SE Custom 24 and strat sound?

[atpase33]

I recently bought my first PRS guitar, a SE Custom 24. I have two other guitars, a Gibson ES-335 and a Fender telecaster, and I was intrigued by the possibility that one guitar could be played in either humbucker or single coil modes. I'm not thrilled with the sound of the single coil mode and the stock pickups on the SE, but I do llike the feel of the guitar and the sound of the humbuckers, which are distinctly different from the sound of the humbuckers on the Gibson. I'm wondering it anyone on this Forum has tried to get the SE Custom 24 to sound anything like a strat, specifically, a strat played with the bridge and middle pickups engaged. I play with fingers instead of a pick and I would like to see if I can approach a Mark Knopfler sound with the PRS guitar. I use a Fractal Audio AXE FXIII amp emulator, but all of the presets for Knopfler are built for a strat. Not surprisingly, I have not had any success making the tele sound like a strat. I may also be asking too much from the SE Custom 24, but I figured I would ask and just see what happens. Thanks in advance for your suggestions and comments.

 

[Russ73]

I think the silversky will give you the strattiest tones obviously...but oddly enough I can get stratty tones out of my Mira....theres actually a guy on YouTube demonstrating it do im not completely crazy...lol

 

[atpase33]

I agree that the Silver Sky is probably the closest PRS guitar I will find to get the strattiest tones, but I will look for the You Tube video you mention about the sound of the Mira. Thanks for the lead. I'm very fond of my telecaster and although I would like to get as close to a Knopfler sound as I can, I don't really have an inclination to own, much less play, both a tele and a strat. Although the sound I get from the telecaster would not fool a serious Knopfler fan, it's not too bad, and certainly is good enough for what I do. It would help if my playing were closer to Knopfler's than it is, but that's not something that PRS or Fender can fix. Thanks for your comments.

 

[Willmunny]

Quack is wack

 

[chicagoslim]

Welcome to the forum.

As a PRS and Strat guy, I sometimes go for sounds that sits somewhere in between. Back in 2006, I put GFS Memphis pickups in my SE Custom 24. I now have a core Custom 22 that allows for the use of the bridge humbucker with a split neck pickup. I use the sound so much that I lifted the lead that splits the bridge pickup, from the Tone control, on my S2 Custom 22. It's a mod, that can easily be reversed, if you don't like it.

But for the Mark Knopfler sound, I just add a small amount of phaser. YMMV!

 

[Alnus Rubra]

Hi and welcome to the forum. Congratulations on your new guitar.

Here’s a SE Paul’s Guitar video that may interest you -

 

[atpase33]

Thank you for your comments, description of your guitars, and your suggestions. I hadn't thought of trying a little phaser to my tone and I will definitely give it a try.

 

[atpase33]

Thanks for pointing out the video, Alnus. I will need to scroll through the amps in the AXE FXIII that I use to find some that can recreate the sounds he gets in this video, but it is certainly worth investing some time to do that if I might come across one that also helps me hone in on a Knopfler sound. I'm encouraged by what he was able to do in the video.

 

[dogrocketp]

I put SE Paul’s guitar pickups in a (whale blue) roasted maple neck/board SE Custom 24, and had it wired like the Paul’s guitar. I’m there.

 

[atpase33]

That's great news, to think that by changing the pickups you can get a good strat sound on an SE Custom 24. I'm glad to hear it since pickups are a lot less expensive than another guitar. Did you get the work done at PRS or at a local shop?