Hi all,
I've played mostly Gibson and Epiphone guitars. Never even touched a PRS until recently, when my local store received a used Custom 24 SE.
I played it, and I love it. The neck profile and fretboard radius are perfect for me, upper fret access is great, the instrument is well built and balances well, and it's very versatile in terms of the tones it will produce. I might like it better than any guitar I currently own.
I'm thinking of buying it, but I have a question about the pickups: This guitar appears to be a 2015 model, and my understanding is that probably does not have the newer "S" pickups (please let me know if you think I'm wrong about that.)
I did some googling to try and learn the differences in the "S" versus the previous 85/15s, and I haven't been able to learn very much. Just found some people saying that the earlier pickups are "brighter" sounding.
So I guess I'm wondering:
1.) Is the difference noticeable?
2.) Is it worth buying a new PRS (or waiting for a newer used one) to get the "S" pickups?
I play a lot of classic and hard rock, and I love the sound of a Les Paul or an SG. If the "S" pickups sound more Gibson-y when the distortion is on, I'd probably consider it worth the investment.
Thanks for any info
I don't know when the SE's would have been switched to 85/15 'S' Pick-ups and, if its important to you, I would suggest asking the seller.
The 85/15 S pick-ups do sound different if you are comparing a Custom 24 SE to a Core Custom 24. How much of a difference that is just 'Pick-ups' compared to the differences of the guitars as a whole. As an example, I doubt the SE has as thick a maple top under its thin veneer compared to the solid Maple top on the Core. The bridge, whilst a very similar design is not the same materials. The nut too is different so there are differences between the guitars that will impact on the tone even if the Guitars had exactly the same Pick-ups.
To me though, that's immaterial. If you pick up the guitar, its in your price range, feels great to play etc and you like the tone it makes, it really doesn't matter if they are 85/15 'S' PU's, 245 'S' etc. If you don't really like the sound, then try a different guitar, another maybe newer Custom 24 SE and compare how it sounds. Tone is totally subjective and, if you go chasing a Core Custom 24 sound with an SE version, even if you put the US made 85/15's in, it maybe closer but you will hear a difference if you play clean.
Unless you can afford to experiment with Pick-ups, happy to swap them out and see if the tone your guitar has is 'better' to you than the previous ones, I would suggest you buy a Guitar that sounds great to you. I can sit here and say my Core PRS Custom 24 sounds 'better' than any SE Custom 24 I have heard BUT that is irrelevant because its a sound that I prefer and that's played through my preferred amp with my preferred settings and not an SE in a shop using an amp I am not overly familiar with which is no doubt affecting my opinion on the way a guitar sounds. I have no doubt that some here may prefer their Custom 24 with 57/09's in, some may prefer the way the SE sounds with the 'S' pick-ups, some may prefer to put Seymor Duncans or Bare Knuckles into their SE and would argue that their SE is better than any 'core' PRS.
Point is, if you like the guitar and the way it sounds 'stock' in a shop, then chances are, when you get it home, play with your set-up and tweak a few settings to your 'taste', it will sound 'better'. I do not see the point in buying a guitar that doesn't sound 'great' unless you are buying it as a 'project' guitar. I also believe that you should give the guitar a chance to show you what it's capable of - stock! I do think with some guitars, there is a 'placebo' effect - you paid a lot of money for after-market/alternative PU's so it 'must' be a lot better and even willing to spend time tweaking your gear to suit the 'new' pick-ups but weren't prepared to do that for the stock PU's. I haven't heard a 'bad' SE (not saying they don't exist - but I have never heard one myself). If you are looking to buy the 2015 SE, give it a try, don't worry what PU's it has, it really only becomes an issue if you don't like the tone and then you want to know why and which PU's can rectify the issue - for example if the current PU's lack bass/middle and sound a bit bright and thin for your taste, then you need to know why so you can then find a PU that maybe less treble, with more mid and bass that sound fuller. If the guitar sounds 'great' then why change? Why spend money unnecessarily? Give the guitar a chance to show you what it can do and you maybe surprised at just how good the SE Pick-ups are. You can spend that money on a new Pedal instead.
As I said, tone is subjective anyway so the only person that really matters in this is you. Some may say pick-up 'X' is better but others will say that pick-up 'y' is better but what really matters is which pick-up sounds best to you. If you aren't sure that the 2015 SE sounds 'right' to you, even after playing with the amps EQ, then you have a decision to make, look for a different SE that maybe a bit more expensive (newer perhaps) but sounds a lot better to you than the 2015 SE and will be cheaper than buying the 2015 SE and a new set of PU's. Its also possible that 2015 guitar won't sound much better because the issue is something else - like the nut or bridge, set-up (although if you are replacing the PU's, it may be just the height of the old ones that was causing a problem which has now changed because you set the new ones at the right height).
Anyway, the TLDR is that the PU's in that guitar doesn't matter - what matters is whether or not you like the sound and, even if it doesn't have 85/15's, you may prefer the 'older' PU's to the newer ones anyway. The 'S' pick-ups are great and 'good enough' for PRS to use them in their S2 range. Try it, see if you like it, maybe even try a 'newer' SE so you know how that sounds for comparison and buy the one that sounds the best to you!!