2024-Updated Core Custom 24-08?

I completely understand the hesitancy on the proprietary shaped pickups. That is what kept me away from the Studio and all other models that use the narrowfield pickups. I decided to give the Studio a roll even with those pickups in it. I like the tone of them at this point so I think I am safe. My thought was if I really didn't like them, I may be able to find something from SD that could fit. Another option would be to contact Lindy Fralin to see what he may be able to build me. I would probably find something closer to a true single coil to replace them with. If this guitar had true single coils in it, it would be perfect IMHO. Thankfully I am liking the narrowfileds for now. They give me something different from the rest of my guitars.
 
MA Pete said:
Thanks!

Yes, Pattern Thin Neck.

I got used to the Mini-Toggles with my DC 245 Private Stock with 408 Signature Pickups and Switching that was my primary gigging guitar for a couple of years. I really liked them, very easy to tell at a quick glance where they are set to, and to change on the fly, I thought.

I didn't like the Tuner Knobs at all at first either. In person, I really like them. Especially on a Custom 24, I think it really suits the slimmer vibe of the guitar.

Yes, having pickups with a proprietary shape is indeed limiting, with regards to not being able to swap them. But I did want to have one guitar to experience and learn more about the Paul's Guitar pickups, and I am glad now that the Custom 24 is an option for that. I think the pickups are a good match for the Custom 24 Model. Now three great choices, Paul's Guitar, Modern Eagle V, and now the Custom 2408.

More thoughts to come soon.
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Great score!

Did I see correctly that the body on these are thinner than a “normal” Custom 24?

The switch to 408 style pickups on this guitar just makes sense, with the whole concept being based on the versatile switching options. With the incredible work PRS is doing on pickups these days, I just couldn’t see myself switching the pickups on a core model, anyways. Anything they put in a core model is going to be the pinnacle of that type of pickup for the overall vibe of the guitar, and I’d have to switch to a whole different type of pickup to make any meaningful difference - like going from a PAF humbucker to a high output, or a P90 or Filtertron, depending on what I was after.

Plus, the true single coil ability is huge. In general, and a real win on this model.
 
I just picked up a 2023 CU24-08 with the 85/15s in it. While they are not "Paul's" pickups, they are TCI tuned. Really impressed with the levels being very close between humbucker and tapped. My SE CU24 with Fralins and mini toggles does have a difference in output. Loving that mine has the TCI tuning. I'm looking forward to your thoughts on the pickups after you have had some time to get to know them better.
 
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andy474x said:
Great score!

Did I see correctly that the body on these are thinner than a “normal” Custom 24?

The switch to 408 style pickups on this guitar just makes sense, with the whole concept being based on the versatile switching options. With the incredible work PRS is doing on pickups these days, I just couldn’t see myself switching the pickups on a core model, anyways. Anything they put in a core model is going to be the pinnacle of that type of pickup for the overall vibe of the guitar, and I’d have to switch to a whole different type of pickup to make any meaningful difference - like going from a PAF humbucker to a high output, or a P90 or Filtertron, depending on what I was after.

Plus, the true single coil ability is huge. In general, and a real win on this model.
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Same thickness as a Custom 24.
 
Moondog Wily said:
Just yesterday, I saw some HBII WL's at Eddie's guitars for $8,499 (which at today's current exchange rate equals £6666)! My jaw dropped!! I think we have some new price increases in the new year!!!
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Second look at the two at Peach; they are 10-tops. It's still wild, though. There may be no new Core for Simon this year, after all. Not from NHS wages
 
I‘m in the market for another CU24 while mine is away at PRS getting refinished and I am really curious about these. Would like to hear some high gain examples. Is this just basically a Paul’s guitar in CU24 format?
 
sloanthebone said:
I‘m in the market for another CU24 while mine is away at PRS getting refinished and I am really curious about these. Would like to hear some high gain examples. Is this just basically a Paul’s guitar in CU24 format?
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MA Pete bought one. He’s got a NGD thread up here, along with some high gain thoughts.
 
