Saddle Adjustment Dead Ended

[Tbone55]

Hi All,

I've been doing a complete set up of my 2010 CE22 that I purchased new in 2010 and have been using the PRS recommended specs to set it up. With everything set to factory specs my high E saddle is touching the bridge and my low E saddle is just a hair off of the bridge. I have the bridge floating 1/16" off the body and parallel to it. Everything seems to be in order and the guitar plays fine with just a hint of fret buzz in the higher frets but it's not noticeable when playing through an amp.

If I wanted to have a slightly lower string action what would I have to do since there's no more adjustment left in the saddle? I'm actually only concerned with the string action for the high E string since that's the saddle thats bottomed out. I'm thinking of just filing the nut slot a bit deeper or possibly removing a bit of the neck relief but would like to hear what the wise folks on the forum have to say. It seems that very low saddle height is a trait of PRS guitars that I've seen. I've thought about using a shim but that might bring a whole other set of problems.

Hoping to hear your valuable input.

Thanks.

 

[Draconomics]

Hi All,

I've been doing a complete set up of my 2010 CE22 that I purchased new in 2010 and have been using the PRS recommended specs to set it up. With everything set to factory specs my high E saddle is touching the bridge and my low E saddle is just a hair off of the bridge. I have the bridge floating 1/16" off the body and parallel to it. Everything seems to be in order and the guitar plays fine with just a hint of fret buzz in the higher frets but it's not noticeable when playing through an amp.

If I wanted to have a slightly lower string action what would I have to do since there's no more adjustment left in the saddle? I'm actually only concerned with the string action for the high E string since that's the saddle thats bottomed out. I'm thinking of just filing the nut slot a bit deeper or possibly removing a bit of the neck relief but would like to hear what the wise folks on the forum have to say. It seems that very low saddle height is a trait of PRS guitars that I've seen. I've thought about using a shim but that might bring a whole other set of problems.

Hoping to hear your valuable input.

Thanks.

Hey there, Ill see if I can help. So, first check your neck relief. Make sure thats dialed in right before you do anything else. That might give you the room you need on that high e.

Next, I would ignore the nut for now. The only time realistically to mess around with the nut is if shes binding or if the first fret action is doodoo. The nut affects overall action very little so unless its cut poorly, its generally not the culprit. If action there feels good, we can go to the next step.

Next, if all that is dialed in, saddle still decked, and you dont like the action the last thing we can do....well, two things really. Thing #1: deck the bridge. If you dont need the bridge to float, or if you only use it for diving you can drop it down and give the saddles more adjustment room. Thing #2: shim da neck. Can that give you other problems? So long as you dont put inferior material as your shim, like a Made in China Pretendocaster model using d grade cardboard shims, you should be ok.

Hope that helps!

 

[Tbone55]

Hey there, Ill see if I can help. So, first check your neck relief. Make sure thats dialed in right before you do anything else. That might give you the room you need on that high e.

Next, I would ignore the nut for now. The only time realistically to mess around with the nut is if shes binding or if the first fret action is doodoo. The nut affects overall action very little so unless its cut poorly, its generally not the culprit. If action there feels good, we can go to the next step.

Next, if all that is dialed in, saddle still decked, and you dont like the action the last thing we can do....well, two things really. Thing #1: deck the bridge. If you dont need the bridge to float, or if you only use it for diving you can drop it down and give the saddles more adjustment room. Thing #2: shim da neck. Can that give you other problems? So long as you dont put inferior material as your shim, like a Made in China Pretendocaster model using d grade cardboard shims, you should be ok.

Hope that helps!

Hey thanks for your input. The relief is .010" right on what PRS calls for. I don't really need the bridge to float so decking the bridge sounds like a good option. Does decking the bridge mean I should make it lay completely flat on the body? Would this be the order of operations.

1. Remove spring and string tension.
2. Lay bridge down flat against the body.
3. Screw down each screw one at a time until the bottom of the screw head touches the top of the bridge then back the screw off a quarter turn.

