Does your PRS get muddy as you play up the neck?

[Johnny Q]

Ok, I thought I noticed this a while ago, but after playing my Custom 22 non-trem through various amps and with 2 pickup swaps and experimented with p'up height etc - I am convinced this is real. As I get further up the neck, aound the 7th fret the sound just gets "dead." If you palm mute it, the note just dies with a type of "thud." WTF??????

Anyone else have the same experience, and if not, what could cause this? As I mentioned before, its not the pickups, the height adjustments, strings, amps etc - all have been eliminated.

JQ

[Perry]

Are the frets the same height and shape from 7th upwards? I remember back in the 80's filing the frets on a guitar in the mistaken belief they were uneven and didn't re-shape them (round them off) afterwards. I totally killed the sustain :o

[Johnny Q]

Are the frets the same height and shape from 7th upwards? I remember back in the 80's filing the frets on a guitar in the mistaken belief they were uneven and didn't re-shape them (round them off) afterwards. I totally killed the sustain :oGood question - I will check that out.

[Johnny Q]

I dont see any abnormal frets, no high ones or unfinished ones. The relief in the neck looks ok too.

Anyone else - is this normal??

[JoeYello]

I know that sounds stupid ...........but how is the setup?

You mentioned that you adjusted the pup height, but what is the string height at various points on the neck?

From your description it sounds like the string is not vibrating properly past the 7th fret, do you notice the thud when not plugged in or only amplified?

[Johnny Q]

I know that sounds stupid ...........but how is the setup?

You mentioned that you adjusted the pup height, but what is the string height at various points on the neck?

From your description it sounds like the string is not vibrating properly past the 7th fret, do you notice the thud when not plugged in or only amplified?
Its noticeable when unplugged, but only because I know its there (if that makes any sense at all) its really noticeable through an amp, especially with gain. It did this with my original DII p'ups and also subsequent pickup swaps, so its not the p'ups or height (I experimented w/ this). I will say it got worse when I switched to the Duncan JB, but maybe it was just more pronounced because the JB to me always sounded muddy on the bass strings.

The setup looks fine, I didnt measure it but it looks like the neck has the proper relief. Frets look find too.

JQ

[JoeYello]

String height?

[Johnny Q]

String height?
medium low action, no buzzes or "fret out" Stock 009's on it. Basically the factory settings.