PRS CE 24 Electric Guitar Review by Sweetwater Sound

[CoreyT]

I like his reviews, and when he demos gear, he uses a PRS for the most part.

 

[CoreyT]

If they offered this as a CE22 and all black body, I would be on it.
I passed this up for my S2 as I prefer 22 frets.

 

[László]

It's a demo, actually, but if you want to see a terrific demo, check out Brian Ewald's demo on the PRS site. He really kicks it.

 

[Drew]

I didn't like the official PRS demos. The amp is dialed in much better in this demo. Most of the other demos, the treble is dialed way to high and the sound is piercing.

I still want someone to just rock the thing. These guys and their blues licks are killing me. Does no one know anything else? I wish someone would come out of left field and just bust out some neoclassical runs or some fusion.

 

[drdoom8793]

I still want someone to just rock the thing. These guys and their blues licks are killing me. Does no one know anything else? I wish someone would come out of left field and just bust out some neoclassical runs or some fusion.

Yeah, I definitely agree. You can find bluesy demos all day long for gear but it's often hard to find videos of people just going at it.

 

[bodia]

I didn't like the official PRS demos. The amp is dialed in much better in this demo. Most of the other demos, the treble is dialed way to high and the sound is piercing.

I still want someone to just rock the thing. These guys and their blues licks are killing me. Does no one know anything else? I wish someone would come out of left field and just bust out some neoclassical runs or some fusion.

 

[Drew]

That is more like it! A rock guitar should be demonstrated to rock! Playing blues on this thing is like playing metallica on a jazz box. The the end of this vid was interesting. I can't see this ending up in a country players arsenal. Who knows though.

 

[László]

That is more like it! A rock guitar should be demonstrated to rock! Playing blues on this thing is like playing metallica on a jazz box. The the end of this vid was interesting. I can't see this ending up in a country players arsenal. Who knows though.

Most of what the guy in Bodia's vid played were blues box licks, only he played them fast and with more distortion. No musical context, just a flurry of stuff. So I don't get the enthusiasm as though he's playing something different. Very un-musical, wanking vid, IMHO.

Ewald and the other new demos on the CE page on the PRS site are far, far tastier, more musical, with live drums, and one has vocal, and the sound quality is a hell of a lot better.

I liked this one a lot besides Ewald's, with Simon McBride, and it's not blues:

And this shows a few tasty licks, well played, with superb tone:

But tastes aside, the reason to demo a guitar on a site is to hear how it sounds. And you hear more guitar than amp if the gain's not screaming ice pick in ear stuff like that video demo that Bodia posted.

 

[bodia]

Most of what the guy in Bodia's vid played were blues box licks, only he played them fast and with more distortion. No musical context, just a flurry of stuff. So I don't get the enthusiasm as though he's playing something different. Very un-musical, wanking vid, IMHO.

Ewald and the other new demos on the CE page on the PRS site are far, far tastier, more musical, with live drums, and one has vocal, and the sound quality is a hell of a lot better.

I liked this one a lot besides Ewald's, with Simon McBride, and it's not blues:

And this shows a few tasty licks, well played, with superb tone:

But tastes aside, the reason to demo a guitar on a site is to hear how it sounds. And you hear more guitar than amp if the gain's not screaming ice pick in ear stuff like that video demo that Bodia posted.

Sometimes you just need to let your inner wanker out!

 

[DHW]

I just want one... I can't play as well as any of those guys lol just add it to the list... ce24, still want a 30th custom 24, custom 22, sc245, archon, cabs... Got the tax returns for the next 10 years spent.

 

[Drew]

Most of what the guy in Bodia's vid played were blues box licks, only he played them fast and with more distortion. No musical context, just a flurry of stuff. So I don't get the enthusiasm as though he's playing something different. Very un-musical, wanking vid, IMHO.