When tightening down each screw should I turn it until it starts to make the bridge tilt then back it off or just till it touches the bridge then back it off?

Thanks again for your help.

 

[Draconomics]

Hey thanks for your input. The relief is .010" right on what PRS calls for. I don't really need the bridge to float so decking the bridge sounds like a good option. Does decking the bridge mean I should make it lay completely flat on the body? Would this be the order of operations.

1. Remove spring and string tension.
2. Lay bridge down flat against the body.
3. Screw down each screw one at a time until the bottom of the screw head touches the top of the bridge then back the screw off a quarter turn.

When tightening down each screw should I turn it until it starts to make the bridge tilt then back it off or just till it touches the bridge then back it off?

Thanks again for your help.

Thats pretty much the way I do it. As far as the bridge pin screws, I screw them all the way, then back them off a hair so there is a little bit of looseness. When I set the spring tension, instead of having balance with the strings I put more tension on the springs so they are keeping that bridge tight against the body. Always remember, if you use your trem to dive, when you release it let the bridge down slowly so it doesnt slam into the body.

 

[Tbone55]

Thats pretty much the way I do it. As far as the bridge pin screws, I screw them all the way, then back them off a hair so there is a little bit of looseness. When I set the spring tension, instead of having balance with the strings I put more tension on the springs so they are keeping that bridge tight against the body. Always remember, if you use your trem to dive, when you release it let the bridge down slowly so it doesnt slam into the body.

Thanks for confirming the process. I only use the bridge for dive bombs and really not that often so this set up makes more sense for me. I prefer using the arm gently for a slight effect. Definitely don't want to let it slam down onto the body.

Thanks again for your advice. Cheers!

 

[JohnnyL]

Thanks for confirming the process. I only use the bridge for dive bombs and really not that often so this set up makes more sense for me. I prefer using the arm gently for a slight effect. Definitely don't want to let it slam down onto the body.

Thanks again for your advice. Cheers!

 

[JohnnyL]

Thanks all for your expert advice. I hit the same problem when trying to lower the action on a friend's Santana Retro. A half turn of the 6 bridge screws was enough to sort it out. No such problems on my Santana SE.

 

[Tbone55]

So here's an update. After relieving the string tension and return springs the bridge was flat against the body. I then turned each bridge screw down until it contacted the surface of the bridge and then backed it off until it was slightly off the surface of the bridge plate. I didn't measure the clearance for each screw, just eyeballed it.

When I tried to lift the back of the bridge to see how the bridge would pivot I found that it would barely move. I had to back out the bridge pin screws a little more in order for the bridge to pivot. I then re-installed the return springs (3) and turned in the screws a bit. Re-tightened the strings to pitch and checked to see if the bridge had lifted. It had so I tightened the return springs a bit more until the bridge contacted the body. The tuning was now sharp so I backed off the strings until the tuning was 1/2 step down then retuned back to concert pitch. Checked the bridge for any lift and there was none. Backed the return springs off a bit at a time until the bridge just barely started to lift then turned the screws back in until the bridge contacted the body. Re-tuned to pitch as it was just slightly off but made sure to back off the string tension a bit first then tune up to pitch.

I now checked the relief and it was a bit high so I adjusted it until it was in spec, .010" at the eighth fret on the low and high E. Next checked the action at the twelfth fret and it was a bit low on both low and high E strings but not by much. There wasn't a huge change in the saddle height adjustment available even though I had gone from having the bridge floating to having it sit on the body. I may be wrong but I think the front part of the bridge has to be at a certain height in order for the bridge to move properly even when only in the forward direction which is why I didn't see any significant change to the available saddle height adjustment.

