PRS CE Guitars! Opinions???

[claythomas]

I have 6 CE's dating from 1988-2000!!! I love these! They have never let me down and I have abused and loved them all in the same night!!
Any holoflake is a great guitar to have and play!!

 

[CE-man]

I always equate the switch to mahogany bodies with the move to Stevensville, so if that was 95 then that's the same time it occured.

 

[Brad737]

If I may, I'd like to give very brief descriptions of the two CEs I've owned. The first was a 99% mint, used CE-24 I got from Guitar Center. Vintage Yellow finish, rosewood board, HFS and Vintage Bass pickups, 5-way rotary. This had an alder body and unfortunately the Wide-Thin neck. If it had the Regular neck carve, I'd still own it. That guitar SANG! I was totally shocked by the tone of that particular instrument. If you've ever heard "John Mayall's Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton", THAT'S the tone of that guitar on the bridge pickup, especially on "All Your Love" and that G in "Hideaway". If I run into another one like that, but a Regular carve, I'll snag it in a minute.

By comparison, my 1994 CE-22 has a mahogany body with maple top, Wide-Fat neck, and Dragon 1 pickups. The 22 sounds awesome, but it's a thicker, more "rock" sounding guitar. I love it too, but it's a very different animal. Granted, the different number of frets, body wood, and pickups are very different, so I wouldn't expect them to be very similar.

 

[AP515]

... The first was a 99% mint, used CE-24 I got from Guitar Center. Vintage Yellow finish, rosewood board, HFS and Vintage Bass pickups, 5-way rotary. This had an alder body and unfortunately the Wide-Thin neck. If it had the Regular neck carve, I'd still own it. That guitar SANG!

...By comparison, my 1994 CE-22 has a mahogany body with maple top, Wide-Fat neck, and Dragon 1 pickups. The 22 sounds awesome, but it's a thicker, more "rock" sounding guitar. I love it too, but it's a very different animal. Granted, the different number of frets, body wood, and pickups are very different, so I wouldn't expect them to be very similar.

We found very similar guitars. I found a 1st year CE24 with alder body and you describe it well. It Sings. The pickups/electronics were damaged in mine so I put 245's in it and I am still amazed at how it sounds. Like no other.

Then I found a CE22 Standard with Dgaron 1's. Different sound but still amazing. I love both of them. I'm just glad I have two of them. I don't know why people think a PRS needs to be a set neck and at the same time everyobdy raves about the CE's. One or the other folks! I'd like to see the CE's make a comeback but if nobody buys them....

 

[auriemma]

CE's are great! $800 is a steal. If you don't get it, tell us where it is. Someone here will find it a good home!

 

[tfancil]

Is there supposed to be 5 springs in the back? is this an issue?

4 springs are the stock setup for 9's or 10's I don't know why the 1 spring is in the center hole of the trem block? Normally the center hole is left open on the block and on the claw because that is where the ground wire is soldered to.
tfancil

 

[CE-man]

4 springs are the stock setup for 9's or 10's I don't know why the 1 spring is in the center hole of the trem block? Normally the center hole is left open on the block and on the claw because that is where the ground wire is soldered to.
tfancil

Maybe it's a replacement spring and it's just too long, so it was put in at an angle. (?)

 

[VHTStark]

LOVE CE's. Yet another I will have to add to the collection someday. One of the best sounding electrics I have played is a friends old alder bodied CE with a maple board.
Also like the mahogany/maple combo ones.....great rock guitars IMO. To my ears, they sound like a custom with more 'tude! A little brighter, tighter and upfront.

 

[HighGain510]

That's a fantastic deal on a cool finish, bumps or not! CE's are a great value, $800 for a guitar built in the USA is always a good deal and having owned a dozen CE's I'm confident that you'd end up with a winner. I've had some sound/play better than others but they've all been very solid!

 

[Salvy24]

I hope I'm replying to the right person - I'm new to this!!! - CE-man - or ANYBODY -, I'm looking at a '96 CE 22 (quilted Red) that appears to be in very good shape with just a few surface scratches. He's asking $1,099 and everything appears to be in good working order. It supposedly has Dragon II's and it does have the 5-way selector. I love playing blues and I have a PRS SE Semi-hollow body that I absolutely love, which is what directed me to this 20-yr old guitar that I'm going to spend more than I've ever spent b4 on a guitar!!! Any thoughts?

