Replacement Pots for 1993 Custom SE 24

S

silentrob187

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Aug 17, 2019
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I have a 1993 Custom SE 24 that I would like to replace both pots and switch. I was able to identify the part numbers on the volume and tone knobs but my searchers have not resulted in any specific "direct" replacements for them. I could not tell if one was a 500k and the other a 250k. I am assuming they are since there are different numbers for each pot (solder has covered up this info I think).

I was hoping someone might be able help me identify a kit that will fit without having to modify the body in any way. Price is not an issue. I want the best replacements possible that fit.

The parts I found for the volume and tone are: R1379250 and R1379310. Not sure that means anything to anyone. If necessary I can post pictures or answer any additional questions. I love my PRS and want to bring it back to life!

Thanks in advance for any help.
 
NBW said:
I might suggest the USA PRS volume. You have to take a reamer to the hole but it’s not very expensive and comes with the bleed cap.

Most of the parts can be found here:

https://us.prsaccessories.com/collections/parts

Or here:

https://store.guitarvaultusa.com/category_s/7139.htm

I’ve ordered from both and it’s been great.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the input. Both the volume and tone look fine (since they come with capacitors) but the 5-way roatary switch is $100. That seems like a lot. Any alternatives?
 
silentrob187 said:
I have a 1993 Custom SE 24 that I would like to replace both pots and switch. I was able to identify the part numbers on the volume and tone knobs but my searchers have not resulted in any specific "direct" replacements for them. I could not tell if one was a 500k and the other a 250k. I am assuming they are since there are different numbers for each pot (solder has covered up this info I think).

I was hoping someone might be able help me identify a kit that will fit without having to modify the body in any way. Price is not an issue. I want the best replacements possible that fit.

The parts I found for the volume and tone are: R1379250 and R1379310. Not sure that means anything to anyone. If necessary I can post pictures or answer any additional questions. I love my PRS and want to bring it back to life!

Thanks in advance for any help.
Click to expand...

Are you sure its an SE? As far as I know SE's are from 2002 onwards. You also mentioned the 5 way rotary. There are no SE's with a rotary. There are two types of Rotary's. I don't know when they switched to the second version.
 
Its a 1993 PRS for sure (Royal Blue is written on the body inside). It may not be a SE but it has 24 frets and only dot inlays (not the doves). The SN: 377668.

The volume and tone pots are definitely an issue for the sound, as are the pups (which I have very nice SD's to use as replacements). The switch may be ok as I do not have a big issue with it, but I figured I would just replace all of the electronics. I was leaning toward using a push/pull to split the SDs.

Basically, I have had the guitar for 20 years but only got good enough in the last 2 years to know that it doesn't play or sound how it should. I want to revive it the best I can. Right now the Tele I pieced together from Stratosphere and the Jackson I bought both sounds better than the PRS and I know this should not be the case! So I appreciate all of the help and input.
 
A ‘93 is not an SE. Does it have a bolt-on neck (CE)? Those are US parts and are unlikely to be a problem. Both will be 500k audio taper. There’s zero need to replace the rotary 5-way switch, and as you found out, is darned expensive if you do. My suggestion: clean them out and up. Wick-up any excess solder and use DeOxIt if they sound scratchy. Use compressed air to clean out dust. The cap(s) should be just fine since they don’t go bad unless you overly flex the leads or cook them with the soldering iron. What you have is high quality components and I’d be hard pressed to willy-nilly dump them. They don’t spontaneously fail from non-use. Clean them up and they should last another 30 years! Post pics, if you can.
 
I have correctly identified the PRS as a 1993 CE 24 Whale Blue (although its written Royal Blue in the PUP cavity). Boogie, I have taken the electronics apart, cleaned them, removed solder, and placed DeOxit inside all of them. There was dark color on the switch and other dust/debris inside the cavity. Its all be cleaned out. I will rewire it tomorrow, work on setting the guitar up this week, and then give an update once complete. Thanks again for the help!
 
Pickups should be HFS/Vintage Bass, if original. Check the stickers under them.
What didn't you like about them?
If you run the HFS with the same rig settings as the tele it would be extremely hot in comparison.
What pickups are in the Jackson you like?
 
@Jazzedout My Tele is HH setup (both SDs): My neck is a P90 and the bridge is a Saturday Night Special. I used CTS pots, cloth wiring, and a some Russian green oil cap I found on Amazon (I think .47u). It sounds fantastic no matter what (clean or dirty tones). In fact, my Tele is my main go-to ax when I play. The action and tone are awesome and it stays in tune forever. Never thought I would like a Tele...until I built one!

The PUPs in my Jackson are all SDs as well (Stock...Its a Pro Series DK3M:Custom Flat Strat SSL-6 Single Coil Neck and Middle, Seymour Duncan® JB™ TB-4 Bridge ). It's a high output guitar that can rival most others with the clean tones.

