Custom 24 vs Custom 24-08

Casi1

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Guys,

Have any of you played both Custom 24 models (regular core Custom 24 with 85/15 pups and the 2016 Experience 24-08.... I'm assuming the 2018 24-08 will be similar to the 2016 model), and if so, are the tones significantly different?

I've searched Youtube and cant seem to find a vid that compares both of the 24s.

I'd think the deciding factor would be the pickups: 85/15 vs 85/15MT. Is there a difference in sound here?

I definitely want to get a Custom 24 in 2018; I just dont know which one to get between these two models. None of the stores around me have both of them so I am unable to try before I buy. I like a bright articulate tone and all of the Cu24s (even the S2) I've seen are both bright and articulate. I love a good single coil.

Any advice? Thoughts?
 
Theoretically, there shouldn't be any difference in tone on the settings that correspond. But there should be two tones on the 24-08 that aren't available on the Custom 24 -- humbucking/singlecoil and singlecoil/humbucking, where one of the pickups is split while the other is left in humbucking mode.

Also, it's just easier to think of that way. For me, anyway.
 
Theoretically, there shouldn't be any difference in tone on the settings that correspond. But there should be two tones on the 24-08 that aren't available on the Custom 24 -- humbucking/singlecoil and singlecoil/humbucking, where one of the pickups is split while the other is left in humbucking mode.

Also, it's just easier to think of that way. For me, anyway.

Thanks!

I really wish someone (maybe PRS?) would do a comparison video just so we could hear the 85/15 vs 85/15MT. The 2018 lineup has a lot of options between similar models.

My old S2 Custom doesnt have the same switching options as the Core but I thought there was a position where I could get bridge in hum with neck in single on the core custom 24? Is that true? I figure the only thing I'd miss out on if I went with the Cu24 would be placing either pickup in single coil. For example, I wouldnt be able to isolate just the neck 85/15 in single coil mode on the Cu24...whereas I could with the 24-08. That would be the only thing that might frustrate me. Of course this is assuming the pickups sound identical in both models.
 
My old S2 Custom doesnt have the same switching options as the Core but I thought there was a position where I could get bridge in hum with neck in single on the core custom 24? Is that true?
No, you're right, I'm misremembering.
link
I still find the 408/24-08 switching more intuitive.
 
I find the 24-08/408 switching to be more intuitive also; I just want to make sure the 85/15MT doesnt sound thinner or 'tinnier' than the 85/15 in the Cu24. Apparently, I want them to sound the same. I want the 85/15MT to be the 85/15 split... Not a whole new redesigned pickup that sounds different. I want. I want. I want. I sound SO demanding, lol.
 
Has PRS specifically stated that the new core 24/08 will have 85/15 MT pickups? The experience guitar specified the MTs, and if I recall stated that they were modified to improve their output in single coil mode. The product page for the new core 24/08 just says 85/15.
I wish this switching was an option on the CU24 piezo.
 
Has PRS specifically stated that the new core 24/08 will have 85/15 MT pickups? The experience guitar specified the MTs, and if I recall stated that they were modified to improve their output in single coil mode. The product page for the new core 24/08 just says 85/15.
I wish this switching was an option on the CU24 piezo.

Nope. There's no mention of the MT on the new 24-08. I think it should be clarified whether the new 24-08 will have regular 85/15 or 85/15MT. If its regular ole 85/15 then it should sound just like a Cu24 split. I can dig that. Not sure I can dig the 2016 24-08s MT pups...
 
You are correct but the blog calls them 85/15 in one part and 85/15 MT in another. Also in the video and catalog, the pickups are just referred to as 85/15. We probably arent going to know for sure unless someone from PRS confirms. I tried calling but the reps are all on the production floor...
 
A little PRS birdie told my buddy that the new 24-08s have multi tap pickups in them. I dont know if that is 100% factual though...
 
Hi,

If it helps but I've just looked at the new Custom 24-08 for Guitarist magazine, issue 427, on sale any day now in the UK. It definitely uses the 85/15 MT pickups.

Thanks

Dave

Thanks for confirming!

If by chance you've ever played a Custom 24 in the single coil (neck and bridge) position, does the 24-08 single coil sound the same or different?
 
Thanks for confirming!

If by chance you've ever played a Custom 24 in the single coil (neck and bridge) position, does the 24-08 single coil sound the same or different?

Yes, I had a 2017 Custom 24 as reference for the 24-08 review. Here's a brief comment on specifically the single coil (neck and bridge) position... "There’s only one sound on the Custom 24 to directly compare with, that’s the bridge and neck single coil mix which with its closer placement of the two slug coils sounds a little more Strat-mix-like than the 24-08 which sounds wider, less ‘quacky’ and less thin and bright." Hope that helps. As ever you might hear things differently and I'd really suggest trying both side-by-side if that's possible.
 
Yes, I had a 2017 Custom 24 as reference for the 24-08 review. Here's a brief comment on specifically the single coil (neck and bridge) position... "There’s only one sound on the Custom 24 to directly compare with, that’s the bridge and neck single coil mix which with its closer placement of the two slug coils sounds a little more Strat-mix-like than the 24-08 which sounds wider, less ‘quacky’ and less thin and bright." Hope that helps. As ever you might hear things differently and I'd really suggest trying both side-by-side if that's possible.

Awesome! Thank you so much. That comparison is exactly what I was looking for.

Your thoughts are identical to mine based on comparing various videos of the two models.
 
If they’re gonna count all the sounds this way, the 24-08 should really include “off”... so it’s really misnamed. And should be the 24-09.

They were going to, but they got a cease and desist from - of all people - Mike Love of Beach Boys fame. Turns out he had already registered the term "20 409s" in preparation for the upcoming archive release "20 409s - The Evolution Of A Classic Song". Twenty versions from the original single through the 50th anniversary tour. The judge was skeptical, but Love apparently testified that if you listened through a smoke-filled room, it was hard to tell if that guitar was on any of the versions, so his request was granted.
 
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