Will a 24-08 quack like a CU24?

[limey]

Been tossing up between a new CU24 and a 24-08.

Is the 24-08 really a Cu24 + 3 new sounds?

I find position 2 and 4 in the CU24 can't be replicated on the 24-08.

My understanding is the 24-08's 85/15 MT tap rather than split, and the slugs are reversed in the neck pickup... all resulting in a different tone when using equivalent settings to the CU24's 2/4 positions. Less quack.

Many see the lack of volume drop on the 24-08's tapped pickups as a pro. It is. But the price paid in my mind is the loss of those classic in between sounds... which if used as rhythm sounds are sometimes ok a tad quieter than the humbucking sounds... flick the switch to position 1 and it's an instant solo boost.

I've read a lot of threads saying they should make the 24-08's switching standard on the CU24 moving forward, eliminating the 5-way blade... but I wonder if, as outlined above, the two guitars are variations on a theme and not directly analogous?

 

[limey]

Also.. a quick follow up for you knowledgeable folks. My new CU24 (still debating switching for a 24-08) sounds muddier on the neck than other models I've tried in the store. Same pickups (85/15) and same amp (Fender Princeton Reissue). The neck pickup is flush with its mounting ring. The bridge is higher. The specs on the PRS site say both pickups should be same height. Yet, every photo of new models I can find online shows the neck lower than bridge... thoughts on why its so muddy?

 

[garrett]

You are right they are variations of a theme and the selections are different.

The "MT" pickups and any of the "408" variety pickups both split AND tap. I call the mini toggles splap switches. In humbucker mode the slug coil is tapped. When you flip the switch, the pickup splits and you get the full wind of the slug coil.

So to compare:
CU24 pos 2 = bridge HB + inside coil of neck
24-08 middle position with neck split = bridge HB + outside coil of neck

CU24 pos 4 = inside coils
24-08 middle position, both pickups split = outside coil neck, inside coil bridge

You can rotate the neck pickup 180 degrees to get better quack in the middle position, but the sacrifice is the neck alone split will not sound as full and round.

Pickup heights are set in relation to the strings. The strings are not perpendicular to the top, so the bridge pickup always sits higher than the neck. You can adjust the neck pickup heights to tweak the tone.

 

[limey]

You are right they are variations of a theme and the selections are different.

Good stuff. I guess for me question is which theme do I want! I have some beautiful Strats, so don't really need a neck single coil for recording, but nice to have it live with a one-guitar rig. That said, I use 2 and 4 more than the neck on my strat too... I guess I'm a quackhead.

Here's a quick iPhone video of the new Cu24 through a Princeton.

 

[Great Gazoo]

^ It's blue! That'll make some folks on here shiver.

 

[limey]

^ It's blue! That'll make some folks on here shiver.

Right! That's the other dilemma. Blue CU24 or charcoal 24-08... .choices! The blue is taking me a while to get used to... and I still swear that neck pickup is muddy... which would be a plus in the 24-08 column... being able to thin it out with a tap/split.

 

[bodia]

That's some sweet playing!

 

[shimmilou]

...My new CU24 (still debating switching for a 24-08) sounds muddier on the neck than other models I've tried in the store...

Try raising the treble side of the pup a bit, maybe 3 turns CW, and see if you get more clarity.

 

[dogrocketp]

[/QUOTE]

^ It's blue! That'll make some folks on here shiver. [/
But, it’ll make some of us quiver. Limey, you’ve got your thicker jazz sound with the neck. I would keep it. Could your ears simply want a single sound. Also try lowering your pickup and raising the polepieces. The “correct pickup height” is the one that gives you sound that you like.

 

[limey]

Thanks all. Great advice.

I did discover the volume and tone controls are my friends too. Even more so it seems than on other brands. Some brands work to ensure the volume pot to retain the same tonal character at all volumes, but seems like the PRS changes as it tapers - giving us players even more options

For example, rolling off the volume to 5 on the neck pickup thins out / brightens the tone noticeably. In fact it makes the neck sound closer to 24-08 split demos I’ve seen on YouTube.

