Wired Wrong with Super High Action

[Sculptair]

I'm searching for a new guitar and love everything I have learned about PRS Custom 24s. So I played a couple of 10-top $4100 ones today. The first one was noisy as hell on all switch positions including the bridge pickup. I estimated the low E string height at the 12th fret at over 3 fender heavy pick thicknesses. It was hard to play and I could not get a tone that I liked on either high or low gain settings. The salesman said that they received a batch of PRS's that were wired wrong and that this could be fixed by their tech. He also said that the string height could be adjusted for playability. How can this be!? Every video I see or review I read about the PRS custom 24s describes a rigorous quality control check that occurs before the guitars leave the factory in perfect playing condition. The second Custom 24 I tried did not have the same noise problem and sounded much better with low gain. But it too was hard to play as it's action was about three fender heavy picks. Does any of this sound right to you guys?

 

[Green Manalishi]

Doesn't sound right to me. If it was GC I wouldn't let any of my guitars near their techs.

 

[WeFixFlats]

"The salesman said that they received a batch of PRS's that were wired wrong and that this could be fixed by their tech.." So the store, once they knew this, didn't send the guitars back to PRS but decided to retail them at MAP anyway?...This is complete, utter, and total BS. I would call this an unethical business practice...Run away, quickly...

 

[toothace]

Does any of this sound right to you guys?

Not a word of it.

 

[bodia]

Not a word of it.

This.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

This.

That.

 

[AP515]

.... The salesman said that they received a batch of PRS's that were wired wrong and that this could be fixed by their tech...

And we know that music store salesmen are paragons of truth and virtue...

 

[dogrocketp]

My younger son works at Guitar Center. They wouldn’t allow this. Someone is lying.

 

[HANGAR18]

When you retrieved the Neconomicon, did you recite the words? Did you speak them exactly?

 

[garrett]

This.

That.

Find a better dealer.

 

[gush]

That.

There

 

[Wakester]

There

Then

 

[Tag]

I'm searching for a new guitar and love everything I have learned about PRS Custom 24s. So I played a couple of 10-top $4100 ones today. The first one was noisy as hell on all switch positions including the bridge pickup. I estimated the low E string height at the 12th fret at over 3 fender heavy pick thicknesses. It was hard to play and I could not get a tone that I liked on either high or low gain settings. The salesman said that they received a batch of PRS's that were wired wrong and that this could be fixed by their tech. He also said that the string height could be adjusted for playability. How can this be!? Every video I see or review I read about the PRS custom 24s describes a rigorous quality control check that occurs before the guitars leave the factory in perfect playing condition. The second Custom 24 I tried did not have the same noise problem and sounded much better with low gain. But it too was hard to play as it's action was about three fender heavy picks. Does any of this sound right to you guys?

The noise issue makes zero sense. The action just needed to be lowered and should have been set correctly if the guitar was hanging on the wall. However, I just purchased three new 594s from 3 different parts of the country, and they all arrived with mile high action. Simple adjustment as they are stop tails, but the truss rods needed to be adjusted as well, which is still simple, but a bit harder. Oddly though, one of them actually needed to have a fret dressing to get the actuon low enough. These are the only 3 PRSs that I have ever had this happen with, out of over 20 PRS guitars, and I love all three of them. A bit disappointed in the three set ups however, and again from three of the largest PRS dealers. Strange.

 

[HANGAR18]

I'm searching for a new guitar and love everything I have learned about PRS Custom 24s. So I played a couple of 10-top $4100 ones today. The first one was noisy as hell on all switch positions including the bridge pickup. I estimated the low E string height at the 12th fret at over 3 fender heavy pick thicknesses. It was hard to play and I could not get a tone that I liked on either high or low gain settings. The salesman said that they received a batch of PRS's that were wired wrong and that this could be fixed by their tech. He also said that the string height could be adjusted for playability. How can this be!? Every video I see or review I read about the PRS custom 24s describes a rigorous quality control check that occurs before the guitars leave the factory in perfect playing condition. The second Custom 24 I tried did not have the same noise problem and sounded much better with low gain. But it too was hard to play as it's action was about three fender heavy picks. Does any of this sound right to you guys?

What amp? What store? What condition was the cord? Any effects pedals in the signal chain? Would you agree to an FBI investigation?

 

[shimmilou]

As far as miswired, I can see that happening, and it not being noticed by anyone but the end user. Namely, for example, if an S2 Studio was wired with the bridge pup on all the time, it might not be readily apparent unless you spend a fair amount of time with the guitar before you confirm it. Normal testing of the guitar, trying each switch position to confirm sound in each position, wouldn't necessarily reveal the miswiring in a case like this.

 

[Rider1260]

My New CU 22 Special Semi Hollow came to me set up really well, I still adjusted it to 100% my set up,.
My 305 and KL-33 needed nothing setup wise.
Most guitars I get need a SMALL adjustment to get them playing exactly the way I like them.
As far as that dealer goes I would be less than confident but if they would adjust it then let you try before you buy whats the harm.
I often wonder why dealers hang poorly adjusted guitars up, when I grab a guitar and it plays killer it makes me grab my wallet faster !!!!

 

[dcm_guitar]

Sounds odd to me; not impossible but it does seem very, very odd.

FWIW, I din't like the stock PRS setup. Guitar is a personal thing, and factory setups are, by necessity, a compromise. Every guitar I buy needs a setup, and that's expected.

 

[HANGAR18]

I'm tempted to invoke.. the word....

 

[László]

You were absolutely lied to, OP.

But it’s possible that a guitar hanging in a store needs a setup simply due to changes in seasonal humidity, etc.

I’ve bought lots and lots of new PRSes, they’ve all been very playable right out of the box, but every so often I want one set up differently.

 

[Bill SAS 513]

Yup...dealers should adjust action accordingly, especially if the guitars have been hanging a long time, and its that damned bad/high...like Les said, different temps/humidity can effect the action...
(I personally lower mine a little more than stock PRS action).As far as wiring, I would like to think that would be caught back in Stevensville, so I also call BS.