Advice on selling my Custom 24 and possibly CE24 for a 509.

S

StSpider

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Jun 17, 2021
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I currently have 3 PRS.

A 2003 McCarty in dark cherry
A 2017 Custom 24 also in dark cherry
A 1991 alder bodied CE in powder blue.

The McCarty is one of my favorite guitars ever and I don’t see it going anywhere anytime soon. The other two both have "pros" and "cons".

The Custom 24 is a 10 top wood library model with regular neck that I bought for vanity reasons (I wanted a 24 fretter with birds, it was a local pickup and the price was too good to pass). It ended up being a great guitar tho.

PROS I love the 85/15s, the gen 3 tuners and the regular neck is the most comfortable neck I’ve ever played.

CONS I don’t love it. I like the top bit it’s a bit dark and doesn’t “pop” visually, it's the same color as my McCarty (but less appealing) and I’m not fond of position 2-3-4 on the selector, they’re just ok.

I've been thinking of selling the Custom to fund a different PRS. Ideally I'd like a CU24-08 but they don't have regular necks. It's hard to figure out which discontinued model had that neck carve so I started browsing the website and right now the only model in production seems to be the 509. It’s a model I had not considered yet but has a bunch of features that appeal to me.

I like the individual coil split toggles (the one thing I wish my McCarty had), the carve of the neck and the fact that it seems to overlap with a strat a lot. I don't have a strat and I'm not looking forward to buy one, but I wouldn't mind have tones similiar to a strat available.

I'm afraid I'd be missing the more modern 85/15s in the Custom, but to be honest I think my McCarty handles metal just fine and from demos a bunch of guys seem to enjoy playing old school rock and metal on a 509.

Now to the CE24. It's a great guitar, but it has the exact opposite problem of the Custom. I love position 2-3 (especially) and 4, don't care for position 1 and 5. Also the neck carve (wide thin) I don't love and I don't get along that well with phase 1 winged tuners.

It's a very cool guitar that looks killer and plays great, plus the original 1 piece mannmade bride has been serviced a coupld of years ago by john mann himself so it's in top functional conditions. But, I originally bought it to cover some strat territory, and it would become redundant if the 509 can do that and more.

Soo..... what do you say? Would you sell to buy? Are there other models I should consider outside of the 509?
 
StSpider said:
I currently have 3 PRS.

A 2003 McCarty in dark cherry
A 2017 Custom 24 also in dark cherry
A 1991 alder bodied CE in powder blue.

The McCarty is one of my favorite guitars ever and I don’t see it going anywhere anytime soon. The other two both have "pros" and "cons".

The Custom 24 is a 10 top wood library model with regular neck that I bought for vanity reasons (I wanted a 24 fretter with birds, it was a local pickup and the price was too good to pass). It ended up being a great guitar tho.

PROS I love the 85/15s, the gen 3 tuners and the regular neck is the most comfortable neck I’ve ever played.

CONS I don’t love it. I like the top bit it’s a bit dark and doesn’t “pop” visually, it's the same color as my McCarty (but less appealing) and I’m not fond of position 2-3-4 on the selector, they’re just ok.

I've been thinking of selling the Custom to fund a different PRS. Ideally I'd like a CU24-08 but they don't have regular necks. It's hard to figure out which discontinued model had that neck carve so I started browsing the website and right now the only model in production seems to be the 509. It’s a model I had not considered yet but has a bunch of features that appeal to me.

I like the individual coil split toggles (the one thing I wish my McCarty had), the carve of the neck and the fact that it seems to overlap with a strat a lot. I don't have a strat and I'm not looking forward to buy one, but I wouldn't mind have tones similiar to a strat available.

I'm afraid I'd be missing the more modern 85/15s in the Custom, but to be honest I think my McCarty handles metal just fine and from demos a bunch of guys seem to enjoy playing old school rock and metal on a 509.

Now to the CE24. It's a great guitar, but it has the exact opposite problem of the Custom. I love position 2-3 (especially) and 4, don't care for position 1 and 5. Also the neck carve (wide thin) I don't love and I don't get along that well with phase 1 winged tuners.

