Real world experience with the new ce-24's. Opinions, please?

[Geo408]

okay, I'm thinking of picking up a new ce-24, and I'd like to get some input from anyone here who has used them on gigs, or studio work. I have several core models and a couple of s2's...some are great in all environments, and some are just good for one application, or the other. My 408 Brazilian is wonderful to look at, ( purple hazel wood library model...awesome! ) but it's too warm sounding to gig with. I have to reset everything to accommodate this one guitar. ( I use multiple guitars and amps along with a comprehensive pedal board ) in other words, too much work on a live stage!
At any rate, I would appreciate any input y'all might want to give. I use a custom 24, a few "F" guitars, and a nice singlecut. Our band does a wide variety of music ranging from classic rock and blues to roots jam, and alt-country...it's all fun, and folks seem to like it. In the studio, I do commercials, bits for local radio and such, and just all around stuff..my favorite there is shown on my icon...the studio...aptly enough! Thanks in advance for any input.

 

[Fro]

I had one. I loved the pickups, I loved the neck, I preferred the top carve over the regular core carve. It was really comfortable to play but it wouldn't stay in tune. I'll buy another one if I get my hands on one that'll stay in tune.

 

[Stitchy]

Hi there! New in this forum but I've already introduced myself properly.

I own a brand new CU-24 and I love it. The pickups are amazing. Keeps always in tune no matter how you play. Highly recommended.

 

[markintime]

I'll chime in having acquired a Sweetwater Satin CE24. It is very comfortable and I dig the 85/15 pickups. Sounds great! The satin neck is just so comfortable.

 

[G-Man]

Search the site, there are a number of very informative reviews on this model. I have played two of them in a few stores and really liked them. The neck is like a pair of old jeans, the pickups are really nice and the body shape is very comfortable. They are really upping their game on the colors and tops from a looks perspective with some really nice flame tops. I also really like the McCarty style switching vs. the older five way rotary.

 

[disco13]

I'll chime in having acquired a Sweetwater Satin CE24. It is very comfortable and I dig the 85/15 pickups. Sounds great! The satin neck is just so comfortable.

I'm waiting on my satin trampas green to arrive from Sweetwater today! I have a custom 24 with the same pickups, so I'm interested to see how the slimmer body, and maple neck effect the tone, not to mention the different finish...

 

[Ferrinbonn]

Agree about doing a search. I put a pretty in-depth review on here when I got mine a few months back.

I find mine to be quite bright.You shouldn't have any problems playing live with it. The 85/15s cut through very well.

I'd say the biggest strength overall is the versatility. I think you could get a very good usable tone for almost any type of music. It's also the most comfortable guitar I've played. The satin neck is incredible, the body carve is very comfortable, and it's quite light.

 

[CVS]

I'm waiting on my satin trampas green to arrive from Sweetwater today! I have a custom 24 with the same pickups, so I'm interested to see how the slimmer body, and maple neck effect the tone, not to mention the different finish...

I am anxious to hear how the CE24 compares to your CU24 tone-wise!

 

[maggior]

I fully agree with all of the positive things said here about the CE24, so I won't repeat them.

At my gigs, I was bringing my strat and one of my LPs with me. I would play 2 sets with my strat and one with my LP. There were certain songs where I preferred the tone of a particular guitar. I thought it would be cool if I had one guitar that could "rule them all". I was in a local guitar shop and wasn't even looking for a PRS, but they carried them and the sales guy (also a friend of mine) started talking about the CE24 model. I played it for a while and thought it felt really nice and covered a lot of territory. It was also quite well made regarding fit and finish.

Because of color availability, I ended up buying one from Sweetwater. That was 6 weeks ago...it's come to 3 gigs with me so far. It was a slight adjustment at first, but I'm totally lovin' it now. It is the only humbucker guitar that I have ever played that had a usable coil tap. On my LPs, engaging the coil tap just makes the guitar sound wimpy. On the CE24, it has a nice single coil bite...totally convincing on Rolling Stones tunes like Honky Tonk. It's not quite strat bite, but it's pretty darn close. The humbuckers are nice and smooth sounding and can wail too.

It is so comfortable to play and the extra room I feel on the fretboard with the 24 fret configuration is fantastic. I just love playing this guitar!!! Being light and comfortable, it is much less stress on my body over 3 hours of playing.

