Crisis in tone faith - Custom 24 30th Anniversary

The Viking Gangster

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Mar 22, 2015
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I'm sorry to say that I have developed a dislike for the tone of my Cu24. I love the way it plays and looks, however, there is a kazoo sound that sits on top of the playing. It's not my particular CU24, either. I hear it on all sound test on the internet too, and there is nothing wrong with my guitar. It' has a great set up, stays it tune, and no fret buzz. It think it has something to do with having a guitar with a whammy bar. I also think there is a type of PRS sound too that is part of it.


I hope this crisis passes.
 
First off, you're only talking about half of the equation. Your amp setup, along with string gauge, pickups, pedals & effects, and even the pick you use, all play a factor. The midrange "honk" is somewhat of a trademark of the PRS sound, but with some tweaking of amp, maybe some EQ adjustment you can flatten out that extra mids and bring up some bottom or high end sounds that you're trying to achieve. One big way to change your sound is to change pickups, but that opens up one of the biggest can-o-worms on this forum, "what pickups to put in my PRS?"

Good luck with it.
 
If you don't like it, get something else. Simple as that.

We're all different. My CU24 30th is one of my favorite PRS guitars, ever. But there is room on this earth for valid disagreement, and if I really disliked the sound of one of my guitars, it'd be gone.

It's just a shame that you have to take a hit on the guitar since you probably got it new. But that's life, especially in this day and age of "buy it on the internet without getting a chance to try it in person!"
 
First try adjusting your pickups then go from there turn to your amp's eq it takes time to adjust and oh by the way the kazoo is free of charge.
 
PS Bluesboy's advice is right on, but I figured you might have already tried all those things.
 
Les you are so right it's a shame he's not happy but Iam sure with a little time it will sound fantastic.I remember my first PRS in 1994 it was very different from anything I ever played.it took me time to appreciate all the sounds I could achieve then I became hooked.
 
Bummer that you aren't bonding with the guitar and especially the "breed". I think I must be blessed to have inherited such a bad ear that I don't hear these subtle qualities (like said "honk") in a guitar. I've owned many PRS and never been disappointed in the sound of any of them. Amps are another matter though I think I have that situation fairly under control at this point too. Maybe try a CU22? Even I can hear a big difference between the 22 and 24 fretters. Good luck, man. I hope you find your sound. Lots of choices out there.
 
I agree with all of the above but go in an order. Drop the pickup height. Change the strings, even block the trem. Then play with the amp and even get a different amp if that improves the sound. If nothing works for you, get an instrument that does.
 
Thanks everybody for your kind responses. I will hang in there and I do appreciate the free Kazoo :D

I have played it through 3 different amps, adjusted the volume and tone knobs, and had somebody else play the guitar so I could listen. I think it is a PRS Cu24 sound, and I either have to come to appreciate it or get a different guitar. Bluesboy, your comment about your first PRS taking you time to appreciate all the sounds it could achieve makes me think that I haven't realized what I actually have. AP515, blocking the trem is something I was just thinking about doing.


Thanks again for all your kind responses.
 
Its like going from a studabaker to a Ferrari these guitars are precision instruments Paul designed them that way from the tuning pegs to the premium woods used pickups etc,Give it a chance these are not cookie cutter guitars you've joined the big leagues.They have there own distinct sound once you get used to it you'll be hooked.And the musicians on this forum are well versed and always willing to help.
 
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for some reason I am not able to load pictures from my Shutterfly account. I'll figure it out.
 
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Viking Gangster, the last thing on earth I want to do is talk anyone into liking an instrument that is not the voice they want. Seriously. As an example, I like a lot of guitars, but Strats don't work for me at all. Nor do Ibanez and hosts of others I've tried.

I always think it's silly for folks to try to talk me into one - heck, I've had them.

Nonetheless, there are some things about PRS guitars and getting good tones with them that you might not have thought about, so I'm going to give it the old college try, and if it still doesn't work, well, that's life.

First, PRS' have useful volume and tone controls. Working with them, in conjunction with your amp(s) is the way to play a PRS. the volume, for example is actually useful below 10. I set my amps up with my guitar volume at 5, to get just to the edge of the amp breaking up. Below that, one gets nice clean tones, and above it, the guitar controls the gain of the amp. I do something similar with the guitar's tone controls.

