PRS SE CE 24 string gauge

[PeterSweden]

Hi everyone!

Just bought my first new PRS guitar, a beautiful PRS SE CE 24 in gloss turquoise.
When it arrived and unboxed, I Immediately felt that it had 10-46 strings on it - and measurements showed I was correct.

I thought all SE models (except for a few listed on PRS's site) came with 9-42 ? They do mention that bolt-on come with 10s, but a bit confused if this is true for the SE CE as well?

I have no problem with the string gauge in itself, it is more that I would like to know if the guitar has been modified before sent to me as brand new.

Best

 

[show_a_little_faith]

Should be 9's from the factory on those. Did you buy from a brick-and-mortor store, where customers may have played it? Possible at some point they decided it needed a new set of strings (or maybe one broke), and whoever did it didn't realize it should've been 9's. Doesn't mean anything more than that was done though

 

[5Springer]

Yeah.. 9-42’s from the factory. Congrats on the new PRS, one things for sure it won’t be your last

 

[PeterSweden]

Thanks, that's what I thought as well.
No, that's the reason why I didn't buy from such a store. I ordered it from a large dealer where it was supposed to be sent completely new from their stock.
I have bad experience from buying semi-new guitars (acoustics) from "brick and mortar" stores, so this time I really wanted a brand new. Not touched by anyone since leaving the factory...

 

[PeterSweden]

I'm completely in love with the brand, just started to play electric after many years of playing acoustics

This is really bothering me though, first problems with the shipping and now this. As I said, the string gauge is of course not a biggie. But that it might have been messed with - I would have loved to unbox it and decide for myself if I wanted an additional setup or not.

 

[show_a_little_faith]

I can't remember if they do this for SE's, but I know new S2's & Core's come with case candy tags that say what gauge was used. Did yours come with any tags showing that?

 

[PeterSweden]

Oh, you are right! A green tag saying PRS Classic!

 

[PeterSweden]

And the green package seems to be 10-46!
What a great forum

 

[PeterSweden]

It is still a bit confusing, but a relief that it seems to be from the factory at least (and that the setup was done with these specific strings).

 

[5Springer]

Thanks, that's what I thought as well.
No, that's the reason why I didn't buy from such a store. I ordered it from a large dealer where it was supposed to be sent completely new from their stock.
I have bad experience from buying semi-new guitars (acoustics) from "brick and mortar" stores, so this time I really wanted a brand new. Not touched by anyone since leaving the factory...

This aggravates me also.. my local shop has so called “NEW” guitars hanging on the walls from early 2000’s, played and pawed by god knows how many people and diligently wiped down every weekend by the part time high school employee using a dirty rag he found on the floor behind the counter.. on the other side of the coin if I wanted to trade a absolutely mint basically untouched guitar it’s automatically considered used luckily to be graded as excellent.. lol

Charles

 

[PeterSweden]

Exactly this! I've seen this a lot, bought a Taylor guitar new from a local store. Probably been hanging there for a while, when I took it to my favourite luthier he showed me that the top had a repaired crack. And the repair was very far from professionally made...

Same thing with setups, I want to take my guitars to someone I trust. Not the "self appointed" guitar expert that goes crazy with the nut files to bring the action down or sand down the bridge - when all the guitar needed was a truss rod adjustment.

 

[PeterSweden]

However, very grateful for all replies helping me to sort out this to some extent.

What still is a concern is that it seems that the guitar should have been shipped with 9's, the nut on this guitar is probably cut for that gauge.
I don't have the measurement tools at home to measure the string/nut-height and would have to trust how "I feel playing it". And I don't have the competence to judge if the nut slots are OK with 10's.
It might be fine, it might not (will eventually be relieved if strings go out of tune etc.... and if it feels uncomfortable playing on the lower frets for longer periods of time )
Things that you don't want think about with a new guitar, in particular not a somewhat expensive one.

Anyone changed the strings from 9's to 10's without having to adjust/widen the nut slots on an SE ?

