PRS SE Paul's Guitar Action Setup

[tdibratt]

Just bought a beautiful blue burst SE Paul';s Guitar. The action seems really high on it.

Not sure why they would not have set the action as per PRS specs from factory.

In any case, I am not a guitar tech, but I am handy.

Intonation is pretty good at 12th fret.

Questions.
1 Can I lower the stop tail bridge by just turning the 2 posts clockwise? I assume if I check the gap at the 12th fret on the low and high E strings, the rest will follow and I hope intonation does not get affected?
2. What are the specs for this guitar? What am I looking for as string height for low and high E?

Thanks

 

[DISTORT6]

Just make sure to loosen the strings before you turn the posts.
Never adjust them under tension.

 

[Willmunny]

Just bought a beautiful blue burst SE Paul';s Guitar. The action seems really high on it.

Not sure why they would not have set the action as per PRS specs from factory.

In any case, I am not a guitar tech, but I am handy.

Intonation is pretty good at 12th fret.

Questions.
1 Can I lower the stop tail bridge by just turning the 2 posts clockwise? I assume if I check the gap at the 12th fret on the low and high E strings, the rest will follow and I hope intonation does not get affected?
2. What are the specs for this guitar? What am I looking for as string height for low and high E?

Thanks

If you move the tailpiece I would expect some change in intonation.
That would be part of a standard set up imo.
How is your relief?
Factory specs are a good starting point but for many a set up will come down to feel.
Peace

 

[alantig]

What Willmunny said - check your relief first. My first thought would be to adjust the truss rod. It sounds like you had the guitar shipped to you, so it's very possible that the neck shifted because of environmental changes along its journey. Just go slow and make small adjustments, then recheck. I always have to look up which way to turn the rod to get less relief, but google is your friend there.

 

[Birdsofprey]

Left is loose, loose is relief. Right is tight, flatten or bow if you go to tight. A quarter turn at a time and give it time to acclimate.

 

[SamIV]

Not trying to go against others advice here, as they are trying to help, but I do not recommend you use your truss rod to lower the action on your guitar. Large adjustments will lower or raise your action, but that is not its intended purpose. Adjust it if your relief is not set accurately. Use the stop tail piece, and as mentioned, loosen your strings before. It is my experience with PRS guitars that your intonation should be fine with small adjustments. I have lowered the action on two with the non adjustable wrap around tail piece and also changed from 10 to 9 string gauge size. I have zero issues with intonation.

 

[Willmunny]

Not trying to go against others advice here, as they are trying to help, but I do not recommend you use your truss rod to lower the action on your guitar. Large adjustments will lower or raise your action, but that is not its intended purpose. Adjust it if your relief is not set accurately. Use the stop tail piece, and as mentioned, loosen your strings before. It is my experience with PRS guitars that your intonation should be fine with small adjustments. I have lowered the action on two with the non adjustable wrap around tail piece and also changed from 10 to 9 string gauge size. I have zero issues with intonation.

I would not recommend using relief to set the action
I would recommend checking relief before adjusting the action.
Ymmv