NGD - SE Tremonti Custom in Whale Blue

[Dan-d-1985]

Hey folks,

Thought i'd introduce you to the new addition:

Not seen these guys on web much yet in this colour. Looks wicked with the maple cap too.

Got mods planned:

New nut
New tuning pegs. I was set on Scahller m6 mini's but I've heard Grover 406C's are as good too (anyone with experience with both, feel free to let me know)
New p'ups - Tremonti treble and maybe a #7 neck
Tremol-no
Full re-wire with the p'ups at same time 4 cts 500k's, 2 x 0.022pf PIO caps, new switchcraft short shaft toggle.

The neck is incredible. I think it's thinner than my US made cu24 which I love so that's excellent. As a starting point, the guitar itself is great, I'm just gonna gut the thing and build her up again.

One question maybe someone here can answer that i've never understood:
Of all the things an SE model gets done to it, the nut is more or less always the first thing to change. Why don't PRS just simply put in a US nut? I got them from PRS europe a couple weeks ago for not very much. Surely it wouldn't change the costs drastically and people wouldn't have to go and change a fundamental point of the guitar/string interaction process. Just a thought, but for what it cost me to buy aftermarket, I imagine the cost to PRS themselves is much less so maybe add £10 to the RRP? I'm down with that.

 

[Mikegarveyblues]

Nice score! I like blue guitars but i've never been fond of Whale Blue, but your's looks very nice indeed!!!

I'm with you on the nut. I've had to swap out both nuts on the Bernie and SE C24. I know they have to keep costs down on the SE's but I wish they wouldn't with the nut. I'd rather pay a few quid extra at the till if I knew I wasn't going to need to swap the nut. In every other area the SE's meet or exceed what you'd expect for the price paid but the nut is a weak point IMHO. Doesn't put me off SE's one bit.. They're great!

 

[IRG]

Yeah I would pay more for a good nut too. Just got my 245, and it's pretty bad about staying in tune. I haven't yet, but I'll probably get another set of strings, same size, and slide a thin piece of sandpaper through each slot, and add a little nut sauce for lubrication, and then see if I need to replace it. For the $, PRS should definitely upgrade this part.

 

[Drastion]

I think it is a design choice. There is no way they are not fully aware of the nut issues. It cannot me much to have them simply cut the nut wider. The new clint lowery se comes with 11s stock. So that will obviously require a different nut. Maybe it will be introduced on the rest of the lines.

I understand why they would have it on the wrap around. To prevent people from putting too thick of strings on and have intonation problem. Putting it on their tremlo guitars makes little sense. The string needs to be able to move freely why put a nut on that binds up the string?

 

[Dan-d-1985]

I hope this doesn't get construed as being a bashing thread. It's not, it's just an observation about one specific quirk of the range.

 

[Drastion]

I agree if the biggest problem I have is an easy to replace nut I am more than happy. Finally I am at the point where I feel I gave the right guitars for me. No matter what there was just something missing or just not right about my guitars. With my 245 and custom 24 I can stop looking for the guitar that fits me.

Has anyone tried torch cleaning sets as nut files. Im not too comfortable taking a hammer to guitars I got only a few weekd ago. That and there are. no techs around here so its got to be me. Maybe just a utility knife would get it done.

Mainly just so I can put 10s in my guitars. Work around oil all day so my hands soften up and my calluses end up peeling off. Love the necks on these guitars. Just the loss of tension I can't seem to keep a good callus on my fingers.


Sorry to sidetrack your tread. Really nice guitar you have there. Makes it harder to decide what color 7 string that I want to get.

 

[blaren]

Hey folks,

One question maybe someone here can answer that i've never understood:
Of all the things an SE model gets done to it, the nut is more or less always the first thing to change. Why don't PRS just simply put in a US nut? I got them from PRS europe a couple weeks ago for not very much. Surely it wouldn't change the costs drastically and people wouldn't have to go and change a fundamental point of the guitar/string interaction process. Just a thought, but for what it cost me to buy aftermarket, I imagine the cost to PRS themselves is much less so maybe add £10 to the RRP? I'm down with that.

