PRS and fret sprout

[NomadMike]

I've never experienced any fret sprout on any of my guitars with include a '73 Roc-Jet with an ebony board, an 80 maple fret board Ibby-castor, and a 78-ish MIJ Les Paul copy with a three piece maple neck and rosewood finger board. Change in seasons, no sprout; change in locations, no sprout; change in continent, no sprout; no humidifier, no sprout.
So far with the Mira, no sprout.

So has anyone experienced any fret sprout with a made in the US PRS or even a SE? If so how much?

I'm asking as this seems to be a pretty common occurrence with Gibsons and Fenders these days and wondering if PRS suffers from this also.

 

[kbprs]

I've had "only" 7 PRSes, but I haven't had any kind of sprout, wood shifting, cracking, or anything. Even my 20-year-old Custom 22 was still immaculate. This is with rosewood and cocobolo boards, mahogany, rosewood, and cocobolo necks, and urethane, nitro, and V12 finishes. And I lived in Illinois for a lot of that time (temperature swings, no A/C in my apartment, etc).

I've only witnessed fret sprout on Gibsons for some reason. I'm guessing sprout and other shifts come mainly from improperly-/un-dried wood at the time of construction, which is among the last things I would expect of a USA PRS.

FWIW!

 

[CatStrangler]

if by fret sprout you mean lifting of the finish along side of the fretboard then yes. I have seen this issue with every manufacturer. The only way to avoid this would be to not finish the side of the fretboard. If this is not the issue you are referring to, please ignore my ramble...

 

[AaeCee]

if by fret sprout you mean lifting of the finish along side of the fretboard then yes. I have seen this issue with every manufacturer. The only way to avoid this would be to not finish the side of the fretboard. If this is not the issue you are referring to, please ignore my ramble...

As I've always understood it, fret sprout refers to the sides of the frets sticking out very slightly beyond the plane along the sides of the board, creating an unpleasant, rough feel for your fretting hand. The expansion/contraction of the wood is the culprit. Even though I monitor the humidity in my studio, I've still had it happen with seasonal changes on many guitars, but never a PRS.

 

[CatStrangler]

As I've always understood it, fret sprout refers to the sides of the frets sticking out very slightly beyond the plane along the sides of the board, creating an unpleasant, rough feel for your fretting hand. The expansion/contraction of the wood is the culprit. Even though I monitor the humidity in my studio, I've still had it happen with seasonal changes on many guitars, but never a PRS.

Right, understood. It always thought the lifting of the finish along the side of the fretboard was caused by the phenomenon you describe.

 

[NomadMike]

fret sprout refers to the sides of the frets sticking out very slightly beyond the plane along the sides of the board, creating an unpleasant, rough feel for your fretting hand.

Yes, that's it. Like I said, I never remember anyone talking about it much if at all in the 70's and 80's, but it seems to be common these days with new guitars and those made over the last decade or so. Manufacturers blame the stores for not using humidifiers, and the stores blame the manufacturers for shoddy work. I know that it happens, but on a new guitar that's not going from the tropics to the desert?

 

[László]

Yes, that's it. Like I said, I never remember anyone talking about it much if at all in the 70's and 80's, but it seems to be common these days with new guitars and those made over the last decade or so.

It used to happen all the time on guitars going back at least to the 60s, and especially Fenders, here in Michigan where forced air furnaces rule in the winter. You'd find it at stores a lot. Stores are often humidifying more, but even so I find it all the time here.

Since more guitars than ever before are being made overseas, I can understand why it's more prevalent now. The sea journey probably doesn't help things, and the woods probably aren't aged quite as long.

While I find it less frequently on PRSes, I've experienced sharp frets on every brand including USA PRSes.

 

[NomadMike]

Guess I've been lucky as I've never had a problem while living in the NYC area, Northern CA or the Mid Atlantic, but that may be the humidity in two out of three were just good for guitars.

My son bought a Indonesian made Ibanez, that I'll be working on, that has pretty bad fret sprout and I'm figuring that's a combination of the climate where it was made, not letting the wood dry out properly and possibly plain old shoddy work.

 

[AP515]

I've had a PRS with it, but didn't know that's what you call it. 95 CE 22 Standard. I got it used from a guy in Charlotte and who knows how dry the board was for years. It is one of the best PRS guitars I own now, but I had to recondition the fretboard and I even filed the frets a little. Now it feels as good as any PRS I have.

 

[Hollis Prince]

And I lived in Illinois for a lot of that time (temperature swings, no A/C in my apartment, etc)

FWIW!

Wow! I can't imagine living in a place where it wasn't necessary to have an A/C. It's so hot and humid here in the summer it's unbearable without A/C. They issue warnings to go check on the elderly and make sure there's A/C where they live. Here in the South, it's so humid that your sweat doesn't evaporate, thus doing you absolutely no good. To "baste in your own juices" as folks say here. Also, it doesn't snow here. If a snowflake is seen, there's 50-car pileups, schools are closed, etc.
Pardon my ramblings, was thinking how awesome it'd be to live somewhere you wouldn't die without A/C.

 

[László]

Wow! I can't imagine living in a place where it wasn't necessary to have an A/C. It's so hot and humid here in the summer it's unbearable without A/C. They issue warnings to go check on the elderly and make sure there's A/C where they live. Here in the South, it's so humid that your sweat doesn't evaporate, thus doing you absolutely no good. To "baste in your own juices" as folks say here. Also, it doesn't snow here. If a snowflake is seen, there's 50-car pileups, schools are closed, etc.
Pardon my ramblings, was thinking how awesome it'd be to live somewhere you wouldn't die without A/C.

It can get hot and humid in the summers in places like Chicago, Detroit, and other midwestern cities, though probably is not as sticky all the time as Memphis. Cities in Colorado have the nicest summers I've experienced in terms of heat/humidity.

I'm on the lookout for somewhere that's nicer all year 'round, too.

 

[Boogie]

Wow! I can't imagine living in a place where it wasn't necessary to have an A/C.

I think you missed his meaning...he didn't have AC, not that he didn't need AC. Illinois summers are similar to Indiana summers and I can guarantee rival yours in the south. The inability to maintain a stable temp/humidity can cause all sorts of guitar issues, but I can speak from experience in saying my PRSi have never shifted. We play dozens of gigs a year outdoors or in hot/humid conditions as well as transport in sub-zero temps. I've never needed to tweak the truss rods on any of my PRS gear...USA or SE. Acoustics, Strats and Gibson stuff, yes. My DGT may be getting close to needing a little maintenance, but it played just as stabile last weekend as it did 2 years ago. It even stays in tune despite the temp change (to a degree).

As for sharp or exposed fret tangs, regardless of reason, I've had that on every kind of guitar except PRS. Even on LPs with bound necks. Honestly, how does that happen?

 

[JMintzer]

I've only had fret sprout on one of my teles. Never on a PRS. Maybe it's because only live 35 miles, or so, from the factory has something to do with the lack of climate change...

 

[kbprs]

I think you missed his meaning...he didn't have AC, not that he didn't need AC. Illinois summers are similar to Indiana summers and I can guarantee rival yours in the south. The inability to maintain a stable temp/humidity can cause all sorts of guitar issues...

Heheh, yeah, it was a case of not having, rather than not needing, unfortunately! Much like Indiana. But I did keep the guitars in their cases reliably.