Deciding on my next PRS I am wondering if there are any "personal preferences" for one of the three guitars listed: Tremonti SE (old style with three way switch, full body, neck, and headstock binding, stoptail) Tremonti Custom SE (black/grey flame with tremolo) Custom 24 SE It will be used for rock and blues. What is your "personal preference" and what plusses and minuses do you see in these guitars, if you know about them from personal experience. Thanks. I will decide which one is my personal preference after I get some more info and feedback.
The 2 Tremoniti's have the SE 245 pickups while the CU 24 has SE VB/HFS* pickups which is going to be your biggest difference. Sure the Tremonti's are classic single cut guitars with the PRS layout for the controls (which is different than a regular LP) and the Cu24 is a double Cut with the 3 way switch and the single volume and tone control. The Tremonti is the only one with a Wide/Fat neck while the other two have Wide/Thin. I haven't played anything with the SE 245 pickups but I do have the SE VB/HFS and they are fine for just about any music you could play, great for rock and blues. I would look at it as the SE Tremonti and the CU24 is 2 ends of the spectrum and the Tremonti Custom is the in between. *This is based off of information on the main site. The Tremonti SE just states SE Treble and Bass but a lot of the SE guitars are going to SE 245 Treble and Bass.
I just picked up a Tremonti Custom with figured maple and the trem bridge and it has a wide/thin pattern neck. I couldn't tell you if that it the norm but I'm used to fairly thin necks and this one feels right at home. I also play blues and rock. The SE 245's are a pretty decent pickup all around but I just picked up the guitar and haven't dialed in my amp yet but I am happy with the sounds I'm already getting.
I just picked up a Tremonti USA gold top and it has a pattern thin neck. The Tremonti pickups have great harmonic content and split interestingly with the neck being covered and the treble uncovered. I haven't played the SE versions, but I've been incredibly happy with the Tremonti so far. Good luck.
Nice figured maple top there. I still think that any of these three guitars would make a great guitar. I'm leaning mostly toward a tremolo guitar, so that leaves two main contenders. I really like the black/grey Tremonti SE but then I look at the new style Custom 24 SE and I really like that too. I prefer four pickup controls though, and use them, but I like my two knob Santana SE and play it all the time. I wonder what pickups are in the new style Custom 24 SE's? Are they 245's? I like the 245's in my yellow Santana SE. Great pickups in my opinion. On the other end of the spectrum I like the smooth mellowness of "G" '57's. There is no longer a PRS dealer around here, so I can't go in and play some, to get a better idea. the maple neck sounds like a great idea, but I wonder how it affects the tone. Does it brighten it up? Affect the resonance? I like the wide/thin neck idea a lot and don't have one yet.
Per the PRS site the SE Custom 24's have the SE HFS in the bridge and SE vintage bass pickups in it. I don't know if they plan on changing that anytime soon. As far as the maple necks are concerned most people feel that they are a bit brighter. You get a little more snap from the note and less of the warm mids although I'd say it's very much up to the person to decide if it makes that much of a difference. The wide thin neck does feel like home to me but I'm used to playing an Ibanez with a vintageish shaped thin neck... not any of the wizard necks and the wide/thin feels very similar.
I have had all three guitars (well, I have the Orianthi model which is basically the CU24 SE) and would be hard pressed to choose between the Tremonti Custom SE and the CU24 SE. Both are great guitars. The Tremonti SE I didn't dig just because it wasn't what I wanted (a Les Paul-killer), but the Tremonti Custom SE filled that role nicely. Both guitars are awesome for different reasons. If you're a Strat-esque guy, the CU24 SE is great. If you're a Les Paul-esque guy, the Tremonti Custom SE is your guy. That being said, I swapped the pickups in both.
Great info. What pickups did you decide to put in the guitars? I like the 245's in my Santana SE; they are not bad pickups. I have Gibson 57's, Burstbucker Pro's, Dimarzio Superdistortions, and many different Seymour Duncans in various guitars. The 57's are definitely very nice and many of the Seymour Duncan's are great - like the Custom 5, JB, '59, etc. My PRS SE Standard has an uncovered black JB in it, but I'm thinking of putting the stock bridge pickup back in it. I had never heard of an SE Standard before I bought this. It is similar to a strat in style; I guess you'd call it a "superstrat" style. How was the weight on the Tremonti SE Custom? Does it have a thick body? I don't mind heavy guitars. I suppose it is similar in thickness to my Singlecut SE tremolo guitar.
Are these the same as the Tremonti SE Custom in black/grey flame, or are there other differences than the top? Really nice guitars and beautiful tops.
Mine is 9 lbs per Sweetwaters website. It's definitely the heaviest guitar I've owned. It is as thick (or close to it) as the ZM is and that's a semi-hollow. It is thicker than my SE Singlecut. I think it is mainly the top but I'm not an expert like some of the folks here.
