Prs Custom with uneven neck relief

Phillip777

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Jun 7, 2016
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Hey guys. About a month ago I bought a used Prs Cu 22 (Core model).
In short, the guitar has uneven neck relief, more on the bass side than on the treble side. Difference between low E and High E is about 0.005 or so.
I showed the guitar to the luthier, he said that the guitar has a hump at the 6th and 7th frets area on high E side.
The problem is to get rid of the fret buzz especially on the G string, I have to raise the bridge on the high side, and I end up with a same string height on the low E and high E strings.
Playing this way is uncomfortable, but with normal string height the G string rattles all over the neck and have intonation problem.

Luthier has leveled the frets but problem is still here.
This is the first time when I see a hump almost in the center of the neck at the 6th and 7th frets on high E side, usually I only saw this humps at the body joint.
I removed the strings to make sure the uneven neck relief was not caused by to strings tension, and I saw that this hump at the 7th and 6th frets was bulging on the high side even worse.
As I understand, neck on this guitar is slightly warped/twisted?

Thank you for your time!
 
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Unfortunately it sounds like you have an abused instrument, not used - I assume that the issue was there from the day you bought it, and the previous owner did not identify the issue? If so, you may wish to enquire about compensation for the repair - it isn't going to be cheap.
 
Don't know how it got that way, but a Plek might solve your problem.
 
Improper storage would be my guess. Leaving it somewhere with inappropriate humidity and/or temperature, or even direct exposure to water.

exactly , rosewood boards aren't finished and have huge pores, easy to pour water and ruin a fretboard
 
To be honest, man I'm very upset.

I really love the sound of PRS guitars, but I have no luck with these guitars.
My first guitar was a brand new Prs s2 which I bought new from the Northeast Music Center .
I asked Jack Gretz to make sure the guitar was okay before he sent me the guitar (straight neck and so on), and I said that I want to be with this guitar all my life, this is my dream!
I asked for this because I live in another country and I have no opportunity to come and check it personally. My sister will fly to my country and take a guitar with her. He told me "We will go over everything and make sure it is perfect". Well, thank you sir!

So...
Guitar arrived!
When I started examining the guitar, I found body joint humps (and as a result fret buzz), also the pickups were heavily scratched (scratches from the guitar pick i guess?), but this is nothing compared to the body joint humps.
And two months later, the lacquer began to peel off!!!!! Guitar was a brand new!!!
I took it to the luthier,he took off the remaining coating from the neck and applied a new varnish, leveled the fretboard, put new frets and I sold it cheap..

After a while, after I stopped being sad about this situation, I decided that I needed to buy a guitar again. Many people told me to buy a Les Paul, but I argued with everyone and said that I like PRS better, and the quality control of PRS guitars is better. I just probably had no luck that time. I was sure I would be lucky this time because I was about to buy an expensive Core model. I dreamed of a Paul Reed Smith guitar since childhood!
I thought it would be better to buy a used Core model, with a dried out wood that took its final shape over the years.

Well.. No luck again. And this time it's much worse... Uneven neck relief, hump in the middle of the neck at High E side, body joint humps, wolf tones!! and fret buzz..

I never seen in my life humps at 6th and 7th frets on a guitar before. It's like watching a horror movie,especially when you realize that this is a very expensive guitar. I don't know how the previous owner stored it, so I'm not sure if this is a problem with a poorly dried wood, or wood that was improperly cured, or a problem with storage by the previous owner..
All I know is that I have two guitars from another brands that are about 20 years old and nothing like this has happened to them. I am very careful with my musical instruments and studio equipment.
I've already spent a lot cash on the guitar, and to be honest, I just don't have the strength and ability and desire to invest money in this guitar.

Believe it or not, this guitar sounds a lot worse in the neck position than the cheaper Prs s2 I had. Neck position sound muddy, dull and lifeless. (I tried to change the pickup height and tried to replace the pickups). And Wolf tones are present at almost every fret at G string. This is crazy...
So most likely it's just a bad sounding wood, and considering the shortcomings of the neck and fretboard, I think it's just a bad guitar.

I guess I just have to come to terms with it and ditch it.

I get the impression that every time I buy PRS guitar, I have to take it to the luthier straight away so that he aligns the fretboard and sets new frets.
But I don't want to do this, why should I do this?

I don’t know, I’m probably just having no luck with these guitars and that's it.

Sorry guys, I don't mean to sound rude. I know that you love PRS guitars, and it may be unpleasant for someone to read this. But, damn it, I really love the sound of PRS guitars too, since childhood I dreamed of a PRS guitar. Everybody told me to buy a Les Paul but I argued and said that PRS is better, and quality control of PRS is better. And now I feel lost.. And you know what is the worst thing? I still don't want any other brand guitars, I don't want another Les Paul I just want Paul Reed Smith guitar because I love the sound of this guitar and I dreamed about it for a long time...
 
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