S2 Neck Finish Wear Off?

watelessness

Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2012
Messages
2,537
i'm testing out a used S2 and i notice that a section of the glossy finish on the back of the neck seems to have transformed into the texture of satin. it's only between the 3rd and 6th frets, inclusive, and only at the apex of the neck carve. weird. sweat of the previous owner?
 
I own four S2’s. My only gripe with PRS is I find the finish on all very brittle. Gloss or satin finishes. Chips extremely easy. Watched a PRS video the other day about the story of how the S2 format evolved. Nice watch. They claim the finish is very hard and thin. Has anyone mentioned to them it’s brittle as well.

I do love my S2’s, but feel the finish could be improved upon. Maybe someone at PRS will take note of this post. But probabaly not. Sales don’t seem to be declining on their S2 segment from what I read. And by the way, I am about to buy another S2, so there’s that.

I am a certified coating inspector by trade. This does not make me the all knowing of all coatings, but I can assume know more than your average guy.
 
Love my S2 studio. I wish it was a satin finish neck instead of gloss black nitro.

Dumb question, but seems a decent place to ask - my nitro finish is “squeaky.” It makes a kind of cool squeaky sound against the gig bag, my clothing, bedspread (sigh, I can guess where this one will go…). Anyone else notice this, or are my guitar and I just odd. Eh, we probably are, but you all know what I mean. Maybe.
 
i'm testing out a used S2 and i notice that a section of the glossy finish on the back of the neck seems to have transformed into the texture of satin. it's only between the 3rd and 6th frets, inclusive, and only at the apex of the neck carve. weird. sweat of the previous owner?

Guessing that’s some nitro wear or damage? I think the 21’s has changed to the new nitro/CAB finish.
 
Love my S2 studio. I wish it was a satin finish neck instead of gloss black nitro.

Dumb question, but seems a decent place to ask - my nitro finish is “squeaky.” It makes a kind of cool squeaky sound against the gig bag, my clothing, bedspread (sigh, I can guess where this one will go…). Anyone else notice this, or are my guitar and I just odd. Eh, we probably are, but you all know what I mean. Maybe.

I have two really resonant Teles (one I build as a semi-hollow) and they are squeaky like that to where you can hear it through the amp if you have really high distortion and the room is quiet. They're both nitro.

I also wonder if the OP has finish damage as well. That's where a lot of guitar stands might contact the neck and potentially create issues.
 
Dumb question, but seems a decent place to ask - my nitro finish is “squeaky.” It makes a kind of cool squeaky sound against the gig bag, my clothing, bedspread (sigh, I can guess where this one will go…).

Damn - you're taking the guitar to bed w/you? I mean, my wife has told me repeatedly how much she loves my Larrivee, but she's never asked me to bring it into the bedroom. Then again, she doesn't ask me to bring me into the bedroom either, so...
 
Damn - you're taking the guitar to bed w/you? I mean, my wife has told me repeatedly how much she loves my Larrivee, but she's never asked me to bring it into the bedroom. Then again, she doesn't ask me to bring me into the bedroom either, so...
Aaaaand Bingo! Took a little longer than I thought though. I’m relegated to a corner of the bedroom until we get the 4th bedroom turned into a photo/video/music studio/guest bedroom/husband’s doghouse.

But seriously - squeaky nitro? Just me or normal. All the squeaks I mention are unplugged, just the finish against cloth.
 
Aaaaand Bingo! Took a little longer than I thought though. I’m relegated to a corner of the bedroom until we get the 4th bedroom turned into a photo/video/music studio/guest bedroom/husband’s doghouse.

But seriously - squeaky nitro? Just me or normal. All the squeaks I mention are unplugged, just the finish against cloth.

Is it a satin finish or gloss? I've had a bit of noise from satin finishes.
 
I do this to my non-PRS guitars. I just can't bring myself to do it to a PRS even though I sure I'd like it. Guess I'm just a chicken.
I was too at first after years of doing it to other guitars without a second thought.. once I did one PRS the rest are easy.
 
Last edited:
I have two really resonant Teles (one I build as a semi-hollow) and they are squeaky like that to where you can hear it through the amp if you have really high distortion and the room is quiet. They're both nitro.

I also wonder if the OP has finish damage as well. That's where a lot of guitar stands might contact the neck and potentially create issues.
The S2 satins, people say are cool because they have that feel, open pores ,plays faster than nitro or poly for me. More fragile…… yes. The more play, the more shiny they get. I myself don’t mind that as you can see here... Actually I prefer the Satin…… I am boring..
Now the squeaky thing… I have found that my nitro guitars will do this even more as the season changes and static plays havoc.
 
Totally agree
Me too. I love the feel of the SE SS neck finish. I did the Scotchbright on the back of the 245 neck (love it) and the jury is still out on the 594. It doesn’t bother me as much on the 594 as it did on my US SS. I’m still in the honeymoon phase with the new one so maybe I don’t notice it as much. Still feels slicker than the US SS did to my hands though?
 
Back
Top