2000NOS upgrade... and a few other mods.

[JimmyDee]

So, this time last week I was beaming with pride, because I finally got my new CE24.
I have to admit, it's everything I dreamed it would be!

I also own an Ibanez Prestige and a Jackson Soloist, and they are both fine guitars... but I don't think I'll ever play them again, now that I've played a PRS.

Anyways, the CE24 is a fabulous guitar... but I knew that the bridge was 'lacking' when I first bought it, so I ordered a MannMade 2000NOS bridge for it.

Here she is, completely stock, after my first week of ownership.

The instructions that come with the Man bridge are fairly straightforwarward.
I also had a week of waiting, before the 2000NOS arrived, so I watched John Mann's instructional video a few times.

Remove the springs from the back. No need to remove or swap the factory claw:

Unscrew the 6 bolts:

Pull the old bridge out:

The cream color pickup rings look good on a lot of PRS guitars... but on gray/black, I prefer black covers, so I swapped them out:

The 2000NOS is on the left, and it's finish is SUBSTANTIALLY better than the stock one. Note the polished saddles.

It's also considerably heavier, as it is made from solid brass (right), versus cheap cast steel (left).

Putting the new one in was simple. Just drop it in and tighten down the 6 screws.
There needs to be 2.5mm of clearance under the screw head. Mann supplies a 2.5mm allen key to use as a depth guage.
Works perfectly. No drilling was required. The 6 new screws went right into the original holes.

I applied a bit of string lube to each saddle, as well as to the nut, before re-stringing:

I also changed my truss rod cover. Being a Christian man, and going with the bird theme... I chose a dove:

Pull through some new D'addario EXL strings:

Threw on a new black toggle switch cap, and here's the finished product:

The whole bridge swap was moronically easy. Took about 45 minutes.
To be honest; the hardest thing was putting the new pickup rings on!
Those darn springs are hard to line-up and get the height adjustment screw in.

Spent another 45 minutes doing; tuning, saddle height adjustment, and intonation.

Then I took her down to the basement to play... oh my, what an improvement!
The new bridge is so much better than the stock one. SO MUCH BETTER.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

Bangin’!

 

[Glide-bpm]

Love your new axe, Christian Brother!
Sweetness!!!

 

[21Hemispheres12]

Very nice! I think those black rings give it a sweet stealth look. I've been thinking about purchasing some for my custom 24 and your pictures finally pushed me over the edge.

Can you elaborate what exactly is better about the new bridge? I've been thinking about doing the same upgrade on my CE but wasn't sure if it was enough of a difference to justify the cost.

 

[JimmyDee]

Can you elaborate what exactly is better about the new bridge? I've been thinking about doing the same upgrade on my CE but wasn't sure if it was enough of a difference to justify the cost.

Tone is a lot better, way more defined. And the sustain is ridiculously long now...
The action is also a lot better on the Mann bridge. Can dive-bomb a lot deeper.
And the tremolo arm is more beefy... the old one felt like a cheap coat hanger in my hand.

Obviously, I'd recommend the upgrade. It makes a really nice guitar into a REALLY nice playing / sounding guitar.

 

[21Hemispheres12]

Tone is a lot better, way more defined. And the sustain is ridiculously long now...
The action is also a lot better on the Mann bridge. Can dive-bomb a lot deeper.
And the tremolo arm is more beefy... the old one felt like a cheap coat hanger in my hand.

Obviously, I'd recommend the upgrade. It makes a really nice guitar into a REALLY nice playing / sounding guitar.

Sounds like it'll be a worthwhile upgrade all the way around then. I have noticed that my custom 24 trem seems to stay in tune much better than the CE trem so hopefully the Mannmade trem will correct that issue as well.

 

[JimmyDee]

I have noticed that my custom 24 trem seems to stay in tune much better than the CE trem so hopefully the Mannmade trem will correct that issue as well.

Yes... it will.

 

[Jazzedout]

Nice top as well!!

 

[Alnus Rubra]

As a relative novice, is there a different trem/bridge on the CE model in comparison to the CU model when they come from the factory?

If yes, please could you tell me what the differences are?

The Mannmade looks a real fine piece of workmanship, nice and solid.

It’s a great looking guitar. Great to hear that your upgrades have made it great to play too.

 

[Mbroadster]

SWEET ! Thanks for sharing and congratulations on your new CE.

 

[JimmyDee]

As a relative novice, is there a different trem/bridge on the CE model in comparison to the CU model when they come from the factory?
If yes, please could you tell me what the differences are?

The CE line from PRS is a bit of a hybrid... it is manufactured in the US factory (as opposed to the Korean factory, where the SE line is made).
It's hand made like the core line. The body is the same mahogany with maple top. But the carve isn't as deep (this is where a lot of hours are saved).
The main thing is that it has a bolt-on maple neck (versus a solid glued-in mahogany neck). Personally, I prefer the maple neck, but that's just me...

