Your Q about a PRS CE-24
Hi Guys,
Can anyone tell me about the PRS CE 24? When were they offered, what do they sound like, how are they regarded, that sort of thing. You guys know and love PRS instruments, so I figure if anyone knows it'll be you guys.
Cheers!
Hi, I'm new here [and late with this] but may be able to shed a little more light.
I've got a used 2001 CE-24. The CE came loaded with Dragon II pups and everything else was stock. I did a lot of digging as the Dragon II's seemed to be a rare installation on a CE-24. PRS did them on the CE-22. Usually, you get the HFS or Vintage pups both of which are very good.
Someone made a comment about the guitar being very midrange focused, tonally. I have to agree with the caveat that using the tone/volume controls and having your amp set at the proper height alleviates this. The pickups really can sing in a very biting but not cuttingly sharp manner. Twist up/down the tone/volume pots and the guitar can go from lead screamer to powerful rhythm in a second. The pickup selector does take some getting used to using... I'm still, after a year, working on it but mostly this is due to my lack of time to focus on wringing out the tones and volumes I want. Life gets in the way of playing...
I have my Roland combo amp set up on a small table about .5m [1.5ft] off the ground and sit down nearby with the amp facing at a slight angle away from my face so that sound from the edge of the cone is what really strikes my ear. I have the bass/mid controls set at about 3-3.5 with the treble at about 6.5-7 [on a scale of 1-10 not 11, Nigel] and I can get the guitar to go from dark and dirty to bright, smooth and silky depending on what I do with the vol/tone pots.
So, how does my CE-24 compare to other PRSs? I've played nearly everything they make and the only one I really got stuck on was the Hollowbody II. Holy mackerel! What a monster. I played three SE's including two hollowbodies and just hated the way they felt. I thought they were setup incorrectly, then I played my friend's lovely custom 22. It felt almost the same: like a wet noodle. This friend has been playing since before I was born [literally] and is one of the best musicians I've ever heard. If he didn't suffer from stage fright, he could have been a professional at a very high caliber: he's played with Ginger Baker many times and his brother played on The Seager Sessions with Springsteen. That's the level I'm mean. So.... his guitar is hot but I just didn't like the way it felt. His 65 Gibson SG Jr is a dream to play so I'm not sure what the deal is with the PRS... it just felt like the wet noodle SEs I played. The CU-22 and 24 were very nice but I wasn't keen on the neck heel which seems to be a common complaint with that design. PRS has addressed this at various times but seem to favor the longer heel for I guess the sake of not having to worry too much about snapping the neck. I've seen some HB's with a much smaller and angled heel and they should play better at the higher registers.
What does this all mean to you? For me, the CE is a steal of a guitar. It's been called a sleeper, a bargain, more bang for the buck and I agree.
HOWEVER, I liked the hollowbody so much that I am trying to figure out how to afford one of these ungodly expensive monsters. They are, if you can figure out how to get the money, absolutely worth the pain. It is the only guitar I would break my leg to buy and I've got some and played some fairly nice instruments [just wish I could do them justice
]... the hollowbody II is just head and shoulders above everything else including my all-time favorite ES-355 in white just like Alex Lifeson's.
My 2¢... more like a dollar.
Cheers~ AHHA
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