Can a PRS guru help with accurate dating of my PRS CE24 please?

[Big Norm]

Ive recently been reunited with my first ever PRS guitar that i never bonded with the first time around.
I traded it in to buy a 1986 PRS guitar (pre standard) which i still own now.
The reason i never bonded with it back in the day was the chainsaw pick up which squealed every time i went near my amp.
In those days it was all high gain rockman, ada preamps rack effects marshall valve amps and 4 marshall 4x12's. all fart and no tone :biggrin:.
Anyway the guitar recently came up for sale and ive managed to get it back.
The thing is its been through the wars a bit including a respray, but i love the fact its been on a journey and is back with me again.
Now i have it back the chainsaw pup has been ripped out and will probably end up on ebay
it now sports Mccarty style switching and a SD Custom Custom in the bridge position.
The reason im asking for help in dating the guitar is the serial number is very faded and hard to make out.
Oddly it looks like a six digit number not five, that's printed on the headstock.
The only thing thats in the P'up cavity is 1989 but i dont know if thats original or was written in there when it had a respray.
I'll try to take a picture of the serial in daylight.
Any help advice will be greatfully received
Cheers

 

[rugerpc]

all fart and no tone :biggrin:

Instant Classic! :five: :beer:

 

[WEDGE]

Didnt start makin them until 88.

 

[slang05]

First off..let me say congrats! It's always cool to get back the one that got away.

Ironically I was going through the PRS book last night and saw that model. It is a PRS Classic model made in 1988 and 1989. In late 1989 that guitar became the CE model. PRS was being sued over the name "Classic" by Peavey. Hartley owned the name Classic..you know, because Peavey makes so many Classic guitars!

Anyway, all the info on that guitar is on page 59 of the PRS book..Really not much about it though. Great guitar there. A "road worn" PRS....sweet!

 

[AP515]

Ironically I was going through the PRS book last night and saw that model. It is a PRS Classic model made in 1988 and 1989. In late 1989 that guitar became the CE model. PRS was being sued over the name "Classic" by Peavey. Hartley owned the name Classic..you know, because Peavey makes so many Classic guitars!

What he said...


I have one much like it. The PRS electric on the headstock was only done the first year (may have been used a little into 89), so you know it was made in those 2 years at least (88, 89) The serial was on the headstock, not on the steel plate at the body. These had an alder body. I put a McCarty in the neck and a 245 in the bridge and I found heaven. I was talking with Les (PTC) and when he looked at my CE he said "That is one of the early ones made of Alder. You will want to hang on to that one". So don't let yours get away again.

 

[slowro]

Sweet CE I remember seeing it come up a few times on that forum and tried to work a deal for it but I'm glad it made it's way back to where it belongs!
I would say it's aging well

and get some pictures of your other guitars up too
it's the law around here :biggrin:

 

[Big Norm]

Sweet CE I remember seeing it come up a few times on that forum and tried to work a deal for it but I'm glad it made it's way back to where it belongs!
I would say it's aging well

and get some pictures of your other guitars up too
it's the law around here :biggrin:

ok here go's
My main go to guitar since the late 80's, its a 1986 low serial numbered PRS guitar.
The serial starts with a 5 04** in the p'up cavity and has 6 04** on the headstock which means it was started in 85 and finished in 86

It's been seen on BAM when i was a regular on there, a few times.
These days it has a set of dragon 1 P'ups on it and has been rewired to Mccarty switching for live use.

My red 1992 PRS EGII, my main go to guitar for strat type sounds
The black EGII is no longer mine, it didnt play as well or sound as good as the red one so i never bonded with it.

My black 1989 CE24, this guitar is a tone monster. It has a maple cap and an alder body which is an absolute joy to play.
This guitar see as much playing time as my standard these days.
It has an SD Jeff Beck in the bridge position that is a great match to the alder body.

The other PRS in the family is my 20th Anniversary Standard with a regular neck profile.
This one is on the chopping block on another uk forum as ive never bonded with it and something has to go to pay for the latest CE

.
Ive had various other PRS over the years that ive traded around but these are the ones I'm sticking with

A "road worn" PRS....sweet!

As you can see, all my Prs's are roadworn!
The 86 was my main gigging guitar and has worn out and had replaced 2 cases, 2 refrets, a complete set of machine heads ( i still have a sealed packed of new old stock shared screw winged tuners just incase) completely rewired with Dragon 1 P'ups. I didnt particularly care for the original T & B p'ups and they sat in the drawer for years. In fact the only thing that hasnt been replaced is the trem and the actual wood .
The EGII is bog standard.
Both my CE's have Mccarty switching and Seymour Duncan JB's in them (the Custom Custom is a hot rodded JB) coz i like the tone with the alder bodies.

 

[slang05]

What dO you think of the EG's? There is one at a Guitar Center in St Louis for $799.. Seems like a steal. I'm 200 miles from there so I just can't pop in and play it.

 

[Big Norm]

What dO you think of the EG's? There is one at a Guitar Center in St Louis for $799.. Seems like a steal. I'm 200 miles from there so I just can't pop in and play it.

I wouldnt buy an EG unseen as the first run had an issue with the bolt on neck body pocket. the area wasnt beefy enough and was prone to cracking. Great guitars though and if you can find an unaffectd one buy it coz its like a strat on steriods.
The EGII's addressed this problem, beefed up the joint and change the p'ups to fralin domino's.
Im sure there's a few people on here with more knowledge than me that could add to my comments
I prefer the EGII's purely coz theyre workhorses, its my go to guitar for strat tones.
Cheers

 

[Shawn@PRS]

I have a '93 EG with three Fralin Domino pickups. It's awesome.

 

[Iceman101]

What dO you think of the EG's? There is one at a Guitar Center in St Louis for $799.. Seems like a steal. I'm 200 miles from there so I just can't pop in and play it.

I have a 93 EG II HSH. It has been my main gigging guitar for years. Only recently I chanced to SE One's. The EG still feels like an old friend

 

[sergiodeblanc]

Give me all your EGs!!!!

 

[Shawn@PRS]

 

[sergiodeblanc]

Sohot.

 

[Big Norm]

Nice one shaun, love the seafoam green, its surftastic
is that an EGIII?

 

[CE-man]

If the serial is about 300 or less it should date to `88, for example 8 7001- 8 7300. Serial numbers 300 - approximately 1900 are from `89. I would guess your guitar was started in `88 and finished in `89. The serial is probably between the late 200's and early 300's. Nice guitar, if you need to unload that Chainsaw pup please let me know.