You can tell I’m still on the fence about a 24-08. While I love the neck-split ability. I’m just not impressed with the inbetween sounds I’ve heard compared to position 2 and 4 of the 5-way.

 

[Mozzi]

The correct answer is to get both! That way you can use the Standard 5-way as you want and swapping to the 24-08, something that should feel very familiar for any options that you can't get with the traditional 5-way - like individual split coil sounds on neck and/or bridge. In fact, you can run it as a HS
(or SH if you want) so you can straight from a humbucker at the bridge to a single at the neck or vice versa - options that aren't available on a traditional Custom 24...

 

[limey]

The correct answer is to get both! That way you can use the Standard 5-way as you want and swapping to the 24-08, something that should feel very familiar for any options that you can't get with the traditional 5-way - like individual split coil sounds on neck and/or bridge. In fact, you can run it as a HS
(or SH if you want) so you can straight from a humbucker at the bridge to a single at the neck or vice versa - options that aren't available on a traditional Custom 24...

Ha! That’s not happening anytime soon! Not without selling my beloved CS strat - and that’s never happening. Now *that* guitar has a good single coil neck sound

 

[limey]

I've now ruled out the 24-08, but I have discovered the DGT. At least online. It sounds on paper like a killer vintage sounding guitar for the kind of blues I play... yet I found the Cu22 I tried (and my old Les Paul) too woofy in the neck pickup... and despite the modern look and reputation of the Cu24 I love its tone... cuts through the mix like an SG. Not sure "sweet" is the right word for the neck tone... but that's what I'm calling it.

So, as the inevitable buyers-remorse / second guessing continues I'm wondering if I should opt for a DGT despite never having played one and not loving the neck tone on the 22 fret PRSi I've tried. Not sure I like jumbo wire either. My CS strat has narrow tall (6105) which I understand are the same height as DGT's 6100.... they are very easy to bend on and force good, light technique. That said, the 3 spring setup in the strat also makes it slinkier than the PRS. It's not that the Cu24 is hard to bend... just harder than the strat.

My one concern with DGT is that it may be a one-trick pony, whereas the CU24 can (with some tone roll off and pedals) get a wide variety of sounds from vintage to modern. While I rarely play the 24th fret... I'm tall and the longer neck feels comfy. Reminds me of a Firebird I once had and regret selling to this day.

Little sample of the neck into a Princeton... with EQ dialed in nicely... has a beautiful wooden tone, though this amp could make anything sound great:

 

[Mozzi]

I've now ruled out the 24-08, but I have discovered the DGT. At least online. It sounds on paper like a killer vintage sounding guitar for the kind of blues I play... yet I found the Cu22 I tried (and my old Les Paul) too woofy in the neck pickup... and despite the modern look and reputation of the Cu24 I love its tone... cuts through the mix like an SG. Not sure "sweet" is the right word for the neck tone... but that's what I'm calling it.

So, as the inevitable buyers-remorse / second guessing continues I'm wondering if I should opt for a DGT despite never having played one and not loving the neck tone on the 22 fret PRSi I've tried. Not sure I like jumbo wire either. My CS strat has narrow tall (6105) which I understand are the same height as DGT's 6100.... they are very easy to bend on and force good, light technique. That said, the 3 spring setup in the strat also makes it slinkier than the PRS. It's not that the Cu24 is hard to bend... just harder than the strat.

My one concern with DGT is that it may be a one-trick pony, whereas the CU24 can (with some tone roll off and pedals) get a wide variety of sounds from vintage to modern. While I rarely play the 24th fret... I'm tall and the longer neck feels comfy. Reminds me of a Firebird I once had and regret selling to this day.

Little sample of the neck into a Princeton... with EQ dialed in nicely... has a beautiful wooden tone, though this amp could make anything sound great:

The DGT is a great guitar and not a one-trick-pony guitar at all. Its based on a McCarty with a trem bridge, independent volume pots and (I believe) a push pull tone pot to split the pups. You get the usual 3 options of traditional double humbucker guitar as well as the same 3 options but split. I don't believe you get the Bridge Humbucker/neck split tone you get on a standard Cu24 but you can at least play each PU split.

