Sorry for a long and downer first post

[MPH426]

A little background. I have a '17 McCarty 594 and absolutely love it. I'm in my '60s and have developed some shoulder problems so I don't play it often. However, there are times when I do, that it sounds so amazing that I forget about my shoulders!! Heck, I pretty much forget about everything except the sound! It is the guitar that got me hooked on PRS.

I have been searching for lighter weight guitars. I found an SE Paul's guitar at the local GC. The action was about a 1/4" off the frets. That didn't bother me 'cause it had gone from near zero temp to the mid 50's within a few days. That and I've been setting up my own guitars for over 30 years. I got it setup and It sounded much better and played pretty good. I was playing the melody line for Melisa (Allman Bros.) when I noticed the the notes on the high E on the 12th thru 15th fret were dying out within a few seconds! I started playing around, most of the neck would sustain for a very long time. Then... I did a little blues lick on the high E at the 5th fret. I accidentally over bent on the way back and the string literally got caught under the frets off the bottom of the fret board!

I took it back and asked to get another as I really do like the tones. They were very helpful an had one shipped from the their distribution center. Short story long... I got it yesterday. Again the action was a bit high but the neck looked good. I lowered the bridge and things looked better. The action is still a bit high for what "I think" a PRS should be, but not bad.

Now for the downer part. This too has neck issues. In parts of the neck there isn't as much sustain as others. It is better than the first, but not what a 1K guitar (IMHO) should play like. It's definitely going back and I'll have to look for something else.

Has anyone else had issues like this, or is it just me?!?!?

 

[Aahzz]

I haven't played the SE Paul's, so can't comment on that. However, if you're looking for a lightweight guitar, the PRS S2 Vela is a great, US made guitar that is incredibly light - my solid body weighs in at a mere 6 pounds. Soundwise it's kind of like the bastard child of an SG and a Tele. Could be worth checking out for you. There's also a semi-hollow version...

 

[Daveporter33765]

A little background. I have a '17 McCarty 594 and absolutely love it. I'm in my '60s and have developed some shoulder problems so I don't play it often. However, there are times when I do, that it sounds so amazing that I forget about my shoulders!! Heck, I pretty much forget about everything except the sound! It is the guitar that got me hooked on PRS.

I have been searching for lighter weight guitars. I found an SE Paul's guitar at the local GC. The action was about a 1/4" off the frets. That didn't bother me 'cause it had gone from near zero temp to the mid 50's within a few days. That and I've been setting up my own guitars for over 30 years. I got it setup and It sounded much better and played pretty good. I was playing the melody line for Melisa (Allman Bros.) when I noticed the the notes on the high E on the 12th thru 15th fret were dying out within a few seconds! I started playing around, most of the neck would sustain for a very long time. Then... I did a little blues lick on the high E at the 5th fret. I accidentally over bent on the way back and the string literally got caught under the frets off the bottom of the fret board!

I took it back and asked to get another as I really do like the tones. They were very helpful an had one shipped from the their distribution center. Short story long... I got it yesterday. Again the action was a bit high but the neck looked good. I lowered the bridge and things looked better. The action is still a bit high for what "I think" a PRS should be, but not bad.

Now for the downer part. This too has neck issues. In parts of the neck there isn't as much sustain as others. It is better than the first, but not what a 1K guitar (IMHO) should play like. It's definitely going back and I'll have to look for something else.

Has anyone else had issues like this, or is it just me?!?!?

I have one of the SE Paul’s Guitars. I purchased it from Sweetwater. It arrived set up well and has no defects of any kind. It’s a great guitar for the cost. So hopefully if you tried again you will not experience the same issues. Best of luck.

 

[aphantomvaper]

I have one of the SE Paul’s Guitars. I purchased it from Sweetwater. It arrived set up well and has no defects of any kind. It’s a great guitar for the cost. So hopefully if you tried again you will not experience the same issues. Best of luck.

Concur on all points Doctor. Your second may bring most joy, it happens!

 

[dogrocketp]

Unfortunately, GC employees are not allowed to setup new guitars. They're told to do nothing and get it out the door. It drove my son crazy when he worked there. As others have suggested, try a different retailer. There are a number of great ones who can help you. PM me if you want a list.

