First time owner.

[Gnarmageddon]

Hey y'all.

So I'm dipping my toe in the PRS waters, I've been eyeballing one ever since Dave Navarro started flossing one. I lucked into a modestly-used 2018 CE at a very good price for a maiden voyage (though I already have my eye on a Custom 24). Even with a few love marks, this thing plays wonderfully and really does have a nice low-mid resonance.

Only thing I'm not sure on is the 85/15 pickup set. I play tuned pretty darn low (drop B / .12-.60) and I'm missing just a bit much of the super-low grunt. That's not a slight on the pickups installed, I'm the one pushing the instrument out of its normal range of use. So my first swap is going to be a pair of Bare Knuckle Boot Camp "True Grit". It was that or some repro Gibson Dirty Fingers.

Am I safe in assuming that 50mm spacing is going to be a 1:1 fit? And has anyone tried the BNP's in their PRS? I'll report back with a before and after.

 

[veinbuster]

Welcome to the forum

 

[RickP]

Welcome to the forum, and congrats on your first (but likely not last) PRS! I’ve not used BK pickups personally, but many here like them. I’m sure someone can fill you in on fit info.

 

[John K]

I've got some Bareknuckles in my Lowery SE which is tuned to Drop B. I bought it secondhand and the original owner installed them but they fit and sound great. I am not quite as beefy on the strings (12-56) but the pups and strings are fine. I have a couple other PRS's tuned in that range, but not with those pups, and they are all amazing and have never had any issues with tuning low, speaks to the quality of the PRS IMO.

 

[John K]

Let's see the guitar!

 

[Gnarmageddon]

Ayyy @John K , thanks for the clarification. I need to get over the stereotype that PRS owners are corksniffing Don Henley fetishists and that there are a few other metal ruffians among us

Not sure if I'm allowed to post images being so new here and all but it's worth a shot!

https://imgur.com/a/shBsiuA

 

[John K]

Hell yes! Looks great!! Enjoy!

You’ve got a sweet setup there, too.

 

[Gnarmageddon]

Thanks! Yeah, when people ask why guitars come out so "analog sounding" I'm pretty quick to point out that analog gear goes a long way towards getting that sound (except I totally use ToneHub... so I guess that doesn't make *that* much sense.

 

[Alnus Rubra]

Congratulations and welcome.

 

[Deleted member 5962]

I need to get over the stereotype that PRS owners are corksniffing Don Henley fetishists and that there are a few other metal ruffians among us

I think my screen name clarifies my position on that. Along with the rest of what I think about people who say that stuff, which I will keep to myself.

 

[Gnarmageddon]

I think my screen name clarifies my position on that. Along with the rest of what I think about people who say that stuff, which I will keep to myself.

I shared that pic on the PRS subreddit and some jamoke literally had to say something to the effect of that the CE wasn't really getting a PRS. Just garden variety keyboard commando stuff, but I see that kind of elitism with lots of brands. Gibson and Fender have their fair share. ESP, which is a brand I have played for well over two decades, has some SERIOUS fart-sniffing happening there.

This is my testing of the waters. Getting a feel for 'the PRS thing'. Ultimately (and my wife has promised that this would be a great 50th birthday present), I'd have something made from the ground up to my exact spec. But I'm not going to start out on a $4000 Custom 24 or double that (or worse) to have something custom ordered. You can tell a lot about a company at the mid-tier price point. Are corners getting cut to satisfy the beancounters, or are they compromises that the designers and luthiers can make without a significant sacrifice to quality?

I brought it home Saturday, spent some time intonating and setting it up for the lower tuning and higher gauge strings and I am just floored. I'm used to really digging in to get my guitar to grunt, heave, and squeal. The CE24 seems to almost have this inverted - the lighter your touch, the better it sounds. As much as I hate the term 'djent', my music definitely has a lot of djug djug djug, palm-muted drop-b chords. My normal go-to's are a Schecter Tempest Custom, a Jackson Chris Broderick, and an ESP M-II Deluxe. The CE seems to actually fuse things I like about all three - the fast, low action of the ESP and Jackson, and the chesty resonance of the Shecky.

So in a couple years, when you see a McCarty body with a single humbucker and toggle switch for a volume pot, a blacker-than-black satin curly maple top with matching headstock, a Tune-O-Matic, and a single 12th fret marker on a maple neck? I went for the custom

 

[John K]

I have a CE24 and it's badass. It's old (1989) and beaten and bruised but it's great. Might not be the most expensive PRS out there but I truly love it. I have literally been gigging with it for decades. I am sure you will love yours too. I have my eye on one of those Dusty Waring CE24's with the floyd. Gotta save up a little. I have a couple LTD's and have heard the same kind of thing from the ESP fanboys. Don't worry about that nonsense

 

[Deleted member 5962]

I bought my first PRS and everyone after that because of feel and playability first, tone second, and looks third. The reason I keep buying them is that they feel and play better than anything else. As most here are tired of my saying by now, my plainest PRS (NF3 with white paint, and no birds on the fretboard) is literally one of the greatest guitars ever made. Same with my Custom 24, but it is much prettier. But those are the two greatest playing guitars I've ever had my hands on. Just BUTTER smooth, easy to play, low action, consistent bending, and KILLER tones. They have it all.

 

[Deleted member 5962]

Edit: the quality is second to none. Leaving that out of the above is a mistake. The quality is something you can see and feel immediately. And that is also ahead of looks on the "why I buy them" scale. Looks are the eye candy, and I sure like it when they are beautiful as several of mine are, but not necessary or even a reason I purchase a guitar.