 

[RC Mike]

You’ll be fine with 9s or 10s. Don’t overthink it. Just enjoy the guitar.

 

[PeterSweden]

Yeah, I'm trying. Trust me

The reason I play Taylors is that don't have time to think about these things, they come pretty good out of the box. Same seems to yield for PRS. That was a huge reason for choosing a PRS.
With family and kids, I have 15-30 minutes / day to spend with my guitars...

Sorry for asking too many questions, but I have to make a decision. I'm not allowed to change back the strings to 9's, that would probably violate my right to return it to the dealer. So that's why I need help to make a decision.
It is definitely good enough setup as it is right now, with 10's.

So its either:
- Everything is fine, the nut is cut in a way so both 10's and 9's work. Happy playing! (that's why I was asking for other's experience )
- If the guitar's nut can't handle 10's and I decide to keep playing with them - I would have to pay for a new setup and file the nut.
- If the guitar's nut can't handle 10's and I decide to go down to 9's - I would have to pay for new setup to adopt for the lower tension.

If I was willing to spend more time and money, I would have buyed a used one. Or another brand. I bought this guitar strictly in order to have a good enough guitar to just play. Without spending more money "fixing things".

 

[5Springer]

However, very grateful for all replies helping me to sort out this to some extent.

What still is a concern is that it seems that the guitar should have been shipped with 9's, the nut on this guitar is probably cut for that gauge.
I don't have the measurement tools at home to measure the string/nut-height and would have to trust how "I feel playing it". And I don't have the competence to judge if the nut slots are OK with 10's.
It might be fine, it might not (will eventually be relieved if strings go out of tune etc.... and if it feels uncomfortable playing on the lower frets for longer periods of time )
Things that you don't want think about with a new guitar, in particular not a somewhat expensive one.

Anyone changed the strings from 9's to 10's without having to adjust/widen the nut slots on an SE ?

I change through multiple gauges of strings (9’s,9.5&10’s) on most new guitars until I settle on what works best for me on that particular guitar.. rarely do I run into nut problems, typically a slight “tweak” to the neck and trem springs if equipped is all it takes.

Just find what you like and setup the guitar to match.. very simple easy process that I encourage everyone to do themselves to your liking, if you’re talented enough to play the guitar you can definitely set it up yourself..

to check the nut just use a capo on the 3rd fret, you should just be able to slide a thin business card between the 1st fret wire and string, doesn’t need to be perfect and personally unless I’m having issues with buzzing, detuning or getting a “sitar” effect when playing cords around the nut I don’t care how it’s cut.. lol

Charles

 

[PeterSweden]

That's great advice, I'll try that! Thanks!
For me its probably also a matter of principle, I want what I payed for
If I order a new house in red, I would probably be complaining if the house was painted blue - even though I like that color as well.
I wouldn't mind sending a used car to a detailer, but I would probably not accept a new car with scratches and a loose steering wheel

But. PRS might equip some CE SEs with 10s and some with 9s for some reason. And then I'm fine with this. It's just that I have a limited amount of time to complain and send it back to the dealer. That's the only thing that worries me.
Tiny thing, but as I wrote above - it might require me to pay more money or time to adjust the guitar. Time that I don't have, and would rather spend on just playing and have fun

 

[dogrocketp]

I’m sorry, Peter. I do think it’s best if you take a deep breath and enjoy your guitar. OCD can be terrible, I have it with my guitars.

 

[RC Mike]

You’ve spent a large amount of time writing about a non-issue. Just enjoy the guitar. Imagining problems that aren’t there isn’t helping you.

 

[Glide-bpm]

If you decided to return it, I doubt seriously they'll be checking the gauge of strings on it.

 

[PeterSweden]

Just so I don't get misunderstood, I seriously love this guitar. I was more curious as I was under the impression that this guitar was shipped and setup with other strings. That's why I'm asking.
If the guitar came this way from factory - I will keep it. I just wanted to make sure that it hadn't been modified by the dealer "trying to be nice", because in that case I wouldn't know if something else was done to it that I will find later (and have to fix).