PRS McCarty string tension

[Mickey_C]

Don't know why this is... but there seems to be an inordinate amount of tension on the strings of my McCarty. I swapped strings to D'Addario Nines... no luck. Looking at the neck, there doesn't seem to be much relief.. and the action isn't particularly high.

Is this due to the stop tail? For some reason I thought the stop tail would have the opposite effect?

For comparison, no such issues with my JP LP CA, my Fender closet classic, my Charverl HRF.... just this guitar seems to be like playing on telephone cables, no matter what I am doing.

Any ideas on what to examine on this would be appreciated.

[cochese]

When I got my McCarty a few years ago I thought I could put .011's on it and have it feel the same as my Strats with .010's. Wrong. PRS tells you not to use .011's with the fixed bridge.

I find even with .010's and the shorter scale length the guitar still feels a little stiffer than my Strats. I've opted for .009-.46. The stop tail is part of it but if it still feels very stiff it could be the guitar might need some fret work. I use mainly Suhr's at the moment and even though I think PRS makes really nice production guitars their fret work is not in the same league as Suhr or Anderson. Fret work can really make or break any guitar.

I normally use .10's on all my guitars and sometimes .011's in standard tuning so the PRS doesn't bother me and I've become used to it. Do you use .010's or .009's for the most part? Anyway, have a good tech look at the frets. Hope that helps.

[Mickey_C]

Normally .10s. I guess I'm reading now that the bridge is intonated for .09s., anyway. But it still feels stiffer than my 10s on the other guitars. There was a time I thought PRS had incredible action. I guess I've been spoiled by all the custom shop stuff.

[cochese]

You might also want to factor in the size of the McCarty neck. I have small hands but still find it comfortable. I have a friend who has played PRS's over the years but he's a shredder and doesn't care for the size of the neck.

I have found that if I spend a little more time with the guitars I'm not quite as comfortable playing I do get used to them. My Suhr classic has a 60's C slim maple board. I've never liked maple but like the sound but I now really enjoy playing it. When I worked at a music store years ago the manager there brought up a good point. Buying a guitar is like buying a pair of shoes. I have to agree. In a perfect world all guitars would come with a few different neck shapes. I've even ordered custom guitars with the same neck shape that don't feel the same. Even with CNC there are differences. My 2 cents.

Don't get discouraged. Try playing mainly the McCarty for the next few weeks and see if you still feel the same.

[Mickey_C]

Plays like butter now. Might have to get those 10's back on there!

I looked at the setup guide at the prs site. I had three times the relief they recommended for the guitar. I measured it as they stated and adjusted it.

Anyway, now the feel of it matches the sound. So, back to my honeymoon...