SE three way dither....

So, it might just be time for a reasonably priced PRS, and the SE Custom 24 range seems to tick all of the relevant boxes. However I am struggling to choose between:
1. SE Custom 24 - probably red, or maybe blue....
2. SE Paul's Guitar - seems a lot of guitar for the money, but not sure about the wide fat neck. May be too similar to the neck on my Les Paul Standard? Also 22 frets rather than 24. I have no idea if that is ever likely to be an issue though.....
3. SE Custom 24 LE with Roasted Maple Neck - have always liked a maple neck, and again would be different to my LP. Not sure about the quilted maple look though. Also, do the black birds look a bit "stick on" as opposed to inlay?
A lot of this is of course down to personal taste, and I know that should really try each of them out, but does anyone have any thoughts or experience here to help me through the dither?
Thanks

 

Welcome to the forum. Easy answer for me and a bit of a cop out. You'd be best to try each of these out, if you can.

Ideally a “shootout” if possible, however be warned you may end up going home with more than one!

 

Welcome aboard the Enablers Club! Let me speak for everyone when I say the answer is quite obvious. Get all three!

Besides, you've already answered your own query...

 

Any Canadian would tell you to go maple.

 

I personally would go for the roasted maple neck one (you see less of them around). I tried an SE Paul’s Guitar on my last business trip and it was alright, the neck was a lot larger than expected so it threw me off a little.

 

I think the neck shape between the Paul’s and Custom will be a decider between those.

 

Shuff, do you own or have you played a recent-model PRS with the "Pattern" neck? That's essentially the same profile as the "wide-fat" neck. Definitely not '50s LP territory (that would be more so the "pattern vintage" carve), but just medium-round and comfortable to me--and I don't have large hands or long fingers. It does seem (at least to me) that the SE Paul's Guitar gets a ton of respect... so there's that.

 

That is really helpful, thank you. I will have a look at that.

 

Interesting, thank you. I do quite like the rarity element of the maple neck option.

 

I really like the clarity of the 85/15s pickups on the SE Custom 24. The TCI “S” pickups on the SE Paul's guitar are more complex-sounding and while fairly clear, don't have quite the snap that the 85/15s do, at least to my ear. It's a matter of taste, of course.

 

Thanks, that is really helpful - something I had completely overlooked and will have a close listen when trying them out.

 

Most people, I guess, seem to prefer the TCI “S” and the switching options on the Paul’s. But I really love those 85/15s. Glad to hear you’re going to give them a chance!

 

The SE Custom 24 has a tremelo bridge while the SE Paul's Guitar has a stoptail bridge. Tuning will be more stable with the stoptail in my experience. If you don't need the whammy bar then I would go with the stoptail.

I have an SE Custom 24 and I like the wide/thin neck. I haven't played an SE Paul's guitar yet so can't comment on the fatter neck.

Note: It's possible to get an SE with the wide/thin neck and a stop tail ie the SE Mira. See here:

https://www.themusiczoo.com/products/prs-se-mira-black

It's best to lay hands on them to help you make up your mind

 

Thanks everyone for your help - time to try some out....

 

They are all a little different.....I've got 3 SE's.
Custom 24 with wide/thin neck that I didn't care for the shape at first. Now, it's probably my favorite.
Also, a Custom 22 Semi Hollow (wraptail bridge) and 245 (wraptail bridge).
Surprisingly, the Custom 24 with whammy bar is the most stable, tuning-wise of all of them.
The Custom 22 and 245 have much bigger neck dimensions, and aren't "better", just different.
The 22 fret vs. 24 fret guitars will sit a little different. A 24 fret is more comfortable to me.
Try them all, get what you like. There's no "bad" that I've found.

 

Go for the Gusto get the Pauls Guitar. there seems to be a little bit of every thing in there. The Wide Fat neck seems very comfortable to me, and I have medium sized hands and slightly arthritic joints. I have a 30th Anniversary Custom 24 and is a delight, but I d prefer my 245 simply because of the neck profile.

 

Dave’s
https://davesguitar.com/products/paul-reed-smith/type/electric/

has several used Paul’s SEs in stock for really exception prices, same for SE 24s both customs and standards. They are my local shop (Madison) and they are great people.

 

I bought both of my SE CU 24s at Dave’s, as well as my S2 Standard 24. I’m in Pennsylvania, so I ordered over the phone. Dave’s is so reliable, you never have to worry about ordering from outside Wisconsin. The best.

 

I'll second the positive remarks about Dave's. I bought a used SE SC245 last month.
Arrived in perfect shape, great price.
Easy to work with.