The guitar is now within all of its factory specs. I could lower the action by reducing the relief a bit more but then my 1st fret clearances would suffer and I'd have to shim the nut and I'd get more string buzz at the higher frets. I have just a bit of fret buzz but it's not noticeable when playing thru my amp. It seems to me that this is the nature of PRS guitars; the saddles sit very low to the bridge with little to no adjustment, you get a bit of fret buzz but hopefully not enough to be heard through an amp or when recording, and trying to get lower action than factory spec is going to be difficult.

Would love to hear your comments on this.

Thanks.

 

[Draconomics]

So here's an update. After relieving the string tension and return springs the bridge was flat against the body. I then turned each bridge screw down until it contacted the surface of the bridge and then backed it off until it was slightly off the surface of the bridge plate. I didn't measure the clearance for each screw, just eyeballed it.

When I tried to lift the back of the bridge to see how the bridge would pivot I found that it would barely move. I had to back out the bridge pin screws a little more in order for the bridge to pivot. I then re-installed the return springs (3) and turned in the screws a bit. Re-tightened the strings to pitch and checked to see if the bridge had lifted. It had so I tightened the return springs a bit more until the bridge contacted the body. The tuning was now sharp so I backed off the strings until the tuning was 1/2 step down then retuned back to concert pitch. Checked the bridge for any lift and there was none. Backed the return springs off a bit at a time until the bridge just barely started to lift then turned the screws back in until the bridge contacted the body. Re-tuned to pitch as it was just slightly off but made sure to back off the string tension a bit first then tune up to pitch.

I now checked the relief and it was a bit high so I adjusted it until it was in spec, .010" at the eighth fret on the low and high E. Next checked the action at the twelfth fret and it was a bit low on both low and high E strings but not by much. There wasn't a huge change in the saddle height adjustment available even though I had gone from having the bridge floating to having it sit on the body. I may be wrong but I think the front part of the bridge has to be at a certain height in order for the bridge to move properly even when only in the forward direction which is why I didn't see any significant change to the available saddle height adjustment.

The guitar is now within all of its factory specs. I could lower the action by reducing the relief a bit more but then my 1st fret clearances would suffer and I'd have to shim the nut and I'd get more string buzz at the higher frets. I have just a bit of fret buzz but it's not noticeable when playing thru my amp. It seems to me that this is the nature of PRS guitars; the saddles sit very low to the bridge with little to no adjustment, you get a bit of fret buzz but hopefully not enough to be heard through an amp or when recording, and trying to get lower action than factory spec is going to be difficult.

Would love to hear your comments on this.

Thanks.

Interesting. The bridge does need a little wiggle room to still pivot (just enough so the lip of the plate facing the pickups doesnt hit the body) but I thought since you had a 1/16" float to play with that should have given you the adjustment room. If you had your action to PRS spec, you should have had 4/64 (or 1/16) string action already, so even just screwing the bridge down 1/32" should have been enough to knock the action down a bit while keeping its ability to pivot. Hmm....without physically touching it, its hard to gauge why we aren't seeing enough drop. Decking the bridge does generally end up not allowing heavy trem use, though I've been able to get strats to still dive with a nearly decked bridge but there is a limit of course. You'll need some float if you want to go Hendrix on your trem. If you use the trem for more subtle effects, you can get away with keeping it close tot he body.

There are some other things we can do though. You still have room to flatten the neck. PRS recommends .005-.010., so you can straighten it out a little more which might help. Again, that sort of adjustment shouldn't bungle the first fret clearance, if anything it would affect roughly 9th fret and above play-ability only. Ideally you should have enough room there to allow for adjustments that low unless the nut is cut crazy low. On my 35th, I keep clearance at the first fret around .026, slightly higher than PRS spec, but I use rubber bands for strings so it's not a big deal, generally PRS should cut their nuts to give you .016 treble and .023ish on the bass side. If you have fret buzz up around the middle of the fretboard and your relief is dialed in, that points to uneven frets up there. I have some of my PRS's kept around .006-.007 neck relief and one can get to 2/64" action with no buzzing issues, but the barrier to getting there ended up being a fret level.

