PRS SE Zach Myers one month later

[j.a.]

It's been a month since I got the PRS SE Zach Myers and this are my thoughts on it:

Pros:​

Sounds amazing, versatile, from Jazz to Rock including those 60's sounds
Very comfortable to play, love the fat neck, as ergonomic as my Starla to play sitting down.
Looks amazing, the matching maple veneer on the headstock is a nice touch

Cons:​

Machine tuners are crap, some of them have 1/4 turn gap.
Unlike my Starla, the Zack Myers intonation was off out of the box. It was been so difficult to get the intonation right, especially on the low E, saddle is at the bottom top and the left screw on the bridge to the maximum and still needs more. Bridge looked ended so weirdly tilted showing a gap with the screw. This made me think that something may be wrong. I adjusted screws to close the gap but intonation is a few cents sharp.

Obviously the cons above surprised me as PRS guitars are subject to high quality standards, in fact the finish and built of the guitar is very good with only an small unpolished are between the bridge and the treble pickup.

 

[Russ73]

OP I own one SE but I've bought 6 S2s used over the years for the price or less than a new SE and IMO it's the best bargain used in the mostly made American guitar market....grab one you'll be very happy...there are some standards on GC used site for less than 800 bucks great guitars!!

 

[j.a.]

OP I own one SE but I've bought 6 S2s used over the years for the price or less than a new SE and IMO it's the best bargain used in the mostly made American guitar market....grab one you'll be very happy...there are some standards on GC used site for less than 800 bucks great guitars!!

I'm in Australia where S2 and above are rare and very expensive but thanks for the tip. I will keep an eye on several sites to see if I can grab one of those.

 

[The Bird]

The tuners in the Zach Myers really bum me out. Not only are they not very good, the cheap black plastic feels and looks awful. I tried replacing them with some locking Gotoh tuners that are supposed to be a direct drop in, but the screw holes in the ZM were drilled so poorly that they could not be installed after all.

I also swapped the pickups to some Pearly Gates and it is a might fine guitar indeed. Probably the best semi hollow electric I’ve found.

But those tuners still suck hard.

 

[j.a.]

The tuners in the Zach Myers really bum me out. Not only are they not very good, the cheap black plastic feels and looks awful. I tried replacing them with some locking Gotoh tuners that are supposed to be a direct drop in, but the screw holes in the ZM were drilled so poorly that they could not be installed after all.

I also swapped the pickups to some Pearly Gates and it is a might fine guitar indeed. Probably the best semi hollow electric I’ve found.

But those tuners still suck hard.

That black plastic feels so cheap!

I tried to install Graphtech Ratio and I couldn’t do it without drilling. Now I’m waiting for a set of classic tuners (Ratio as well) to arrive, hopefully they fit although after reading you, I must be prepared

I have a Telecaster with Pearly Gates, such amazing pickups! I can’t imagine how good your guitar is after the upgrades!

 

[TLVA]

It's been a month since I got the PRS SE Zach Myers and this are my thoughts on it:

Pros:​

Sounds amazing, versatile, from Jazz to Rock including those 60's sounds
Very comfortable to play, love the fat neck, as ergonomic as my Starla to play sitting down.
Looks amazing, the matching maple veneer on the headstock is a nice touch

Cons:​

Machine tuners are crap, some of them have 1/4 turn gap.
Unlike my Starla, the Zack Myers intonation was off out of the box. It was been so difficult to get the intonation right, especially on the low E, saddle is at the bottom top and the left screw on the bridge to the maximum and still needs more. Bridge looked ended so weirdly tilted showing a gap with the screw. This made me think that something may be wrong. I adjusted screws to close the gap but intonation is a few cents sharp.

Obviously the cons above surprised me as PRS guitars are subject to high quality standards, in fact the finish and built of the guitar is very good with only an small unpolished are between the bridge and the treble pickup.

I had a similar issue with my SE HBII and it appears they share a bridge - assuming you have a wrap around.

I finally figured out and you may already know this, but there were two intonation adjustments on mine.

First, there are the saddles that adjust individually, but there are also two small set screws on the bridge where they slide on to the posts.

My low E was slightly sharp even with the saddle as far back as possible.

I was able to tighten the set screw on the bass side and bring the bridge far enough back that i could properly intonate the low E. I had to redo my A and D strings after that, but it solved the issue.

 

[j.a.]

I had a similar issue with my SE HBII and it appears they share a bridge - assuming you have a wrap around.

I finally figured out and you may already know this, but there were two intonation adjustments on mine.

First, there are the saddles that adjust individually, but there are also two small set screws on the bridge where they slide on to the posts.

My low E was slightly sharp even with the saddle as far back as possible.

I was able to tighten the set screw on the bass side and bring the bridge far enough back that i could properly intonate the low E. I had to redo my A and D strings after that, but it solved the issue.

Many thanks! I’ve been playing with those screws, I moved the one on the low side to the limit and still the low E was sharp, So I reset the screws and started but this time with the high E, surprisingly all went better, still the low E is still a bit sharp but I will finish this once I replace the tuners.

 

[Broseph]

Replace the tuners. Weakest point of the 2022 zach myers IMO. Finding a set of used 594 tuners would work great but change the color of the tuners (actually would match the binding). Otherwise there are plenty of killer locking tuners that fit the vintage footprint.

 

[Broseph]

Also getting intonation took a bit of work. I found raising/lowering the bridge screws helped get it perfect when I was pretty close with the saddle aspect. Now my ZM action is superb (about half that of a vintage strat or SS!) and intonation spot on.

 

[palfino878787]

Also getting intonation took a bit of work. I found raising/lowering the bridge screws helped get it perfect when I was pretty close with the saddle aspect. Now my ZM action is superb (about half that of a vintage strat or SS!) and intonation spot on.

Could you share more details about the measurements you have?

 

[palfino878787]

Many thanks! I’ve been playing with those screws, I moved the one on the low side to the limit and still the low E was sharp, So I reset the screws and started but this time with the high E, surprisingly all went better, still the low E is still a bit sharp but I will finish this once I replace the tuners.

Ho did you reset the screws? I have exactly the same problem.

 

[j.a.]

Ho did you reset the screws? I have exactly the same problem.

While restringing, I removed the bridge and moved a bit left the saddles, then turned in the Allen keys until I could see a bit of a gap on the bridge screws when I replaced the bridge. Put the strings and it was a matter of fine tuning the saddles