I often play with distortion and play fast, or wanking as you say, so I want to see vids that demonstrate the guitar in that way. A lot of players who buy guitars like the CE also will be playing with some sort of wankery involved. So, its good to see the guitar put through those paces. I couldn't care less if its musical or not. I'll supply the music with my own hands. The purpose of demos is so you can hear what the guitar is capable of.

 

[andy474x]

I like Don's demos a lot. He seems to like the PRS 2 Channel Custom a lot, and gets a good tone from it every time.

 

[László]

I often play with distortion and play fast, or wanking as you say, so I want to see vids that demonstrate the guitar in that way. A lot of players who buy guitars like the CE also will be playing with some sort of wankery involved. So, its good to see the guitar put through those paces. I couldn't care less if its musical or not. I'll supply the music with my own hands. The purpose of demos is so you can hear what the guitar is capable of.

I suppose that's true. And what works for you and other individuals, of course, is all good.

I tend to listen "through" whatever the musical style is, to try to get to the essence of the sound, so a few notes work just fine for me, and the less gain, the better I can discern what the tone of the guitar is, as opposed to what the amp is doing.

Of course, a good argument can be also made that one might want to know how the guitar sounds with a gained-up amp, too.

I really wasn't hearing anything new regarding what the guitar in that demo could do vs the factory demos. Maybe I'm missing something?

It'd probably help my understanding of where you're coming from musically and tonally, to hear some clips of your rig in action, whether solo or with a band. I've posted links to bunches of mine here over the past couple of years. If you have any, I'd really love to hear them! Sometimes music communicates better than words on a page.

 

[CoreyT]

Bring on the heavy distortion and high gain, 'cause that is the type of guy I am .
Put the pedal to the metal.

 

[aa8rt]

Simon McBride could put strings on a pillow and make it sing.

 

[bodia]

I really wasn't hearing anything new regarding what the guitar in that demo could do vs the factory demos. Maybe I'm missing something?.

Nah, you're not missing anything. I just posted that cuz you never really see anyone "rockin' out with the @@@@ out." I would agree, this isn't something I'd look at for the "true tone" of the guitar, but it would help me decide how it sounds if you want to "rip". All tongue in cheek.

 

[László]

I would agree, this isn't something I'd look at for the "true tone" of the guitar, but it would help me decide how it sounds if you want to "rip".

And I can't say that isn't important, as I think about it.

One of the reasons I play a humbucker guitar instead of single coils is that I like what a humbucker does with an overdriven amp more than what a single coil guitar does with an overdriven amp. I've always felt that a single coil guitar (a Strat is a good example) kind of needs a pedal to thicken it up to sound good overdriven.

So yes, it makes sense. I concede the point!

 

[bodia]

And I can't say that isn't important, as I think about it.

One of the reasons I play a humbucker guitar instead of single coils is that I like what a humbucker does with an overdriven amp more than what a single coil guitar does with an overdriven amp. I've always felt that a single coil guitar (a Strat is a good example) kind of needs a pedal to thicken it up to sound good overdriven.

So yes, it makes sense. I concede the point!

Totally agree with your take on hum vs. single.

 

[CantankerousCarl]

After living with my "new" CE24 I have to say that Amber has become my go-to. I still love my 408-equipped PRSes, but the 58/15 / 85/15s just have something extra. I really like what the maple neck (and my upgraded MannMade 2000NOS bridge) do for the splits. She covers more sonic ground better than any one single axe I own.

So I dig all of the different demos. I like to see what people who can actually play (as opposed to my noodling) can do with the same tools

 

[László]

After living with my "new" CE24 I have to say that Amber has become my go-to. I still love my 408-equipped PRSes, but the 58/15 / 85/15s just have something extra.

I'm in agreement on these pickups. I love 'em. Somehow PRS nailed a traditional tone, but magically added more clarity and great sounding coil splits. Yet the guitars still retain a classic sound.

85/15s? Boom, home run. 58/15s? Bang! Home run.