Weird Harmonic in PRS SE Standard 24-08

C

Chipuk700

New Member
Joined
Nov 9, 2024
Messages
12
Hello everyone!
Some time ago I made a post on this very subject, but unfortunately I didn't get any help.
My guitar produces a strange harmonic on many notes on the first string, and it's really annoying.
I visited a couple of luthiers, both agreed that it is not a nut or setup problem.
Apparently it may be a bridge problem, but neither of them could fix it.
I previously owned a couple of PRS SE's, both of which had the same setup and had no problems.
I don't think that increasing the string action or increasing the gauge are solutions, I think a good guitar should allow good adjustments to suit the player.
Did anyone have the same problem and how did you solve it?
I attach a video showing the problem, it took me a little work to upload it to youtube but I hope you understand the problem.
 
Is that how you pick normally?
Tried muting things with foam?
Springs, block, strings behind the nut, tuners?
 
In the video, I play with a bit of force to make the sound more detailed, but it appears even when playing softly. When playing with stronger dynamics, the sound intensifies.

And yes, I’ve already tried foam, but it didn’t work.
 
deathworlder said:
No., I meant picking over the neck pickup....
Click to expand...
Maertl513 said:
To me it sounds like an unproper setup of the neck and action, it appears, that the strung strings have got contact to a fretwire afterwards.
Click to expand...

I highly doubt it’s an adjustment issue since I had a couple of PRS SE guitars with the exact same height and neck setup, and they didn’t produce those kinds of strange sounds.

I also don’t think it has anything to do with where I pluck the string—whether I do it a bit further back or forward, it doesn’t really affect the harmonic.
 
There is a buzzy ring after you strung the string, which is typical for additional fret wire contact.
As a first guess: The neck has a slight bend over.
It's not cause by your strike hand.
 
I had that issue with my SE Customer 24. I replaced the nut with graphite nut. Didn’t help. I replaced the saddles with Mann saddles. Didn’t help. I noticed that it sounded like I was using a slide. What’s different with a slide? A rounded terminating surface… I removed the offending saddle and flattened the face of it with a file to lessen the rounded edge. Problem solved. YMMV
 
theDeepender said:
I had that issue with my SE Customer 24. I replaced the nut with graphite nut. Didn’t help. I replaced the saddles with Mann saddles. Didn’t help. I noticed that it sounded like I was using a slide. What’s different with a slide? A rounded terminating surface… I removed the offending saddle and flattened the face of it with a file to lessen the rounded edge. Problem solved. YMMV
Click to expand...

Thank you for responding. I think the problem might be what you mentioned. Everything has been adjusted thoroughly and with different parameters, every screw has been tightened, and foam has been added to the rear cavity. The nut is not the problem since the sound persists even when a capo is placed. The problem slightly decreased when the height was raised to about 2.5 mm, which is already high within the PRS recommendations. I think flattening the saddle groove could solve the issue, but the guitar was purchased two months ago. I complained at the store, and they mentioned it might be an adjustment issue, but that the adjustment would be at my expense and not guaranteed. They also said that if it doesn't work, the frets might need leveling or the bridge might need changing, which would also be at my cost. This leads me to believe that the technicians at the store have no clue what could be happening, and since I’m not a certified technician, they think my adjustment is wrong, when in reality, the guitar plays wonderfully and doesn’t buzz on the other strings. I also find it unfair to mention that perhaps changing the bridge will make the problem go away, but that this wouldn’t be covered under warranty. The store offers one year of warranty on PRS, and I’ve only had the guitar for two months. The situation is becoming more complicated than it should be, but I requested to speak with the person in charge, hoping for a fair solution that doesn’t involve changing components in a NEW guitar.
 
Chipuk700 said:
Thank you for responding. I think the problem might be what you mentioned. Everything has been adjusted thoroughly and with different parameters, every screw has been tightened, and foam has been added to the rear cavity. The nut is not the problem since the sound persists even when a capo is placed. The problem slightly decreased when the height was raised to about 2.5 mm, which is already high within the PRS recommendations. I think flattening the saddle groove could solve the issue, but the guitar was purchased two months ago. I complained at the store, and they mentioned it might be an adjustment issue, but that the adjustment would be at my expense and not guaranteed. They also said that if it doesn't work, the frets might need leveling or the bridge might need changing, which would also be at my cost. This leads me to believe that the technicians at the store have no clue what could be happening, and since I’m not a certified technician, they think my adjustment is wrong, when in reality, the guitar plays wonderfully and doesn’t buzz on the other strings. I also find it unfair to mention that perhaps changing the bridge will make the problem go away, but that this wouldn’t be covered under warranty. The store offers one year of warranty on PRS, and I’ve only had the guitar for two months. The situation is becoming more complicated than it should be, but I requested to speak with the person in charge, hoping for a fair solution that doesn’t involve changing components in a NEW guitar.
Click to expand...
If it’s under warranty, there is also the option of returning the instrument, since it is not performing properly and they can’t fix it.
 
