Looks like the PRS CE is coming back for 2016

Deijavoo

Contender for that Wudtone bridge for sure.

Deijavoo

Steffo said:

Just checked the S2 CU24 seems to go for £1250, only £479 less and comes with a gig bag. If you factor in the cost of the case the CE is much more S2 than CU money, surely the spec needs to reflect that. I'm not saying I would buy at full price but wait a few months and yo'll get a nice wedge off.

Wait a year or so and go used. If Tremonti 10 tops go for £1400ish and standard tops for £1200ish, let alone some Customs go for £1100ish recently, these could well end up a bit of a bargain. I would never buy a brand new PRS tbh.

dindude

Steffo said:

Just checked the S2 CU24 seems to go for £1250, only £479 less and comes with a gig bag. If you factor in the cost of the case the CE is much more S2 than CU money, surely the spec needs to reflect that. I'm not saying I would buy at full price but wait a few months and yo'll get a nice wedge off.

The CE also comes with gigbag, not hard case. I think the extra is going towards a bit more of a carve, and those pickups.

Steffo

Deijavoo said:

Steffo said:

Just checked the S2 CU24 seems to go for £1250, only £479 less and comes with a gig bag. If you factor in the cost of the case the CE is much more S2 than CU money, surely the spec needs to reflect that. I'm not saying I would buy at full price but wait a few months and yo'll get a nice wedge off.

Wait a year or so and go used. If Tremonti 10 tops go for £1400ish and standard tops for £1200ish, let alone some Customs go for £1100ish recently, these could well end up a bit of a bargain. I would never buy a brand new PRS tbh.

Totally agree. I got a wonderful McCarthy with rosewood neck for £1300 and I will likely get one of these in the next year, but from the fretboard like all my other guitars. GAS-funds are low but the GAS doesn't stop!

Steffo

dindude said:

Steffo said:

Just checked the S2 CU24 seems to go for £1250, only £479 less and comes with a gig bag. If you factor in the cost of the case the CE is much more S2 than CU money, surely the spec needs to reflect that. I'm not saying I would buy at full price but wait a few months and yo'll get a nice wedge off.

The CE also comes with gigbag, not hard case. I think the extra is going towards a bit more of a carve, and those pickups.

Guitar Guitar say it comes with a hard case, not sure they can be trusted 100%. Pickups and carve seem to be worth the extra.

thomasross20

Steffo said:

Deijavoo said:

Steffo said:

Just checked the S2 CU24 seems to go for £1250, only £479 less and comes with a gig bag. If you factor in the cost of the case the CE is much more S2 than CU money, surely the spec needs to reflect that. I'm not saying I would buy at full price but wait a few months and yo'll get a nice wedge off.

Wait a year or so and go used. If Tremonti 10 tops go for £1400ish and standard tops for £1200ish, let alone some Customs go for £1100ish recently, these could well end up a bit of a bargain. I would never buy a brand new PRS tbh.

Totally agree. I got a wonderful McCarthy with rosewood neck for £1300 and I will likely get one of these in the next year, but from the fretboard like all my other guitars. GAS-funds are low but the GAS doesn't stop!

Pics??

Agree, and I bet most of the cost is the pickups. 

grungebob

Steffo;928508" said:

they all come with a hard case.

You sure of that I thought I read they come with gig bag like the S2?

This CE is too much period. £1500 tops. You can get the S2 standards (including that lovely veila sp?) for around £1100. The best value for money in my eyes in PRS at the moment is the S2 satins, at £850 their a great buy

Steffo

Guitar Guitar say hard case. Considering that the S2 CU24 is 1250 with a gig bag the price seems reasonable. Not that I would buy new...

iseverynamegone

Guitarist review says Gig bag only I think.

Moot point for me as I really couldn't get get on with the early 90s CE I had. Wide thin just wasn't for me. Nice noise though (apart from the dead spot) and a very stable trem.

DefaultM

The carve on the S2s look like a table top to me, I wouldn't be able to get on with it.

John_P

I think the new ce would have been much better to be like the old models - same as the US customs but with a bolt on maple neck.

It's a shame that the new ones aren't going to be as good as the old ones when usually PRS are about improving and moving forward.

Adamski

Don't get the fuss about the price. They are PRS' so are never going to be cheap. I think considering the much nicer tops and the 85/15's then the price point is perfectly fine. The S2's have beveled tops, far more 'workman like' maple flame, Korean pickups etc.

I don't consider the bolt on maple neck as a downgrade. If you've ever played one of their maple necks it's a thing of beauty!

My only gripe with these are why the Korean bridge? That's where I think they have cheaped out a bit.

It's still nearly £800 less than a new Custom
24.

John_P

^ I agree -  it seems an odd choice and I suspect most potential buyers would be happier with it being £700 cheaper than a custom with the full US spec.

thomasross20

Bridge is defo the weak point. 

Wisdom awarded for the maple neck comment. 

danny_777

My fave PRS by miles - I've been through about 10 and this is the one I've kept! A bit snappier than CUs, and love the maple neck when it's nice and worn.

gearaddict

Whitecat said:

Looks to have Korean hardware and no hard case either. Basically an S2 bolt-on with a proper carved top and nicer pickups. Still pretty cool though.

Shame...I have a PRS CE24 mahogany and it's a proper USA PRS with a hard case and all the bits you get on the more expensive models. Not sure I like the whole idea of the S2 guitars...kind of risks devaluing the brand a bit and if these guitars aren't officially S2 guitars but aren't full USA models either then the whole thing gets too confusing.

Whitecat

gearaddict said:

Whitecat said:

Looks to have Korean hardware and no hard case either. Basically an S2 bolt-on with a proper carved top and nicer pickups. Still pretty cool though.

Shame...I have a PRS CE24 mahogany and it's a proper USA PRS with a hard case and all the bits you get on the more expensive models. Not sure I like the whole idea of the S2 guitars...kind of risks devaluing the brand a bit and if these guitars aren't officially S2 guitars but aren't full USA models either then the whole thing gets too confusing.

Indeed. On PRS' own website they fall into a "third" category positioned between 'S2' and 'Core' - simply labelled 'Bolt-on.'

This does feel like a guitar designed by bean-counters to fill a price point though, which is a shame. 

On the flip side, proper "vintage" CE models now look like veritable bargains. I suspect the best examples are going to disappear from the market or at least go up in price a little. Ones that were asking £750-800 could now easily ask £1k and still look a deal next to the current versions.

jeztone2

Well I tried a new CE24 today.

The neck is fine, fretting top notch. but the plastic birds look awful. Moons or dots would have been better. It did sound very good. I was plugged into a Cornell combo & it did feel really dynamic when I was using the volume & tone controls.

Was quite impressed with the 85/15's. The Fretwire looked jumbo, more like DGT wire to me like on my CU24 Floyd.

But the weird bevelling on the carve looks gash close up. From a distance it's fine. But I didn't like it. I think not having the knobs recessed is a mistake. It cheapens it.

Also the neck body join wasn't quite as tidy as my 2002 CE24 or my nephews 2006 CE22. There were tiny gaps that I'd associate with "other" guitar companies, not PRS.

I'd have preferred dot inlays & the original top carve, or at least the knobs recessed. It kind of didn't look finished to me. But it sounded really good. The weight was nice.

It was the only one on display in Guitar Guitar Epsom. So they must be doing well. But it didn't float my boat. If it was £1399 maybe. But at £1749 new...Nah!

grungebob

Oh dear that's not good to hear sounds like a pass from me then.

Adam_MD

If I wanted a ce I'd buy an older one and fit the 59/09s thomasross has for sale on the forum. It'll sound great and much cheaper.