Its a Vintage/classic LP type with a Trem, its thicker in the body and neck too. Its more versatile than the traditional Les Pauls and the LP has been used for basically all genres of music. The DGT, with the Trem and Split coils offer a bit more versatility. If you want to picture where the DGT fits between the Custom 24 (typical PRS) to the 'vintage' 594 (which is like a 58 LP), it would fit somewhere between the McCarty (not 594) and the Custom 22.

Custom 24-->--Custom 22-->--DGT-->--McCarty-->--594 - going from the most modern sound and feel to the most 'vintage' tone and feel.

Maybe this should have started with the 594 as that is the most 'vintage' in terms of sound as its a like a 58 LP with PRS modern appointments (Coil Splitting and locking tuners for example) and each step towards the custom 24 is moving more towards the 'modern' PRS sound. A Custom 22 is a more modern sound and thinner too than the DGT/McCarty - I put the DGT as the more 'modern' as that has a 'trem'. You also have to remember though, the DGT is a signature model so has individual aspects - the neck is different to any other PRS and doesn't it have its own unique Pups too? I am not the best to discuss the DGT as I don't own one but hope this helps you to visualise where these guitars 'fit' in terms of sound/feel. The Custom 22 isn't a LP even if it has double HB's and similar distance between them. If you want something more Les Paul like, the closest is the 594.

 

[bodia]

Definitely not a One Trick Pony. So much goodness from the DGT, and some of the best splits. Check out this thread for some info, and a video.

https://forums.prsguitars.com/threads/dgt-help.38564/

 

[limey]

Definitely not a One Trick Pony. So much goodness from the DGT, and some of the best splits. Check out this thread for some info, and a video.

https://forums.prsguitars.com/threads/dgt-help.38564/

Good stuff. Perhaps one-trick-pony was the wrong phrase. It's obviously a fantastic guitar, beloved by many. I guess I'm looking to see what's a more versatile guitar for me. As noted, I love the CU24 tone I'm getting (see video for example), but not sure how others would describe that tone. Vintage? Modern? Warm? Sweet? Does it even matter? But I wonder if I'd love the tone of a DGT even more. The jumbo frets and 11s scare me a little, even though I'm used to tall frets on my CS Strat. I also hear they have more trem springs stock than Cu24, making them a little stiffer?

 

[bodia]

Good stuff. Perhaps one-trick-pony was the wrong phrase. It's obviously a fantastic guitar, beloved by many. I guess I'm looking to see what's a more versatile guitar for me. As noted, I love the CU24 tone I'm getting (see video for example), but not sure how others would describe that tone. Vintage? Modern? Warm? Sweet? Does it even matter? But I wonder if I'd love the tone of a DGT even more. The jumbo frets and 11s scare me a little, even though I'm used to tall frets on my CS Strat. I also hear they have more trem springs stock than Cu24, making them a little stiffer?

They do. I pulled a spring and strung mine with 9s. Really like it. Perhaps not as much as my 509 or Cu22-SSH Ltd, but it's close enough to call it a tight race. There are plenty of DGT champions around here that are much more familiar with the model than I am (and can offer some real world advice). Hopefully a couple of them chime in.

@Boogie
@Mike Duncan

you guys out there????

 

[limey]

They do. I pulled a spring and strung mine with 9s. Really like it. Perhaps not as much as my 509 or Cu22-SSH Ltd, but it's close enough to call it a tight race. There are plenty of DGT champions around here that are much more familiar with the model than I am (and can offer some real world advice). Hopefully a couple of them chime in.

@Boogie
@Mike Duncan

you guys out there????

Thanks! Is it fair to say the DGT's pickups sound a little more scooped than the Cu24's?

 

[bodia]

Thanks! Is it fair to say the DGT's pickups sound a little more scooped than the Cu24's?

I think that would be fair.

 

[bodia]

Thanks! Is it fair to say the DGT's pickups sound a little more scooped than the Cu24's?

Here are a couple of good DGT vids