Post by slartibartfarst42 on Jul 10, 2014 19:49:53 GMT
I first tried a PRS SE Custom 24 years ago and fell in love with it instantly so what makes them so good?
Body
It's your typical PRS double cut body so no real surprises. In some ways it sits between a Strat and a Les Paul in that it has the double cut design of a Strat but woods and boad tonal feel of a Les Paul. The body is mahogany with a maple cap and quilted maple veneer so certainly very much into Les Paul territory. I've owned two of these: a quilted vintage yellow with a red back and a quilted purple with a black back. They're both beautiful looking guitars and always gets very appreciative comments. The finish is really excellent and I don't mean just for the price. The finish on this guitar stands up to any guitar I've ever played up to £1000 and even a bit beyond. It is surprisingly light for a mahogany guitar and the lower horn is sculptured so that upper fret access is easy and comfortable. My first CU24 was a flat top, which I initially thought was rather uncomfortable but after a month or so with it, the comfort was fine. My current CU24 has the newer bevelled top which is a bit more comfortable from the outset.
Neck
This is a very comfortable guitar to play. The neck doesn't feel as small as many Jackson or Ibanez guitars but it is still a slim and fast neck and I had no trouble adjusting at all having come from those brands. In actual fact, after a while I found I preferred it and the PRS now has my favourite neck. It's hard to describe because the PRS neck feels different to any other guitar neck I've tried but it is comfortable to play and easy to adapt to even when playing some complex lead. The neck is beautifully set into the body and the cutaways are so far up the neck that it's astonishingly easy to play at the dusty end of the fretboard. Coming to the PRS from two neck-thru guitars caused me no issues at all and for the most part there was no practical difference. The rosewood fretboard is of excellent quality and the bird inlays are fantastic. I like the neck on this guitar so much that I eventually sold my Japanese Jackson Soloist and bought anothjer PRS SE Custom 24 instead. The action is low thanks to a good radius and excellent craftsmanship.
Controls
One tone and one volume control are well positioned and work very well. I'm not as happy with the positioning of the pickup selector on either version I've owned. The flat top design used a small toggle design positioned behind the bridge so that your hand has to reach over the tremelo, making quick pickup changes far more difficult than on a Strat or Les Paul. The bevelled top version moved it to what looked like more of a Strat position but it's still set too far back so the trem arm can get in the way. The reality is that Fender and Gibson have the best positions for selector switches so PRS shouldn't try to reinvent the wheel and just copy it. The tremelo system is a vintage style but I find it far superior to the ones used on Stratocasters. Quality is excellent and the action is smooth, fluid and controlled. For subtle stuff it's also better than the OFR that was on my Jackson which, in comparison, is like a sledgehammer. I suppose the OFR does what it does very well but if you need more subtlety, you'll find the PRS system better.
I've heard people talk about PRS SE tuners being terrible but on both my guitars, the tuning has remained rock solid and I have no intention of changing them.
Sound
This surprised me a bit. It's thick and organic, reminiscent of a Les Paul but doesn't quite have the richness or depth to the tone and certainly not the sustain. The stock pickups are HFS and VB and they're a lot more versatile than I expected. The pickups don't have the ultimate articulation specialist brands but they're decent enough for stock pickups. The HFS is ceramic yet it has all the organic warmth I usually would have associated with Alnico magnets. Even the cleans are surprisingly decent. Ultimately however, if you want your PRS to shine, you'll need to upgrade and fortunately, the guitar is well worth the effort. I've tried Bare Knuckle Holydivers (excellent), Bare Knuckle Crawlers (superb) and I currently use Classic '83 pups from The Creamery that are perfect.
Overall
You can buy a used one of these in superb condition for just a few hundred pounds and a new one is just over £600 and quite honestly, that's a complete steal because in terms of quality, I'd say it's worth close to twice that. If you want a double cut guitar that is beautifully made, easy to play, has incredible tone and will cover almost any style, I can't see you finding a better guitar than a PRS SE Custom 24. It's the only double cut I'd bother with these days.
