PRS SE Zac Meyer dead 3 string

[djhblues]

Hey guys, need some advice. I just picked up a PRS SE Zac Meyer ( don't know who he is) from a friend who doesn't play but had this guitar. Upgraded USA '57/08 pickups, CTS Pots and some other upgrades were already done to the guitar. The guitar played great, sounded great and the price was really good so I grabbed it. Anyway, I decided to re-string and polish the frets because the strings were still the original according to my friend. Here's where it goes south- now the g string is dead up and down the neck. Sounds all muffled, no ringing. I blame it on polishing the frets, and I can't figure it out. I nut-sauced the nut and the bridge, and still no luck. Driving me nuts. So did polishing the frets do this? Is the nut or truss rod now out of whack? Your advice would be appreciated . Thanks!

 

[Si G X]

Hard to say from your description ... but polished frets are a good thing.

only thing I can think of is that the nut slot was cut too deep on the G string and there was something in the slot (A temporary bodge) that fell out when you changed the strings, so now the G string is too low and hitting the frets.

.. or it's just a faulty string, unlikely but possible.

If all the other strings are as before, then it can't be the truss rod.

 

[djhblues]

Thats what I'm thinking. I did swap the string, thinking it was faulty And of course, I messed with the truss rod, so I hope I didn't mess things up. Not really comfortable doing that. I could add a little something in the slot to see if that changes anything. Thanks!

 

[Si G X]

Thats what I'm thinking. I did swap the string, thinking it was faulty And of course, I messed with the truss rod, so I hope I didn't mess things up. Not really comfortable doing that. I could add a little something in the slot to see if that changes anything. Thanks!

I know it's difficult if you aren't sure what you are looking for, but does the string look visibly lower or closer to the frets than the others?

 

[corliss1]

If it's "up and down the neck" it is more likely to be a bridge issue, since a nut problem would only be relevant on the open G note.

 

[alpinewhite]

Did you change string gauge when you put new strings on?

 

[djhblues]

Did you change string gauge when you put new strings on?

No- 10-46 D'Addario. Thinking it was the nut slot was too low, I tried a piece of paper underneath the string at the nut. Didn't help.

 

[schmee]

-HOW did you "POLISH" the frets?
-Put a capo on the first fret. If it still is a dead string when you play it, ...ignore anything to do with the nut! (you already said up and down the neck)
-How much relief is in the neck when it's capo'd at fret 1 and fretted at fret 15? Or more clearly: ...is there a gap at about fret 8 between the fret and string?
-Is the G string under a string tree if there is one?
-Have you adjusted the bridge radius for the strings individually? is that string sitting too low?

Sounds like you need a fret rocker maybe...

pics of nut and bridge...

 

[djhblues]

I used 000 steel wool
The string is still dead after using a capo at the first fret, no string tree

Sliding a sheet of paper when capoing at fret 1, paper is very tight at the fret 8; farther down the neck not as much resistance; putting a straight edge on the frets, I don't feel any rocking, but I think I may have polished the frets unevenly?

 

[Paul G.]

Your bridge pickup is way too high, the magnet is probably damping the motion of the string.

Hold your low E string down at the last fret. Set the height of the bass side of the pickup to 3/32" away from the string. Hold your high E string down at the last fret. Set the height of the treble side of the pickup to 1/16" away from the string.

Do the same with the neck pickup, only 5/32" bass side, 1/8" treble side. Now fine tune the height of the neck pickup to balance in volume with the bridge. You'll be pretty close with my starting measurements.

I'll bet once those pickups are where they belong, your strings will ring out true.

 

[1 21 gigawatts]

Can you raise the saddle? Edit: Just looked at the photos. You'd have to raise the whole bridge on that type.

 

[Paul G.]

Are those locking tuners? If yes, fine. If not, those strings need to be wound correctly, at least 1-1/2 full turns on wound strings, 3-4 full turns on unwound.

 

[Paul G.]

You might want to do a setup. With a capo on the first fret, depress the string at the 12th fret. You should have about .006" clearance at the 8th fret. If it's more, then you need to tighten the truss rod (7mm wrench) in 1/8 turn increments. If it's less, then you need to loosen the rod in 1/8 turn increments. Once you have a reasonable relief, set your action.

With no capo, set the action at the 12th fret to .060" on the bass, .050" on the treble. Fret the guitar from the 12th fret up, and make sure the string doesn't buzz or choke. If it does, raise the bridge slightly until it frets cleanly.

Now, check for buzz on frets 1-7. If they fret cleanly, good. If there is buzzing, add a bit of relief (loosen rod slightly). Once the relief and action are good, make sure your pickups are at the right height (see my post above).

 

[djhblues]

Thanks to all for all the tips and recommendations. I took it to my local luthier. After playing it a bit, he loosened the string and filed the slot a bit and re-setted the string. Problem solved...and no charge.
Thanks Paul, and I will use your set up recommendations as well, since I did fool with the truss rod.

 

[djhblues]

I should clarify- at the bridge, not the nut

 

[djhblues]

If it's "up and down the neck" it is more likely to be a bridge issue, since a nut problem would only be relevant on the open G note.

You were correct- it was in the bridge. Luthier looked at the g slot on the bridge, filed it a bit, and everything is good. Funny how it didn't show up until I changed the string. Thanks