SE CU24-08 Quilted Charcoal Cherry Burst...what happened?

[James Stephanidis]

I was perusing the new SE CU24-08 quilted top in the charcoal cherry burst color. I noticed that the image on the PRS website is really cool looking. But the guitars showing up in the stores don't look anything like a quilted top. The lake blue quilted top looks pretty decent on most sites, but the charcoal cherry burst is awful.

 

[Kiper]

Yeah, as soon as I saw them on the sight I wanted one right away, it's the most beautiful burst IMO. But after seeing the ones on Sweetwater's page I was very confused.

 

[deathworlder]

I just went on Sweetwater to confirm...
I see what you mean.

I know there can be variation, but the fade and color isn't even close. On the PRS site, the cherry burst is gradual and prominent throughout the charcoal; tinting the charcoal backsand.

The hard fade, lackluster figure and overwashed charcoal kills the look.

 

[Stephen J.]

I think it is hard for the people staining guitars to get those color over gray finishes right. I see more bad ones than good, at all levels not just SE.

 

[RC Mike]

The one in the marketing materials was likely produced a while ahead of the others, specifically for the photos. It’s unfortunate if the production instruments aren’t up to the same standards.

 

[deathworlder]

I think it is hard for the people staining guitars to get those color over gray finishes right. I see more bad ones than good, at all levels not just SE.

Is the burst a stain or sprayed?
From the looks of the hard fades of what I'm seeing online, it looks sprayed.

Makes me wonder if the PRS stock photo is shopped.

 

[d^rren]

Comparing the regular flame-top Custom 24 and the quilt-top versions on Sweetwater, I wouldn't touch the quilt ones. They look absolutely awful.

 

[Black Plaid]

Wow, ya'll aren't wrong, the pictures of the colors on the PRS site are misleading at best. The actual guitars are like they completely forgot the mid-tone color.

 

[show_a_little_faith]

Obviously they're gonna use A+ examples in the PRS official photos, but that's a pretty stark difference between the announcement and the actual product. Usually it's more about the grain pattern in the wood, not the staining job

 

[MarcWink]

Yikes. I just had a look at the stock pictures and some pictures from Sweetwater and on Reverb. Charcoal cherry looks abysmal. Lake blue on the other hand looks a whole heap better. That said, I'd still take a pass on an SE without first being able to visually and play test it first following the awful QC experience that I had trying to get an SE Silver Sky Maple that was up to snuff.

 

[d^rren]

Any kind of stain-black-and-sand-back treatment is going to be really tricky to do on thin veneers. It looks like too much black dye is being applied to some of these first production guitars, and they can only sand off so much of it before they go through the paper-thin maple veneer. They seem to have their process down pretty well for the flame top guitars, but for whatever reason, the quilts are probably absorbing too much black which produced substandard results.

https://imgur.com/a/rHdBumy

 

[MarcWink]

I must say, I do have to commend PRS for their efforts to create a new flavor of clown burst with the charcoal cherry burst on the quilted SE Customs.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

Translated about as well to the SE as the multifoil did.

 

[Dirty_Boogie]

Charcoal Cherry Burst is my least favorite PRS color combo on a core - don’t know why, but I really dislike it. These are just horrible (IMO, of course.)

 

[Glide-bpm]

I bought one tonight... from Sweetwater... Just to check out the TCI 85/15s pickups.

 

[Glide-bpm]

I can handle certain shades of FUGLY... LOL!!!

 

[DISTORT6]

Translated about as well to the SE as the multifoil did.

Temu

 

[deathworlder]

I bought one tonight... from Sweetwater... Just to check out the TCI 85/15s pickups.

Next one in the que isn't that bad...

 

[Nathan Shane]

Any kind of stain-black-and-sand-back treatment is going to be really tricky to do on thin veneers. It looks like too much black dye is being applied to some of these first production guitars, and they can only sand off so much of it before they go through the paper-thin maple veneer. They seem to have their process down pretty well for the flame top guitars, but for whatever reason, the quilts are probably absorbing too much black which produced substandard results.

https://imgur.com/a/rHdBumy

I too was excited to see such a beautiful and unique looking guitar finish…until I saw what they actually looked like on Sweetwater’s website. When you look at the comparison photo, the fretboard looks like ebony and the knobs look blacker and the dark areas on the body are darker. And overall, it looks like the overall color looks more saturated and vibrant.

 

[Bogner]

What A Hideous Sight...GodAwful Clown Burst Would Be A Gracious Compliment. (IMO Of Course)