With the exception of the bridge, it incorporates US parts.
It has US 85/15 pickups, as well as 2nd gen locking tuners, US nut, US pots and switch, US input jack.
The only piece of hardware on it, that isn't US spec, is the bridge. They use the Korean bridge from the SE line.

There are three levels of PRS guitars (4 if you include the S2):

1. The SE Line - which is made in Korea. A fine guitar, by all accounts. Better than most competitors. I have an Ibanez Prestige (top of the line Ibanez), and I think that the cheapest PRS SE is still a better sounding / playing guitar than the best Ibanez. Just my opinion, but I have both and the Ibanez has sat in its case, since I got the SE Tremonti.
2. The CE Line - which is hand-made in the USA factory. As described above. My personal favorite of all PRS electric guitars.
3. The CU Line (aka core line) - the Holy Grail. Hand-made in the USA, using the best wood tops, and most detailed carve. It also has the latest (gen 3) tuners and bridge.

 

[bodia]

Lookin' great! Love the black rings. The MannMade is a no brainer!

 

[Alnus Rubra]

The CE line from PRS is a bit of a hybrid... it is manufactured in the US factory (as opposed to the Korean factory, where the SE line is made).
It's hand made like the core line. The body is the same mahogany with maple top. But the carve isn't as deep (this is where a lot of hours are saved).
The main thing is that it has a bolt-on maple neck (versus a solid glued-in mahogany neck). Personally, I prefer the maple neck, but that's just me...

With the exception of the bridge, it incorporates US parts.
It has US 85/15 pickups, as well as 2nd gen locking tuners, US nut, US pots and switch, US input jack.
The only piece of hardware on it, that isn't US spec, is the bridge. They use the Korean bridge from the SE line.

There are three levels of PRS guitars (4 if you include the S2):

1. The SE Line - which is made in Korea. A fine guitar, by all accounts. Better than most competitors. I have an Ibanez Prestige (top of the line Ibanez), and I think that the cheapest PRS SE is still a better sounding / playing guitar than the best Ibanez. Just my opinion, but I have both and the Ibanez has sat in its case, since I got the SE Tremonti.
2. The CE Line - which is hand-made in the USA factory. As described above. My personal favorite of all PRS electric guitars.
3. The CU Line (aka core line) - the Holy Grail. Hand-made in the USA, using the best wood tops, and most detailed carve. It also has the latest (gen 3) tuners and bridge.

Thanks @JimmyDee I appreciate the information. I wasn’t aware the CE had the SE bridge.

Never too late for and Old Dog to learn.

 

[veinbuster]

Nicely done!

 

[gush]

Very nice. I have two mann trems myself. I like them.

 

[Glide-bpm]

Love my MannMade equipped guitars as much as my core model trems...

 

[Deleted member 5962]

Total, 100% DTR approved! That’s sweet!!! Where did you get the truss rod cover? I really like that!

 

[JimmyDee]

Where did you get the truss rod cover? I really like that!

http://www.wecinlay.com/truss_rod_prs.php

About 30 bucks, and he'll create pretty much anything you want.

 

[JimmyDee]

In case anyone wants to see a more detailed version of the install...
Here's the instructional video (that I referred to in my original post), from 'The Mann':

 

[dogrocketp]

The CE line from PRS is a bit of a hybrid... it is manufactured in the US factory (as opposed to the Korean factory, where the SE line is made).
It's hand made like the core line. The body is the same mahogany with maple top. But the carve isn't as deep (this is where a lot of hours are saved).
The main thing is that it has a bolt-on maple neck (versus a solid glued-in mahogany neck). Personally, I prefer the maple neck, but that's just me...

With the exception of the bridge, it incorporates US parts.
It has US 85/15 pickups, as well as 2nd gen locking tuners, US nut, US pots and switch, US input jack.
The only piece of hardware on it, that isn't US spec, is the bridge. They use the Korean bridge from the SE line.

There are three levels of PRS guitars (4 if you include the S2):

1. The SE Line - which is made in Korea. A fine guitar, by all accounts. Better than most competitors. I have an Ibanez Prestige (top of the line Ibanez), and I think that the cheapest PRS SE is still a better sounding / playing guitar than the best Ibanez. Just my opinion, but I have both and the Ibanez has sat in its case, since I got the SE Tremonti.
2. The CE Line - which is hand-made in the USA factory. As described above. My personal favorite of all PRS electric guitars.
3. The CU Line (aka core line) - the Holy Grail. Hand-made in the USA, using the best wood tops, and most detailed carve. It also has the latest (gen 3) tuners and bridge.

I'd put the S2 between or even next to the CE, and above the SE. I've had 2, and they are very fine guitars. Unfortunately, I set up my trems to go up a whole step, and I couldn't get either guitar to go up that far when I set up the trem. Other than that, they were both Smokin.