SE Nut - Why the hostility?

[1esotericguy]

I'm a new PRS SE owner. Never had one before. It's awesome. Custom 24-08 in Eriza Green. And I'm assuming it's a 2021.

In reading up on forums and interwebs, it seems there's been a consistent historical distaste and hatred for the SE nuts. I was about to swap mine out, just because I read it so many times in resaerching this guitar.

Here's the part I don't get from reading all the threads. When I started playing guitar, it was kind of understood that a NON locking trem was not going to stay in tune too well on heavy use, much less divebomb use. That's what Floyds are for. Even when Fender did the roller nut on the Strat Plus - it didn't really work. I don't know why that's different now, but it seems like everyone who gets an SE changes the nut because of binding at the nut when they divebomb. It's weird to me. I wouldn't even put that expectation on a NON locking trem.

That said, I did go in and fan out the exits of my nut slots with sandpaper, so the slot exits now align with the string exit angle. And I also put some nut sauce in the slots and at the saddles. My trem with stock nut holds tune fine. I can play the intro to Wicked Game 10 times in a row, and I don't get any binding at the nut. Not sure why I read so many others going crazy about swapping nuts right away on SE's. Did production improve nut material recently or something? The nut I have is totally adequate. I'm just coming from the 90's when you just accepted that you had to do all kinds of voodoo engineering to make a regular strat trem even have a chance of holding tune. I'm just surprised reading that people now expect so much tuning stability from a non locking trem these days. (Although I have Gotoh 510's on other guitars that do work really well - but I consider that a miracle, not the norm for stock.)

I did upgrade to the locking tuners though, but only because because the SE tuner gear ratios sucked. If it wasn't for the sucky tuner machine feel, I wouldn't have even changed the tuners. They held tune fine. Just felt like poop when I would want to fine tune.

 

[Deleted member 5962]

I’m against nut hostility!

 

[DISTORT6]

I’m against nut hostility!

Unless it’s self inflicted.

 

[SinSir]

I've never had an issue with an SE nut. Others have. I've always agreed with along the lines of your thinking.. more often than not people go into it thinking its bad, add in a new guitarist and/or new to a floating trem. There's the issue more than the nut itself half the time. Also, there has been reports PRS has changed the nut as of late, but I heard that a while back too when people were complaining.

All I know is I haven't had an issue, people have, and it sounds like you have a good grasp on your nut.. ** guys above made me do it

 

[Deleted member 5962]

Unless it’s self inflicted.

And VERY restrained...

 

[Deleted member 5962]

it sounds like you have a good grasp on your nut..

uh, huh huh... he said "grasp on your nut" huh huh

 

[Tonart]

My nut does bind my G-string a lot.

No, seriously. SE Paul’s. Bit of a bother and I’ll probably will change it out sometime.

 

[Duvupov]

I think a lot of people assume it is bad because they read it on the internet so it must be true? Same with the pickups. Some people already want to replace them when they don't even own the guitar yet.

 

[SamIV]

I own an SE Tremonti Custom. I lowered the nut slots a bit, lowered the slots on a few of the saddles to match the neck radius, and did a fret level and crown. I had zero intention of replacing the nut. It plays as well as my core model now. It’s actually my easiest guitar to play.

 

[Black-Viper75]

No hostility to SE nuts but here's my experience. When I bought my 35th Anniversary SE everything about the guitar was like a dream come true. Except the G-string. I never expected to do any dive bombing / whammy bar antics like I do on on my Floyd Rose guitar. But it's tuning stability couldn't withstand a simple 2 note bend. I tried Stewmac Guitar Grease and
I had a friend who knew about nut filing have a go and noticed no improvement. Being in lockdown and living in a small Greek city I didn't have much options other than having to live with this frustrating issue until I went to a local music store to get some new strings. Talking with the owner of the store he said he does luthier work and could replace my nut with a graphite one. I agreed since I had no other choice. The graphite nut solved my tuning issue. Now I can even play the intro to Kickstart My Heart.

 

[Doug B]

I also have the SE Custom 24-08 in Eriza Verde. I’ve got no issues with the nut or tuning. I don’t do any serious dive bombs but I don’t baby the trem bar either.

 

[Uncle Bob]

My nut does bind my G-string a lot.

No, seriously. SE Paul’s. Bit of a bother and I’ll probably will change it out sometime.

Swap out the whole nut rather than just file the slot? Ok.

 

[Uncle Bob]

I’ve said a number of times on here, my SE has more stable tuning than my core, and to me the nut ‘appears’ to be the made of the same material. Of course, there are a bunch of things that can affect tuning stability, not just the nut.

Interestingly, out of the two, the core nut looks perfect and the SE looks like it was cut by somebody on their first day at the factory! Obviously it hasn’t affected it negatively in terms of playability.

There’s also the fact that some people will routinely swap out all of the ‘import’ parts as they consider them inferior. Funny how that doesn’t seem to apply to the wooden bits, though?

 

[Boogie]

I’m against nut hostility!

As a former soccer goalie, I second that motion. After 7 broken noses, it was determined that protecting the face might be a close second.

Agree with disagreeing with the SE nut shaming. Only under heavy gigging did it become necessary to replace the nut on both of my SE electrics (acoustic may be a bone nut). My technique involves a lot of bends and hand vibrato so erratic troughs would cut into the slot quickly, causing sticking, intonation and action issues. That’s when I replaced them with USA versions.

If you are not a violent player, the SE nut is adequate for (re)productive playing.

 

[guitarforlife]

I own 7 SE's never had a problem with them. But if I want to play a lot of Trem stuff I could just use a guitar with a Floyd or Kahler Trem and they stay in tune just fine.
I however do believe in every guitar is different due to the wood being from nature and nothing in nature is perfect or uniform. I never chase pick up changes or swap this and that. In my experience most of the time the thing I did not like never goes away no matter how much money I throw at it.

Some times a guitar just flows everything is perfect in fact I have bought the exact same thing only to find one is just better then the other. I have bought my share of crazy expensive guitars and have found that the cheap import plays better. Its taken me 50 years and 1000's of guitars to come to this conclusion. I say mine works just fine and if you feel yours are fine thats all you need.

 

[alantig]

I think a lot of people assume it is bad because they read it on the internet so it must be true? Same with the pickups. Some people already want to replace them when they don't even own the guitar yet.

I've read this on the internet, so I know it's accurate!

 

[Black-Viper75]

Same with the pickups. Some people already want to replace them when they don't even own the guitar yet.

They'd be pretty amazed to hear those DCI SE pickups in action. I have no plans on ever changing mine.

 

[Bowtiefanatc]

Y’all ain’t ever dealt with the cheap plastic old SE nuts and it shows

 

[bodia]

Y’all ain’t ever dealt with the cheap plastic old SE nuts and it shows

Preach!

 

[danktat]

Some people already want to replace them when they don't even own the guitar yet.

Don't get me started on this. I have done whole threads on here over the compulsion to mod subject....lol