It's a very cool guitar that looks killer and plays great, plus the original 1 piece mannmade bride has been serviced a coupld of years ago by john mann himself so it's in top functional conditions. But, I originally bought it to cover some strat territory, and it would become redundant if the 509 can do that and more.

Soo..... what do you say? Would you sell to buy? Are there other models I should consider outside of the 509?
Click to expand...
Two thoughts
1) if you want the regular neck, there are plenty of post TCI, nitro Custon 24s floating about ( year 2020 and 21) floating around with pattern regular instead of thin . I found three and currently own two of them. Just needs a bit of trawling
2) in my opinion, the 509 and it’s predecessor the 513 don’t really do the Strat thing exactly. They make a thinner , more single coily sound no doubt but it is it’s own character. But definitely more Strat like than any other PRS guitar

My recommendation. Find a 2020 2021 Custom 24 or 2408 with a pattern regular neck in a colour you like and sell the existing Custom 24
 
As a fan of the Regular neck carve and also a guy interested in a 509, I hear ya. It's funny - I just looked through all the new models on the PRS site looking for the Regular neck carve and noticed the same thing as you.

I can think of two models with a regular neck carve that might be worth looking into in addition to the 509: NF3 and 513 (maple top > 2011?). The NF3 is basically a Strat on steroids. You can get nice Strattish tones along with a wide variety of others. They're my favorite model, and if you like the Regular neck, you'll LOVE the NF3 neck. With volume and tone knob adjustments you can get a variety of sounds that almost matches what the 509 can do.

I recently picked up a 513 which is also a great, fun guitar. The older ones had a different carve they call "513" which is larger and not as comfy (for me), but the later ones have Regular necks. Again, you can get Strat-like tones along with humbucker etc. Both the NF3 and 513 have 25.25" scale length, which I think helps provide a Strat-like chime, especially in positions 2 & 4.

Both models are discontinued, so you'll have to buy used. And this year is the last the 509s are being made so there a only a few new ones left.

If it were me, I'd sell the Custom 24 and use that money to buy an NF3. You'll likely even have some funds left over. Even though I find the used prices of NF3s to be a little high currently, they're a good deal less than 509s seem to sell for. But if you see a good deal on a 509, I'd go for it.

I wouldn't sell the CE24, but that's just my personal preference. The older alder CEs are cool. You can always swap out the tuners to phase IIs (see John Mann's store) and change pickups to 85/15s and/or swap the 5 way for a 3-way toggle.

Most importantly, please post pics of your powder blue CE!
 
TFC said:
As a fan of the Regular neck carve and also a guy interested in a 509, I hear ya. It's funny - I just looked through all the new models on the PRS site looking for the Regular neck carve and noticed the same thing as you.

I can think of two models with a regular neck carve that might be worth looking into in addition to the 509: NF3 and 513 (maple top > 2011?). The NF3 is basically a Strat on steroids. You can get nice Strattish tones along with a wide variety of others. They're my favorite model, and if you like the Regular neck, you'll LOVE the NF3 neck. With volume and tone knob adjustments you can get a variety of sounds that almost matches what the 509 can do.

I recently picked up a 513 which is also a great, fun guitar. The older ones had a different carve they call "513" which is larger and not as comfy (for me), but the later ones have Regular necks. Again, you can get Strat-like tones along with humbucker etc. Both the NF3 and 513 have 25.25" scale length, which I think helps provide a Strat-like chime, especially in positions 2 & 4.

Both models are discontinued, so you'll have to buy used. And this year is the last the 509s are being made so there a only a few new ones left.

If it were me, I'd sell the Custom 24 and use that money to buy an NF3. You'll likely even have some funds left over. Even though I find the used prices of NF3s to be a little high currently, they're a good deal less than 509s seem to sell for. But if you see a good deal on a 509, I'd go for it.

I wouldn't sell the CE24, but that's just my personal preference. The older alder CEs are cool. You can always swap out the tuners to phase IIs (see John Mann's store) and change pickups to 85/15s and/or swap the 5 way for a 3-way toggle.

