1991 CU24 pickups

[BMiller]

New guy here and totally new to the American PRS guitars. I have a couple, and have been through many more, PRS SE's but have always wanted an American made one. So when the opportunity presented itself a bit over a month ago, I jumped.

Anyways, I ended up picking up a used 1991 CU24 in vintage cherry burst with birds, gold hardware, sweet switch and OHSC from the Big G guitar store. As it turns out, they had no idea what they were looking at when they took it in as they slapped a tag on it that reflected what a used standard top 91 CU24 was going for and not for the 10 top that it actually is. The 10 is lightly stamped on the headstock and the pickup cavity verified it. Oddly, when I spoke via email with the nice folks at PRS they were able to confirm the serial number but were unable to give many details on it due to the age and book keeping methods from back then. I know the finish, gold hardware, and birds were an upcharge back then. With the sweet switch I know that it was an early 91 (the MannMade MillComm bridge is only a few months older than the guitar). Winged tuners work perfectly as well without issue.

So when I changed the strings for the first time, I pulled the pickups to check out what they actually are and of course, to look for the 10 top marking. Instead of the HFS/Vintage Bass combo that was most common, it had a Vintage Treble/Vintage Bass combo. Other than the pickup winding spec sheet I could find no other info on the Vintage Treble. Does anyone around here one, what their take on it is, or might have more info on it? Don't get me wrong, I like the pickup and it sounds killer through the VHT/Fryette Pittbull 45 2x12 combo I picked up a few weeks later (big gear sell off to fund a major change) I just would like to know more about it. I can't compare it to other PRS pickups other than the Tremonti set I have in an SE Tremonti Custom or a pair of Dragon IIs in an SE Singlecut (both great guitars btw) which sound different.

Anyways....thanks for any thoughts on the Vintage Treble pickup!

 

[Furtive]

Congrats on finding an old one! Any pics?

I have a 1988 pair of Vintage Treble and Single Coil Bass pups that I'll be installing in an 88 CE sometime soon. I can measure resistance on the Vintage Treble tomorrow if that'll help you.

 

[BMiller]

Pics....yes, of course I have pics. Unfortunately these were taken from my cell phone, inside, with bad lighting and by an even worse photographer. I work in the audio realm and not the visual one Next time I open her up I will snap a few more of the bridge stamp. I want to take her outside this weekend as it's supposed to be sunny and cold to get a true representation of the burst and the glow. Anyways....here are some pics....

I can do more as well.

As far as measuring resistance on the Vintage Treble, that would be really cool if you get a chance! Even though my pics are proving me wrong as I have the Hot Vintage Treble (sorry...it was Sunday and I was watching football, eating, and having a few cold ones when I took the pics) I would still like to know the history and tones behinds these pups. As far as that 88 CE goes.....do you have a post and pics of it? A 24CE was what I wanted before mine fell in my lap....

 

[BMiller]

Forgot to mention that the glue on the white labels had failed and that they were floating around in the cavities. More pics though....

This is a great guitar and will probably remain in my "keeper" stash!

 

[wardog]

Very nice find, enjoy!!!!

 

[Jazzedout]

Beautiful guitar with a great top!!! Enjoy it!!

 

[CantankerousCarl]

That is everything a PRS from that era should be...gorgeous. Welcome and congrats!

 

[László]

My first one, bought new in 1991, was exactly like it, except that it had nickel hardware and didn't have a sweet switch, must have been made later that year. I think it had the same pickups, though.

That's a really nice example!

 

[Furtive]

BMiller, your Custom is a real looker. That top looks fantastic.

My Vintage Treble reads 15.00K. Was going to compare it to a spare Dragon Treble I have here, but the wire ends were cut and I can't find the small gauge stripper. Will edit this post once I get that sorted out.

My `88 CE restoration in progress thread: http://prsguitars.com/forum/showthr...new-member-intro&p=233254&posted=1#post233254

 

[BMiller]

Thanks for the compliments everyone! When I walked in, the guy at the guitar counter was trying to get me to try it out. Since I was with my wife, I passed on it because I figured that she would freak on the price tag. But since the guitar I wanted (a used S2 Mira) had already sold, on the way out she told me to grab it and play it for a bit. I warned her that if I played it then I would probably want it and would figure out a way to pay for it. So I played on it for about 20 minutes through a Deluxe Reverb, clean only, and new I had to have it. She agreed and graciously let me put it on layaway under the condition that I would have to sell some of my other guitars and gear to pay for it. When I paid it off a few weeks later, the two salesmen were in awe of the top and were very surprised that it wasn't a 10 top. I made a joke about how I wouldn't surprised to find a 10 under the pickups. When I said that they looked a bit ashamed as no one had thought to do that! Anyways, the loss I took on the guitars that I sold was made up for by the low price.

Furtive, thanks for the info and the link!