We still have the option to introduce a shim to the neck pocket. Like I said, if you are going to go that route use decent material. I typically suggest hardwood veneer (there are some places where you can buy little sheets of rosewood or oak veneer, and it makes great shim material). Of course in this case it would have to be really thin, maybe 1/32" at most.

I wouldn't say its the nature for PRS guitars to always have decked saddles, the majority of those I've owned or worked on generally never had decked saddles. Maybe its a CE thing, I've never owned one, but even on my 35th SE with Mannmade saddles, she floats at 1/16" off the body, saddles still have adjustment room, action sits at .050 (just over 3/64"). The only times I've seen decked saddles on any guitar in general, it's usually rooted in a not quite right neck angle. If we are dealing with a bolt on, that can be fixed. If you got a set neck....

BTW, also recommend when you adjust those bridge screws, you'll want to measure clearances and not eyeball it. Ideally, they all really need to be the same height. There's always some give, but its for the best.

 

[Draconomics]

Addendum: The first fret clearance I kept higher on my 35th because of a nasty 4th fret. Most of you should have something lower and PRS guitars can allow for some darn low first fret action. I probably don't need it anymore, just havent changed it. Darn day job taking up all my time.

 

[Tbone55]

Interesting. The bridge does need a little wiggle room to still pivot (just enough so the lip of the plate facing the pickups doesnt hit the body) but I thought since you had a 1/16" float to play with that should have given you the adjustment room. If you had your action to PRS spec, you should have had 4/64 (or 1/16) string action already, so even just screwing the bridge down 1/32" should have been enough to knock the action down a bit while keeping its ability to pivot. Hmm....without physically touching it, its hard to gauge why we aren't seeing enough drop. Decking the bridge does generally end up not allowing heavy trem use, though I've been able to get strats to still dive with a nearly decked bridge but there is a limit of course. You'll need some float if you want to go Hendrix on your trem. If you use the trem for more subtle effects, you can get away with keeping it close tot he body.

There are some other things we can do though. You still have room to flatten the neck. PRS recommends .005-.010., so you can straighten it out a little more which might help. Again, that sort of adjustment shouldn't bungle the first fret clearance, if anything it would affect roughly 9th fret and above play-ability only. Ideally you should have enough room there to allow for adjustments that low unless the nut is cut crazy low. On my 35th, I keep clearance at the first fret around .026, slightly higher than PRS spec, but I use rubber bands for strings so it's not a big deal, generally PRS should cut their nuts to give you .016 treble and .023ish on the bass side. If you have fret buzz up around the middle of the fretboard and your relief is dialed in, that points to uneven frets up there. I have some of my PRS's kept around .006-.007 neck relief and one can get to 2/64" action with no buzzing issues, but the barrier to getting there ended up being a fret level.

We still have the option to introduce a shim to the neck pocket. Like I said, if you are going to go that route use decent material. I typically suggest hardwood veneer (there are some places where you can buy little sheets of rosewood or oak veneer, and it makes great shim material). Of course in this case it would have to be really thin, maybe 1/32" at most.

I wouldn't say its the nature for PRS guitars to always have decked saddles, the majority of those I've owned or worked on generally never had decked saddles. Maybe its a CE thing, I've never owned one, but even on my 35th SE with Mannmade saddles, she floats at 1/16" off the body, saddles still have adjustment room, action sits at .050 (just over 3/64"). The only times I've seen decked saddles on any guitar in general, it's usually rooted in a not quite right neck angle. If we are dealing with a bolt on, that can be fixed. If you got a set neck....

BTW, also recommend when you adjust those bridge screws, you'll want to measure clearances and not eyeball it. Ideally, they all really need to be the same height. There's always some give, but its for the best.

Hey there, thanks for providing further input. When I had the bridge floating it was 1/16" off the body. The string action at both the low and high E string was just slighly higher than PRS specs but the end saddles were bottomed out so I couldn't lower them anymore. Decking the bridge gave me just enough additional saddle adjustment to get the string height in spec but the saddles are now bottomed out again against the bridge plate. Although the guitar currently meets all of the PRS factory specs and plays fine it would be nice to have a bit of wiggle room with the saddle adjustment.

The neck is a bolt on so shiming it is certainly an option. As it sits now, it appears to be level so a very slim shim might do the trick and raise it just enough to get a bit more saddle adjustment. As far as the frets go, I did have to file a few of them down at the higher end a while ago but when I checked them now they were fine. I still get a bit of fret buzz but nothing you can hear playing through an amp.

Could be I've got the bridge pin screws up a bit too high and need to lower them a bit to get the bridge plate closer to the body. I don't want to eyeball this so what would be the best way to go about doing this to make sure each screw is backed off the same amount? Should I try to use some feeler gauges between the underside of the screw head and the bridge plate so each screw is the same distance away from the bridge plate and if so, what should the gap be?

Thanks again for your help.

 

[Draconomics]

Hey there, thanks for providing further input. When I had the bridge floating it was 1/16" off the body. The string action at both the low and high E string was just slighly higher than PRS specs but the end saddles were bottomed out so I couldn't lower them anymore. Decking the bridge gave me just enough additional saddle adjustment to get the string height in spec but the saddles are now bottomed out again against the bridge plate. Although the guitar currently meets all of the PRS factory specs and plays fine it would be nice to have a bit of wiggle room with the saddle adjustment.

The neck is a bolt on so shiming it is certainly an option. As it sits now, it appears to be level so a very slim shim might do the trick and raise it just enough to get a bit more saddle adjustment. As far as the frets go, I did have to file a few of them down at the higher end a while ago but when I checked them now they were fine. I still get a bit of fret buzz but nothing you can hear playing through an amp.

Could be I've got the bridge pin screws up a bit too high and need to lower them a bit to get the bridge plate closer to the body. I don't want to eyeball this so what would be the best way to go about doing this to make sure each screw is backed off the same amount? Should I try to use some feeler gauges between the underside of the screw head and the bridge plate so each screw is the same distance away from the bridge plate and if so, what should the gap be?

Thanks again for your help.

I agree, you should have adjustment room, even if you are at factory specs. Im leaning toward pretty much recommending a shim at this point.

The fret buzz issue, so long as you cant hear it thru the amp and it doesnt feel weird, thats ok. Every guitar has a little acoustic buzz, just part of the design.

As to the bridge screws, this is kinda where I might deviate from other people. The way I measure them is I use a pickup height ruler and measure from body to the top of the screw. Its just a real narrow metal ruler with 64th marks. They all have the same thread pitch so once I know they are level, if I turn them all the same amount I know they will still be level. Then I just measure bridge float and keep adjusting till I get what I want. It takes some time to dial it in.

 

[Tbone55]

I agree, you should have adjustment room, even if you are at factory specs. Im leaning toward pretty much recommending a shim at this point.

The fret buzz issue, so long as you cant hear it thru the amp and it doesnt feel weird, thats ok. Every guitar has a little acoustic buzz, just part of the design.

As to the bridge screws, this is kinda where I might deviate from other people. The way I measure them is I use a pickup height ruler and measure from body to the top of the screw. Its just a real narrow metal ruler with 64th marks. They all have the same thread pitch so once I know they are level, if I turn them all the same amount I know they will still be level. Then I just measure bridge float and keep adjusting till I get what I want. It takes some time to dial it in.

Yes, I think a shim is the way to go at this point. I've got some maple and oak veneerthat I can use. Just have to see what the thickness is but I believe it's 1/32". I have one of the rulers you mentioned so I'll try your method. I'm going to keep the back of the bridge against the body. I just need to have the front of the bridge high enough to give me sufficient forward dive capability while getting just a bit more saddle adjustment. Putting a shim in will likely be the fix.