I guess I'm the only one that doesn't like this change. I'm sure the guitar itself is perfectly fine but having it replace the CU 24-08 in the lineup doesn't make any sense. They should've called it a Paul's Guitar 24-08 or something. The TCI pickups aren't an upgrade. This is a crossgrade at best. They've made it a completely different guitar than before. They should have this and also have the actual 24-08 in the lineup. The 24-08 is the perfect Custom 24. It's better than the actual Custom 24 because it's the same thing with better switching.

TL;DR: If people want a 24 fret Paul's Guitar, then that option should've been provided along with the Custom 24-08.

CivoLee said:
Interesting, but I'm bit concerned about how well TCI pickups can handle harder rock/metal tones...sure I saw a performance of T-Pain (don't laugh, he can actually sing quite well) covering Black Sabbath's "War Pigs" with the guitarist playing a MEV and getting a good Iommi-esque tone, and as Ola Englund's Will It Chug? YouTube series has shown, pretty much anything can do heavier sounds when paired with the right amp, but will it feel right to play harder music on a more "eclectic"-focused instrument?
Click to expand...

Short answer, it doesn't. The TCI pickups sound great up to a certain point but if you want to do hard rock and heavy metal, you're putting yourself at a disadvantage. I love my ME-V but it's not the one I go to for heavy stuff. It's like using a Mesa Fillmore for a metal song over a Mark V. Can you? Yes. Should you? Not unless you have no other choice because it's going to force you to make changes and compromises you probably wouldn't have had to make.

MWebster said:
The 85/15's which the cu24 usually come with aren't really high output. Often people say the bridge is too weak. Overall PRS seems to be moving towards lower output pickups. The TCI set can rock pretty hard and are very versatile pickups. Has your experience with them been different? Just curious.
Click to expand...
My experience has been different. If I take my ME-V and my Cu24 35th anniversary and play the same songs on my set up with my band, the Cu24 sounds clearly heavier. We play hard rock and the ME-V is absolutely not in the same league as the CU for that. The ME-V isn't even as heavy sounding as my Studio with its 58/15LT pickup. Actually, my rig is set up for 58/15LT because I mostly use my Studio, 594 HB 2, or Cu24 semi-hollow, all of which use 58/15LT. When I put the Cu24 with 85/15 on it, the whole thing sounds even heavier. With the ME-V with TCIs it's thinner. I have to increase the gain to get anywhere near the usual level.
 
I’m interested in the 24-08 with the the 408 pickups. I’m looking forward to playing one. Right now my favorite guitar is the PRS Studio. I like the sound I get with the narrowfield pickups and the 85/15 LT bridge pickup. I’m curious how the 408 pickups compare to the narrowfield pickups on the Studio. I have a few DGTs and a Les Paul with regular humbuckers. I use the coil taps a lot with the DGTs and am getting Fishman Fluence Classic pickups installed in the Les Paul which will then have coil tapping capability.
 
dilznik said:
I guess I'm the only one that doesn't like this change. I'm sure the guitar itself is perfectly fine but having it replace the CU 24-08 in the lineup doesn't make any sense. They should've called it a Paul's Guitar 24-08 or something. The TCI pickups aren't an upgrade. This is a crossgrade at best. They've made it a completely different guitar than before. They should have this and also have the actual 24-08 in the lineup. The 24-08 is the perfect Custom 24. It's better than the actual Custom 24 because it's the same thing with better switching.

TL;DR: If people want a 24 fret Paul's Guitar, then that option should've been provided along with the Custom 24-08.



Short answer, it doesn't. The TCI pickups sound great up to a certain point but if you want to do hard rock and heavy metal, you're putting yourself at a disadvantage. I love my ME-V but it's not the one I go to for heavy stuff. It's like using a Mesa Fillmore for a metal song over a Mark V. Can you? Yes. Should you? Not unless you have no other choice because it's going to force you to make changes and compromises you probably wouldn't have had to make.


