PeteHill
Been hanging around a while
Yesterday, I received my 1999 CE24 and thought I'd share some observations in comparison to my S2 Custom 24 and SE Tremonti Custom (slightly customised):
It has HFS Treble/Vintage Bass pickups and a Wide Thin Neck. It weighs 8lbs 2oz. Feels really good and sounds great acoustically and through my Digitech RP500. I gig it tomorrow, so will update soon (through my Mesa Boogie DC5). It has Phase I tuners.
The S2 has "S2 versions" of the same pickups. These are good, and I feel no need to change anything.
The S2 Phase II tuners are exceptional. I've gigged it and it's great. The only downside is, I'm not in love with the asymmetrical bevel. This guitar is lighter and sports a Pattern Regular neck. On measuring, it's between 1mm & 2mm "fatter" than the CE24. Nice and round to be fair, without being a tree trunk. The guitar weighs in at 7lb 2oz. The lightweight of the 3.
The SE Tremonti Custom was intended to be my "Les Paul" with a Trem:
As stock it sports SE245 pickups. Being a bit of a snob, I pickup up a core HFS Treble and fitted it. I also fitted Schaller M6 locking machine heads. They use the same screw holes, but are slightly heavier resulting in a slight neck heavy feel on the strap, but nothing like the weight relieved Les Paul, which was shocking. I gigged this and the S2 last weekend. The neck SE245 is lovely for Gary Moore/Santana lead tones, so happy with that. The HFS seemed a bit over saturated, and I had a bridge saddle too low, so played the S2 most of the night. I've since corrected the saddle and reduced the height of the HFS, and the SE sounded gorgeous at rehearsal. The SE is advertised as a Wide Thin neck. I wouldn't say it's massively thin but it is about 1mm thinner than the CE24's wide thin. This weighs in at a nice 9lb 14oz
Conclusion:
All 3 guitars are gig ready, have great Trems, pickups and looks.
The CE24, with it's contoured finish feels class. I can't wait to gig it tomorrow to try positions 7 & 9 on the rotary. I think I can live with the rotary as it's away from the trem for easy access. If the back plate wasn't there, you'd never guess it was bolt on. The neck pocket etc are so tight.
The SE Tremonti Custom with its customisations feels like a go-to guitar with great rock tones and I'm thinking it will be a keeper. The neck does feel slightly thin for my tastes.
The S2 is a lightweight workhorse. It sounds great for the blues influenced classic rock I play. It sustains as long as you like, sings, growls and snarls. I love the S2 pickups, trem and tuners (best of the 3). But, I'm not a collector, so for my occasional gigs, I may only need 2 guitars. If so, she may end up on the bay of E. Having said that, I've bought a 3rd Hercules wall hanger, so she may stay. Lets hope
It has HFS Treble/Vintage Bass pickups and a Wide Thin Neck. It weighs 8lbs 2oz. Feels really good and sounds great acoustically and through my Digitech RP500. I gig it tomorrow, so will update soon (through my Mesa Boogie DC5). It has Phase I tuners.
The S2 has "S2 versions" of the same pickups. These are good, and I feel no need to change anything.
The S2 Phase II tuners are exceptional. I've gigged it and it's great. The only downside is, I'm not in love with the asymmetrical bevel. This guitar is lighter and sports a Pattern Regular neck. On measuring, it's between 1mm & 2mm "fatter" than the CE24. Nice and round to be fair, without being a tree trunk. The guitar weighs in at 7lb 2oz. The lightweight of the 3.
The SE Tremonti Custom was intended to be my "Les Paul" with a Trem:
As stock it sports SE245 pickups. Being a bit of a snob, I pickup up a core HFS Treble and fitted it. I also fitted Schaller M6 locking machine heads. They use the same screw holes, but are slightly heavier resulting in a slight neck heavy feel on the strap, but nothing like the weight relieved Les Paul, which was shocking. I gigged this and the S2 last weekend. The neck SE245 is lovely for Gary Moore/Santana lead tones, so happy with that. The HFS seemed a bit over saturated, and I had a bridge saddle too low, so played the S2 most of the night. I've since corrected the saddle and reduced the height of the HFS, and the SE sounded gorgeous at rehearsal. The SE is advertised as a Wide Thin neck. I wouldn't say it's massively thin but it is about 1mm thinner than the CE24's wide thin. This weighs in at a nice 9lb 14oz
Conclusion:
All 3 guitars are gig ready, have great Trems, pickups and looks.
The CE24, with it's contoured finish feels class. I can't wait to gig it tomorrow to try positions 7 & 9 on the rotary. I think I can live with the rotary as it's away from the trem for easy access. If the back plate wasn't there, you'd never guess it was bolt on. The neck pocket etc are so tight.
The SE Tremonti Custom with its customisations feels like a go-to guitar with great rock tones and I'm thinking it will be a keeper. The neck does feel slightly thin for my tastes.
The S2 is a lightweight workhorse. It sounds great for the blues influenced classic rock I play. It sustains as long as you like, sings, growls and snarls. I love the S2 pickups, trem and tuners (best of the 3). But, I'm not a collector, so for my occasional gigs, I may only need 2 guitars. If so, she may end up on the bay of E. Having said that, I've bought a 3rd Hercules wall hanger, so she may stay. Lets hope
