Not impressed.

[JontyFrancis]

I bought into all the hype about PRS and purchased a brand new 2018 SE Custom 24 lefty.

In no particular order...

1. The truss rod cover was about 0.5 mm away from the nut. It was attached with one screw so that most of the cover was lifted off at an angle to the headstock.
2. The fretboard and/or frets made my fingers immediately turn black with some black carbon residue.
3. The volume pot is wired incorrectly. I have to turn it anti-clockwise to increase volume?!? 1/16th turn = almost full volume. What makes PRS think that lefties don't want regular clockwise zero->full volume?
4. In this forum they say that the tone pots are also wired incorrectly.
5. The nut felt very plastic'y. It didn't inspire any confidence. Why should I have to spend another $10 + time and effort to upgrade to a GraphTech nut - this guitar cost $xxx+ I shouldn't have to fix the nut or get my soldering iron out to fix the messed-up pot wiring. Not at this price.
6. Strings ring harmonics above the nut. I'd only expect to hear that in much cheaper guitars.
7. I swear the neck looks slightly twisted to one side.
8. It arrived with high action and a bowed neck (so... I slightly adjusted the truss rod... but...).
9. Something was off - maybe there's a slight twist in neck but I just couldn't get a comfortable setup with lower action.
10. One of the switch screws was screwed-in at an angle.
11. I don't think the bridge can be lowered (as a whole) if you need to go lower than saddles go.

I really wanted to love this guitar but it was worse than a couple of $200 guitars that I own.

I sent it back for a refund. All that glitters is not gold...

Not impressed.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

My thoughts and prayers.

 

[drawshot]

Did ANY of this get addressed with the seller/shop/retailer before you brought your laundry list of grievances here?

Do you think, maybe for a second, that some if your issues were beyond control of PRS?

Did you try, before you paid?

Did you buy from a reputable source?

Did you sleep at a Holiday Inn, last night?

 

[ElrytNamrogo]

Sorry you had a bad experience. You did the right thing by sending it back if it wasn't working for you. It's pretty rare to find one like that, but it does happen. Hopefully you can try one again further down the road that isn't in such bad shape and see what the "hype" really is about.

Best of luck in your guitar purchasing endeavors.

 

[toothace]

 

[kes7u]

Peach, Pumpkin or Apple? What is on the menu today?

Kevin

 

[Russ73]

OP it happens, most of the SEs are very decent, if it makes you feel any better I had a similar story with a 1600 super strat type guitar, I eventually had to dump it for a HUGE loss..for 800 I would buy a used S2 but I'm not sure if there is a lefty option...hope you find something you like...

 

[dcm_guitar]

Not that they aren't nice, but I personally would not buy an SE without playing it first. They aren't the same as the core line or even the S2 line coming out of the factory in Maryland.

Now there's no reason the guitar you bought should have been in that condition, and you were right in sending it back. However, I would simply not buy a Korean made guitar without playing it. I would order a guitar out of the Maryland factory without playing it with absolutely no hesitation.

I guess it's all about expectations, but for an $800 brand new guitar my expectations are not terribly high.

Also, FWIW I have never picked up a Paul Reed Smith with a factory set up that I liked; from any factory. I just don't like the PRS set up specs.

 

[bodia]

Troll.... buzz-off

 

[AP515]

Two words...Prove it...

 

[JimmyDee]

Snap a few pictures of this 'sh!tty' PRS... so we can all see what you're talking about.
Otherwise... you're just talking out your ass.

Like... a troll with a talking ass.

 

[László]

Trollin’ Trollin’ Trollin’...

 

[Shawn@PRS]

Hi there - If you're having an issue with your new PRS, please contact the dealer you purchased it from. They will be happy to work with you on a refund or exchange. PRS will work with the dealer to assure the guitar is up to our standards of quality.

Thanks - Shawn

 

[andy474x]

Oh, NOW I know why Paul didn't want to make lefties. This guy.

 

[Alnus Rubra]

Hi there - If you're having an issue with your new PRS, please contact the dealer you purchased it from. They will be happy to work with you on a refund or exchange. PRS will work with the dealer to assure the guitar is up to our standards of quality.

Thanks - Shawn

Thanks as always Shawn for your calm and collected reply.

I can understand the reaction of the OP.

I can understand the reaction of the rest of you guys.

Hope OP gets his issue resolved and continues to love PRS

 

[shinksma]

I am very confused with some of what the OP is complaining about.

1. The truss rod cover was about 0.5 mm away from the nut. It was attached with one screw so that most of the cover was lifted off at an angle to the headstock.

0.5mm? really? Less than 1/32"? It's a TRC, not an overhead cam. Align it better, tighten the screw a bit. Almost all PRSi have a single screw for the TRC.

2. The fretboard and/or frets made my fingers immediately turn black with some black carbon residue.

Maybe the shop cleaned up the FB a bit? Seems weird.

3. The volume pot is wired incorrectly. I have to turn it anti-clockwise to increase volume?!? 1/16th turn = almost full volume. What makes PRS think that lefties don't want regular clockwise zero->full volume?

The ergonomics of whether CCW or CW is possible personal, but many left-handed folks seem to want opposite turning pots on their lefty guitars, and PRS seems to have catered to that. If you didn't know this ahead of time, that is unfortunate, it is visible in the photos posted by Sweetwater, for example. As for the small turn going from off to on, I have no idea - sounds like a bad pot.

5. The nut felt very plastic'y. It didn't inspire any confidence. Why should I have to spend another $10 + time and effort to upgrade to a GraphTech nut - this guitar cost $xxx+ I shouldn't have to fix the nut or get my soldering iron out to fix the messed-up pot wiring. Not at this price.

I find SE nuts to be satisfactory. If PRS did all those little upgrades that folks seem to complain about, SEs wouldn't be the bargain they are.

6. Strings ring harmonics above the nut. I'd only expect to hear that in much cheaper guitars.

I have no idea what the OP means here. Is the OP saying the section of string above the nut is vibrating loud enough that they can hear it above the rest of the guitar? Every guitar that has strings going from nut to tuning peg are going to have that, it is physics - the guitar neck and headstock are vibrating, and will vibrate those short string segments, unless you dampen them on purpose. But that should be inaudible compared to the rest of the guitar.

I dunno, sounds like the OP did not get a "new" guitar, even if it was sold as such. Or...

 

[Huggy Love]

Imo juss gonna Hugify this thread until it get's locked and fades away into the sunset, cause there's always a steady train of trolls coming to try to hate on PRS with these fake azz threads.

 

[AP515]

I thought it was funny. He couldn't have been serious...

 

[Rider1260]

2. The fretboard and/or frets made my fingers immediately turn black with some black carbon residue.

I found this one funny also, new strings equal dirty fingers on my maple neck guitars the neck get stained till I wipe it off

 

[Parralax view]

You would think that he might re-respond to the posts with some sort of proof or at least some disdain for the attitude thrown his way, He hasn't which means he hates our guts now, or it was as said to begin with.