary’ becomes highly debatable.

 

[Nice F Holes]

So it does seem PRS cuts their slots a little deep. But looking at other McCarty pics, you can see that, at the bridge, the high E string is pretty well buried, and the low E string is about 1/2 above the slot. You can also look at the pics of the nut to see if your guitar looks the same:

https://www.prsguitars.com/index.php/electrics/model/mccarty_2021

 

[jaycal]

Interesting, thanks again! A new nut is cheap, so I’ll do that. And I was thinking about a possible bridge upgrade, anyway... hearing good things about the Mannmade...

 

[gush]

Interesting, thanks again! A new nut is cheap, so I’ll do that. And I was thinking about a possible bridge upgrade, anyway... hearing good things about the Mannmade...

Don't forget to buy locking bridge posts and Mann kluson style locking tuners.

 

[László]

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. I took off the strings and added some more pics to the original post.

Neck seems straight, yeah? Nut seems fine. Bridge looks to be original and in decent shape. I’m wondering if the body carve was just weird on this one and it left the factory like this.

They've used CNC machines for years and years. Very little possibility that there was an error with yours.

Someone just did a bad job setting it up, is my guess.

Been playing PRSes for 30 years, and have had probably 35-40 over the years. They're very, very consistent. You just need a proper setup.

 

[Nice F Holes]

I looked on a bigger screen and it doesn't seem like there's that much wear in the bridge. I guess I'd still personally lay a straight edge (wooden ruler, block of wood, or whatever) across the guitar, both behind the bridge, and behind where the neck joins the body, to see if they're parallel, before buying parts. I did that with my guitar to investigate the bridge and it showed me a lot. Granted, I was looking at a different angle, but you can see the shape of the body fall away from the bridge. It made it look like the bridge had a lot of lean, when in reality the bridge was straight and the body was curved. I know my guitar is made differently, this is just to illustrate the method.