MojoPin
New Member
It's here! Had a quick play over lunch and really interesting comparing to my CE24. Playing feel is the immediate difference - never realised how much I preferred a thicker neck but my playing immediately feels neater and more controlled with the Pattern Regular over the Pattern Thin maple neck on the CE. I'll miss the satin feel of the maple a bit but the profile makes up for it.
Tonally, humbucker vs humbucker is pretty close - the 408 sounds a bit darker and richer, while the bridge 85/15 on the CE24 is a bit more treble focused, to the point where it sounds a little more "mix ready" when I'm playing through plugins. The neck humbucker on the 408 is streets ahead of the 85/15 though - much more balanced and clear especially with lots of gain.
The single coil tones though are the killer feature on the 408. Where my CE24 sounded like a weaker version of my Strat when split, the 408 has much more of its own voice and I'm really enjoying the mixed tones. They sound so much better with a bit of gain than the split 85/15s. The lack of volume drop off is so handy when recording too - no more adjusting the input levels every time I tap the pickups!
All of this is from about an hour's playtime but at the moment the 408 has made a great first impression. Adore the looks, too. It's far from a 10 top but I actually prefer the more subtle, never been a massive fan of flamed tops which is why my CE (all mahogany satin ltd model) appealed so much originally. This "lower grade" maple grain reminds me of a topographic map and I just love it. Tempted to switch out the nickel tuners for the faux-bone ones to match the ivory pickup rings though, think that might look nice.
Obligatory photo:
Tonally, humbucker vs humbucker is pretty close - the 408 sounds a bit darker and richer, while the bridge 85/15 on the CE24 is a bit more treble focused, to the point where it sounds a little more "mix ready" when I'm playing through plugins. The neck humbucker on the 408 is streets ahead of the 85/15 though - much more balanced and clear especially with lots of gain.
The single coil tones though are the killer feature on the 408. Where my CE24 sounded like a weaker version of my Strat when split, the 408 has much more of its own voice and I'm really enjoying the mixed tones. They sound so much better with a bit of gain than the split 85/15s. The lack of volume drop off is so handy when recording too - no more adjusting the input levels every time I tap the pickups!
All of this is from about an hour's playtime but at the moment the 408 has made a great first impression. Adore the looks, too. It's far from a 10 top but I actually prefer the more subtle, never been a massive fan of flamed tops which is why my CE (all mahogany satin ltd model) appealed so much originally. This "lower grade" maple grain reminds me of a topographic map and I just love it. Tempted to switch out the nickel tuners for the faux-bone ones to match the ivory pickup rings though, think that might look nice.
Obligatory photo:
