PRS custom 24 vs Suhr pro series

Ibanezer

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Hi guys, appreciate feedback which better as considering between these ( prs custom 24, Suhr modern/standard pro) as their similar in price.

I know suhr consider super strat, what about prs custom 24? Are they better or same class, i am wondering they consider strat (shape/sound)or others similar models.

Unfortunately not possible for testing around my area though, therefore hopefully can gather as much info as possible before decide.

Cheers.
 
Personally I think these are very different beasts. The Custom 24 is its own thing, its more unique and the Suhr is more like an expensive Ibanez so it depends on what you want/need. There are quite a few differences between the two inc the scale length and fretboard radius which can change the way it feels to play as well. That half an inch Scale length difference (25.5" on Suhr, 25" on PRS) plus the difference in fretboard radius - the Suhr has a compound radius 10-14" where as the PRS has a 10" radius make a difference in how it plays and feels let alone the difference in tones too

At the end of the day, go for whichever model suits your needs most.
 
I had both, sold the Suhr after a few months and I'll never sell my custom 24. The Suhr really didn't do anything for me, I didn't really care for the ssh+ in the bridge and it basically felt like any other strat to me. That said it's definitely a quality guitar but it didn't hold a candle to my custom 24.
 
Hi guys, appreciate feedback which better as considering between these ( prs custom 24, Suhr modern/standard pro) as their similar in price.

I know suhr consider super strat, what about prs custom 24? Are they better or same class, i am wondering they consider strat (shape/sound)or others similar models.

Unfortunately not possible for testing around my area though, therefore hopefully can gather as much info as possible before decide.

Cheers.

There’s no such thing as ‘better’ when it comes to instruments. There’s only ‘different’, so it’s a matter of what works best for you.

Neither one feels, plays, or sounds like the other. They’re constructed differently (it matters), made of different materials (that matters), have different bridges and hardware (that matters, too), have different neck carves, scale lengths, number of frets, and sport different electronics, and I could go on...it’s all a matter of preference.

So, what’s a better fruit, apples or oranges?
 
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There’s no such thing as ‘better’ when it comes to instruments. There’s only ‘different’, so it’s a matter of what works best for you.

I do disagree a bit with that opening statement as some guitars can very obviously be 'better' than others. The hardware, the construction and build quality, the finish, the materials used etc can make a musical instrument 'better'. Not just in tone, but in playability and longevity too - even whether the instrument stays in tune. If you want to use 'food', a high class restaurant that cooks you a high quality steak is a lot better than a McDonalds burger even if both are 'beef' or you could compare to AV equipment where the TV's audio is barely adequate but a soundbar is better but that's still not the same as a Dolby Atmos full surround set-up.

I do think though that when it comes to professional quality instruments, then its not which is 'better' but which you prefer. I am sure that the Suhr and PRS are using high quality materials and built to a high standard so neither is necessarily 'better' but they are very different instruments and as such, it is more like picking between apples or oranges. Its a bit like picking between Denon or Marantz for your AV.

Anyway, I think the point is that you can have 'better' instruments but when you are talking about guitars like PRS vs Suhr - both high quality instruments - then its just 'different'.
 
I have both (an S1 throwback) and agree with Les. Each is its own thing.

I wasn’t impressed initially with the SSH+ but learned to tweak the amp to get the mids tamed and now am happier with the tone. I still may swap it out for an SSV or a thornbucker. It’s a great playing strat and I don’t think I’m getting rid of either one anytime soon.
 
I do disagree a bit with that opening statement as some guitars can very obviously be 'better' than others. The hardware, the construction and build quality, the finish, the materials used etc can make a musical instrument 'better'.

I’ll disagree a bit here with an example. What’s a ‘better’ guitar, a Core PRS, or a ‘64 Junior?

Everything you said about better guitars would make the answer, “The PRS, of course.” And for my playing, I’d agree. All I play are PRSes. So if I want a great P-90 tone, I pick up my slick 594 Soapbar. I’ve played a lot of Juniors (and my son has that ‘64 that he cut a record with), and I know the difference.

But if I’m Les West instead of Les Schefman, the answer might be, “For what I do? The Junior. It’s more raw.” A Junior is better at being a Junior than a PRS is at being a Junior. So if you need that exact sound, which is the better guitar for you?

‘Better’ embodies a value judgment about what’s most important.

Context is everything.
 
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I'll echo Les that the instrument that you do play is not what is considered better or worse, but what works for you. I have PRS and Strats, I have owned Les Pauls and they did not work for me at all. My favourite guitar is my very well played and refinished 1993 CE24 with 59/09 in the neck andf 57/08 in the bridge. The CU22 and Strat I played for years gets left in the case as does the others. I'd also state that guitars reflect the minds of their creators. A good friend wanted a hybrid do anything guitar, we discussed PRS and Suhr. To me Suhr has always pursued a vision started with Pensa and his days as a masterbuilder at Fender, he then encompassed this into the guitars he builds now. I am quite keen to try the Pete Thorn model for myself, as I see this as the best guitar for me that follows the Super STrat ethos with a HH configuration. For now this is pure conjecture on my part as I have yet to try it.

The CU24, having owned and tried as many as I can, is hard to describe accurately. My friend Darryl and I discussed if this is a do anything guitar. I don't know, his ear is different to mine, he and his crazy dad live to collect vintage guitars. He plays a Gretsch alot that I am not enamoured with, he has a cool SRV Strat and a LP that is bearable. So how do I answer whether PRS or SUhr is better for him.... no idea - go play it, if you like it, buy it and play it some more.

(BTW Les - I am still trying to convince myself whether I opt to see if that 20th Anni PS is around or go the Special 22 HB)
 
I’ll disagree a bit here with an example. What’s a ‘better’ guitar, a Core PRS, or a ‘64 Junior?

Everything you said about better guitars would make the answer, “The PRS, of course.” And for my playing, I’d agree. All I play are PRSes. So if I want a great P-90 tone, I pick up my slick 594 Soapbar. I’ve played a lot of Juniors (and my son has that ‘64 that he cut a record with), and I know the difference.

But if I’m Les West instead of Les Schefman, the answer might be, “For what I do? The Junior. It’s more raw.” A Junior is better at being a Junior than a PRS is at being a Junior. So if you need that exact sound, which is the better guitar for you?

‘Better’ embodies a value judgment about what’s most important.

Context is everything.

Point I was making is that if you bought a cheap no brand 'guitar' that you may see in you local supermarket then that is in no way going to be better than a PRS. Its unlikely to have any 'decent' hardware, feel really awful to play and be lucky if it stays in tune with really cheap tuning pehs. The tone/volume (if it has them) will be cheap and probably won't work properly either, the frets certainly won't be rolled and lucky if they are even height. Bridge is likely to be a cheap alloy too.I doubt the neck will be good either and be lucky if it 'fits' well.

If you honestly thing that is just 'different' and not significantly worse than a PRS or Suhr, then so be it but I would argue that there are certain things that can be 'measured' in terms of 'better/worse'. Paul himself says a guitar that 'rings' for 45s is better than a guitar that rings for 5s.
 
Point I was making is that if you bought a cheap no brand 'guitar' that you may see in you local supermarket then that is in no way going to be better than a PRS. Its unlikely to have any 'decent' hardware, feel really awful to play and be lucky if it stays in tune with really cheap tuning pehs. The tone/volume (if it has them) will be cheap and probably won't work properly either, the frets certainly won't be rolled and lucky if they are even height. Bridge is likely to be a cheap alloy too.I doubt the neck will be good either and be lucky if it 'fits' well.

If you honestly thing that is just 'different' and not significantly worse than a PRS or Suhr, then so be it but I would argue that there are certain things that can be 'measured' in terms of 'better/worse'. Paul himself says a guitar that 'rings' for 45s is better than a guitar that rings for 5s.

‘Better’is a value judgment. It all depends on what your criteria are.

You can, of course, set any criteria you’d like. The supermarket guitar might be a better guitar for smashing up after a performance, if it breaks more easily than your PRS. If your criteria are “The best guitars splinter into tiny pieces more easily when I slam them against my amp,” who am I to say you’re wrong?

As in my earlier example, a ‘64 Junior might be a better guitar to play Mountain songs with.

If you want to play Nirvana stuff, and have it sound authentic, maybe the better guitar for that would be a Fender Mustang.

When you consider the question, “What’s the best shoe,” don’t you have to ask “What do you plan to do when you’re wearing the shoe?”

My sneakers aren’t made as well as my $485 Spanish cowboy boots, but they’re better for running. Lots better. ;)
 
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‘Better’is a value judgment. It all depends on what your criteria are.

You can, of course, set any criteria you’d like. The supermarket guitar might be a better guitar for smashing up after a performance, if it breaks more easily than your PRS. If your criteria are “The best guitars splinter into tiny pieces more easily when I slam them against my amp,” who am I to say you’re wrong?

As in my earlier example, a ‘64 Junior might be a better guitar to play Mountain songs with.

If you want to play Nirvana stuff, and have it sound authentic, maybe the better guitar for that would be a Fender Mustang.

My sneakers aren’t made as well as my $485 Spanish cowboy boots, but they’re better for running. Lots better. ;)

Well I guess... but then if your only criteria is to smash a guitar then yes, a cheap supermarket one is much better - but as a musical instrument, you would be hard pressed to find a 'worse' guitar. I assumed we were talking about items actually being used for the purpose they were built for and as a musical instrument, there are better guitars than others. There are better sneakers than others too for running and specialist ones for track or cross country but you wouldn't want to go running in some 'cheap' sneakers that aren't built to a decent standard to offer some shock absorption or you may end up doing more harm to yourself or find they fall to bits. If you were 'serious' about running, you would buy a proper pair of running sneakers, built for the task and offering the right shock absorption. You may want to specialise in cross country or track or get something built to your specific needs - which will be better than some generic fashion sneaker for the task.

Nobody would argue that a Stradivarius is the 'best' violin, the ultimate. Guitars are more varied as you have much more variation but you can still have better quality hardware, build, pick-ups, strings, frets etc. Certain aspects are down to personal preference like tone, scale length, neck carve etc but you can still have Strat's that are 'better' than others because they are better made, better hardware etc which makes them 'better' instruments even though they are all 'strats' with the same neck carve, scale length etc. How the manufacturer treats the wood can make better instruments too - whether its cured properly if at all.

I was coming at this from the point of view that most people would be buying a guitar as a musical instrument - not something that they intend to smash on stage. Obviously a good Strat is going to be different from a good Les Paul but both can still be built as a musical instrument and to similar standards with similar quality hardware and each is 'different' and each has its place but you can buy better Strats/P's than others too
 
Thanks all for the info, i have checked custom 24 its with black back, how i wish its with natural back originally. And that will be a beauty, as i think whenever painted black their hiding something haha.
 
The obvious answer is to buy both, obviously :)

I have 5 PRSs, one Les Paul and one Strat, coincidentally a Suhr Pro HSS. In my Suhr I have DiMarzio area pickups in the neck and middle and a Bareknuckle Crawler in the bridge. It's a great guitar and when I want to play a Strat, it's perfect for that and none of my PRSs come close to that Strat thing with coil splits or taps. That said - the Suhr and my Les Paul are the two guitars that gets the least play time in my collection.
 
Mozzi,

Nice triumvirate of guitars I see you have - what do you like about each?

Thank-you - I think its the 'holy trinity' of Guitars.

To keep it brief as this is a bit off topic - First off, the 594 is my vintage Les Paul guitar - the feel and the sound of it is just something else. Next, the 509 is my 'super-strat' that offers strat/tele type tones and finally the Custom 24 is my traditional PRS that sits somewhere in between.
 
Suhr's build quality is great, on par with PRS core. But the lower horn on the modern (the only suhr i have) is way too narrow. Compared to the Custom 24, whose access is on a different level, playability just doesn't match up.

Of course, the suhr does have stainless frets and a flatter radius, which does affect playbility alot. If and when PRS decides to offer those on its core line, oh my...my wallet's gonna be empty.
 
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Suhr's build quality is great, on par with PRS core. But the lower horn on the modern (the only suhr i have) is way too narrow. Compared to the Custom 24, whose access is on a different level, playability just doesn't match up.

Of course, the suhr does have stainless frets and a flatter radius, which does affect playbility alot. If and when PRS decides to offer those on its core line, oh my...my wallet's gonna be empty.

I don't think PRS will offer either - at least not on its 'core' line unless the market demands it. Paul was asked about SS frets and he doesn't like them and feels it affects the tone - as for the flatter fret radius - again I think that is not PRS so both would probably be custom only options.

The Fret wire that PRS uses is made specifically for PRS and its not like most fret wire as it is much harder and on a par with some stainless steel frets. Stainless Steel also wears out Nickel strings faster because its so hard and if you use Stainless Steel strings on a Stainless Steel fretted guitar, the wear is similar to using Nickel strings on a Nickel fretted guitar anyway. You can get similar 'butter' like bends on a quality Nickel fretted guitar too and if you do need to have work done on a SS fretted guitar, some shops will charge more because it ruins tools. Its swings and roundabouts really so what suits you may not suit everyone. I can't say I have had issues with mine but then I am not playing 8-10hrs every day with the same guitar and with SS strings doing lots and lots of bends and pressing down hard either.

Maybe if I ever require a refret, I will consider SS. I am not a shredder though and don't need a flat fretboard with virtually no resistance to bends. Yngwie managed perfectly well with a strat which has a more curved fretboard and certainly didn't have SS frets either.

Anyway, each to their own I guess but I do think some things are almost a 'tick' list of 'must haves' but without any real reason behind it. SS frets seem the 'latest' thing so its a tick box must have rather than an actual 'need'.
 
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