I was looking at some PRS's at my local music store and the saddles were all adjusted down real low but not touching the bridge plate. None of them were bolt on necks. When I bought my PRS I was originally looking at Les Paul's but I wasn't too happy with their quality considering the price. My PRS was actually a bit more expensive than them but it beat them hands down for fit and finish. It's a little dissapointing that a guitar of this price would have an issue like this but I'm happy I bought it.

Do the set neck one's with a vibrato bridge have angled necks or are they installed level to the body? I imagine those with a stoptail bridge have an angled neck.

Thanks again.

 

[Draconomics]

Yes, I think a shim is the way to go at this point. I've got some maple and oak veneerthat I can use. Just have to see what the thickness is but I believe it's 1/32". I have one of the rulers you mentioned so I'll try your method. I'm going to keep the back of the bridge against the body. I just need to have the front of the bridge high enough to give me sufficient forward dive capability while getting just a bit more saddle adjustment. Putting a shim in will likely be the fix.

I was looking at some PRS's at my local music store and the saddles were all adjusted down real low but not touching the bridge plate. None of them were bolt on necks. When I bought my PRS I was originally looking at Les Paul's but I wasn't too happy with their quality considering the price. My PRS was actually a bit more expensive than them but it beat them hands down for fit and finish. It's a little dissapointing that a guitar of this price would have an issue like this but I'm happy I bought it.

Do the set neck one's with a vibrato bridge have angled necks or are they installed level to the body? I imagine those with a stoptail bridge have an angled neck.

Thanks again.

You might not even need to do much adjusting to the bridge screws once we have a shim in. I would put the shim in first, then make adjustments there. You might just end up leaving them where they are right now.

Something to always keep in mind is wood is always swelling, shrinking, and doing little movements. I've found regardless of how much a guitar costs, sometimes little changes over time can alter the way you do a setup quite a bit. Some guitars dont, some are like tanks and remain the same shape. Your CE is from 2010 (btw, love CE's from around that time, they look ace), so its possible it might have been in different state back then and over time little changes have made it so the saddle compensation allotment has capped out. At least, we can shim her. I saw a video once of the guy with a $3000+ LP that had a decked bridge and the action was still in the clouds. That's a sort of extreme example of a badly set neck angle. The only thing to do at that point is...well, its not fun, I can tell you that.

For the set neck PRS's I've seen/owned/worked on...I find the necks are close to parallel to the back of the body. My set necks seem nearly parallel, there's a slight angle but you can't discern it with the naked eye. PRS has their neck sets dialed in pretty well, even on their imports. Unlike...Gibson *shakes fist at sky*. I don't know if they still do it, but they were setting all the neck angles by hand, probably in a room with no lights, and it results in some...unfortunate variation.

BTW, get some pics up of that CE. Really curious to see what she looks like.

 

[Tbone55]

You might not even need to do much adjusting to the bridge screws once we have a shim in. I would put the shim in first, then make adjustments there. You might just end up leaving them where they are right now.

Something to always keep in mind is wood is always swelling, shrinking, and doing little movements. I've found regardless of how much a guitar costs, sometimes little changes over time can alter the way you do a setup quite a bit. Some guitars dont, some are like tanks and remain the same shape. Your CE is from 2010 (btw, love CE's from around that time, they look ace), so its possible it might have been in different state back then and over time little changes have made it so the saddle compensation allotment has capped out. At least, we can shim her. I saw a video once of the guy with a $3000+ LP that had a decked bridge and the action was still in the clouds. That's a sort of extreme example of a badly set neck angle. The only thing to do at that point is...well, its not fun, I can tell you that.

For the set neck PRS's I've seen/owned/worked on...I find the necks are close to parallel to the back of the body. My set necks seem nearly parallel, there's a slight angle but you can't discern it with the naked eye. PRS has their neck sets dialed in pretty well, even on their imports. Unlike...Gibson *shakes fist at sky*. I don't know if they still do it, but they were setting all the neck angles by hand, probably in a room with no lights, and it results in some...unfortunate variation.

