Guitar Setup

[eventide_awakening]

so i've searched the guitar forum for a clear answer to this question, but haven't found anything really concrete. i trust the answers in this forum a lot more than what a random google search produces. harmony central-though very diversified-is pretty much a joke for real answers.

i recently purchased a prs ce22...bolt-on neck, tremolo...i think that's all the important facts about it...no modifications. i did add the extra spring on the bridge to pull it down so it would not move as much ( i did this with my santana se and it helped hold the tuning ) i never use the tremolo...but i loved the guitar, so i got it...maybe one day i'll use it.

however, this guitar will NOT hold a tuning well at all. the top three strings G,B,e are constantly going SHARP...rarely will they fall flat. until i added the extra spring it would take maybe 10-30 seconds before something was knocked out. now it happens after about 1-3 minutes...if it was going flat it would make more sense to me, but sharp? is this natural to anyone out there? I have set the action and then the intonation. The strings are the original custom-made-for-PRS 0.009s...and i'm going to put a bigger gage on it because i play a whole step down...i'm hoping that my low tuning is the issue.

I have heard some other ce model owners say that the tuning pegs are of the devil and have caused them issues, but i've also heard nothing but praises from other owners. then again, i didn't find any of that on this forum.

I don't believe there's an issue with the neck that would require a truss rod adjustment, but i wouldn't rule it out.

So my question is, what else could i be missing here? I'm not expecting a magical answer that would solve all my problems, but i just want to know what else i could look into in order to progress towards a guitar that holds its tune.

thanks in advance guys!

 

[edgarallanpoe]

Try putting some Chapstick or Big Bends Nut Sauce in the nut slots. Strings going sharp are normally an indication of binding at the nut.

 

[AustinK]

+1 to the nut binding

That is what i first thought.

 

[wastoid]

Try putting some Chapstick or Big Bends Nut Sauce in the nut slots. Strings going sharp are normally an indication of binding at the nut.

Don't laugh at this either, if it's the first time you heard of doing it. It sounds pretty ridiculous but it's actually what pro guitar techs use.

Here's a reference (text search the page for "chapstick"): http://www.ibanezrules.com/new/setup_trem.htm

 

[eventide_awakening]

ok...i've heard of the nut causing a bind before...never had an issue with it though. i've heard of using a pencil to put some graphite in the slots, never chapstick...but hey, i've got some of that in my pocket...i'll give it a try tonight before practice.

thanks guys, i'll let you know what happens.

 

[mikey383]

+1 to the nut.

It sounds like there's a burr in the nut somewhere, most likely at the fret end of it, and it's catching the string.

Maybe try taking a nut file to the nut very, very carefully. Like one small pass, and that should help. Or try running a string through the slot back and forth a few times. That should break it loose.

 

[eventide_awakening]

thanks for the help and suggestions guys.

i tried the chapstick last night, and it seemed to work. didn't lose my tuning during practice.

i'll check it in a few days (gonna be out of town ) and see if it helped it in the long run...speaking of the long run, is this a real long-term fix? or will i have to file down the nut slot?

 

[Rocky]

You probalby dont want to b e filing the nut slot down...just clean it up a little. Think of it as a cleanup.

If you have to ask all these questions you should be heading to a tech.

 

[eventide_awakening]

You probalby dont want to b e filing the nut slot down...just clean it up a little. Think of it as a cleanup.

If you have to ask all these questions you should be heading to a tech.

yes, i didn't really mean filing it down in that sense...bad choice of words on my part.

i've never really done much guitar setup/maintenance before due to the fact that i had a tech do it all on my old guitar. however the tech is no longer around and there's a real shortage of music stores in my area. so i'd like to learn how to do the 'simple' stuff and how to diagnose what the problems are...i've been doing plenty of reading online recently, but i like to double-check myself to ensure that i'm not misinformed. if the truss rod needs adjustment, then that's definitely something that i will have a tech do...but if it's just the intonation or obstruction in the nut, then i believe that'd be easy enough to handle...and so far, it has been.

you guys have all been most helpful, and i thank you. it'd be nice if we could have a guitar setup FAQ made a 'sticky' in this (guitars) section of the boogie board.

 

[edgarallanpoe]

Adjusting the truss rod is a stupid easy thing to do. All it normally takes is a slight turn in either direction to get the neck where you want it. It seriously takes me *maybe* 30 seconds or 1min to adjust my truss rods. Setting the intonation is a much more difficult thing to do properly without a quality strobe tuner IMHO. The Peterson digital strobes are very good, but nothing like a quality strobe that a good tech will have.

Don't be afraid to try it, unless you are completely foolish and decide to make multiple turns of a truss, there isn't really anything you can damage. Just be careful and take things a quarter turn at a time until you get the hang of it.

Learning this is an invaluable skill. No tech can read your mind and set up a guitar for your tastes. Mess with it, and find out where *you* are comfortable, not where someone else *thinks* you will be comfortable.

On guitars with the truss at the headstock it goes as follows.

Turn to the right (tighten) to lower action and tighten the truss. This causes the neck to backbow. Most people like for it to have a slight backbow.

If the guitar is buzzing then you have taken the neck too far back and need a little adjustment. You then loosen the truss slightly until the action becomes comfortable.

If buzzing persists, then you probably have a fret issue and *then* you take it to a tech.

I do all of the basic set-ups on all of my guitars. I enjoy it and I have it down to a science. Good luck and have fun. DONT BE AFRAID OF THE **** GUITAR!!!!!!!! LOL!!!!