Most importantly, please post pics of your powder blue CE!
Click to expand...
Got to second the NF3 recommendation. It’s an awesome guitar. Thicker than a Strat though but you can thin it up using the volume knob.
 
If you don't like a guitar, move it on, unless you want to hold it for appreciation value. The CE may be one to hold for future value. Mine have gone up a good bit since I got them. No need to pick a 509 just because it's the only one in the current line up with a regular neck. The used market has great guitars looking for a good home.
 
Thanks everyone for your suggestions.

I might keep an eye open for a 24-08 with a regular neck if they’re relatively easy to come by. I haven’t seen one in europe yet but I haven’t looked too hard tbh.

I’m confused tho… do these have a toggle or blade switch? I see both versions online. I’d much prefer a toggle tbh.

The NF3 and SASNF seem like great suggestions too but I am looking for a prs that does the strat thing on top of the rest and those seem more focused on being strats. Plus I’m a sucker for a nice flamed maple top.

Anyway here’s a pic of my CE, gorgeous guitar really:

oygBUPk.jpg


and the wear on the neck

ZSNXefk.jpg
 
Don’t sell. A pickup change should help you get the sounds you want. I had a 509, and could never bond with it. It was the most perfectly made guitar I had ever owned, with flawless intonation. I felt the pickups were too harsh, they’re ceramic magnets. I do have the same pickups in a DC3 with a maple board, and I can live with them in that guitar.
 
dogrocketp said:
Don’t sell. A pickup change should help you get the sounds you want. I had a 509, and could never bond with it. It was the most perfectly made guitar I had ever owned, with flawless intonation. I felt the pickups were too harsh, they’re ceramic magnets. I do have the same pickups in a DC3 with a maple board, and I can live with them in that guitar.
Click to expand...

What do you mean with pickup change? I like the pickups in the Custom, a lot actually, both the bridge pickup and neck pickup by themselves are great, I just don't think the intermediate positions are that good.
 
If you like the neck, and how it plays, why not investigate having the electronics altered to give you what you want? As guitar players, we frequently chase rainbows and look for the next big thing. Then we realize that what we had was pretty damn good and we have buyers remorse. We are taught culturally that we need newer, bigger, better and we get in a buy/sell cycle. Why not add on, making the most of what you’ve got? And then buy another guitar to give you sounds that your existing guitars don’t? There should come a point of equilibrium where you have instruments that give you all the sounds you want to hear. I’ve yet to find one instrument that does everything, although my avatar guitar will be lowered into my grave with me. I’m focusing on learning to play instead of learning to buy. After 50 + years, I still consider every gig a crap shoot in terms of how well I play. PRS guitars are the only ones I’ve played that don’t impede my progress.
 
Last edited:
Also try a SS SE. It’s got a nice carve that’s not thin. And certainly does the strat sound better than anything suggested. And easily modded to plethora of Strat pickups, including rails and humbucker sized single coils.
 
dogrocketp said:
If you like the neck, and how it plays, why not investigate having the electronics altered to give you what you want? As guitar players, we frequently chase rainbows and look for the next big thing. Then we realize that what we had was pretty damn good and we have buyers remorse. We are taught culturally that we need newer, bigger, better and we get in a buy/sell cycle. Why not add on, making the most of what you’ve got? And then buy another guitar to give you sounds that your existing guitars don’t? There should come a point of equilibrium where you have instruments that give you all the sounds you want to hear. I’ve yet to find one instrument that does everything, although my avatar guitar will be lowered into my grave with me. I’m focusing on learning to play instead of learning to buy. After 50 + years, I still consider every gig a crap shoot in terms of how well I play. PRS guitars are the only ones I’ve played that don’t impede my progress.
Click to expand...

Good question. I could install a shaller superswitch P which would give me the same sounds from the rotary in blade format. However I'd be reluctant to mod this guitar since I've bought it for a really good price and I'd be afraid of devaluing it.
 
