Up to speed on PRS terms and such

ProgRocker

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Jan 20, 2019
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Trying to get up speed on all things PRS. Long time Gibson user.

Where can I find info on basic terms such as CE, CU, SE, Custom. Neck lengths/types, PU choices, ect.
I tried two PRS guitars yesterday one a Custom 22, the other Standard 24 (if I remember right) and noticed the 24 was much longer than the 22. Of course there's the 2 extra frets however it seemed the overall length was much longer than just 2 additional frets.And the neck just felt more 'roomier'.
So obviously I need to get up to speed on all this. I did of course look over the PRS web site, but didn't find as much info as I'd like. What other resources are available.

Thanks...
 
Some basics:

PRS makes many of its guitars in the US, in Maryland. They are known as the "core" line and the "S2" line. PRS also has guitars made overseas (a variety of places, all PacRim). They are called the "SE" line. You can get a "Custom 24" (CU24) in all three lines.

The S2 line is a simplified version of the core line - the same basic attributes are there, but the build process has been adjusted so it can be made faster = cheaper. The S2 line also uses some of the same foreign-sourced hardware/electronic components used in the SE line.

The CE model was originally a "core" model, albeit developed and marketed as a slightly less expensive version of the usual core models like the CU24 - it has a bolt-on neck instead of the set neck of the CU22/24. Production was halted for several years, and now the CE model fits in as a separate "bolt-on" classification, between the S2 line and the core line-up. The Silver Sky is also part of the "bolt-on" line-up.

If you go to this PRS webpage, it has a summary of (most) of the "Core line" (USA-made) models made over the years, including now discontinued models such as the Swamp Ash Special:

https://www.prsguitars.com/index.php/support/article/model_history

Yes, the CU24 is longer than the CU22 by exactly those two fret lengths. However, it is likely/possible that the neck shapes were different too (PRS has three basic neck shapes), and the heel of the CU22 is bigger than the heel of a CU24.
 
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