SE 245 high e choking when playing open?

[stankbank]

Hey friends,

This is my new SE 245. There is something about the high E string when playing open that sounds 'off' to me. As if it is not fully resonant. There is a ping or sound of 'muffling'. Maybe I am crazy–does this sound proper to you? I checked the action at the first fret (using feeler gauges) and it is totally in spec based on the PRS SE Setup Guidelines. If I put a capo on the first fret, to me the note sounds 'better', or rings more true with less ping.

Not sure what can be the case here. It is a brand new guitar, so I don't expect there to be any burring in the saddle slot? Sorry for the audio but I wanted to try to capture the acoustic tone.

Video:

 

[kipkohl]

The three things you might check are: the saddle(as you already noted), the nut, and the string itself. As it sounds as if the problem is still there with the capo, I'd guess the saddle or the string.

 

[kirellah]

I've had similar issues on guitars where I swear the set up is perfect, according to specs and gauges, but I just get slight dead note somewhere. I usually adjust something to compensate for that specific issue, like raising that string in question a little higher than I might like, but then I will also check it through a clean amp to see if the issue is being heard amplified.

I would assume though, on issues where the setup is in spec, that the nut slot it too low or there is an uneven fret somewhere causing the choking. I've never filed a fret, but I have done the super glue/baking soda trick to fill a low nut slot with success

 

[Lacire]

When you put the capo on the first fret you basically kept everything on your guitar setup the same except now you‘re using the first fret as the nut. So if it fixed the problem as kirellah said above 1. you have a fret that’s to high, which now could only be the first fret, 2. the nut slot for the high E string is cut to low so the string is slightly touching the first fret when playing it open. But you’re saying everything is in spec. So 3. is the E string slot cut incorrectly, check the slot where the string first comes into contact with the nut, is there any gap under the string? even a small one can make it sound off. Or 4. have you changed string size or brands maybe the slot in the nut isn’t fitting that size or brand of string, I’ve used a set of calipers to check different string sizes and the size on the package isn’t always what the string measures out as. PRS has a habit of burying there strings down in the nut so they’re hard to see and a pourly cut nut can give you all kinds of problems.