I can only have one. Should it be a Custom 24?

[DesolationBlvd]

Continuing a thread I posted back on MyLesPaul...

This year was a whirlwind GAS spree. I decided to get a killer Strat and Les Paul to snuff out the GAS until I'm at least 30. All that remains on the list is a PRS. I want this to be as "traditional PRS" as possible.

I only judged with my ears and hands on the Strat and Les Paul, so I want to get something pretty this time. (Still has to play well, or it's all for nothing.)

Almost all of my guitars would correspond to a wide-thin / Pattern Thin neck. Should I only consider wide-thin / Pattern Thin necks? I tried an S2 with the Pattern Regular neck and did not really like the neck carve, though I only tried it sitting. Would a Core series Pattern Regular feel different from the S2? I would imagine that I would have liked it more if I was standing and slung it low. I can't really do that with the wider/thinner necks on most of my guitars.

I do not want to buy sight unseen, custom orders notwithstanding. I have never had to unload a perfectly good guitar I bought after trying in the store because of falling out of love with it. I have had to send back or sell guitars after buying sight unseen. As for dealers - I notice in the DC area that Chuck Levin's has three Cu24s I want to try. Any other stores with good PRS selections? Pretty much anywhere throughout VA/DC/MD would be possible. I plan on making the final purchase this Black Friday.

Should I consider other models? I notice that Chuck's has a McCarty Trem for a little less than the Cu24s I'm looking at, with a better top to boot (they are all 10-tops). I read that the McCarty was designed to sound more like Gibson, so it's not the original PRS sound (almost defeating the purpose of getting a PRS). I'm also afraid of the wide-fat neck. I have smaller hands, and didn't like the Gibson 50s necks on the LPJs I passed up on my way to get my lifetime Les Paul.


This will be the second or third most expensive instrument I will buy in my young life, so I better get it right the first time.

 

[shinksma]

I think you'll be happiest with a Custom 24 - it is the "iconic" guitar model that PRS built their name upon.

Wide-thin is definitely a nice neck. I have small hands, and it feels best to me, although I do tolerate the Wide Fats too, it seems. Pattern regular is a slightly narrower neck, my fat fingers wouldn't like that much.

I would think there are lots of PRS dealers in the DC/NoVA/MD area, since PRS is from MD - you should be able to find one quite easily. Check out the Dealers forum for the tastiest possibilities:

http://prsguitars.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?64-Authorized-PRS-Dealers

Good luck!

 

[AP515]

PRS Wide Fat isn't Gibson 50's fat. It's more like a slightly overweight Wide Thin. But if "regular" didn't appeal to you, I'd say stick with W/T.

As for the rest of the details, the CU24 seems to fit well for you. Try the 3 at Chuck's to help you decide. They are the classic PRS.

 

[garrett]

This year was a whirlwind GAS spree. I decided to get a killer Strat and Les Paul to snuff out the GAS until I'm at least 30.

Snuff out the gas until you're 30? So you must be 29 years old right now. :tongue:

All that remains on the list is a PRS. I want this to be as "traditional PRS" as possible.

Custom 24 it is, then. Go for the Wide Thin neck since you didn't like the Regular.

 

[markintime]

I agree with all of the above. I have just regular hands, no long or fat fingers, just boringly average. My SE CU 24 has a wide/thin, and my PG has a pattern regular which feels very close to the neck on my Tacoma acoustic. I don't have any problem with any of them. I will admit, however, that the 24's neck does feel kind of 'sexy'. But neither of the others restrict my playing. I think you will like the Custom 24 which ever one you pick. It definitely has a variety of tones and they are all good. :top:

 

[garrett]

PRS Wide Fat isn't Gibson 50's fat. It's more like a slightly overweight Wide Thin. But if "regular" didn't appeal to you, I'd say stick with W/T.

As for the rest of the details, the CU24 seems to fit well for you. Try the 3 at Chuck's to help you decide. They are the classic PRS.

It's a considerable difference, though. 0.78" at the nut for WT, which is about as thin as you want to go without extra reinforcement. 0.84" at the nut for WF and Regular, which puts them in the "medium" category. Regular will feel a little tighter and smaller due to the narrower nut width.

 

[veinbuster]

Welcome to the forum.
Yes CU24.

 

[DesolationBlvd]

PRS Wide Fat isn't Gibson 50's fat. It's more like a slightly overweight Wide Thin. But if "regular" didn't appeal to you, I'd say stick with W/T.

As for the rest of the details, the CU24 seems to fit well for you. Try the 3 at Chuck's to help you decide. They are the classic PRS.

