SE Pauls Guitar - High Action **LATER**

steves

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Nov 5, 2018
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I just got my new SE Pauls Guitar and love it!
Out of the box. the action was very high, so I waited a few days for it to settle in.

Then I lowered the bridge 1 full turn on each side and now the action is good, set at factory specs, high and low string.
The relief is where it should be and there's no buzzing.
I've read people having their guitars " set up " when they're new.
Would you recommend this, or is it not really necessary?
Appreciate your feedback!
Thanks.
 
One of the joys of the two post wraparound bridges is you just need to adjust two screws to get action right.

Most companies ship guitars with medium-high to high action - playable, but on the high side.
If you picked up a guitar in a store and the action is too high, you'd likely say "higher than I like, but playable."
If it was too low, you'd likely say "this is all buzzy and sloppy and I can't get a sense of it."
 
I just got my new SE Pauls Guitar and love it!
Out of the box. the action was very high, so I waited a few days for it to settle in.

Then I lowered the bridge 1 full turn on each side and now the action is good, set at factory specs, high and low string.
The relief is where it should be and there's no buzzing.
I've read people having their guitars " set up " when they're new.
Would you recommend this, or is it not really necessary?
Appreciate your feedback!
Thanks.

Sounds like you got it dialed in. I do reccomend full setups on any new guitar. Climate, play style, string guage change, all of these will require adjustments to get the guitar dialed in to your tastes. I look at factory setups as starting points, and sometimes they can be good enough, but often times it wont be suitable for you. Everyone's style is different, every climate change will have an effect.
 
Would like to confirm:

Tightening the bridge studs will lower the string action?
How is this different from adjusting the truss rod, and why is one performed for lowering/raising string action, and the other does what?

Reason for my asking is my McCarty has high string action, partially caused by loose neck bow designed to reduce fret buzz. I think I've mistakenly loosened the truss rod thinking it would prevent string buzz, where a combination bridge stud and truss rod adjustment was needed, plus intonation.

The low E-String is a good 4 to 5 mm from an open 12th fret, mebbe more. High E likewise, mebbe not so much.

How much of a bridge stud turn, in your opinion, might be needed to bring things back towards factory spec, please?
 
Would like to confirm:

Tightening the bridge studs will lower the string action?
How is this different from adjusting the truss rod, and why is one performed for lowering/raising string action, and the other does what?

Reason for my asking is my McCarty has high string action, partially caused by loose neck bow designed to reduce fret buzz. I think I've mistakenly loosened the truss rod thinking it would prevent string buzz, where a combination bridge stud and truss rod adjustment was needed, plus intonation.

The low E-String is a good 4 to 5 mm from an open 12th fret, mebbe more. High E likewise, mebbe not so much.

How much of a bridge stud turn, in your opinion, might be needed to bring things back towards factory spec, please?

4 to 5 mm?!? That's insane.

I think it sounds like you need to start from scratch.

Straighten the neck out. You should only have a tiny touch of relief on it.
Then set the action by raising/lowering the bridge.
Then intonation.

This video by the guy that discovered the 57/08&59/09 pairing @sergiodeblanc loves is a good quick guide. You may need to go more in depth tho.
Investing in a string action gauge is highly recommended.

 
A setup with a new guitar is money well spent IMO. Once it's dialed in by a pro, you can then mimic the setup later as you change strings, adjust the truss rod in response to weather changes, etc etc. You won't get it perfect, but you'll at least have a benchmark to go by. I spent the first... 18? years of my playing doing my own setups. Only in the last few have I ponied up the money and time to work with a tech to get an instrument set up, and as a result I'm playing better than ever. It really does make a difference. You also learn a lot in the process about how you play which is valuable knowledge.
 
Would like to confirm:

Tightening the bridge studs will lower the string action?
How is this different from adjusting the truss rod, and why is one performed for lowering/raising string action, and the other does what?

Reason for my asking is my McCarty has high string action, partially caused by loose neck bow designed to reduce fret buzz. I think I've mistakenly loosened the truss rod thinking it would prevent string buzz, where a combination bridge stud and truss rod adjustment was needed, plus intonation.

The low E-String is a good 4 to 5 mm from an open 12th fret, mebbe more. High E likewise, mebbe not so much.

How much of a bridge stud turn, in your opinion, might be needed to bring things back towards factory spec, please?

OMG. 5mm is nuts. That's atrocious, I don't even know how you'd play with that, especially above the 12th. Forget the bridge studs, I think you'll need to start over mate. Ovibos basically hit it right, dust the strings, straighten the truss rod so the neck is dead flat. String back up, and look for between .005-.010 relief at the 8th fret with 1st capoed and fingering last fret. PRS spec is 4/64" treble and 5/64" bass (roughly 1.5mm and 1.9mm respectively). Any PRS should play with zero fret buzz with those specs. If you still have fret buzz, its time to look for high frets which may require something more invasive: fret leveling.
 