 

[MPH426]

Thanks for the replies.

The fact that it wasn't setup, didn't bother me, I don't expect much from GC. Like I said, I've been taking care of most what I need myself. For the major stuff, fretwork, etc... I do use a luthier who has done work for some major artists. Nicest guy you'd ever want to meet to boot.

The last guitar I bought from Sweetwater came with the inspection tag filled out but literally NONE of the work done. The original packing tape was still in tact. That said, I probably still would have bought the SE from them, but they didn't have it in stock.

 

[GuitarJammin]

I had luck in the SE world with the older SE "singlecut" model. Gut out all the electronics and it's usually golden, I enjoyed mine a lot for the time I had it. Only sold it because i had a buddy who really wanted me the sell it to him after he played it for a practice.
I even had the factory tuners on it. The tuning stability was great thanks to the stoptail. Excellent neck. I've worked on several others for people and played on several more here and there in used store racks...still haven't picked up a bad one.

Speaking for the weight factor it was lighter...but if you have a doublecut 594..those run around the mid 7s...and I don't know it'll be a whole lot lighter than that. A 594 singlecut though which I owned alongside the SE was a good bit heavier.

 

[Draconomics]

You know, we had a thread here a few weeks ago where we were discussing dead spots on the neck. It seems to be just a sad fact of nature that every guitar has a dead spot somewhere (though generally it'll be on the g string). I dunno if that's what youre running into, but sure sounds kinda like it.

For me, I've yet to run into a bad SE or something that is a dealbreaker problem. For my SE Paul's, my experience was the total opposite. She came from SW pretty much dimed in perfect, not a bad patch on the neck anywhere. I did end up doing full fret dressing/polishing and spot levelin, but that's just me being anal. I just adore mine. Hope you have better luck with the next one!

 

[MPH426]

I've had the guitar for a couple of days now. I had a partial tear of the tendon on my left bicep this past Tuesday AND I work the early shift, my wife works midnight's. So I haven't had a chance to really check it out... Bedroom volume just doesn't cut it.

That came to an end last night! I kissed her goodby with a S.E. (nothing to do with PRS grin on my face. Cranked up the amp and began my journey. I played around with the pickup heights to find their sweet spot, and what sweet spots the do have! The coil splits are some of the best I've heard. Yes there are still some "dead" spots, but no where near as bad as the first one I had. The tonal combinations are very good! My left arm hurts like Hades this morning, but it was worth every minute. I definitely plan on some more anguish tonight.

Now that I've had a chance to play around with it some more. The dead spots may need a little fret work. It could also be that I like the action as low as possible, it forces me to have a lighter touch. I will find out.

 

[MPH426]

You know, we had a thread here a few weeks ago where we were discussing dead spots on the neck. It seems to be just a sad fact of nature that every guitar has a dead spot somewhere (though generally it'll be on the g string). I dunno if that's what youre running into, but sure sounds kinda like it.

Had to run into work for a few. Just got back an checked out that and another thread. A wealth of information! Thanks!!!

 

[MPH426]

I did a little more work on it. I started with a flat neck and kept tweaking the relief, adding .005 each time. It took .015 to help the dead spots. It didn't fix per se' but it did triple the length it rang out It did take a nose dive at the end, but I'll take a win there!

I also to a fret rocker to it. Between the B & E strings there are six high frets. Four between the D &G, three between the E & A. Note: None of which can I fit a .0015 feeler gauge between the fret and the rocker. One and a half thousandths of an inch ain't much, but can be enough. On the bright side... the lower the note, the better it rings out.

 

[Draconomics]

I did a little more work on it. I started with a flat neck and kept tweaking the relief, adding .005 each time. It took .015 to help the dead spots. It didn't fix per se' but it did triple the length it rang out It did take a nose dive at the end, but I'll take a win there!

I also to a fret rocker to it. Between the B & E strings there are six high frets. Four between the D &G, three between the E & A. Note: None of which can I fit a .0015 feeler gauge between the fret and the rocker. One and a half thousandths of an inch ain't much, but can be enough. On the bright side... the lower the note, the better it rings out.

