PRS SE 24-08 split coil. How silent should it be?

[beakybird]

Hi! This is my first post.

I just bought a mint 2021 SE 24-08 (in orange) on Ebay. It came yesterday evening. It plays like a dream. I'm excited to buy PRS SE locking tuners for this baby.

However, I was a bit surprised that I do hear a bit of buzz on the split coil settings - not tons, but I thought that it was supposed to be completely silent like the humbucker. The slight buzz appears in neck and bridge split coil setting and middle position split when one pu is single coil and the other is humbucker.

Is this normal or should I hear dead silence?

 

[ElrytNamrogo]

Congrats on your new guitar!

Pickup hum / buzz can be attributed to many different factors and outside influences - i.e. lights, electrical wiring, cables, ect. Some guitars may respond more or less to these outside influences with no discernable rhyme or reason.

That being said, I experience different levels of hum and buzz through my single coil switches on my core model guitars. Sometimes it's remedied by turning off a certain light, or changing my sitting position, or adjusting amp settings. Different venues or clubs I play in will also have their own set of challenges regarding pickup noise.

I may not have a direct solution to the problem, but can assure you it's quite normal to hear some buzz or hum, especially in single coil mode.

 

[beakybird]

Congrats on your new guitar!

Pickup hum / buzz can be attributed to many different factors and outside influences - i.e. lights, electrical wiring, cables, ect. Some guitars may respond more or less to these outside influences with no discernable rhyme or reason.

That being said, I experience different levels of hum and buzz through my single coil switches on my core model guitars. Sometimes it's remedied by turning off a certain light, or changing my sitting position, or adjusting amp settings. Different venues or clubs I play in will also have their own set of challenges regarding pickup noise.

I may not have a direct solution to the problem, but can assure you it's quite normal to hear some buzz or hum, especially in single coil mode.

Thanks so much for answering my query! I did notice the noise wasn't there when I was in a different sitting position, perhaps not facing my little amp, a Yamaha THR30ii.

Anyway, it's a relief that I apparently got a like new, defect free, and amazing guitar.

 

[garrettb]

That's exactly what's expected. When you put them in single mode they are true single coils, so you will most definitely get some noise.

And the SE locking tuners rock!

 

[Draconomics]

Pretty much ditto on the other responses. The switching system will give that 60 cycle hum, though I don't find it as nasty as actual single coils, but it's there. It's near impossible to remove all ground noise, and there are many factors that can cause some of it or exacerbate it. SE guitars generally have fully shielded electronics cavities (well, they use shielding paint), so they do pretty good on eliminating unwanted noise without doing anything to the guitar.

 

[Alnus Rubra]

Congratulations and welcome.

And the SE locking tuners rock!

Yes they do! I have a set on my SE245.

Mind that you don’t over tighten the thumb screw on the high E, you can cut the string at the tuner if not careful. (Apologies if that was a “teaching how to suck eggs” reply)

Go make some beautiful noise!

 

[Tony M.]

New member.
Welcome.
New guitar for new member.
Congratulations.
Enjoy it.

Nothing wrong with your guitar.
All my PRS guitars hum in single coil mode.

Also, when I play a solo on any one of them,
it sounds like a cross between a cat fight and
2 skeletons having sex on a tin roof.

I think it's my playing though, not the guitars.

 

[beakybird]

Thanks everyone! I have a 90s Ibanez HSH Stratocaster with push/pull coil split, and 5 of the 10 settings are much noisier than the SE 24-08.

Anyway, my new PRS plays amazing. The neck is so smooth and creamy, and there are so many varieties of sounds that you can make.