BTW, get some pics up of that CE. Really curious to see what she looks like.

You're absolutely right. It is a piece of wood and we know what wood does depending on environment and time. I'll do as you suggested and put the shim in first without touching the bridge. I've got several strats that I've never had this kind of issue with, one of which I built myself (not a kit). One has a Hipshot bridge and the other is from an American Standard strat. Both bridges set up using intervals and I haven't got issues with tuning stability.

I'll definitely get some pictures posted of my CE. The body contour is definitely very nice, not like the newer CE's. It won't take your breath away but I like it for it's simplicity.

Cheers!

 

[Tbone55]

Dumb question but how do I attach images here? It asks me for a URL when I click on the image icon. My pictures reside in my tablet.

Thanks

 

[Draconomics]

Dumb question but how do I attach images here? It asks me for a URL when I click on the image icon. My pictures reside in my tablet.

Thanks

The easiest way Ive found is to stick your pictures on imgur, use the bbcode link, and when you post, click that little wrench icon at the top right, then just paste the bbcode link in and thats it.

 

[Draconomics]

You're absolutely right. It is a piece of wood and we know what wood does depending on environment and time. I'll do as you suggested and put the shim in first without touching the bridge. I've got several strats that I've never had this kind of issue with, one of which I built myself (not a kit). One has a Hipshot bridge and the other is from an American Standard strat. Both bridges set up using intervals and I haven't got issues with tuning stability.

Nice. I like Hipshot parts, though I tend to use Gotoh more often.

Goos luck with the shim! Hopefully thatll do it.

 

[shimmilou]

So here's an update. After relieving the string tension and return springs the bridge was flat against the body. I then turned each bridge screw down until it contacted the surface of the bridge and then backed it off until it was slightly off the surface of the bridge plate. I didn't measure the clearance for each screw, just eyeballed it.

When I tried to lift the back of the bridge to see how the bridge would pivot I found that it would barely move. I had to back out the bridge pin screws a little more in order for the bridge to pivot. I then re-installed the return springs (3) and turned in the screws a bit. Re-tightened the strings to pitch and checked to see if the bridge had lifted. It had so I tightened the return springs a bit more until the bridge contacted the body. The tuning was now sharp so I backed off the strings until the tuning was 1/2 step down then retuned back to concert pitch. Checked the bridge for any lift and there was none. Backed the return springs off a bit at a time until the bridge just barely started to lift then turned the screws back in until the bridge contacted the body. Re-tuned to pitch as it was just slightly off but made sure to back off the string tension a bit first then tune up to pitch.

I now checked the relief and it was a bit high so I adjusted it until it was in spec, .010" at the eighth fret on the low and high E. Next checked the action at the twelfth fret and it was a bit low on both low and high E strings but not by much. There wasn't a huge change in the saddle height adjustment available even though I had gone from having the bridge floating to having it sit on the body. I may be wrong but I think the front part of the bridge has to be at a certain height in order for the bridge to move properly even when only in the forward direction which is why I didn't see any significant change to the available saddle height adjustment.

The guitar is now within all of its factory specs. I could lower the action by reducing the relief a bit more but then my 1st fret clearances would suffer and I'd have to shim the nut and I'd get more string buzz at the higher frets. I have just a bit of fret buzz but it's not noticeable when playing thru my amp. It seems to me that this is the nature of PRS guitars; the saddles sit very low to the bridge with little to no adjustment, you get a bit of fret buzz but hopefully not enough to be heard through an amp or when recording, and trying to get lower action than factory spec is going to be difficult.

Would love to hear your comments on this.

Thanks.

You really need the bridge knife edges to be in the screw slots, even though you are decking the bridge.

 

[Draconomics]

You really need the bridge knife edges to be in the screw slots, even though you are decking the bridge.

This. Maybe that's the reason it wasnt working properly. Didn't occur to me it might be out of the slots. Good point.