If you haven't tried this, I'd recommend trying it, at least to discover the range of tones that are actually on tap.

And I'd do that before mucking around with pickup height and other stuff that makes less of a difference in most cases than simply working the guitar's controls to achieve what you want.

Second, when setting up your amp, even if you've messed with the amp's controls a little, it's not the same as zeroing everything out and setting the amp up by ear, I play single channel amps, so a little of this changes if you're playing a two or multi-channel amp, but it doesn't have to change by much. Avoiding the temptation to turn the guitar up to 10, leave the volume at around 5 or 6, and set it up for a good "edge of grit" tone. Do it by ear, not by what you usually do with the knobs. Same on the gain channel.

Finally, there is a psychological thing that is often at play and we rarely acknowledge it: no instrument will achieve perfection for us without a little work and experience with it.

At first, there is the rush of excitement at the new thing, and the heady feeling of having that perfect tool. Then, when one realizes well, we still have a lot of work to do to get that perfect tone happening, there is a strong feeling of disappointment, even betrayal, and we start listening for things that confirm our fear that we've made a colossal mistake, when in truth, we've only scratched the surface of what we can do with the instrument.

But in a huff, we wish to atone for the "mistake" and we sell the offending goods. Of course, with time, we have our regrets.

There is indeed a focus to the CU24's tone. In the context of a mix (in my case, for TV ad and video/film work) this is a very good thing because the guitar has a lot of cut and doesn't take up too much sonic space. Yet it gets the goods, at least for me.

But I also play other PRS guitars (going back to 1991), and in general, I like that thing that PRS guitars do, so I use them in my work.

Still, I recognize that they're a little different, and we players are all different, and even in the case of a simple hammer, no single hammer serves all carpenters.
 
While I don't know if it really applies to you or not, but I've never really been a fan of 24 fret guitars. There are some exceptions, but mostly due to the fact that the neck pup doesn't really sound like a neck pup to me. This is why most of my guitars are 22 fretters.

As others have said, give it some time and mess with the options. If you still don't gel with it then sell it and get something else. No harm in that.
 
I go for Les's idea about playing with volume / tone settings on the guitar (and then the amp) ! I have been amazed with the range of tones that I can get out of PRS guitars. For example I have been able to get a very silky clean jazz type sound out of the neck pickup on my NF3, which I would have never expected (and did not buy the guitar for this tone).

Have to say though in the end it is all about what your ears hear. I for one do like Strats and Teles, but have never been a big fan of "G" guitars.
 
First off, you're only talking about half of the equation. Your amp setup, along with string gauge, pickups, pedals & effects, and even the pick you use, all play a factor. The midrange "honk" is somewhat of a trademark of the PRS sound, but with some tweaking of amp, maybe some EQ adjustment you can flatten out that extra mids and bring up some bottom or high end sounds that you're trying to achieve. One big way to change your sound is to change pickups, but that opens up one of the biggest can-o-worms on this forum, "what pickups to put in my PRS?"

Good luck with it.

Ha Ha, I always thought the honk was a feature, not a bug :D
 
While I don't know if it really applies to you or not, but I've never really been a fan of 24 fret guitars. There are some exceptions, but mostly due to the fact that the neck pup doesn't really sound like a neck pup to me. This is why most of my guitars are 22 fretters.
.

I also felt this way until I played a nice Santana.
 
While I don't know if it really applies to you or not, but I've never really been a fan of 24 fret guitars. There are some exceptions, but mostly due to the fact that the neck pup doesn't really sound like a neck pup to me. This is why most of my guitars are 22 fretters.

As others have said, give it some time and mess with the options. If you still don't gel with it then sell it and get something else. No harm in that.

I'll go one further, while I fell in love with the bridge position on my 25" scale Mira I wasn't getting the expected sound from the neck or both pickups. I was expecting something more LP-ish but wasn't getting it and at first thought it was the pickups but on thinking it through realized that the neck pickup lies a different distance from the bridge than an LP, and that the space between both pickups is also different. Once I got that figured out I started seeing what tones I could get out of those, and like Les said started with the controls on the guitar rolled back. So no real LP or Strat tones but I did find some great Mira tones.
 
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