CE24 pickup swap?

[McMahon67]

I’m considering my next PRS in great depth these days… I own a CU 24 Core and feel I’ve spoiled myself against any SE or S2 variants. I know, first world problem, right? I just…. Can’t.
With that said, I’ve been eyeballing other CU24’s but…. In the interest of finances, I’m considering a CE24 too. Keep in mind, in Canada everything costs 30% more, so a 5K guitar is more like 6.5K. I want another core model to set up for downtuning with a floating bridge, with \m/ pups. I’d considered McArtys or Pauls but I don’t feel at home with the neck thicknesses.

Finally…..*whew*….. arriving at the query: does it even make sense to toss \m/ pups in a bolt on? Since they’re designed to be more….. sparkly?

I won’t do CU24 Floyd’s or CE Warings because I’m not interested in Floyd’s. Why would a guy do that when PRS terms are so stable?

I’m sure the “it’s all about how it sounds to YOU” comment is in order…. But how would a guy know since.. let’s face it, there aren’t any to try.

Thoughts?

 

[Bowtiefanatc]

Yes \m/ in a bolt on would be super cool! I had a set in a Swamp Ash Special and they sounded fantastic.

Or do 59/09’s or 57/08 & 59/09 combo.

 

[McMahon67]

Yes \m/ in a bolt on would be super cool! I had a set in a Swamp Ash Special and they sounded fantastic.

Or do 59/09’s or 57/08 & 59/09 combo.

Thanks for sharing!!
VERY much appreciated!

 

[Glide-bpm]

Yeah, I've tossed all kinds of high gain pickups in my bolt on CE and other bolt on maple neck guitars!

 

[Permanent Waves]

I haven't had a chance to try the new CE's (or the \m/ pickups for that matter), but I would recommend you keep an eye out for the older (1988-2009) CE24's on the used market. The HFS has a lot of "bite", I've always been happy with it. It may be a bit hard to find one in Canada, but the good news is they tend to go for less than $2K CDN. The older CE24's had slightly different specs than the modern ones, I think slightly thicker tops, Wide Thin necks and HFS/VB pickups.

 

[MarcWink]

I'd echo the remark about the 88-09 CE24 on the used market. They were Custom 24's that substituted a bolt on maple neck for the glued in mahogany. The HFS and Vintage Bass pickups that they had absolutely rip and would be outstanding for metal. It could also be worth trying to sniff out an older Custom 24 with the HFS and Vintage Bass pickups. I think those were the go to set up until the early 2010's if I'm not mistaken.