PRS Hollowbody II SE supposed to flex this much?

Jfragalerock

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First post to the forum, hello everyone!
I recently purchased my second SE, this time its a black burst Hollowbody II (from sweetwater). (my 8th guitar)
My concern is the guitar has a lot of flex, like I can sharp notes just by my strumming arm resting on it a bit. I can get a 1/4 step just by resting on it / playing, and almost a 1/2 step when I apply a lot pressure. When I first got it there was some "creaking" around the neck joint, but that has mostly gone away now that its acclimated better. There are no signs of cracking or distress.
Is this normal for the SE Hollowbody lineup? I love the guitar, tone is excellent, finish is excellent, playability is great besides the tendency to sharp notes.

I have about 15 out of the 30 day window left to send it back, and I am going to if this is irregular. I will keep it if this is considered normal for these, and just get used to it.

Anyone else have a decent amount of flex on theirs?
 
Can’t speak for the model itself, although it doesn’t sound right to me.

Sounds like you will probably send it back to the dealer, which is most likely the best course of action.
 
I agree with Alnus. It sounds like something is amiss. My HB1 doesn't do that. Sure they are different models but they are both hollowbodies.
 
Thanks for the responses, I played it for about 2 hours last night, I am really on the fence. Love this thing, just that little nagging thought that it may not be perfect. I did some flex testing on my custom 24 and it's not all that much worse, but still worse.
 
Mine has a lot of flex. I think it's normal for this guitar. I was concerned when I first got mine because I could flex it and get a creaking sound at the neck joint. Turned out that it's just sound of the neck pickup ring rubbing on the bottom of the fretboard. Nothing to worry about as far as I'm concerned. Mine is definitely a lot more flexible than a solid body, but I think it's just the nature of the beast. I can make mine go sharp by intentionally flexing it, but it never does it unintentionally.
 
I absolutely love my HBII and although I am sure I could flex it to bend it easier than either of my CU24's, it has not posed any issues while playing it. Mine is a Wood Library version with one piece flame maple on front and back, so it may be a little better at reducing flex a bit than an SE model, but it is a hollow body after all, so more flex is in the math!!

I say keep it and use the bends like any other shapable move on the guitar when it does happen!!

Happy pickin'!
MW
 
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I thought this thread was going to be totally different judging by the title! I haven't noticed any flex with mine, but I also don't wiggle the neck for the vibrato effect by applying opposite pressure to the neck and body or anything. Sorry to hear your example has that going on, they're at most GC's nowadays is it possible to go try them side-by-side with another?

The real "flex" though, is how well this guitar stands up to custom builds and much, much more expensive guitars. I tried this against a Schnell and an Artinger as well as another Languedoc clone (don't want to say that builder) and I didn't feel like the extra $$$ was worth it over the SE HBII. Love mine, and its my gigging guitar and I leave my ES-339 at home.

Mine is a Wood Library version with one piece flame maple on front and back, so it may be a little better at reducing flex a bit than an SE model, but it is a hollow body after all, so more flex is in the math!!

I would think that the laminate body would be stronger?
 
So...the thing about hollowbodies is...they flex. The tops on those are thin. Laminated of course, several layers, but there will always be some flex. Laminated wood can be stronger than solid wood, but theres more to it than that. That said...resting your arm on it shouldn't cause a 1/4 tone pitch change unless youre the Hulk (in which case ypu should stay away from guitars, period). Can you see the movement? Has it gone away after being climate acclimated? Is it potentially a bridge stud being loose?
 
I have been messing around with it a bit. The bridge seems very solid. I can press on a few spots around the top and get a little pitch change. This leads me down the path of this is just a very light weight guitar that's sensitive. I can see movement in the strings when I press the neck. But it goes right back to set action and stays in tune.
Honestly this is the first HB style guitar I have played, and I bought it online. Local supply is depleted. Love the tone and feel, I just wasn't prepared for the structural characteristics.
 
Wanted to let those who supplied input know that I ended up sending the guitar back to SW. I believe I found the flaw that was causing the creaking and note sharping issues. Looks like this one shouldn't have made it through QC? The lumber used for the neck had a decent knot in it and that knot had a crack or void in it. It was really hard to photograph, with flashlight, focus and such, but below is what I discovered. Unfortunate, as I loved the veneer and top on this particular one and the tone was amazing. I just didn't like the idea of this being present in a guitar that I plan on keeping for years. They don't expect the charcoal burst back in stock till October (almost 3 months), so I upgraded and bought the Piezo version. Pretty excited to get it..
Thanks for the responses.


upload

 
Excuse me, but what re you showing us in the "top picture in your latest post ? Is that a hole in the top of the guitar ? the bottom pic is just a blur ...

Looks like a hole on the "bass" side , lower bout ...
 
Top pic is looking through the F hole, where the neck is glued to the back of the body. There is darker wood than the surrounding, that is the knot in the wood. Within that knot there is a darker line that is a fisher or split.
It is on the bass strings side.

2nd pic is just a different angle and lighting but you can see the discoloration much more abundantly.
Thanks for looking
 
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