The thing I do not like about the stock 1993 PUPs in my PRS is their inability to give great dirty tones. The clean tones are excellent (no doubt) but as I have gained experience and played other guitars with humbuckers, I know that the stock pups just can't produce fuzz tones like others (my Epiphone LP with Gibson burstbuckers is a great example). From what I have heard from demos, newer PRSs have MUCH better PUPs IMO. So here is what I have chosen to replace them...of course SDs: Alnico II Pro for the neck and a SH-5 Custom for the bridge.
 
silentrob187 said:
@Jazzedout My Tele is HH setup (both SDs): My neck is a P90 and the bridge is a Saturday Night Special. I used CTS pots, cloth wiring, and a some Russian green oil cap I found on Amazon (I think .47u). It sounds fantastic no matter what (clean or dirty tones). In fact, my Tele is my main go-to ax when I play. The action and tone are awesome and it stays in tune forever. Never thought I would like a Tele...until I built one!

The thing I do not like about the stock 1993 PUPs in my PRS is their inability to give great dirty tones. The clean tones are excellent (no doubt) but as I have gained experience and played other guitars with humbuckers, I know that the stock pups just can't produce fuzz tones like others (my Epiphone LP with Gibson burstbuckers is a great example). From what I have heard from demos, newer PRSs have MUCH better PUPs IMO. So here is what I have chosen to replace them...of course SDs: Alnico II Pro for the neck and a SH-5 Custom for the bridge.
Click to expand...
That’s not a Tele! That’s a beast! :cool:

If you have the HFS/VB pickups, I can confirm the inability to do a good job with traditional fuzz pedals. The HFS is massively hot, which overloads the front end of most fuzz designs and, IMO, is completely out of control in a not-so-good way. On that same note, I’ve not enjoyed Burstbuckers in that capacity, either, specifically BB-3s. BB-2s were better but nothing like sing coils. I have a BB-3 in the bridge of one of my Les Pauls and it otherwise kicks butt. Now, if you move to the most vintage side of the hummer equation, you get very different results. Since truly vintage humbuckers from the late 50s sound like an overwound Tele, they work really well with fuzzes and ODs with buffers. My SE245 has Seymour Duncan Antiquity Humbuckers and it simply smokes at that task. My Cabronita Tele with TV Jones Classics is he hands-down winner, but that’s a totally different animal.

My only remaining recommendation is to not be afraid to use the guitar’s controls: only diming them makes you miss out on 90% of the voicing of the guitar. And tweak the amp/pedals specifically for the guitar. Lower the gain you’d throw at it and back down the guitar’s volume and tone...it’ll be a totally different experience. Otherwise, I’d recommend going more vintage and creating a completely different tool than your other guitars. Different is good!

Good luck!
 
I finally cleaned, installed everything, and gave the guitar a complete setup Definitely notice a huge improvement in the sound, especially with the new pickups. They seem to capture more "detail" in the tones and notes compared to the the stock PUPs (very happy with my choices for replacement). HOWEVER, I need help: The 5-way rotating switch changes the pickups, but I think 2 are redundant, and for some reason, the bridge only is in the middle position. I copied the wiring of the original PUPs. Does anyone have ideas as to why this might be the case? I have a diagram I made attached (it was what I used as reference: note the colors of the wires are for the Seymour Duncan pickups, which I laid out I used based on the original PRS wiring). Also, the little black dots on the 5-way are the magnets. I laid the pots and switch out as it was originally installed. PRS_Rewire
 
The 5-way, in the notch positions, splits both pickups and combines the inner (and one with the outer) coils in series and parallel, so it’s really important to get the new pup wires right. The bridge pickup is also phase switched to maintain humbucking with the splits, so if you want to maintain that feature, you’ll have to flip a magnet 180 degrees.

Wiring: SD red+white = PRS red. SD black = PRS white = hot. SD green = PRS black = ground.

That should get you going!
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the info!! So the big question, then, is how do I know which node on the switch I should use to join the red and white? There are two possibilities...correct (since in my diagram they are separate). Think SDs website has something? I tried to look there but they only have a 5-way blade switch as an option for their wiring app. I know how to flip the magnet, but for the life of me I cant find any info on the PRS switch...its like it never existed on the internet! So I have no clue which node to join them to (the hot is easy to figure out..lol).
 
silentrob187 said:
I found this but its somewhat different that what you wrote since the greens are used> HERE.
Click to expand...
There you go! My 5-way is the newer version, which is WAY easier to config. Sorry I wasn’t more help, but I think you’ve got the right info. Btw, the green is definitely used...they are still the ground connection for each coil. Follow that schematic and you should get those new pickups wired just like the HFS/VBs.
 
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