 

[McMahon67]

I shared that pic on the PRS subreddit and some jamoke literally had to say something to the effect of that the CE wasn't really getting a PRS. Just garden variety keyboard commando stuff, but I see that kind of elitism with lots of brands. Gibson and Fender have their fair share. ESP, which is a brand I have played for well over two decades, has some SERIOUS fart-sniffing happening there.

This is my testing of the waters. Getting a feel for 'the PRS thing'. Ultimately (and my wife has promised that this would be a great 50th birthday present), I'd have something made from the ground up to my exact spec. But I'm not going to start out on a $4000 Custom 24 or double that (or worse) to have something custom ordered. You can tell a lot about a company at the mid-tier price point. Are corners getting cut to satisfy the beancounters, or are they compromises that the designers and luthiers can make without a significant sacrifice to quality?

I brought it home Saturday, spent some time intonating and setting it up for the lower tuning and higher gauge strings and I am just floored. I'm used to really digging in to get my guitar to grunt, heave, and squeal. The CE24 seems to almost have this inverted - the lighter your touch, the better it sounds. As much as I hate the term 'djent', my music definitely has a lot of djug djug djug, palm-muted drop-b chords. My normal go-to's are a Schecter Tempest Custom, a Jackson Chris Broderick, and an ESP M-II Deluxe. The CE seems to actually fuse things I like about all three - the fast, low action of the ESP and Jackson, and the chesty resonance of the Shecky.

So in a couple years, when you see a McCarty body with a single humbucker and toggle switch for a volume pot, a blacker-than-black satin curly maple top with matching headstock, a Tune-O-Matic, and a single 12th fret marker on a maple neck? I went for the custom

Welcome to the party, Rock Star!
Nice rig you’ve got there!
Keep that metal a comin’!

 

[Warmart]

Welcome to the land of PRS and the forum here. Very little 'tude here and plenty of metal players. You made a solid choice on that CE24, they are fabulous. My Dusty Waring CE24 is amazing as can be. You're going to quickly find the quality, qc and playability carries through from the bottom to the top of the PRS range. You'll be getting another soon!

 

[Alnus Rubra]

I shared that pic on the PRS subreddit and some jamoke literally had to say something to the effect of that the CE wasn't really getting a PRS. Just garden variety keyboard commando stuff, but I see that kind of elitism with lots of brands. Gibson and Fender have their fair share. ESP, which is a brand I have played for well over two decades, has some SERIOUS fart-sniffing happening there.

This is my testing of the waters. Getting a feel for 'the PRS thing'. Ultimately (and my wife has promised that this would be a great 50th birthday present), I'd have something made from the ground up to my exact spec. But I'm not going to start out on a $4000 Custom 24 or double that (or worse) to have something custom ordered. You can tell a lot about a company at the mid-tier price point. Are corners getting cut to satisfy the beancounters, or are they compromises that the designers and luthiers can make without a significant sacrifice to quality?

I brought it home Saturday, spent some time intonating and setting it up for the lower tuning and higher gauge strings and I am just floored. I'm used to really digging in to get my guitar to grunt, heave, and squeal. The CE24 seems to almost have this inverted - the lighter your touch, the better it sounds. As much as I hate the term 'djent', my music definitely has a lot of djug djug djug, palm-muted drop-b chords. My normal go-to's are a Schecter Tempest Custom, a Jackson Chris Broderick, and an ESP M-II Deluxe. The CE seems to actually fuse things I like about all three - the fast, low action of the ESP and Jackson, and the chesty resonance of the Shecky.

So in a couple years, when you see a McCarty body with a single humbucker and toggle switch for a volume pot, a blacker-than-black satin curly maple top with matching headstock, a Tune-O-Matic, and a single 12th fret marker on a maple neck? I went for the custom

This is a great place to hang and you’ll find very little elitism here.

There’s a wide mixture of forum members and a lot of love for the brand from SE to PS.

Sometimes we talk about guitars as well

 

[Gnarmageddon]

I have my eye on one of those Dusty Waring CE24's with the floyd.

I admit, I came pretty close to not buying this CE24 to get the DW but that whole 'bird in the hand' thing can bite even the most steel-jawed of musicians with a few bucks in their pocket. The irony is that I have many Floyd-equipped guitars and they all either have all 5 springs running, a shim or a tremel-no. I've been playing for almost 40 years (since I was a wee lad with a cheap Cort, a 15-watt Fender, and a profound love for the Scorpions and RATT), but have learned that I'm much more Malcom than Angus, more James than Kirk. So while I'm used to Floyds, I definitely don't need one.

 

[Gnarmageddon]

You'll be getting another soon!

That's the good news and the bad news! GAS is very very real. I'm definitely salivating at a few already.

 

[John K]

I admit, I came pretty close to not buying this CE24 to get the DW but that whole 'bird in the hand' thing can bite even the most steel-jawed of musicians with a few bucks in their pocket. The irony is that I have many Floyd-equipped guitars and they all either have all 5 springs running, a shim or a tremel-no. I've been playing for almost 40 years (since I was a wee lad with a cheap Cort, a 15-watt Fender, and a profound love for the Scorpions and RATT), but have learned that I'm much more Malcom than Angus, more James than Kirk. So while I'm used to Floyds, I definitely don't need one.

I appreciate all that. If (when) I buy the Waring I will probably stabilize the trem too. I just think they look sexy as hell.