(Non) Official CE24 with vintage-style PAFs thread

[aguynamedben]

Alright, I have a Tele and a Friedman Runt 20. Out of my distaste for a popular “authentic” brand, and love of satin necks, I bought a brand new CE24 when I got humbucker GAS.

The CE24 is just excellent. But between my Tele and Runt 20, I have enough brightness in my setup, and don’t need the (excellent) single coil sounds in my CE24. The CE24 coil split sounds are so good it actually bothers me!!! Ha. I want to simplify my decision making tree so that the PRS is humbuckers, the Tele is single coil.

So here’s my plan I set in motion today.

• Remove 85/15s
• Remove all wiring
• Replace all wiring with the Emerson/bumblebee “50s” style wiring kit for PRS guitars. This gets rid of coil splitting. 500k pots, 0.22uf resistor, etc.
• Replace the 85/15s with Fralin Pure PAFs... alnico 2, 7.5k/8k, nickel covers. Regular wiring, no coil tap wiring on these.

Then I just have a sick CE24 with “low turn” vintage-style humbuckers. Like a 594/CE hybrid. I think with the brightness of the CE24s but darkness and lower output of the alnico 2s, this might make the sound fall into 1956 P-90 Les Paul territory. It will be pretty unique. And simple. I want humbuckers? Use CE24. I want single coils? Use Tele. This also should make it easier to switch between my Tele and my CE24 because I’m not switching between low output vintage Tele pickups and hotter modern PRS pickups. So my pedalboard can kind of take both easier without retweaking knobs. The Runt 20 clean channel is fantastic but doesn’t have a ton of headroom with the 85/15s, and sounds very bright with them.

Okay... tell me this is a genius idea!!

 

[Bill SAS 513]

Makes sense to me...nothing really sounds like a Tele, except a Tele...and the CEs were aimed that way, with the maple bolt-on neck, 85/15s, and all that. Enjoy!

Of course, I see a Custom 22 in your future...

 

[aguynamedben]

Makes sense to me...nothing really sounds like a Tele, except a Tele...and the CEs were aimed that way, with the maple bolt-on neck, 85/15s, and all that. Enjoy!

Of course, I see a Custom 22 in your future...

Thanks for the feedback! Yeah, if anything I loose some of the Strat-iness of the CE24, but my Tele mid and neck are sick for some of those sounds. Main goal here is to distance the CE24 away from the Tele more with old PAFs so they can contrast each other in a mix and provide a different playing experience.

 

[Bill SAS 513]

That absolutely makes sense...covering the specific/classic SC and HB sounds.

 

[toothace]

Sounds like a plan. You know you're gonna have to post sound clips after the mods to the CE, right?

 

[bodia]

Solid plan!

 

[Johnny Rigs]

That just might work~ I’m replacing the stock pickups in my Johnny Hiland (CE24) with 53/10s, which are supposed to be on the vintage low-output side of the spectrum.

 

[gush]

That just might work~ I’m replacing the stock pickups in my Johnny Hiland (CE24) with 53/10s, which are supposed to be on the vintage low-output side of the spectrum.

Now THIS is a plan if I ever heard one!!!!!

 

[Boogie]

Dumping vintage hummers into PRSi has been kind of a thing for me for several years. Especially in a CU22/24 thickness model, low output pickups warm things up nicely! Highly recommended! I think you’re on the right track.

(As the owner of a 56 Les Paul with P-90s, I agree with the approach)

 

[Rider1260]

I put a McCarty set in my CU22 after playing my Special Semi Hollow with the 58/15 mt pickups and I have Miras in an SCT and a DGT
I believe I have found a happy place with low to mid output hum bucker.
Not as low as the LT pickups tho