SE Pauls Guitar base setup details?

[BesB]

Hi all,
I recently bought an SE Paul's guitar, and was curious what it should have been set to at inspection. So far, the issues I'm having seem to indicate no setup was done, or it was handled such by the shop that it's out of whack. Things such as height between strings and pups are not even close to what is published, when perfectly tuned fret 12 is showing heavily out of tune across the board, even the action is higher than it 'should' be. The strings even seem to have been replaced; since I have 10-46's and not 9's that I thought were the default? Um... I guess to ask the questions in a more effective way :

1. For the SE Paul's, what is the factory-spec strings? If they're 9s I imagine I need some sort of setup
   
2. What should the action be at if it was setup at factory?
3. String height to Pup? I suspect this is contributing to the really bad sounding neck, as it's just a little over 2/64th on both sides, which doesn't seem right at all.

 

[shimmilou]

Hey BesB,

Even though the ads say 9s, I believe that the SE Pauls comes with 10s. I suspect that you might only need a slight truss rod adjustment.

Check here for some specs.

https://www.prsguitars.com/support/setup

 

[BesB]

Thanks Shimmilou,
It definitely looks like some work needs to be done... urgh around here, that means I'll be sans this guitar for a week. Sigh!

 

[CyFan4036]

You should really learn to setup your guitar. You could have that all sorted in less than 30 minutes. Plus, no one knows how you want your guitar better than you.

 

[Alnus Rubra]

Thanks Shimmilou,
It definitely looks like some work needs to be done... urgh around here, that means I'll be sans this guitar for a week. Sigh!

Some might say that you need another guitar to prevent being “sans”!

 

[Victek]

I recently bought an SE Paul's guitar, and was curious what it should have been set to at inspection. So far, the issues I'm having seem to indicate no setup was done, or it was handled such by the shop that it's out of whack. Things such as height between strings and pups are not even close to what is published, when perfectly tuned fret 12 is showing heavily out of tune across the board, even the action is higher than it 'should' be. The strings even seem to have been replaced; since I have 10-46's and not 9's that I thought were the default? Um... I guess to ask the questions in a more effective way :

Did you buy the guitar new from a retailer? If so why not bring it back and have them set it up to spec?

 

[BesB]

Did you buy the guitar new from a retailer? If so why not bring it back and have them set it up to spec?

Mainly coz I went back there a few times already and it's still a shambles with action as high as the heavens and pickup distance not even close to spec. Pity as the guy has ties to Paul himself, which is surprising to be honest.
On the upside, I found someone that got me sorted in a day; and now it plays smooth as silk. Still highly annoyed that the factory QA was so heavily out - it's why I got a PRS in the first place. I guess even the good brands have off days!

Some might say that you need another guitar to prevent being “sans”!

Yeah I know. The other guitar is in a different state at the moment ... a bit far to travel

 

[Boogie]

Hi all,
I recently bought an SE Paul's guitar, and was curious what it should have been set to at inspection. So far, the issues I'm having seem to indicate no setup was done, or it was handled such by the shop that it's out of whack. Things such as height between strings and pups are not even close to what is published, when perfectly tuned fret 12 is showing heavily out of tune across the board, even the action is higher than it 'should' be. The strings even seem to have been replaced; since I have 10-46's and not 9's that I thought were the default? Um... I guess to ask the questions in a more effective way :

1. For the SE Paul's, what is the factory-spec strings? If they're 9s I imagine I need some sort of setup
   
2. What should the action be at if it was setup at factory?
3. String height to Pup? I suspect this is contributing to the really bad sounding neck, as it's just a little over 2/64th on both sides, which doesn't seem right at all.

To me, the bigger question is, what do you like? I learned to do my own setups because, well, no one knows more about what I like than me. The environment at most retail stores exposes guitars to climate changes with huge humidity changes resulting in neck shift and string degradation...especially when the public slather their acrid skin chemicals all over them. If the store doesn’t change the strings after a month, gross! And they will use what they typically use. I’ve played more fantastic core PRS that played like hell at GC than not. So jump on YouTube, grab your feeler gauges and steel rule, and go to town. You might want some nut files too, but that’s a solid investment that will give years of return. Good luck!

 

[BesB]

[/QUOTE]

To me, the bigger question is, what do you like? I learned to do my own setups because, well, no one knows more about what I like than me. The environment at most retail stores exposes guitars to climate changes with huge humidity changes resulting in neck shift and string degradation...especially when the public slather their acrid skin chemicals all over them. If the store doesn’t change the strings after a month, gross!

In my case, I would have been happy with the posted PRS standard that QA are supposed to deliver - which was very far from how it was setup when I got it (still in box, though they could have re-boxed it I guess).

And they will use what they typically use. I’ve played more fantastic core PRS that played like hell at GC than not. So jump on YouTube, grab your feeler gauges and steel rule, and go to town. You might want some nut files too, but that’s a solid investment that will give years of return. Good luck!

Something I'm going to learn, for sure, though probably on a low cost guitar

 

[shimmilou]

In my case, I would have been happy with the posted PRS standard that QA are supposed to deliver - which was very far from how it was setup when I got it (still in box, though they could have re-boxed it I guess)...

It is not uncommon for a guitar, any brand, to need a setup after shipping. In fact, when shipping across different climate zones, it is almost always a must. Please stop blaming QA for something that they have zero control over.

 

[SteelHorse]

I have a friend in another part of the US and when we ship guitars to each other they always need a truss rod adjustment do to our different geographic locations and the environmental differences.

It is absolutely normally necessary to have to adjust guitars to their environments, especially newer instruments. I find older guitars eventually will have a stability that newer instruments do not.

 

[BesB]

Understood, appreciate the sentiments regarding QA.

Perhaps my expectations were a little high - I understand the truss rod getting a bit out of spec, certainly some of the wood could flex in climate changes as it's shipped. The truss rod was actually perfect and didn't need adjustment, fyi; however the pickup height, action height, even the nut slots needed correction. I'm not sure how shipping would affect those so much, but being wood I guess anything's possible

I guess I always compare guitars to my EC-256, which came in extremely good shape out the box; something I shouldn't do going forward.