John F
Here for the party
- Joined
- Apr 8, 2020
- Messages
- 396
Good news!
I purchased a pair of PRS core wide/thin nuts to replace the SE SAS nut. The 2 core nuts sound glassy when clicked together out of the package and are very hard. I removed the SAS SE nut during my core upgrade as planned because I could not tell if it was plastic or made like a core nut. I found the indonesian nut to be hard and glassy also, like the core. It clearly showed the bronze flakes as seen in the core nut in the surface glued to the fret board. The SE nut is an exact match for the core except for 2 small round indents in the SE nut. I reinstalled the original nut since it was already cut to spec.
I polished the frets and installed PRS replacement locking tuners. I also replaced the entire tremolo bridge assembly with a John Mann brass version. I am very impressed with the quality of the Mann components. First thing I noticed was the weight difference; the SE bridge weighed 11.8 oz, while the core weighed 14.6 oz. It is beautifully crafted too. Removing the 6 pivot screws showed me the screws in the SE were bent axially, making them cause strain on the pivots as they fought each other and pulled the bridge in different directions. The Mann screws were lathe cut and perfectly straight. The V notch in SE screws looked chewed up, were not round or V shaped. They had lumps and gouges and the notches were not at the same height. The V notches in the Mann screws were beautifully lathe cut and perfectly matched. The installation went flawless and the guitar stays in tune now.
Last thing I did was to swap from 9 to 10 gauge. I did not have to recut the nut slots.
Get yourself a Mann upgrade for your SE trem, you’ll be glad you did.
I purchased a pair of PRS core wide/thin nuts to replace the SE SAS nut. The 2 core nuts sound glassy when clicked together out of the package and are very hard. I removed the SAS SE nut during my core upgrade as planned because I could not tell if it was plastic or made like a core nut. I found the indonesian nut to be hard and glassy also, like the core. It clearly showed the bronze flakes as seen in the core nut in the surface glued to the fret board. The SE nut is an exact match for the core except for 2 small round indents in the SE nut. I reinstalled the original nut since it was already cut to spec.
I polished the frets and installed PRS replacement locking tuners. I also replaced the entire tremolo bridge assembly with a John Mann brass version. I am very impressed with the quality of the Mann components. First thing I noticed was the weight difference; the SE bridge weighed 11.8 oz, while the core weighed 14.6 oz. It is beautifully crafted too. Removing the 6 pivot screws showed me the screws in the SE were bent axially, making them cause strain on the pivots as they fought each other and pulled the bridge in different directions. The Mann screws were lathe cut and perfectly straight. The V notch in SE screws looked chewed up, were not round or V shaped. They had lumps and gouges and the notches were not at the same height. The V notches in the Mann screws were beautifully lathe cut and perfectly matched. The installation went flawless and the guitar stays in tune now.
Last thing I did was to swap from 9 to 10 gauge. I did not have to recut the nut slots.
Get yourself a Mann upgrade for your SE trem, you’ll be glad you did.