Body
It's your typical PRS double cut body so no real surprises. In some ways it sits between a Strat and a Les Paul in that it has the double cut design of a Strat but woods and boad tonal feel of a Les Paul. The body is mahogany with a maple cap and quilted maple veneer so certainly very much into Les Paul territory. I've owned two of these: a quilted vintage yellow with a red back and a quilted purple with a black back. They're both beautiful looking guitars and always gets very appreciative comments. The finish is really excellent and I don't mean just for the price. The finish on this guitar stands up to any guitar I've ever played up to £1000 and even a bit beyond. It is surprisingly light for a mahogany guitar and the lower horn is sculptured so that upper fret access is easy and comfortable. My first CU24 was a flat top, which I initially thought was rather uncomfortable but after a month or so with it, the comfort was fine. My current CU24 has the newer bevelled top which is a bit more comfortable from the outset.
Neck
This is a very comfortable guitar to play. The neck doesn't feel as small as many Jackson or Ibanez guitars but it is still a slim and fast neck and I had no trouble adjusting at all having come from those brands. In actual fact, after a while I found I preferred it and the PRS now has my favourite neck. It's hard to describe because the PRS neck feels different to any other guitar neck I've tried but it is comfortable to play and easy to adapt to even when playing some complex lead. The neck is beautifully set into the body and the cutaways are so far up the neck that it's astonishingly easy to play at the dusty end of the fretboard. Coming to the PRS from two neck-thru guitars caused me no issues at all and for the most part there was no practical difference. The rosewood fretboard is of excellent quality and the bird inlays are fantastic. I like the neck on this guitar so much that I eventually sold my Japanese Jackson Soloist and bought anothjer PRS SE Custom 24 instead. The action is low thanks to a good radius and excellent craftsmanship.
Controls
One tone and one volume control are well positioned and work very well. I'm not as happy with the positioning of the pickup selector on either version I've owned. The flat top design used a small toggle design positioned behind the bridge so that your hand has to reach over the tremelo, making quick pickup changes far more difficult than on a Strat or Les Paul. The bevelled top version moved it to what looked like more of a Strat position but it's still set too far back so the trem arm can get in the way. The reality is that Fender and Gibson have the best positions for selector switches so PRS shouldn't try to reinvent the wheel and just copy it. The tremelo system is a vintage style but I find it far superior to the ones used on Stratocasters. Quality is excellent and the action is smooth, fluid and controlled. For subtle stuff it's also better than the OFR that was on my Jackson which, in comparison, is like a sledgehammer. I suppose the OFR does what it does very well but if you need more subtlety, you'll find the PRS system better.
I've heard people talk about PRS SE tuners being terrible but on both my guitars, the tuning has remained rock solid and I have no intention of changing them.
Sound
This surprised me a bit. It's thick and organic, reminiscent of a Les Paul but doesn't quite have the richness or depth to the tone and certainly not the sustain. The stock pickups are HFS and VB and they're a lot more versatile than I expected. The pickups don't have the ultimate articulation specialist brands but they're decent enough for stock pickups. The HFS is ceramic yet it has all the organic warmth I usually would have associated with Alnico magnets. Even the cleans are surprisingly decent. Ultimately however, if you want your PRS to shine, you'll need to upgrade and fortunately, the guitar is well worth the effort. I've tried Bare Knuckle Holydivers (excellent), Bare Knuckle Crawlers (superb) and I currently use Classic '83 pups from The Creamery that are perfect.
Overall
You can buy a used one of these in superb condition for just a few hundred pounds and a new one is just over £600 and quite honestly, that's a complete steal because in terms of quality, I'd say it's worth close to twice that. If you want a double cut guitar that is beautifully made, easy to play, has incredible tone and will cover almost any style, I can't see you finding a better guitar than a PRS SE Custom 24. It's the only double cut I'd bother with these days.