I haven't recorded with this guitar yet, so I can't really comment there, but I'm sure the tones will be satisfactory. I've already learned that if you want LP or strat tones, use one of those guitars. The CE24 had a nice sounding voice of it's own though.

The tuning stability on this guitar is ridiculous!! I can play a solo with bends all throughout and afterwards, it's still in tune!

In short, I find this to be an excellent gigging guitar...it's like it was made for.

 

[CVS]

. I've already learned that if you want LP or strat tones, use one of those guitars.

IMHO - You may want to try out a McCarty 594 - It can come pretty close to producing an LP type sound
Glad to hear you liked the coil tap on the CE24 - I may have to go try one out

 

[WiredGuitarist]

I love the CE24, it's my favorite PRS model due to the snappier tones. I'm biased though

 

[Geo408]

Thanks for all your input! I had actually done a search, and read quite a bit of people's "reviews" ...some were interesting, and helpful. But I wanted new opinions, and recent experiences...hence the new thread. In the meantime, a dealer friend of mine loaned me his first run ce-24 to use on a gig last week, and a session this past Monday. Here's my 2 cents: I love the pickups! They are probably the best pickups to put in any version of a Custom 24...PRS's most iconic design.
The set-up on the guitar was perfect, and it played excellently, and stayed in tune, all the way up and down the neck...all hallmarks of PRS's guitars. It sounded great on stage, and truthfully, I could've done the whole gig with it, but some of the single coil tones were a little thin. I was able to compensate for the volume loss, with a bit of eq-ing, so it didn't really matter all that much. The fun part came when I played my S2 custom 24, and my 2006 core Custom 24. Neither one was as versatile as the CE...that was a bit of a shock. I had to re-eq everything with those. I think the pickups are the difference..they are amazing!
In the studio, I was able to get everything I needed out of the guitar, and it was dead quiet and needed almost no external eq-ing. All in all, I am totally impressed, and will now be on the hunt to add one to the stable. I have 2 mini-complaints: NO CASE? Wow.. The gig bag is sloppy, and the guitar was out of tune after minimal transportation. Secondly: AN IMPORT BRIDGE? Wow...I have a spare bridge, so that'll be the first thing to go...or I might get a new one from John Mann...they are great to deal with, by the way.
Thanks again to all of you who pitched in!

 

[kensh999]

Hi, I was going to leave a short positive review of my new CE-24 TG, but looks like you've made a decision so I'll just mention that I got a good deal on mine from James at Willcutt Guitars. They were having a labor day sale, 10% off new stock which is actually pretty rare for these reissue models. Anyway I'm extremely happy with my experience. I have about 12 other guitars but my CE-24 is the star of the collection. Good luck to you, hope you find a nice one. Ken

 

[Fro]

I had one. I loved the pickups, I loved the neck, I preferred the top carve over the regular core carve. It was really comfortable to play but it wouldn't stay in tune. I'll buy another one if I get my hands on one that'll stay in tune.

Well, I finally got my hands on another CE and it stays in tune very well. And yes, I bought it.

 

[CVS]

Well, I finally got my hands on another CE and it stays in tune very well. And yes, I bought it.

congrats & pics please

 

[bodia]

congrats & pics please

How about it? Pics or it's a Daisy Rock!

 

[Fro]

May take a while but I'll be posting pics.

 

[Boogie]

I'm glad you bought something and brought it home for a real world test. IMO, there's no way to know how a particular guitar works with your rig until you try it with your rig. I'd recommend buying it from someplace with a generous return policy, just in case. I've had the same issues with shoehorning a warm guitar into a space where you need more bite or snap. You either make rig concessions because you love the guitar or you make guitar concessions because you love the rig. I'm anxious to hear your results.

 

[Spikedog007]

Congrats on the new CE24!

I used to have one and regret trading it but I do recall it cut through a full band mix better than my CU24. The pups were the same (HFS/VB) but the CE seemed hotter and more defined. Probably had a lot to do with the maple neck.

Looking forward to seeing yours.

 

[maggior]

I agree that the gig bag is completely worthless. The guitar fits in the hardshell case I have for my strat, so it was no biggie for me. I bought a gator case for my strat that was very reasonably priced so I could bring my strat to my gigs as my backup guitar.

I'd rather they put the money into the guitar than some fancy case, a case that I really wouldn't have needed anyway.