Zero to Two PRS's in 3 days

cloud_dog

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May 24, 2020
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12
Brand new here, and already after a little advice.

Took the plunge and bought an SE Custom 24 35th anniversary last week, it arrived, lovely guitar but one of the inlays is damaged so sending it back. In the meantime I managed to pull the trigger on a CE24, not sure why but feel like PRS has gotten under my skin.

So I WAS going to get a refund on the SE but for some reason I am thinking I will ask for a replacement one instead.

What do folks think, will the SE end up never being played if I also have the CE? Under normal circumstances I would be able to test them out in a store first and answer my own question. So anyone own both or better to just stick with the CE when it arrives?

Appreciate any thoughts. Thanks
 
Personally, I think they are different enough to warrant keeping both if you wanted. You haven't stated whether the CE was new or not but in any case, you have the bolt on maple neck which will make it a bit more snappier in the attack and US made pick ups too. You have a push pull system to split both pick-ups together so you can't have the one humbucker other split combinations that the SE will offer. It should have 85/15 pick-ups as standard. The SE is a limited edition too with TCI 'S' pick-ups so different from the usually 85/15 'S' pick-ups.

The SE may feel 'similar' when swapping back and forth but there will be some differences too. It really depends on whether or not those differences are enough for you to warrant owning both. It maybe that if you do decide to keep one, you may decide the SE is the one for you. Just because the CE is US made or more expensive, doesn't necessarily mean that its the better guitar for you to keep...
 
I would make the decision after you receive/hold/play the CE...

My SE gets no love in my household, unfortunately, mainly because I prefer all of my core guitars necks over the SE neck.

If after you receive the CE, you still enjoy the SE and it feels or sounds different enough, then you will know whether both will get used or not.
 
I would make the decision after you receive/hold/play the CE...

My SE gets no love in my household, unfortunately, mainly because I prefer all of my core guitars necks over the SE neck.

If after you receive the CE, you still enjoy the SE and it feels or sounds different enough, then you will know whether both will get used or not.

:( for the lack of love for the SE.

Send it to me to look after!
 
I would make the decision after you receive/hold/play the CE...

My SE gets no love in my household, unfortunately, mainly because I prefer all of my core guitars necks over the SE neck.

If after you receive the CE, you still enjoy the SE and it feels or sounds different enough, then you will know whether both will get used or not.
Solid strategy.

Personally, I would probably get a different SE like semi hollow, or single cut to get a bit more distance from the CE24. But in the end, I want everything.
 
Thanks everyone for the advice so far! And the welcome.

The CE is a lightly used 2019 satin model. The neck was actually a big part of thr appeal so looking forward to trying it out. The difference in pick ups and coil switching capability between the SE and the CE is also a good point and one I have been using to justify keeping both :)

I will take the good suggestion to try them both back to back over a couple of days and then make my mind up.

I had thought about returning the SE for a semi hollow or even a SE Paul's guitar...and further thoughts? Again if I could get into a store I could save people's time here, so thanks in advance for your patience and advice.
 
Thanks everyone for the advice so far! And the welcome.

The CE is a lightly used 2019 satin model. The neck was actually a big part of thr appeal so looking forward to trying it out. The difference in pick ups and coil switching capability between the SE and the CE is also a good point and one I have been using to justify keeping both :)

I will take the good suggestion to try them both back to back over a couple of days and then make my mind up.

I had thought about returning the SE for a semi hollow or even a SE Paul's guitar...and further thoughts? Again if I could get into a store I could save people's time here, so thanks in advance for your patience and advice.

The SE and the CE might sound ‘different enough’ to you so that you could get a wide selection of tones from them. If it were me, and I could only have two guitars, I’d choose a 22 fret model and a 24 fret model, even better if one was set neck and the other bolted. Between a semi hollow and a PG, I think I’d go with the semi-hollow since it’s almost guaranteed that you are going to be able to get some tones from it that are unlike the CE.

A lot depends on what tones your current SE and CE give you. They might cover all the ground you need.
 
Thanks again.

Very fortunate to be in the position to have the options I have. Will enjoy the decision and the inevitable search for the 3rd PRS in due course :) !
 
I’ve always thought that the SE Custom 24 actually has more in common with the USA CE than the Custom 24 - they’re all closely related, but the maple neck on the SE and CE is a big deal to me. I think the neck wood makes a bigger difference by far than the joint type (bolt on or set neck).

If you’re paying the price tag for the 35th SE, I would do what @veinbuster said and get something with some variation. You can get an S2 Satin for the same price, and although I love my SE’s, the S2’s are a definite step up. The SE Paul’s would also be a good one to still get the TCI pickups, although not an S2, there’s some value there.

Oh, and welcome!!!
 
Yeah I think I am coming to conclusion that I will return the SE 35 and look more into an SE PG, S2 or even a SE hollowbody or hollowbody 2 (not found a lot out about those, but will do some digging; might be an option for something quite different). Once the CE arrives (hopefully this week) I can get more of a feel. No rush, but as people say, they are addictive! My Les Paul is sulking in the corner :)

Half the fun is looking and very interested to know people's opinions and real world experiences.

Oh and will get pics up once I take delivery, see what folks think.
 
Finally made the decision and went for the CE24 in satin finish, and also the SE Hollowbody 2 for a different flavour.

I did seriously rate the SE Custom24 35th anniversary the few days I had it. It looked great and played well, but not different enough from the CE24 to justify holding onto right now and the hollowbody 2 is quite a different animal.

Very impressed with both amd thanks for the advice and suggestion, helped in my decision whilst not being able to test them all properly due to COVID. Here are a few pictures if interested.
nlRPZG4


nlRPZG4
 
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