My experience has been different. If I take my ME-V and my Cu24 35th anniversary and play the same songs on my set up with my band, the Cu24 sounds clearly heavier. We play hard rock and the ME-V is absolutely not in the same league as the CU for that. The ME-V isn't even as heavy sounding as my Studio with its 58/15LT pickup. Actually, my rig is set up for 58/15LT because I mostly use my Studio, 594 HB 2, or Cu24 semi-hollow, all of which use 58/15LT. When I put the Cu24 with 85/15 on it, the whole thing sounds even heavier. With the ME-V with TCIs it's thinner. I have to increase the gain to get anywhere near the usual level.
Click to expand...
Maybe they should send one to Ola Englund to see what he has to do to get the TCIs to chug...

I mean, we aren't a flat-out metal band but I do prefer a thicker distorted tone.

If enough people agree, that could inflate the value of the old 24-08s with 85/15s.
 
dilznik said:
I guess I'm the only one that doesn't like this change. I'm sure the guitar itself is perfectly fine but having it replace the CU 24-08 in the lineup doesn't make any sense. They should've called it a Paul's Guitar 24-08 or something. The TCI pickups aren't an upgrade. This is a crossgrade at best. They've made it a completely different guitar than before. They should have this and also have the actual 24-08 in the lineup. The 24-08 is the perfect Custom 24. It's better than the actual Custom 24 because it's the same thing with better switching.

TL;DR: If people want a 24 fret Paul's Guitar, then that option should've been provided along with the Custom 24-08.



Short answer, it doesn't. The TCI pickups sound great up to a certain point but if you want to do hard rock and heavy metal, you're putting yourself at a disadvantage. I love my ME-V but it's not the one I go to for heavy stuff. It's like using a Mesa Fillmore for a metal song over a Mark V. Can you? Yes. Should you? Not unless you have no other choice because it's going to force you to make changes and compromises you probably wouldn't have had to make.


My experience has been different. If I take my ME-V and my Cu24 35th anniversary and play the same songs on my set up with my band, the Cu24 sounds clearly heavier. We play hard rock and the ME-V is absolutely not in the same league as the CU for that. The ME-V isn't even as heavy sounding as my Studio with its 58/15LT pickup. Actually, my rig is set up for 58/15LT because I mostly use my Studio, 594 HB 2, or Cu24 semi-hollow, all of which use 58/15LT. When I put the Cu24 with 85/15 on it, the whole thing sounds even heavier. With the ME-V with TCIs it's thinner. I have to increase the gain to get anywhere near the usual level.
Click to expand...

Great report! This report on tones across these guitars and pickups makes a lot of sense to me.

I can get the Custom 2408 TCI sounding pretty darn good for rock and metal tones, but I think it is always just a hair better with the other "full-sized" humbucker guitars.

I am not playing out in a band setting these days, but I have found that at home with the variety of guitars I have now, I need to do a lot of tweaking of the amp tones to optimize for the variety of guitars and their tones.

One thing I just did this week to help with that was to get a Neural DSP Quad Cortex. (I picked that over other solutions because I liked the look of the interface on the unit, and the new Mac OS Software.) Right now I am feeding that in through a Seymour Duncan PowerStage 200 Power Amp Pedal, into my Marshall 4x12 with the Cab Sim turned off. I can ultimately build custom models in the Quad Cortex optimized for each guitar and pickups, but also I picked the PowerStage 200 because it has Bass, Middle, Treble and Presence controls on the Power Amp, which allows me to quickly fine tune for the guitar on the fly, usually how much Bass is there.

My Private Stock Custom 24 has the 5-Way switching, 5815 LT's, and is a bit on the Bassy side in its tone. I am going to throw some 5909's in that to see how they sound in there.

I am planning to try a 2023 Custom 2408 with the 8515's and see how that compares to my existing 2. I am sort of smitten with the Custom 24 model right now. I had owned a couple and had one that I played out a few times, but had never really bonded with them before. For some reason I seem to be really digging them now...
 
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