Guitar setup question, or how did I screw stuff up so bad..

Louddog

Louddog

Member
I got a guitar from AIO/Wolf for Xmas from my wife and son. It's the PRS knockoff. Absolutely beautiful. The action on it was fantastic. I have played for decades and this was my 20th guitar. It quickly became my #1, because it played so fricking good.
Then i changed strings. Same gauge, and the high E, B, and G strings were dead, wouldn't ring out at all. So i raised the action, problem solved, but the action is almost unplayable in the high register.. What the hell did i do??

thanks for any insight
Doug
 
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Yes, i know. But when i change strings, i remove the bridge and clean the whole guitar, and that sometimes means things get changed. I have actual pictures of the guitar when i got it and the bridge is physically lower than i can adjust it to now without the problem.
 
Logic would tend to indicate that the new strings are not, in fact, the same gauges as the old strings. Go to youtube and check through Music is Win videos or Darrell Braun guitar videos on how to set truss rod tension and string height. Also, if you reversed the bridge it can cause weirdness.
 
Gtoboy said:
Logic would tend to indicate that the new strings are not, in fact, the same gauges as the old strings. Go to youtube and check through Music is Win videos or Darrell Braun guitar videos on how to set truss rod tension and string height. Also, if you reversed the bridge it can cause weirdness.
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I was going to say maybe he reversed the bridge.
 
If you went significantly lighter in gauge, you could have lost the proper relief which can cause strings to lay on the frets. The neck becomes too flat, or can even get a backbow.

Reversing the bridge will show up immediately with intonation problems. Check those two things first.
 
A reversed bridge could be a problem, but strings sitting on the first fret does suggest a big change in string gauge.

Based on what's been done and not understood, the only advice I'd offer is to take it to a good tech and have it set up properly with a common, known set of strings appropriate for the guitar and style you want to play. Always buy that same set, and change them one at a time.
 
keith.rogers said:
known set of strings appropriate for the guitar and style you want to play. Always buy that same set, and change them one at a time.
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Yeah, going to thicker gauges without the proper tuning is gonna ruin the nut.

Like , most guitars for standard tuning are set up with 9's or 10's.

If you are not gonna drop tune , thicker strings are useless.
 
Ok...so you're sure the new set is the same gauge as the old one. That has to eliminate the strings. As for the bridge.......unless you took measurements prior to removal you can't tell 100% from a pic how the old one was set. But....lets assume the pic is correct. Assuming you did nothing with or to the nut....I suspect that your truss rod may have loosened or may not have have ever been adjust properly....perhaps with little or no tension. When you completely released all tension on the neck the truss rod nut might have had a problem or have never been tightened to begin with. That being said....it is still strange that the strings rest on the first fret. You'd think they would buzz further up the neck.

So.....see if you can make adjustments to the truss rod. See if it's loose and not working. You only need to make small adjustments to see if it's engaged.

Mick

PS: As keith r says above......change your strings one at a time. The guitar was brand new in December. Not real likely that the nut got worn and assuming the new strings were the same guage.....such a drastic change in fretting should not have happened.
 
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thanks for the help guys. I am going to change strings again. See if i can lower action.
I, in fact, gave the neck some relief and that did help some.
Unless the factory lied about what gauge they put on, i use 9-42 and thats what supposedly was on the guitar.
I have been playing 45 yrs and have 20 guitars. I adjust action, truss rods, etc. on all of them and they all play as well as each of them are capable of. i am far from an expert, but i have been doing this long enough to, well, post a question on a forum to see if i was missing something stupid because i do stupid shit all the time.
 
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