SE Hollowbody -- string change to 11's?

[LackingWit]

Anybody strung their SE Hollowbody with 11's? I was curious to see whether the SE Hollowbody Piezo would come with 11's like the Core HB II, which they don't. I'm wondering whether the added tension of 11's would cause a problem on the SE Hollowbody Piezo that I just received.

 

[bodia]

Anybody strung their SE Hollowbody with 11's? I was curious to see whether the SE Hollowbody Piezo would come with 11's like the Core HB II, which they don't. I'm wondering whether the added tension of 11's would cause a problem on the SE Hollowbody Piezo that I just received.

You should be fine with 11s. Probably need to widen the nut slots a little, though.

 

[LackingWit]

You ... Probably need to widen the nut slots a little, though.

That makes perfect sense. Thanks much for responding.

 

[bodia]

That makes perfect sense. Thanks much for responding.

You’re welcome

 

[Chase]

You will most likely need to post pictures of your New Guitar on this thread for 11's to work.....

 

[LackingWit]

You will most likely need to post pictures of your New Guitar on this thread for 11's to work.....

Ha! I’ve been remiss on an NGD post, I readily admit. Amber lampshade knobs are due to arrive tomorrow. I have SE locking tuners ready to install, but I wanted to make a string decision first. I think I’ll go with the extra set of 10s that I got with the tuners and postpone 11s and nut filing until later. Might not get all that done until the weekend. Actually, I probably won’t. I will definitely post pics after that.

 

[W. Scott Mohn]

In a similar vein, I am 80 and have weak and curling fingers. I am waiting for delivery of a new SE Piezo. I know they come with 10's. And I am hoping I will be able to play them. But I have 9's on my only other guitar, a PRS 24-08. They are easy for me to play. So I wonder if anyone has already put 9's on a new SE Piezo? If so, how did it go? I had the new SE Piezo upgraded with PRS locking tuners before it was shipped and I am really looking forward to it since I loved the sounds I used to get with my vintage Gibson hollow and semi-hollow bodies while I still could play them. I had to give an L-5, an ES-175, and an ES 335 to my children - their inheritance! So I am hoping the SE Piezo sounds will fill that vacant spot in my heart. Thanks, Scott

 

[Alnus Rubra]

Welcome to the forum Scott.

Congratulations on your new guitar.

 

[matonanjin]

In a similar vein, I am 80 and have weak and curling fingers. I am waiting for delivery of a new SE Piezo. I know they come with 10's. And I am hoping I will be able to play them. But I have 9's on my only other guitar, a PRS 24-08. They are easy for me to play. So I wonder if anyone has already put 9's on a new SE Piezo? If so, how did it go? I had the new SE Piezo upgraded with PRS locking tuners before it was shipped and I am really looking forward to it since I loved the sounds I used to get with my vintage Gibson hollow and semi-hollow bodies while I still could play them. I had to give an L-5, an ES-175, and an ES 335 to my children - their inheritance! So I am hoping the SE Piezo sounds will fill that vacant spot in my heart. Thanks, Scott

Maybe somewhat relevant? Not a piezo but a hollowbody. When I bought my (core) HB 1 it had 10's on it. I was working on bending and wanted to make it a little easier while I built up finger strength. To do so I had gone to 9's on my Paul's and a couple of my other non-PRS guitars. I decided to do the same with my HB. I took it in to have them changed and had the guitar tech look at it and he said since I was only going one size I could change them with no issues and without a complete set-up. BTW, since going to the lighter strings on about everything I really enjoy them and don't know that I'm ever going back to thicker ones.

 

[W. Scott Mohn]

Thank you very much. It is amazing how my taste in guitars has changed. I played a single 12-string for over 40 years. Then I decided to try to learn to play and sing the Jazz standards. So I tried all manner of vintage hollow body and semi hollow body guitars over about the last four years. The last one, a Gibson ES-5 Switchmaster, is for sale now. The rest I either sold to try diferrent ones or gave to my children, grandchildren, and two to great-grandchildren. All along that jouney I keep reading and hearing about PRS guitars. I finally bought one in December of 2019. It was just amazing how much easier it was for me to play, even with my fingers. And the great sound was more than I expected too since I really only play finger style and mostly just standard Country and Jazz songs. So now I have had a 24-08 for just over three months and have an SE Piezo in the mail. I went through various Gibson, Ibanez, Fender, Heritage, Prestige, D'Angelico, Eastman, and other brands. I would usually sell a less expensive one to move on to try a more expensive one. The best of the lot eventually went to the kids.

