CE Search

[bretwomack]

Hey guys,
Soon enough, I'm going to be in the hunt for a CE model. I hear a lot of good things about these guitars. There are a few specifics that I'll be looking for though, and I was hoping you guys could help me figure out the year range I'm looking for.
- Body woods. I think I want a mahogany body/maple top combo, not alder. But I want to hear your opinions on both. And are there other wood combos?
- I definitely want one with the dark headstock veneer, because I don't particularly like the natural headstock with the glued-on ears revealed. Out of curiosity, what is this veneer made of?
- Small neck heel. This isn't particularly important. I've only seen one in my search that had a small heel, are these too few and far between? Also, are there certain years where there were problems with cracking in the neck joint? Seems like I've read that somewhere.
- Pickups. From what I've seen, they can either have Dragon IIs or HFS/VB. At the moment, I think I'd want the HFS/VB combo. But again, not too important because it's an easy fix and I'm sure a ton of these guitars' electronics have been changed from stock.

By the way, I don't have a preference for 22 or 24 frets. Also, could you guys explain the pre-factory years and all that good stuff? I don't really know too much about that and I don't know how much it affects the value.

So yeah, the point of this thread is to find out what years I should be looking for when searching for a CE with these specs. Are there any other places besides eBay and Craigslist that are good for finding pre-owned PRSi? Hope you guys can help out! And please add any other cares/concerns you have in your experience with these guitars.

Thanks in advance.

 

[TFC]

Look here for some info about the model history & specs: http://www.prsguitars.com/csc/models.html. I'm sure others on the forum can give you all the details about the specs not mentioned on that page. Looks like alder was replaced by mahogany in 1995. You also may want to consider which tuners you want. The Phase I/winged tuners were used until sometime in the early 2000's I think, when they were replaced with the Phase IIs. And, generally speaking, CE22s come with wide/fat necks and Dragon IIs, while CE24s come with wide/thin necks and HFS/VB. But that's a generalization and there are plenty of exceptions.

There are a couple of forums (Vintage Rocker and The Gear Page) that are good for finding used PRSi. Guitar Center usually has a couple, but IMO, you take a chance buying used stuff from them because they don't seem to care too much about the condition or what parts have been replaced in their used gear.

FWIW, I have owned a few CEs and I think they are great. The larger neck heel has never been an issue so I wouldn't worry about that.

Best of luck with your search. And post pics when you get one!

 

[Egads]

Yeah, good luck on the search!

I actually prefer the alder body/maple top on the CEs. The wood combo and the bolt-on maple neck make a good combination. My first PRS was a '92 CE24, with a wide thin. I love'd it, but got tired of the pickups. While the winged tuners are different, don't let that scare you away, if all else is good. I actually like the winged tuners and never had even a slight issue with them.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

1- There are alder, alder maple top, mahogany, and mahogany maple top versions of CE's.
2- The veneer is just black paint.
3-The small neck heel was generally only available on the alder and alder maple top versions, the heel was changed at roughly the same time as mahogany was introduced, but there may be few exceptions. Th cracking of the neck joint was an issue with the EG models (a different guitar) not so much CE's.
4-Generally speaking 24's come with HFS/VB and 22's with Dragons and then Dragon II's, although the original "Electric" version of CE's had Vintage Treble and Vintage Bass pups.
5-The term "pre-factory" is for goons, there was always a factory in Annapolis. The term should only be used for guitars made before 1985-86, not tryin' to be a jerk, but the term is misused and I just want to save you from being thought of as a goon. There are people (myself included) who are way into Annapolis era CE's and they are starting to become a tiny bit more collectible/valuable mostly because they are made from alder/alder maple tops.

CE's have had more change's than probably any other model in PRS's line up, so it's easy to get confused. The good news is that they all totally rule!

 

[bretwomack]

Thanks guys for all the great info!

 

[Brad737]

I've owned 2 CEs. A 1991 Vintage Yellow maple/ alder CE-24 and a 1994 maple/ mahogany CE-22. I sold the 24 simply because it had the Wide-Thin neck. I've tried to get along with WTs, but I just can't. I will say in that guitar, the HFS/ Vintage Bass pickups SCREAMED. By all rights it shouldn't have, but through my Marshall, it NAILED Eric Clapton's tone from Steppin' Out from the Mayall Bluesbreakers album. By comparison, my 22 feels and plays perfectly. I'm just in love with the Wide-Fat neck carve. This guitar is more of a metal guitar. The Dragon 1 pickups are 100% badass. Why PRS replaced these with Dragon 2s is beyond me. They're both awesome, but I'd really like another CE-24...an alder/maple body with a Regular neck carve, because I don't think the 24 was ever offered with a Wide-Fat. Killer guitars. Try one!

 

[bretwomack]

Thanks, Brad! I do actually like the wide thin necks, so I'm thinking the 24-fretter is the way to go for me with everything you guys have said. But I'm still not opposed to a 22, so if a nice one presents itself with Dragon 1s, who knows!

 

[sergiodeblanc]

The 22's feel a little more compact to me, I love it but the 24 feels like home. Try and snag an old alder one while you still can!

 

[TFC]

...the 24 feels like home...

This is exactly how I feel about my CE24 as well.