How to tell the difference between Regular and Wide Thin neck from photos?

[TFC]

I recently picked up a 1993 CE-24 with a Regular neck carve (my fave) and would love to find another one. Unfortunately, most sellers on Reverb and elsewhere don't mention the neck carve of these older CEs and probably don't know. Rarely someone will take photos of the pickup cavities, which will have "WT" or "R" written in them to signify the different neck carves. Once in a while I can tell a neck is Wide Thin because the heel is so small, but a majority of them I can't tell the difference.

Does anyone have any surefire way of determining the neck carve based solely on photos of the neck and/or heel?

Here's the obligatory pic of my guitar. It's not much of a looker, but it plays and sounds great.

 

[AP515]

Send an email to prs with the serial number. If they have a record of that guitar (records back that far are iffy), they will tell you.

 

[Maertl513]

The experience of my luthier is: The same model with the same specified profile doesn't necessarily lead to the axact measures.
Shaping and sanding the neck is handwork. And - don't underestimate the paintjob with its several layers.
The nut width should be predominately the most precise measure.
I assume the usage of contour gauges when sanding the back of the neck, but some sanders press harder than others. Or lean.
Back to the luthier: A customer came with his three McCartys, all with a Wide Fat neck, but all offered a different haptic in detail. One was fine, two not at all.
Good for him: The less comfortable were slightly more chunky. A little sanding, paint job, done.
I took the best of three as the template for my two custom guitars and the replacement neck, he currently manufacturing for me.
My prefered PRS profile became that, what is named Pattern Regular. My subjective opinion is: haptically no big difference to Wide Fat.

That said: You have different choices:
First: own research of the neck profile by given information - and try your luck.
Second: supported research with PRS Customer Service - and try your luck.
Third: Don't care about the profile name, but trust your fingers.

 

[kipkohl]

I think it would be pretty difficult to accurately identify neck carve from a photo.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

Believe me buddy, I wish I knew.

 

[RC Mike]

Sometimes I think I can tell a W/T from a Regular in a photo. Very occasionally I’m actually right about that.

 

[Mozzi]

Unless the Photo's have a picture of the hang tag or spec sheet detailing the neck carve, then I don't think you can tell. Angles and perspective can be misleading so I don't think you can tell the slight differences between the two from a Photo,

 

[TFC]

Sometimes I think I can tell a W/T from a Regular in a photo. Very occasionally I’m actually right about that.

Yeah, that sums it up for me too.