theDeepender said:
If it’s under warranty, there is also the option of returning the instrument, since it is not performing properly and they can’t fix it.
Click to expand...
I tried to apply the warranty, but the store told me that they couldn't apply it since I adjusted the guitar, which I don't think is fair. A height adjustment is essential maintenance, PRS includes the keys for you to do it yourself. Unfortunately in my country there is no specialized PRS service center, so I am alone, although I managed to convince them to check the guitar and verify that it is not a problem of adjustment, and I can change it for another, since I bought it with an excellent discount.
Alnus Rubra said:
What are your pickup heights set to?

I had issue with a non PRS guitar that was making “sitar” like harmonics, which all stemmed from the pickups too close to the strings.
Click to expand...
It is not a problem of adjustment, I have tried everything, the guitar is adjusted as recommended by PRS on their website. I showed the noise to my production teacher, he has a very trained ear, he says it sounds like bouncing a piece of metal, but it doesn't seem to be a fretting noise.
 
Bouncing on metal is a good habit. Metal saves lifes.
Kidding. As I said, I assume it's the neck's tension. Did an expert check the trussrod?
Other than that it could be rattling of tuners, when screws and washers aren't tight.
Aswell the saddles. Check every screw.
 
Maertl513 said:
Bouncing on metal is a good habit. Metal saves lifes.
Kidding. As I said, I assume it's the neck's tension. Did an expert check the trussrod?
Other than that it could be rattling of tuners, when screws and washers aren't tight.
Aswell the saddles. Check every screw.
Click to expand...
Yes, according to the technician he checked everything, but I have my doubts about the quality of the technicians' work.
According to him, everything seems to be in order and it seems that the guitar does not have any defect that prevents its correct functioning, they blame the adjustment and the string gauge, but when they delivered the guitar to me it still had that sound, besides they forgot to check the tuner screws, they were loose and I had to tighten them.
It seems that they don't want to dedicate the time to my instrument to verify where the noise is coming from.
They want to charge me to look for the problem, but even they don't know where to start and they told me something like "it's good to invest in your guitar, if what it needs is a new bridge maybe it's a good idea to invest in one". Sounds like someone doesn't want to do their job right
 
Chipuk700 said:
I tried to apply the warranty, but the store told me that they couldn't apply it since I adjusted the guitar, which I don't think is fair. A height adjustment is essential maintenance, PRS includes the keys for you to do it yourself. Unfortunately in my country there is no specialized PRS service center, so I am alone, although I managed to convince them to check the guitar and verify that it is not a problem of adjustment, and I can change it for another, since I bought it with an excellent discount.
Click to expand...
Wait, that sounds crazy. A new guitar bought from a PRS dealer absolutely is still under warranty despite any set-up related adjustments made to it. Now if you had pulled out and replaced all the electronics, hardware and bridge - then maybe the warranty is gone. But that's obviously not the case. Sounds like the store is screwing you here. I'd suggest contacting PRS customer service directly and let them know the situation, see what they have to say
 
Hi all again, finally the store managed to call a PRS technician, he checked the guitar and we compared it with some Fender and Grestch, they all had almost the same harmonics. We noticed that on mine the harmonics were more present, but he said it was a matter of the pickups and the unique properties of the guitar.
I couldn't do anything else, after the demonstration I couldn't make the warranty valid.
I watched some video demos of my own guitar and others, many of them have equally strong harmonics, but the PRS I listened to had almost no harmonics. Hopefully some forum user can verify the existence of these harmonics in their own guitars and share with me their conclusions.
The bad thing, I don't feel comfortable with the guitar and since it apparently doesn't have any defects, I couldn't get an exchange, the good thing, since I bought it with a good discount, I can sell it for almost the same price it cost me.
 
I had a similar issue with my prs se custom 24. It happened when I had the action lowered and changed string guage to 10s.
I traced the strange harmonic to the springs and put sponge into the cavity and it fixed it Worth a try. Hope it helps.
 
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