"Tweaked" Phase III's

Well, this is partly true about the Gen III trem, but not of the tweaked tuning machines.

However, I have the Gen III trem on my 20th PS Anniversary guitar, and while I can't attribute its incredible sustain only to the Gen III, I will say that this trem-equipped guitar is the only guitar I have that actually out-sustains my McCarty Singlecut. And this not just a 1% improvement. It's right out front.

That's pretty unusual, as I'm comparing the guitar to one that's thicker, and has a two-piece stoptail bridge.

Now, granted, you might not take this guitar out for gigging unless you're lucky enough to have a tech or an extra guitar in case a string breaks, but for recording, where having an extra hex key around isn't a big deal, it's an amazing guitar to record with.

For those of us who are into such things, I have to say that the very slight hassle is absolutely worth the effort, and pays dividends in how beautifully the guitar does its thing.



I'm celebrating Warner Brothers putting Jamie's band on their Artists page with a very dry Martini. If a dad can't enjoy a drink when that happens, life would really suck. ;)
Well, Internet cheers to you! And, by very dry, I hope you mean you just waived the vermouth cap over your glass!
 
Well, this is partly true about the Gen III trem, but not of the tweaked tuning machines.

However, I have the Gen III trem on my 20th PS Anniversary guitar, and while I can't attribute its incredible sustain only to the Gen III, I will say that this trem-equipped guitar is the only guitar I have that actually out-sustains my McCarty Singlecut. And this not just a 1% improvement. It's right out front.

That's pretty unusual, as I'm comparing the guitar to one that's thicker, and has a two-piece stoptail bridge.

Now, granted, you might not take this guitar out for gigging unless you're lucky enough to have a tech or an extra guitar in case a string breaks, but for recording, where having an extra hex key around isn't a big deal, it's an amazing guitar to record with.

For those of us who are into such things, I have to say that the very slight hassle is absolutely worth the effort, and pays dividends in how beautifully the guitar does its thing.



I'm celebrating Warner Brothers putting Jamie's band on their Artists page with a very dry Martini. If a dad can't enjoy a drink when that happens, life would really suck. ;)


Congratulations to you and your son (of course! ;)) Les for the Warner Bros. Artist page. What an achievement!
 
tuners.jpg

Those tiny set screws are set at the factory and should not be adjusted. The tuner is put into a jig and torque is placed on the tuner shaft. Once the proper amount of torque is reach, the collar is installed and locked into place with those tiny set screws. Those screws should not need adjusting once the guitar leaves the factory.
 
Those tiny set screws are set at the factory and should not be adjusted. The tuner is put into a jig and torque is placed on the tuner shaft. Once the proper amount of torque is reach, the collar is installed and locked into place with those tiny set screws. Those screws should not need adjusting once the guitar leaves the factory.
Thanks Shawn! That's good to know. A lot of people seem confused by them.
 
Those tiny set screws are set at the factory and should not be adjusted. The tuner is put into a jig and torque is placed on the tuner shaft. Once the proper amount of torque is reach, the collar is installed and locked into place with those tiny set screws. Those screws should not need adjusting once the guitar leaves the factory.
Thanks for the clarification, Shawn. I was confused by a previous quote from a previous post either here or on your PRS blog that said something to the effect of "once the set screw is tightened, the tuner can't be adjusted..." or something like that. I'll look for the quote.
 
This from http://www.prsguitars.com/index.php...ability_prs_guitars_announces_the_mccarty_594 :

"Tweaked Phase III tuners that have an added set screw that pulls the tuner’s shaft, gear, and worm together (but take the tuner button out of play) to promote tone transfer from the string directly into the guitar itself with as little energy as possible begin detracted."

BUT TAKE THE TUNER BUTTON OUT OF PLAY.

The first time I read that, I honestly thought you meant that you couldn't tune the guitar once you set the mini-screw. Like you made a Floyd tuner.
Thanks again for clarifying.
 
Winged tuners don't need to be tweaked 'cause they already have the greatest amount of upward lift of any tuner, which contributes to the highest soaring tones.

MilCom/MannMade trems don't require set screws to keep the base and block together so they contribute the most solid tones.

Rotary equipped guitars don't need push-pull pots because they offer truly circular tones.

24 fret PRS have the longest tones because the neck is longer.

Guitars with moons offer tones with more space around the notes than guitars with birds because birds can't breathe in space.


I swear, most of you guys are guitaring wrong.


One of my favorite posts ever!
 
When the little black screw, located at the end of the tuner button, is tightened, it compresses the entire worm gear within the tuner. As shown with the red line in the untweaked tuner. The tweaked collar is locked onto the button shaft from the sides, which doesn't compress the worm gear and in theory doesn't dampen the resonant frequency.
tuners2.JPG
 
When the little black screw, located at the end of the tuner button, is tightened, it compresses the entire worm gear within the tuner. As shown with the red line in the untweaked tuner. The tweaked collar is locked onto the button shaft from the sides, which doesn't compress the worm gear and in theory doesn't dampen the resonant frequency. View attachment 4142
I was swapping out tuner buttons today on a 2018 McCarty and I wondered why there was a gap I hadn’t noticed in the past. All makes sense now. Glad I didn’t try to jam the button on harder :p
 
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