What Would You Do?

FDHog

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May 18, 2022
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Went to put strap locks on my 1 day old Core McCarty and when I removed the button on the butt, I found an enlarged hole with what appears to be a plug insert. Not really happy about this on a $5K guitar. Already sent a pic to PRS and waiting on a reply.

BTW, here she is hanging next to my 59 Reissue
 
I can’t really see the plug but, damn! Why’s that down to the wood underneath that button? Did it get dropped of something?
 
Hmm I guess I could deal with it if a partial refund was given. Dowels are commonly used to repair strap button holes. But jezz looks like it was rushed idk. If you like the guitar maybe work something out. Good luck anyway and welcome to the forum. And just my two cents as other opinions will differ. Why install strap locks that are made of multiple parts which can and do fail as opposed do using a strap and a strap button no moving parts here lol. I would never suggest this with any other brand than PRS by far and away the best strap buttons ever made. I buy and put them on other brands!
 
Went to put strap locks on my 1 day old Core McCarty and when I removed the button on the butt, I found an enlarged hole with what appears to be a plug insert. Not really happy about this on a $5K guitar. Already sent a pic to PRS and waiting on a reply.

BTW, here she is hanging next to my 59 Reissue
They make them with the plug now at the factory. The reason is that they used to hang them from the strap hole for the spray booth, and if the hole got screwed up when they hung them, there were issues. They now make them with the plug so if the strap button hole is damaged, all they have to do is replace the dowel.

So now all of them get a dowel. There's a PRS finishing or final assembly video where you can see the dowel while the guitar is being completed. You can see the plug at about 04:41 in the video.


I have the same thing on my 2021 Artist Package Special Semi-Hollow. I asked my dealer and he called PRS.

In other words, it's factory-correct. It's not a bug.

They change their production technique from time to time,
 
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Willcutt Guitars is doing the right thing. Taking the guitar back and replacing it with a 594 same color. Neck is slightly different, but more like my 59 LP so I should be fine.
 
Willcutt Guitars is doing the right thing. Taking the guitar back and replacing it with a 594 same color. Neck is slightly different, but more like my 59 LP so I should be fine.
Depending on the date of manufacture, you may find the same plug on your 594.

One thing I'll say is that unless you're using a VERY thin strap, the stock buttons work great. I never change them out for strap locks. I've seen too many strap locks fail. Never had an issue with the stock buttons, and I've been using them since 1991.
 
Watched the video of the factory. Saw what you're talking about. Decided to keep it. The neck is just right and don't want to mess with changing it. Some of the finish must've come off under the button.
It interested me when my dealer told me about it after he called PRS, but it makes perfect sense when I think about it.

This way PRS doesn't have to toss a perfectly good guitar (and relatively valuable/rare wood) onto the garbage heap just because the hole was affected by the spray booth process.

With the scarcity of good tone woods becoming more of a thing, I think it's sensible.

I did not want to return the guitar! It sounds fantastic, plays well, and looks the business! But, like you, I was freaked out just a little.
 
Do you know that only male fireflies can fly?
I did not.

Did you know that FDR served martinis to the king and queen of England when they visited his home in New York, after saying that his mother would have preferred he served them tea, and the king responding that his mother would have said the same thing?

As a martini historian, I feel this is sublime.
 
Depending on the date of manufacture, you may find the same plug on your 594.

One thing I'll say is that unless you're using a VERY thin strap, the stock buttons work great. I never change them out for strap locks. I've seen too many strap locks fail. Never had an issue with the stock buttons, and I've been using them since 1991.

I second this. The only time I've ever had an issue with a PRS strap button was with a very thick strap that was brand new and extremely stiff. I couldn't get it to open up enough to go around the large flange of the button. I've never had a strap come off of a button. Of course, I'm not doing Cinderella/Steve Vai style guitar spins around my body. If I was doing that I'd probably want something more "locked in."
 
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