OMG. 5mm is nuts. That's atrocious, I don't even know how you'd play with that, especially above the 12th. Forget the bridge studs, I think you'll need to start over mate. Ovibos basically hit it right, dust the strings, straighten the truss rod so the neck is dead flat. String back up, and look for between .005-.010 relief at the 8th fret with 1st capoed and fingering last fret. PRS spec is 4/64" treble and 5/64" bass (roughly 1.5mm and 1.9mm respectively). Any PRS should play with zero fret buzz with those specs. If you still have fret buzz, its time to look for high frets which may require something more invasive: fret leveling.

There may be some exaggeration, but yeah, the action is way too high. Plz visit my post in the General section where we can discuss this in greater detail. I think my buddy has got the solution, just need verification...

The bridge studs will raise/lower the bridge, which is where I think the string action issue originally occurred when a bridge swap was made (studs were replaced to fit a MannMade bridge, could find the original height well enough to make it work)
 
I wish the TRAIN video stated that the strings must be loosened before you can adjust the bridge studs, otherwise the nickel or brass stud slots will get chewed up from the screwdriver, quarter, or wrench. That might help unsuspecting folks (and save them the cost of replacing the studs) who may not know this.
 
I wish the TRAIN video stated that the strings must be loosened before you can adjust the bridge studs, otherwise the nickel or brass stud slots will get chewed up from the screwdriver, quarter, or wrench. That might help unsuspecting folks (and save them the cost of replacing the studs) who may not know this.

Yeah, thats an important one. You can lower the strings under tension, but never raise them. Its even possible to damage the saddles by doing that.
 
I wish the TRAIN video stated that the strings must be loosened before you can adjust the bridge studs, otherwise the nickel or brass stud slots will get chewed up from the screwdriver, quarter, or wrench. That might help unsuspecting folks (and save them the cost of replacing the studs) who may not know this.
Yeah, that's fair - he's just giving the broad list and order, not an in depth on each step.
 
I suggest that all players learn how to set up their guitars themselves. I have taken my guitars to a very good luthier, but he could never do a set up fully to my liking. This is understandable, as players have different preferences for action, and these can’t be easily explained in words.
 
I suggest that all players learn how to set up their guitars themselves. I have taken my guitars to a very good luthier, but he could never do a set up fully to my liking. This is understandable, as players have different preferences for action, and these can’t be easily explained in words.

Very true. Everyone is different, Jeff Beck for example likes dead flat necks, and most techs would never think of setting up a guitar like that. I learned setup work pretty much out of necessity. I was too broke to pay for having it done, so I bummed knowledge off any local techs that I did remedial work for, and played Frankenstein with cheap throwaway guitars to figure out how to do things properly and why you do em that way.
 
So let's discuss the costs for a set up...Many have said get it done "right - when you first purchase your new guitar".
I've also read many say their PRS is set up perfect , out of the box. Let's assume perfect is factory specs, not personal preference.

Actually , how much work is really needed for a new PRS? What should it cost?

A local chain charges $50 for 2 years of unlimited set up work, for guitars under $500 and $90 for guitars over $500?

Wouldn't you assume there is LESS work needed to be done for a more expensive guitar?
Does this sound like a good deal?
 
So let's discuss the costs for a set up...Many have said get it done "right - when you first purchase your new guitar".
I've also read many say their PRS is set up perfect , out of the box. Let's assume perfect is factory specs, not personal preference.

Actually , how much work is really needed for a new PRS? What should it cost?

A local chain charges $50 for 2 years of unlimited set up work, for guitars under $500 and $90 for guitars over $500?

Wouldn't you assume there is LESS work needed to be done for a more expensive guitar?
Does this sound like a good deal?
Both those prices seem way too cheap to be good.

A single setup costs about $40-80 depending on your location.

The words “unlimited for 2 years” and “chain” make me think that you’re not going to get very good setups.
 
Both those prices seem way too cheap to be good.

A single setup costs about $40-80 depending on your location.

The words “unlimited for 2 years” and “chain” make me think that you’re not going to get very good setups.
Yes, I thought the same about the price.
But if the PRS guitar is new, how much work actually needs to be done?
String height and relief adjustment? These guitars are made so well and QCd again before shipment?
 
A little research, and some time learning and you can do your own setups very easily, even nut adjustments as long as you take your time to understand what you're really doing.

Then you can set up your perfect yourself, and save money, and fuel, and time :)
 
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