 

[rocguitar]

Currently have 2 CEs in the stable ('93 and '01)........Great Guitars!

$800......:top:

 

[gush]

I picked up 2 CEs in dec and am surprised how much I love these things. The flake finish isn't for me but for 800$ I would jump on it,!

 

[citson]

I own a red 96 CE24 mahogany (profile pic) and absolutely love it. $800 is a steal, I would go for it if I were you

 

[Felix]

I have a 2008 CE-22 and I love it, though calling it "bright" is an understatement. Of all of the guitars I've owned, this one comes closest to being a "Strat-killer", in the sense that it is a bright guitar with a number of pleasing single-coil-like tones (at least mine does, what with the (PRS-) "post-2007" wiring ("50s wiring", in Gibson-speak), Dragon II pups and the 5-position rotary switch), and it often causes hairy-knuckled scoffers who at first sight dismissed it as "too pretty" to suddenly want to try to get their acidic sweat all over the poor little guy, all in the attempt to get its sound for themselves, even if "just for a minute". Go buy your own, Fender-boy!

$800.00 is a steal. Obviously a 24-fret, older model is not much of a similar guitar to my newer machine, with its different hardware, wiring, wood, and pickups, but the maple bolt-on neck does tend to give the CE line in general a "snappy" attack and a brighter overall sound (as compared to their other models), and a US-made PRS is a consistently-made, quality machine ...even if they sometimes do look (to some people) "overdressed". In fact, to some people the "distressed" look of a well-used machine adds to the appeal: a little (second-hand!) mojo.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

Of all of the guitars I've owned, this one comes closest to being a "Strat-killer"

I'll even be so bold as to say that I think the CE is the ultimate "Super-Strat Killer". There is a certain "aliveness" to the feeling of playing a CE in your hands and against your body that only a bolt on model will give you. Even if it doesn't translate through the pickups aurally, there's still a player-instrument thing goin' on with CE's in my experience.

 

[gush]

I'll even be so bold as to say that I think the CE is the ultimate "Super-Strat Killer". There is a certain "aliveness" to the feeling of playing a CE in your hands and against your body that only a bolt on model will give you. Even if it doesn't translate through the pickups aurally, there's still a player-instrument thing goin' on with CE's in my experience.

You have nailed it! That descibes what I feel when I play mine, I just didn't know how to put it into words.

 

[auriemma]

I hope I'm replying to the right person - I'm new to this!!! - CE-man - or ANYBODY -, I'm looking at a '96 CE 22 (quilted Red) that appears to be in very good shape with just a few surface scratches. He's asking $1,099 and everything appears to be in good working order. It supposedly has Dragon II's and it does have the 5-way selector. I love playing blues and I have a PRS SE Semi-hollow body that I absolutely love, which is what directed me to this 20-yr old guitar that I'm going to spend more than I've ever spent b4 on a guitar!!! Any thoughts?

$1100? It had better be mint with OHSC. I picked up a 2007 CE22 with bird inlays and OHCS with paperwork for $900 (one small face nick and fret wear included). Worth every penny.

 

[11top]

Yes

 

[Felix]

I'll even be so bold as to say that I think the CE is the ultimate "Super-Strat Killer". There is a certain "aliveness" to the feeling of playing a CE in your hands and against your body that only a bolt on model will give you. Even if it doesn't translate through the pickups aurally, there's still a player-instrument thing goin' on with CE's in my experience.

I wish I could have described the particular appeal of bolt-on necked guitars in somewhat the same way; that is very close to how I feel, and a CE guitar is of course a guitar with 2 full humbuckers of great tone (IMHO) and moderate "hotness". I think that the circuitry tends to make the post-2007-wired machines a bit bright (esp. as the volume is turned down - and the treble bleed cap in particular seems completely unnecessary) but this is a characteristic of the circuitry and can be dealt with with EQ and attention to signal chain dynamics and such, or used to advantage, or the tonal response can simply be incorporated into your playing style with the guitar.

The CE line is a Super-Strat-Killer indeed! -Though one with perhaps somewhat of a learning-curve.