Wow, that seems like an awful lot of relief, but if she works, she works. Thats all that matters. There are no rules on setup specs. For me, I usually keep it around .007. I found about a similar amount of unleveled spots on mine, but nothing bad. Just for any readers, I would never say SE's have poor fretwork, quite the contrary. However, with a little elbow grease it can be perfected and its worth doing. Glad youre getting some better performance out of it, these are such great guitars.

 

[MPH426]

Wow, that seems like an awful lot of relief, but if she works, she works. Thats all that matters. There are no rules on setup specs. For me, I usually keep it around .007. I found about a similar amount of unleveled spots on mine, but nothing bad. Just for any readers, I would never say SE's have poor fretwork, quite the contrary. However, with a little elbow grease it can be perfected and its worth doing. Glad youre getting some better performance out of it, these are such great guitars.

I've seen as low as .005 and as much as .020 on cheap guitars. My first guitar was a Teisco Del Rey that needed quite a bit bow. From what I've seen the smaller the neck radius the more relief. PRS just says .005 - .010 shoot for .007.

Unfortunately, last night's testing revealed that I really didn't fix anything. The dead spots just moved to different strings in different places. To be honest, this is getting to be a bit more than I bargained for. I don't mind a challenge, but anything else to fix it will have to be paid for. At the price of the guitar, I didn't expect to have to pay more to get it right. The "AXE" has fallen. Time to find something else. Fortunately I have a real guitar store close that carries PRS.

 

[pac90]

Oh that must be so annoying, should be more satisfying trying in the store - good luck, 3rd time lucky

 

[MPH426]

It is annoying... but it isn't. I'm a better tech then player. I've was a mechanic for 3 or 4 years, machinist for almost 15 years, then I got into computers, been doing that for over 30 years. I love tinkering... to a point. This was just more than I thought it should be for a guitar at that price point. As I've mentioned before, I have a McCarty 594 SC. It took me a Looong time to get it and... It is amazing!!! The SE Paul's guitar has a lot of the same characteristics, but enough tonal differences to warrant looking into. I REALLY like the tonal possibilities, they are all very usable and the lighter weight didn't hurt either.

The chasing of tone never ends! It's why I have a dozen guitars.

 

[Draconomics]

I've seen as low as .005 and as much as .020 on cheap guitars. My first guitar was a Teisco Del Rey that needed quite a bit bow. From what I've seen the smaller the neck radius the more relief. PRS just says .005 - .010 shoot for .007.

Unfortunately, last night's testing revealed that I really didn't fix anything. The dead spots just moved to different strings in different places. To be honest, this is getting to be a bit more than I bargained for. I don't mind a challenge, but anything else to fix it will have to be paid for. At the price of the guitar, I didn't expect to have to pay more to get it right. The "AXE" has fallen. Time to find something else. Fortunately I have a real guitar store close that carries PRS.

Aw, thats too bad. Sometimes the dead spots will just be there regardless and there aint much ado about it. Consequently, I felt about the same with my 35th Ani I got last year. Out of the box, played like butt. The setup was bad, nut was playing "grab the string", and all the tuners were loose. I went for it and did a fret level and recrowning on a few. Now it plays great, but its stuff that for people that dont do tech work would be costly and annoying.

Speaking of costly and annoying....the tone chase. Dont even get me started.

 

[MPH426]

This is just a bump in the road.

 

[PCypert]

My Silver Sky is 6lbs 6ozs. Super comfortable to play and super light. Might be a good fit for you?

 

[Uncle Bob]

Shame, but I agree with you that you should expect a certain level of fit and finish for this kind of money.

My SE CU24 needed a setup but the neck is pretty good. I only had a very tiny bit of fret lift on the 17th fret to deal with, and only under the B &E strings.

I do think the little QC tag with all the little ticks and a signature is a total waste of time. It should be a given that a musical instrument at the price point of an SE should be perfect, but we all know that often they are far from it. I’ve only ever had one guitar that didn’t need anything doing to it out of the box, my early 90s MIJ Jackson Stealth which I bought brand new and is now categorised as ‘vintage’. 30 years ago it cost me about the same as an SE does now.

 

[Geo408]

I second the Vela..mine tips the scale at 6 lbs, 1 oz, and plays great, sounds great, and stays in tune. You can’t go wrong!