Sorry to re-hash such an old thread but...
Got my Tremonti Custom last week for my B-Day (WOOHOO!!!) . Actually picked it up over a week earlier but my wife wouldn't let me have it until (closer to) my B-Day.
While it was in my closet I started doing all the mental mods. Things like getting a new nut on it's way, figuring-out which pup I'd put in the bridge to be a nice match to the 59/09 that is also on it's way for it. I have a spare brand new Custom Custom that I am prettyre sure will go in the bridge.
Thinking about starting to look for locking tuners cheap blah blah...

To my POINT....I even came here and to another PRSForums asking WHY on EARTH, if they're so bad, PRS doesn't spend a dollar to use better nuts?? Surely, as you say in the OP, the difference in cost HAS to be negligible?? Especially since it would only mean ordering or making more of the USA style ones?? Heck..when you order a PRS USA nut from PRS you have to buy TWO!!?? At least in the bags of PRS USA nuts that I'VE seen there are two (uhhh...WHY?). If they would just sell ONE nut per "unit" they could send that second one to Korea for use in the SEs.
And I was assuming that the SE nuts ARE crap since a nutjob seems to be THE #1 thing on EVERYONE'S mod/improvement list.
Welllllll...people didn't seem to appreciate the fact that I would have the GAUL (?) to say something so preposterous!
Get your rope, cross, and gasoline...there's gonna be a good ole-fashioned LINCHING!!!
Didja heard??? He sed PRS supplies BAD nuts with suma thur geetars!!!
lmao

Hallrightey then...I get to finally open my gift. I take it to a couple of rehearsals and MAN!!! :-O
I don't even want to change these "sub-standard" Korean SE245 pups (looking around embarrassingly to see if anyone hard me say that)! They sound AWESOME (more looking around)!!
And the nut...pffff..this thing stays in tune as well as any of my PRS USA guitars with trem useage.
The ONLY thing I'd really want to do would be to swap the two volumes so that the one closest to the saddle (my pinky) controls the bridge pup instead of the neck.
I also like the look of a nice TRC. Nothing TOO flamboyant just something kinda understated but still NICE.
And of course, go from the factory .009s to some .010"s.

BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!!! WRONG!!!! EEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRCH!!!! and .... AHA!!!!!!!!
And THAT'S why there is a problem with the SE nuts. At least on the Tremonti Custom and probably any other SEs that come with .009"s but get .010"s put on them. The nut slots aren't wide enough and THAT'S why (at least I started to have) problems come about.
It also explains why my '94 CE24 doesn't stay in tune worth a crap with .010"s and trem use. Duh.....God I'm STUPID some times. Yes I said SOME!!! Don't even BOTHER! lol.

I put .010s on it and went to the gig on Friday. Oopsies. EVERY time I'd bend a string...even slightly, I had to follow it with a "bring her back in" divebomb. :-(

So yesterday I was thinking...wonder if I have an old pack of .009"s around here...I DID!
Put em on, re-adjusted (back) the claw screws and presto. Problem solved.

Well naturally, when I went to check the mail this afternoon, there was my new PRS USA nut :-(
I'm gonna wait till this set of .009"s is tired (only takes a few hours of playing with my nasty acidic secreting hands) before I try the new nut. IF I even DO go back to .010s on this one. As crazy as it sounds....I don't think I want to change ANYTHING on this thing..well except maybe the TRC.

Looks like all the linchers may have been correct (there I go looking around again) in giving me hell for slamming the PRS SE nuts...ESPECIALLY before giving them a fair shake even (AGAIN with the looking about).
Now I've worked myself into a frenzy again and am gonna go take it out on the Tremonti ;-)

If you aren't having tuning problems, and if you stick with the "recommended" and stock string gauge...well, there's absolutely NO reason to change the nut.
Tone doesn't even play-into the equation...unless you play nothing but all open strings all the time.
Cheers

EDIT: Hey btw...that "Deliverance" talk...that wasn't aimed at anyone personally. There was no one like that who replied. That was just made-up. I'm sure that was quite obvious but just in case...

 

[László]

Very nice looking guitar!