IRG
New Member
So last week after what I thought was much deliberation and research, I got a new guitar, a Charvel SoCal Mod San Dimas HSS M HT (no pickguard, HSS pickups from Seymour Duncan), maple neck and a hard tail, no Floyd Rose). It's not a PRS, and you may be wondering why I'm posting it here.
I bought it from SW, as a demo, usually have great luck with their demo's, the last one was a PRS SE Silver Sky that had a blemish on the headstock, which turned out to be the size of a pin head, if that was even it. The Charvel was described as having a scratch on the neck (couldn't find one) and a wavy finish (their picks couldn't capture it). When I got the guitar, under the right light, it is wavy, oddly almost like tape was used in the finish process, you can see lines, even though the finish is all one color. But only when the light hits it. What was not disclosed was a bruise on the side, near where you right arm might be. Not a huge bruise, but it's there, and wasn't mentioned.
Now for the other issues. The 5 way selector doesn't quite work, position 4 seems non existent. But the frets which are jumbo, are the biggest issue. Fret sprout perhaps, I tried filing down the edges which has helped. But when I play, my index finger looked it was about to bleed openly it was raw from the jumbo frets maybe just being too large? Or too sharp, not sure. All I know, I can't play it for very long.
So of course I'm looking for a replacement, something similar. And I'm back looking at the PRS lineup at SW. Here is what I'm thinking about:
The DGT SE - love having dual volume controls, similar to a LP, I like setting the neck a bit lower, and toggle between the two. It sounds like it's close to the Pattern Regular shape, which I've owned formerly in an S2 Custom 24 (should have kept that guitar, dammit). A bit beefier, nice shoulders apparently. The DGT S pickups - tell me more, hot enough for hard rock, metal, but still nice for cleans? While I'm not a metal head, I do tend to gravitate to the more aggressive side of things. Gold top or the burst? I'm having a hard time choosing?
Custom 24 SE - I've owned an S2 and a CE 24 with the 85/15 pickups (felt the S versions were just as good), and I do like these pickups a lot. The CU24 is the classic model, which I tend to own (strat, LP, etc.). The current version has a more sculpted top now? I like the Charcoal color w/natural sides/back/headstock the best.
Custom 24-08 SE - I do like the toggle switch options. Not sure I like the colors available.
Custom 24 Quilt SE - This one is top of the price budget, has a more figured top, and binding on the neck/headstock, which I believe the others don't have. Worth the $? Not sure, probably the regular SE CU24 would be sufficient. But then I think about the DGT SE, and it seems to check all of the boxes.
I found with the Charvel stop tail, for some reason I was really missing the tremolo - I don't dive bomb, but like a little vibrato from time to time. I prefer a single coil tone in the neck, but with gain I need a humbucker in the bridge. Gain comes from pedals, also got an Empress Heavy Menace for dirt, and this pedal rips. $1k max budget. So I think it comes down to the DGT SE vs. CU24SE. Thoughts?
I bought it from SW, as a demo, usually have great luck with their demo's, the last one was a PRS SE Silver Sky that had a blemish on the headstock, which turned out to be the size of a pin head, if that was even it. The Charvel was described as having a scratch on the neck (couldn't find one) and a wavy finish (their picks couldn't capture it). When I got the guitar, under the right light, it is wavy, oddly almost like tape was used in the finish process, you can see lines, even though the finish is all one color. But only when the light hits it. What was not disclosed was a bruise on the side, near where you right arm might be. Not a huge bruise, but it's there, and wasn't mentioned.
Now for the other issues. The 5 way selector doesn't quite work, position 4 seems non existent. But the frets which are jumbo, are the biggest issue. Fret sprout perhaps, I tried filing down the edges which has helped. But when I play, my index finger looked it was about to bleed openly it was raw from the jumbo frets maybe just being too large? Or too sharp, not sure. All I know, I can't play it for very long.
So of course I'm looking for a replacement, something similar. And I'm back looking at the PRS lineup at SW. Here is what I'm thinking about:
The DGT SE - love having dual volume controls, similar to a LP, I like setting the neck a bit lower, and toggle between the two. It sounds like it's close to the Pattern Regular shape, which I've owned formerly in an S2 Custom 24 (should have kept that guitar, dammit). A bit beefier, nice shoulders apparently. The DGT S pickups - tell me more, hot enough for hard rock, metal, but still nice for cleans? While I'm not a metal head, I do tend to gravitate to the more aggressive side of things. Gold top or the burst? I'm having a hard time choosing?
Custom 24 SE - I've owned an S2 and a CE 24 with the 85/15 pickups (felt the S versions were just as good), and I do like these pickups a lot. The CU24 is the classic model, which I tend to own (strat, LP, etc.). The current version has a more sculpted top now? I like the Charcoal color w/natural sides/back/headstock the best.
Custom 24-08 SE - I do like the toggle switch options. Not sure I like the colors available.
Custom 24 Quilt SE - This one is top of the price budget, has a more figured top, and binding on the neck/headstock, which I believe the others don't have. Worth the $? Not sure, probably the regular SE CU24 would be sufficient. But then I think about the DGT SE, and it seems to check all of the boxes.
I found with the Charvel stop tail, for some reason I was really missing the tremolo - I don't dive bomb, but like a little vibrato from time to time. I prefer a single coil tone in the neck, but with gain I need a humbucker in the bridge. Gain comes from pedals, also got an Empress Heavy Menace for dirt, and this pedal rips. $1k max budget. So I think it comes down to the DGT SE vs. CU24SE. Thoughts?