And now I have the two PRS guitars. After my buying and selling spree I feel like the PRS guitars are the best production guitars every made. I only wish I had another 80 years to learn how to play better. The years of 12-string country definitely stunted the growth of my limited playing ability. Now the finger problems have all but destroyed the prospect of significant improvements. But I expect the PRS guitars and the music will keep me anxious to get up everyday and get after learning for whatever time I have left!

Thanks, again. Regards, Scott

 

[W. Scott Mohn]

Maybe somewhat relevant? Not a piezo but a hollowbody. When I bought my (core) HB 1 it had 10's on it. I was working on bending and wanted to make it a little easier while I built up finger strength. To do so I had gone to 9's on my Paul's and a couple of my other non-PRS guitars. I decided to do the same with my HB. I took it in to have them changed and had the guitar tech look at it and he said since I was only going one size I could change them with no issues and without a complete set-up. BTW, since going to the lighter strings on about everything I really enjoy them and don't know that I'm ever going back to thicker ones.

Hello!

Thank you for that information. I have 9's on my 24-08 and they are much easier for me to play than 10's. The 24-08 came with 9's on the guitar. I bought it new, but I don't know if that gauge string is standard on that model or if someone at the shop I bought it from had changed them. But I am going to give the 10's on the new Piezo a try and see if I can handle them because PRS must think that 10's are best suited to the guitar.

PRS guitars seem so well built that it does not surprise me that a Tech said going down one gauge would not require a new set up. But that is good news for me.

Although the 24-08 sounds very good with everything i play, I miss the hollow body sound. I hope the SE Piezo with give me the best of both worlds. But I not planning to go back to having anymore than two guitars. Finances become a bigger concern every year. And, if you already have the best, why buy any more?

Unfortunately, with the virus and my age, I am concerned I may never get another paying music job. But I am practicing everyday, just in case ....

Regards, Scott

 

[Gutch]

Thanks to all for the info. Received my SE HB II Piezo a couple weeks ago and kinda miss the heavier strings when playing acoustic style. Have a spare set off 11's on the shelf but came over here first to make sure it wouldn't be a problem. Voila! The board's search feature works great!

 

[Jack B]

Thanks to all for the info. Received my SE HB II Piezo a couple weeks ago and kinda miss the heavier strings when playing acoustic style. Have a spare set off 11's on the shelf but came over here first to make sure it wouldn't be a problem. Voila! The board's search feature works great!

did you ever try 11s?

 

[Jack B]

Anybody strung their SE Hollowbody with 11's? I was curious to see whether the SE Hollowbody Piezo would come with 11's like the Core HB II, which they don't. I'm wondering whether the added tension of 11's would cause a problem on the SE Hollowbody Piezo that I just received.

I also was wondering if my hollow body Piezo would be OK with 11s? i’m a long time acoustic player and I find that I keep pressing too hard on the frets and everything sounds sharp. Would switching to 11s from 10s help?

 

[LackingWit]

The Hollowbody II Piezo comes strung with 11s. Pretty sure the used one I picked up recently has 11s and they sounds and feel great. Put a set of 11s on my SE HB II Piezo and they work fine on that guitar as well. I filed the nut slots a little bit, as Bodia suggested.

 

[Jack B]

The Hollowbody II Piezo comes strung with 11s. Pretty sure the used one I picked up recently has 11s and they sounds and feel great. Put a set of 11s on my SE HB II Piezo and they work fine on that guitar as well. I filed the nut slots a little bit, as Bodia suggested.

My Hollowbody II Piezo comes with 10s. Did you file the slots wider or deeper too?

 

[LackingWit]

For the Core HB II? That's puzzling--the hangtag for mine says 11s as does the PRS website for the Core HB II. Maybe your dealer strung it with 10s? Regardless of how they got there, I would try 11s before altering the nut. Based on the published specs, my guess is that the nut is ready for 11s.

For the SE, I widened the slots slightly. Definitely tried my best to avoid deepening the slots to avoid adversely affecting the set-up.

 

[Roving_Drummer]

When I first got my SE HB2P I switched over to 11/52s after 3 months or so. I played them for a month and realized I preferred the 10/46s. The piezo tone wasn't that much better if better at all.

Congrats on the guitar I love it still.