NOGD: 1987 PRS Custom 24

guitargeek62

Following on from the influx of recent PRS-related posts, here's my newly acquired "birth-year" PRS! 

It had a few mods over the years, with Grovers added, and SD pickups & wiring replaced, and has also been played a helluva lot and has the scars to prove it. The acrylic finish on these old ones is lovely - contrary to common belief about non-nitro finishes, some of them do get better with age, and sink into the grain giving a beautifully tactile feel.







Restoration and mods
I'm not quite going to do a vintage-correct restoration, but I'm a fan of the 5-way rotary switches, and thanks to @BigNorm I've acquired a sweet switch as well to try out. I don't use the tone pot very much, except to occasionally knock off a bit of high end, so hopefully this will serve my purposes whilst looking "right" too.



In terms of pickups, it arrived with a pair of unlabelled Seymour Duncans that seem to be of a similar age to the guitar. They sound fine, but only have two-conductor wiring so I can't use them with the rotary switch. I've then sourced a set of the new(ish) 85/15 'squabbins' to bring the electronics up to date a bit, as I really liked this set in half a dozen Cu24s that I got to try in GuitarGuitar a few weeks ago.





The Grovers that had been fitted are now gone, replaced by a set of Phase 1 winged tuners. I know a lot of people aren't fans of these but I really like them in practice, and they just look "right" to me.

On top of that, I've also refreshed the bridge with a "brass update kit", which replaces the saddle and height adjustment screws, springs, etc, and have given it a bit of a hybrid hardware vibe which I quite like - furthered by the addition of brass straplocks. Last, but not least, I've also got a set of black pickup rings on the way so that I can bin the nasty cream ones. 

The final step will be to fit a new nut and get the frets dressed and sorted, which should be done in the next couple of weeks.





#PRSPride

danban

Congrats on you’re lovely Prs from a fellow Reborn Prs user! Looks a beaut!

welshboyo

Word of warning - if its got a 3 way then the likelihood is its been drilled out to accommodate  - sweet switch won't be a drop straight in - you might have to be a bit clever with some washers etc.

guitargeek62

Yep - it took a bit of fiddling last night but I managed to secure it in place with a washer for now. Once I've used it for a bit I might consider doing a proper repair by plugging and re-drilling the hole to the correct diameter, then giving it a touch-up, but that's a bit extreme for something so small! Similarly the hole for the 5-way rotary had been widened to accept a 3-way toggle too, but that's less of a problem. 

welshboyo

Nice Guitar btw, I miss mine

guitars4you

That is a bonnie colour

Enjoy the project - Try the Sweet Switch - To me it just doesn't work - Not sure if it is the preset value, but much prefer the tone control option - 3 or 5 way and I can go either way - But now tend to favour the 3 way with the DGT partial coil tap option

Looks like a cool project

Stevepage

Wow, what a score!

guitargeek62

guitars4you said:

That is a bonnie colour

Enjoy the project - Try the Sweet Switch - To em it just doesn't work - Not sure if it is the preset value, but much prefer the tone control option - 3 or 5 way and I can go either way - But now tend to favour the 3 way with the DGT partial coil tap option

Looks like a cool project

I'm going to make a few variants as well with different value ICs. I've managed to track down sources for the original components, so hope to make some up and supply them (with washers!) for anyone else who wants to restore or try out sweet switches too. I completely agree that an actual tone-pot is more versatile btw! 

welshboyo

guitargeek62 said:

guitars4you said:

That is a bonnie colour

Enjoy the project - Try the Sweet Switch - To em it just doesn't work - Not sure if it is the preset value, but much prefer the tone control option - 3 or 5 way and I can go either way - But now tend to favour the 3 way with the DGT partial coil tap option

Looks like a cool project

I'm going to make a few variants as well with different value ICs. I've managed to track down sources for the original components, so hope to make some up and supply them (with washers!) for anyone else who wants to restore or try out sweet switches too. I completely agree that an actual tone-pot is more versatile btw! 

I'll be honest and say that I didn't care much for the sweet switch and I procrastinated for months about changing it out.. 

DefaultM

Wait... So you weren't born in '62?

guitargeek62

Lol nope - that’s just my lucky number!

Strat54

Congratulations, love the refurb....a big improvement. Washers were always the quickie fix to resolve the issue, I seem to remember years ago on the old PRS forums folks arguing about the existence of the 'factory' notched washers sometimes seen on late 80's guitars...lol...always a source of much forum arguing. I've seen a few repairs restore some wood in the hole and make a pretty much invisible repair. Either way it looks good. 
I see it has the desirable star in the cavity, which if memory serves me right meant that Mike Deeley had a hand in its build, some would also say it meant that Paul himself signed off on the guitar. Cool. 

Adam_MD

That's awesome is it a bit weird that I like the cream rings? The lampshades look great too.  I'd love a set for my ce but just can't bring myself to pay that amount of money for two knobs.  

andy1839

Congrats, lovely guitars.

I had an '89 in scarlet red which was a stunning guitar, I love that colour.

The sweet switch had been wired to a push/pull pot for the tone which was really handy.

I'd definitely get another 80's one if it came up.

blueskunk

87 great year for me pissing around in middle school !!

Looks like a good year for Mr Smith too. Enjoy

Strangefan

Now that is a fantastic looking guitar! Personally I would have kept it how it came  but you have certainly done it justice, 

guitargeek62

@Strat54 Aye, I’m of the Mike D school of thought, this is my third or fourth of his! I remember those washer debates on BAM too, always made me chuckle!

@Adam_MD not at all, I love the scarlet one from the original PRS adverts though, the red/black combo has always been a favourite for me! I’ve potentially got a spare set of lampshades here now btw, depends if I stick with the sweet switch or not though, else I’ll need one of them for the tone pot.

@Strangefan if it had been all original I probably would have, but given that so many parts had already been replaced I have no qualms about further modifications.

Adam_MD

guitargeek62 said:

@Adam_MD not at all, I love the scarlet one from the original PRS adverts though, the red/black combo has always been a favourite for me! I’ve potentially got a spare set of lampshades here now btw, depends if I stick with the sweet switch or not though, else I’ll need one of them for the tone pot.

You tease  . Let me know if you decide to stick with the sweet switch and Ill take the other set off your hands. 

 Im surprised you went with the rotary switch I liked some of the settings but missed both humbuckers on together so switched mine out for a 3 way toggle and a push/push pot

guitargeek62

I rarely use the middle position tbh, I find it less useful without separate volumes for each pickup. I do love having the in-between sounds from the 5-way rotary though, and the middle “series” position.

I’ve got two rotarys here to try out, a later PCB one from BigNorm, and an earlier wafer model from an old ‘93 Cu22 I used to own. I’m not sure which variant the PCB one is yet though, as I think there’s been a few models over the years with subtly different wiring options.

Adam_MD

I always liked the in between sounds too but found the middle series position to be pretty much unusable.  I usually found myself on either bridge, neck or position 4 when I had mine.  

DrJazzTap

Congrats thats a lovely guitar