StSpider said:
Good question. I could install a shaller superswitch P which would give me the same sounds from the rotary in blade format. However I'd be reluctant to mod this guitar since I've bought it for a really good price and I'd be afraid of devaluing it.
Click to expand...
I think the opposite.. bought at a really good price, mod it! You can always swap a switch back easily. Check out the freeway switch too. A.swittch swap isn't like drilling mini toggles.
 
StSpider said:
Thanks everyone for your suggestions.

I might keep an eye open for a 24-08 with a regular neck if they’re relatively easy to come by. I haven’t seen one in europe yet but I haven’t looked too hard tbh.

I’m confused tho… do these have a toggle or blade switch? I see both versions online. I’d much prefer a toggle tbh.

The NF3 and SASNF seem like great suggestions too but I am looking for a prs that does the strat thing on top of the rest and those seem more focused on being strats. Plus I’m a sucker for a nice flamed maple top.

Anyway here’s a pic of my CE, gorgeous guitar really:

oygBUPk.jpg


and the wear on the neck

ZSNXefk.jpg
Click to expand...
If that was a CE22 and you were in the US, I would tell you to PM me a price and we could talk. Nice guitar!

I own a decent number of PRS core guitars and I have really only found one that did the Strat tones fairly well and it isn't made anymore. I put a set of Fralin Unbuckers in my 2006 SAS to get stronger 2 and 4 Strat tones. My guitar has the 5 way blade switch like a Strat has. It worked. It did the Strat tones "good enough for live shows." If you put a real Strat up against it, there was a difference. You may be able to buy one of the new SE SAS guitars and get what you are looking for at a much lower price.

I am not a fan of the narrowfield pickups, solely because they are a proprietary size pickup that I cannot change to something else if I don't like the stock pickup. I am not really a pickup swapper but I like to have the option. With that said, I have heard some really nice Strat tones come out of those pickups. PRS has made a few models with those pickups in it that you could find. You are probably going to have a challenging finding one with the regular neck carve though.
 
Don't do it.

If you want to find a guitar that you'll actually like that takes trades, try Danville Music or Ish Guitars. Or sell the ones you don't want and use the money on something you'll really like.
 
JasonE said:
If that was a CE22 and you were in the US, I would tell you to PM me a price and we could talk. Nice guitar!

I own a decent number of PRS core guitars and I have really only found one that did the Strat tones fairly well and it isn't made anymore. I put a set of Fralin Unbuckers in my 2006 SAS to get stronger 2 and 4 Strat tones. My guitar has the 5 way blade switch like a Strat has. It worked. It did the Strat tones "good enough for live shows." If you put a real Strat up against it, there was a difference. You may be able to buy one of the new SE SAS guitars and get what you are looking for at a much lower price.

I am not a fan of the narrowfield pickups, solely because they are a proprietary size pickup that I cannot change to something else if I don't like the stock pickup. I am not really a pickup swapper but I like to have the option. With that said, I have heard some really nice Strat tones come out of those pickups. PRS has made a few models with those pickups in it that you could find. You are probably going to have a challenging finding one with the regular neck carve though.
Click to expand...

I had the same concern with narrow fields because of the proprietary size. After playing a studio I’m pretty sure that’s gonna be my next PRS. I love the sound of the narrowfields in the nick and mid position. It’s kind of like an HSS guitar without the hum.
 
dogrocketp said:
If you like the neck, and how it plays, why not investigate having the electronics altered to give you what you want? As guitar players, we frequently chase rainbows and look for the next big thing. Then we realize that what we had was pretty damn good and we have buyers remorse. We are taught culturally that we need newer, bigger, better and we get in a buy/sell cycle. Why not add on, making the most of what you’ve got? And then buy another guitar to give you sounds that your existing guitars don’t? There should come a point of equilibrium where you have instruments that give you all the sounds you want to hear. I’ve yet to find one instrument that does everything, although my avatar guitar will be lowered into my grave with me. I’m focusing on learning to play instead of learning to buy. After 50 + years, I still consider every gig a crap shoot in terms of how well I play. PRS guitars are the only ones I’ve played that don’t impede my progress.
Click to expand...
I’ve regretted selling guitars I liked and that worked well for guitars I thought would be better. Sometimes the new guitar was better but I do have regrets.
 
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