Incoming PRS 94 CE24 project guitar

Is it possible that’s not the original neck? Some second rate DIYer could have then mucked up the tremolo.
 
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dogrocketp said:
Is it possible that’s not the ordinal neck? Some second rate DIYer could have then mucked up the tremolo.
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I think the neck has serial number written on it under the neck pickup that should match the serial number on the neck plate. If those match then it could mean it’s all original or somebody swapped neck and the plate. If they don’t match then that will tell you somebody has jacked with it for sure.
 
The neck plate serial number and serial number in pickup cavity match. It doesn't look like there has been any DIY work on trem holes either, no signs of fixed drill holes, etc.

Would be interesting to see what someone like Shawn from PRS would make of this. Just seems like such a weird thing to see on a USA PRS.

Edit: I want to make it clear that I'm not dissing PRS by any means, the guitar plays great and has a great tone and feel like any US made PRS would, just odd about a few flaws in production, especially fulcrum screw alignment. My 98 CE is flawless in build in every single way, I just thought it'd be the same across all USA PRS instruments. PRS are renown for being the most perfect off the shelf mass production instrument there is for a reason.
 
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If it was me I don't think I would change the trem screw holes, I bet it works fine as is.
As far as shimming the neck goes I've had 2 bolt neck PRS and worked on a couple others.
My NF3 did not need any shimming my DC3 works as is but could use a shim if I wanted more play in the trem.
The Silver Sky that I just worked on had a small shim from the factory added a bigger one when we set the trem to float.
Stem Mac makes some really nice shims they are pricy BUT so nice, I wouldn't worry about shimming a neck on a Bolt on guitar regardless of manufacture
Killer project can't wait to see it finished
 


The 94 all strung and set up. Still need to wire up the pickups. Not 100% sold on this one yet. The acoustic tone is nice but doesn't have the same resonance as my 98 and seeing as it looks to be mahogany back I'm not sure if I need two real similar CE24's if my 98 already does it for me better. It's only a make shift shim in the neck so maybe I need a proper stewmac one to improve neck/body contact in the neck pocket and overall acoustic tone. I do love the feel of the neck on this one though.



Love the look of this one and it's understated top. Reminds of a late 50's era gibson or something, really elegant. Can't wait to put it together and string her up, I have some Kluson style locking tuners on the way and will put some covered lower powered PAF style humbuckers in to complete the vibe. Modcat check actually reveals it's a tobacco burst and not cherry too.



She also has a really nice flame that runs the whole length of the neck from headstock to heel.
 


The emerald green 94 has a nice subtle flame in the neck too! Not as pronounced as the 2002 burst but still nice. The 94 is definitely growing on me, loving the sound of the vintage bass I put in and the combos when split. The HFS is only half working, the slug coil side isn't showing a reading on the multimeter. Must've got damaged or something when they were out of my original 98 they came in.

Any suggestions for a good replacement bridge humbucker that'll pair well with the vintage bass, something with a similar output (around 9k) that also splits well?
 
And what direction to take the finish on the 94? It's actually got a nice flame but I find the green too dark except in the right light. Gold top would be nice but there are countless dings, some are really decent and go through to the wood and that'd make a home job refin quite difficult as I know gold tops will show up any imperfections times 100.

I've seen some straight up amazing faded emerald greens from the mid 90's but I'd prefer to not leave it in the sun, do UV lamps do the same thing without the risk of hurting the wood?

Here's a few links to ones I think look amazing:





 
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5909
dwrockdoctor said:


The emerald green 94 has a nice subtle flame in the neck too! Not as pronounced as the 2002 burst but still nice. The 94 is definitely growing on me, loving the sound of the vintage bass I put in and the combos when split. The HFS is only half working, the slug coil side isn't showing a reading on the multimeter. Must've got damaged or something when they were out of my original 98 they came in.

Any suggestions for a good replacement bridge humbucker that'll pair well with the vintage bass, something with a similar output (around 9k) that also splits well?
Click to expand...

5909 bridge rules.
 




Here's the burst all put together and setup. What a beauty, I love the look. But... I must say that this one is a bit vibeless. Plays really easy but something seems missing compared to my first original 98 and also compared to the beat up 94. It was not very resonant in E standard so I dropped it to Eb which gave it a bit more resonance and liveliness but when I jump across to the others it is night and day. Haven't had a chance to plug it in yet so i am hoping that it comes alive once cranked through a nice amp.

I'm big on feeling the guitar resonate against my gut and ribcage, it's an interactive experience when you get this in a guitar. Maybe my first 98 CE is just a freak of nature perfect storm of wood combo? It resonates evenly all over the neck like crazy. The emerald isn't quite as on par but still really nice in a different way which is really growing on me (despite some of the quirks of the instrument as noted earlier in the thread), where as the sunburst just lacks some kind of mojo to it. Strange.
 
dwrockdoctor said:




Here's the burst all put together and setup. What a beauty, I love the look. But... I must say that this one is a bit vibeless. Plays really easy but something seems missing compared to my first original 98 and also compared to the beat up 94. It was not very resonant in E standard so I dropped it to Eb which gave it a bit more resonance and liveliness but when I jump across to the others it is night and day. Haven't had a chance to plug it in yet so i am hoping that it comes alive once cranked through a nice amp.

I'm big on feeling the guitar resonate against my gut and ribcage, it's an interactive experience when you get this in a guitar. Maybe my first 98 CE is just a freak of nature perfect storm of wood combo? It resonates evenly all over the neck like crazy. The emerald isn't quite as on par but still really nice in a different way which is really growing on me (despite some of the quirks of the instrument as noted earlier in the thread), where as the sunburst just lacks some kind of mojo to it. Strange.
Click to expand...