Hmm...my old Epiphones said on the spec sheets that they had the "SlimTaper" (Gibson '60s) neck, but they are noticeably thicker than most of my "thin" necks. They're not hand-killers, but not ideal.

I would give the Regular neck a second chance, if the finish and top is pretty enough and the price is right. The only neck that was completely unplayable was the Gibson 2015. But if the Regular neck still trips me up that badly, then it would be a deal-breaker.

The three at Chuck's I'm looking at - one might be mislabeled, it says both "Pattern Regular" and "Pattern Thin". The least expensive of the three does say Pattern Regular, and the most expensive (the Experience 2013 orange fade) says Pattern Thin (and has an ebony fretboard). It would be the one I'd get if money was no object.

Also - Island Music Company in MD has one on eBay with the Pattern Thin neck and a good, but not great, top (non-10). There was a used Cu24 on a Craigslist more local to me for a good price, but then I saw he had also posted it on eBay and a bidding war was brewing, not to mention the top had a huge "dead spot" in the flame. Not up to my standards.

Going to make the initial trial run this Saturday.

Snuff out the gas until you're 30? So you must be 29 years old right now. :tongue:

Let's just say I'm not 29 yet...

But the plan is no more guitars except selling budget/midrange models to pay for higher-end replacements.

 

[aristotle]

First, if you're going to stop by Chuck's, make sure to ask for Paul Schein. The guy is top notch and will work with you to get you exactly what you want.

As to which PRS, it's a different thing than Gibson or Fender. If you want the prototypical Gibson, you really have to go Les Paul. If you want just one Fender, it really should be a strat (even though I like Tele's better...)

But with PRS, even though it all started with the CU24, to my way of thinking anyway, it isn't by any means the one PRS you have to have. I have a bunch, and ironically, the CU24 is the only one that I haven't wanted to get (that's not to say it isn't the perfect one for you...just that there isn't that ONE PRS that defines everything...)

You may love the flexibility of the 408/Paul's Guitar. Or, you may love the combination of LP like humbucker tone in a double cut found in the DGT, and the split tones are really great. In any case Paul at Chuck's will be able to put the entire line in your hands. Their site doesn't show squat...but they carry pretty much everything in my experience. In any case, good luck!!!

 

[gush]

purchase the custom 24 worry about what your second one will be because it will happen.

 

[Brad737]

I wholeheartedly agree that everyone needs a Strat and a Lester in their collection, and also a Tele. I'm obviously quite biased towards PRS, and congratulate you on that choice. However, PRS has made a LOT of different models. I realize the Cu24 is what put them on the map, so to speak, and I do really like them. But IMHO, you'd really be selling yourself short, if you limited your search to a Custom. With such a wide range of possibilities, I think you're really going to have to play a few models to see what you like. My personal favorite is the original Modern Eagle. Personally, I think the ME1 is the greatest production guitar ever built.

Good luck with your search!

 

[DesolationBlvd]

Bumping now that I have tried out various neck shapes.

Pattern / Wide-Fat on the McTrem at Chuck's
(Pattern) Regular on many Core and S2 instruments
Pattern Thin / Wide-Thin on CEs at Atomic

The McTrem was drop dead beautiful in person and was in one of my ideal finishes. Wide-fat was no problem for me. My Epiphones had fatter necks. As long as the nut is 1 11/16" and it's not a hard V or baseball bat, I'm good. The important part is the nut width, or so I thought. Sound was a worry - I thought it would render my Les Paul redundant. Well, no worries here, I still recognized it as the PRS sound.

The CEs had the ideal necks, though. But I wasn't sure about having a bolt-on as my first and only PRS for a while.

Still didn't like the regular neck, I thought. Last stop, and last chance for the regular neck to impress me, was at a Guitar Center. Maybe my hand needed time to adjust from the 1 11/16" nut width to the 1 21/32" nut width, or maybe 1/32" is a very minor difference, but it finally clicked. But, after trying out Core models side-by-side with S2s, I went to a Gibson with the 60's neck and it felt wonky. Maybe my original impression of the S2 series and the regular neck was tainted by a poorly set-up floor model last time?

Funnily enough, I prefer the narrow Jazz Bass neck over the wide Precision Bass neck. Go figure.

I found love today. The McTrem is now my first choice...But then that leaves the door open for a Custom 24 in the future...Wait, the Cu24 will be the 30th birthday present. Problem solved.

 

[swede71]

Buy what feels and sounds the best.I absolutely love my DGT.Check out that model,ok neck is chunky but feels great.

 

[sleary]

I have small hands and own a cu24, DGT and an s2 cu24 . I love all the necks on them. My cu24 has the regular neck and it fits really good in my hands as does the dgt neck.