According to a section of the 'internet', that shouldn't make any difference to its tone as its all about the pick-ups and the woods have no discernable effect. At most, they effect the Sustain...

Of course that's not the way I feel - I doubt I would be such a PRS fanboy of I believed that 'woods' didn't make a difference and all you have to do is check PRS wood library guitars against the Core guitars with exactly the same dimensions, neck shape, nut, tuners, bridge, PU's and electronics. A Swamp Ash body w Maple neck/fretboard 509 sounds different to a mahogany/maple cap body, mahogany/rosewood neck/fretboard 509...

I don't know what makes some guitars resonate more - I wonder if its more crystallised resins or if the neck and body vibrate at the right frequencies that combine rather than cancel each other out - maybe its both or maybe something different. I know Steve Vai feels that when both resonate with the same tone when hit, those guitars are 'special' and his favourites do this.

I do think the woods is what makes some guitars 'extra' special - the ones that seem to excel compared to others with exactly the same materials. I know that woods, being natural do vary in density, grain etc but I wonder if its more down to the amount of resin that's crystallised and how well the neck and body are matched - both having the same frequencies...
 
Mozzi said:
According to a section of the 'internet', that shouldn't make any difference to its tone as its all about the pick-ups and the woods have no discernable effect. At most, they effect the Sustain...

Of course that's not the way I feel - I doubt I would be such a PRS fanboy of I believed that 'woods' didn't make a difference and all you have to do is check PRS wood library guitars against the Core guitars with exactly the same dimensions, neck shape, nut, tuners, bridge, PU's and electronics. A Swamp Ash body w Maple neck/fretboard 509 sounds different to a mahogany/maple cap body, mahogany/rosewood neck/fretboard 509...

I don't know what makes some guitars resonate more - I wonder if its more crystallised resins or if the neck and body vibrate at the right frequencies that combine rather than cancel each other out - maybe its both or maybe something different. I know Steve Vai feels that when both resonate with the same tone when hit, those guitars are 'special' and his favourites do this.

I do think the woods is what makes some guitars 'extra' special - the ones that seem to excel compared to others with exactly the same materials. I know that woods, being natural do vary in density, grain etc but I wonder if its more down to the amount of resin that's crystallised and how well the neck and body are matched - both having the same frequencies...
Click to expand...

I totally agree on this. It's the voodoo of guitar construction. I might mess around with blocking the trem with some tone wood and see what that does. It's definitely not a bad guitar by any means. The tuners are Gotoh HAPM locking kluson style, I wonder if they change the fundamental resonance too, if the mass may be less than typical PRS locking tuners? It'd be interesting to experiment with one of those Groove Tubes fatfinger metal headstock thingys and see what that does for increased resonance or sustain. This CE is noticeably heavier (feels body heavy to me) than my other ones so could factor into why it doesn't resonate as much as my lighter ones too, could very well have a monster heavy tone when plugged in like some boat anchor Les Pauls out there.

I also feel that a well played guitar sounds and feels better when it is played a hell of a lot. The green 94 is beat to hell which means its been well played, my original 98 has been toured more times than I can count but this 2002 burst feels really new for a 15 year old guitar besides a few small dings, maybe it's been a closet queen and hasn't been played much. I remember hearing an old adage with vintage strats that if it's pretty beat they tend to sound great where as a pristine example can tend to be colder feeling like a new guitar purely because it hasn't been played near as much. How much this is psychological I have no idea, hahaha.
 
Just plugged in the burst. Sounds great with the alnico II's I put in, really nice pickups paired with this guitar. They are made by G&B (who I believe make pickups for the SE range) custom made for a parts company in Aus, made to PAF spec with in the 7-8K range. They sound really detailed and crisp, almost single coil like while having the fat humbucker mids going on. I don't even need the coil splits much that I wired in.

This guitar is basically my attempt at a gibson, I've never fully gelled with any gibsons I've played, I'm a strat guy at heart and I find PRS a good compromise. This guitar has come alive a lot more after being plugged in, sounds wonderful in both dirty and clean, nice sustain and sings nicely on leads.

It also got it's first good ding yesterday. Accidentally kicked a metal ABY box on the ground which proceeded slide under and hit the edge of the guitar sitting on a stand. Nice little edge ding. Gotta happen at some point I guess. Needs a few more now to even it out, hahaha.
 
Here's the gang:



Really bonding with greeny, the neck is so played in and super comfortable. I put a dimarzio air zone in the bridge position which sits well with the vintage bass. Really enjoy this guitar and has already given me a few solid song ideas and riffs.

In comparison the sunburst, as beautiful as she is, is leaving me a little cold. Still a wonderful guitar when plugged in but just doesn't have that thing that the other two have. Could very well move this one on. I've spotted a second hand DC22 that is interesting me. Should be able to flip the 2002 sunburst for decent change. Pondering, pondering...

On a different note, I really want to fade the emerald green back on the 94, the sun scares me even though it would be the fastest approach. Any other way to do this relatively quickly? It's just too dark a colour at the moment.
 
On second thought I think I shall hang onto the sunburst for a little while longer. Every time I plug her in she screams when driven and chimes when clean and feels good once the amp/guitar volume thing kicks in. It's just not a grab and play around the house unplugged kinda guitar, I'll reserve that battered old green one for that. Plus the sunburst is such an understated beauty, especially that flame maple neck. My own little PRS/Gibson/Fender hybrid gal :)
 
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