PRS CE 24 Semi-Hollow Review

Wow! Shipped in a gig bag?

Received my guitar a week ago and haven't been able to put it down! The sustain is for days, and the 85/15 pups are ridiculous! The only knock I have is for the money, I think these guitars should be shipped with a hard shell case. The experience of getting my guitar wasn't stellar like it would have been if I could have opened a hard shell case and saw my guitar lying in the… read more case like a piece of jewelry! As it was I pulled it out of a gig bag like a cheap squire guitar! Really PRS? Come on! For that, I gave it only four stars.

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Best playing and sounding guitar

Wow PRS really nailed it with these CE24s! I have played American Deluxe Strats, Les Pauls, even EVH. This plays better and sounds better than any of them, especially on my Marshall 100 watt 4x12 Celestial's. It is a knockout in the looks dept also. If you are looking for a few steps up, but not quite ready for a custom, get one of these. Also, do yourself a favor and get it… read more from Sweetwater. Ryan and everyone I had contact with there made the purchase accurate and enjoyable. (No they didn't pay me for endorsement, just a happy customer). Thanks guys

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Gorgeous guitar, great for modern tone

The 85/15 in these are great for a more modern tone. They take gain extremely well but clean up very nice. No ice picky sounds even when split. The craftsmanship is superb and taking the time to pick your perfect top is always great with sweetwater's photo gallery. Aside from the molded bridge, this feels like a USA core guitar. And to be honest replacing the tremolo bridge is easy… read more enough if you wish to get the best.

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Semi Hollow body favorite

I am no expert but I own 20 guitars. This is my first semi hollow body. Everything was correct and great action out of the box. The thing that I love is the split pickups. Explaining is it goes from a humbuccer to a single coil pickup with the pull of a switch. This gives this guitar a cool clean sound. Playing live people ask me how can you do this? A switch. I can only… read more afford one of these guitars and wish I bought two.

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PRS CE 24 Semi Hollow - an Awesome Guitar!

I love this guitar! It sounds great - a beautiful tone right out of the box. Its beautifully clear notes ring with extra sustain due the semi-hollow build. Every screw, every part, everything about this guitar is top quality. And the finish... well that speaks for itself (please see the picture and video). I always wanted a semi-hollow electric. I spoke with my Sales Engineer Hayden… read more Flack about the options. He knows I am a huge fan of PRS guitars (this is my third). He suggested this guitar. But it wasn't that simple... there weren't any in stock due to a shortage of parts at PRS. However, this particular guitar became available and he reserved it for me. I'm very glad he did. Thanks to Sweetwater for another piece of excellent kit. Special thanks to Hayden for his diligence, customer service, and friendship. It's why I keep coming back.

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Top Notch Guitar

I've had guitars all my life and this is the best. Mind you, I still love my Fenders and Gibsons, but this was perfect right out of the box. It is a very comfortable guitar to play: great neck and overall action. The quality of the sound is absolutely beautiful. The physical quality of the guitar is flawless. It's just really hard to put down.

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Solid body vs Semi-hollow?

If you're on the fence between the solid body or the semi-hollow version, perhaps this review will help. In my years of playing I've been fortunate enough to have sampled a good many guitars...like over 60. They come and they go except for just a very few "keepers" (LP Studio, my favorite Strat and an Edwards ES-335 style). Until the CE24 that is. These exceptionally articulate… read more humbuckers (85/15) matched with the bolt-on, maple neck is indeed the tone I've been searching for. They have the clear, single-coil chime and the power of a humbucker rolled into one and they like gain too. Note separation even with amp dirt have chords ringing clear and true. I play faster and more accurately on this neck than any other guitar I've ever played. It just feels like "home". So having found the "one" with a CE24 I bought last March, I traded off a PRS core model that has lost its play time to the CE24 and popped for the semi-hollow. Yep, I traded a core for the CE24...they are that good (IMO)! They are of course very similar, and I give the edge to the solid for clean amp tones because the sustain is slightly better. But when I crank up the gain, that edge goes to the semi-hollow (right up the the feedback setting anyway). If you find the sweet spot on the gain, the semi-hollow version will actually transmit the tones right into your ribs. You can feel the vibration through the guitar and the sustained notes will ring-out longer than the solid. So which one do I like best? BOTH. I'd say get the solid if you prefer to play mostly clean tones and the semi-hollow if you play dirty. Either style is a great choice though.

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Perfection!

Amazing! The PRS CE24 Semi-Hollow checks ALL of the boxes for me. I've played for 24 years and have owned many quality and high-end guitars. I'm a Fender guy through-and-through and I love my Gibson's as well, but this is a perfect combination of both! Absolutely stunning to behold and plays like butter. I'm in love with the "Pattern Thin" neck carve with the satin maple neck. Being… read more a Fender guy, I feel right at home b/c the carve is very reminiscent of a modern Fender "C" with satin back. I instantly bonded with this gorgeous specimen and took zero time to get acclimated with it. It immediately felt like "home". The sound? Wow! When it comes to PRS, I'm a big 58/15LT guy as I love the PAF low-output style PUP's, but these new 85/15 TCI PUP's are quickly becoming one of my favorites. Plenty of punchy mid's and high's that don't get shrill or brash with a low-end that doesn't get muddy or flubby. Very responsive to volume and tone controls. Easy to EQ any amp to get "your tone". Very articulate and dynamic. A perfect mesh of vintage and modern. The "single-coil" coil-tap on these PUP's actually sounds like a single-coil...imagine that! Not surprised that Paul would be the first to finally make that happen lol. I love the Core line PRS', but I prefer the CE line much more. Just as visually stunning but, imho, plays much better do to the satin neck. This baby is giving my Fender Mod-Shop Strat some intense competition to becoming my #1 axe. If PRS made a CE22, it would be. If you're looking for a Core model, give this a shot b/c you won't be sacrificing ANYTHING! If you're considering an imported SE model or even an entry-level American S2 model, step-up to the CE b/c it's well worth the investment. You'll be very glad you did. Unquestionably my favorite PRS. Sweetwater's 36 or 48 month 0% APR, makes an otherwise unobtainable guitar a reality. Big shout-out to Ryan Murphy! I've been a Sweetwater customer for many years and have always had an enjoyable experience with him. Ryan is a gear-head and tone-chaser like the rest of us and always goes over-the-top to help me out. Naturally, these guys are there to make sales, but you can tell they genuinely care about your wants/needs and will go out of their way to help you. You can tell from their passion that it's not just "a job" to them. I live in TN and have a Guitar Center locally but still order from Sweetwater if that tells you anything. Thank you Sweetwater for being the best in the business and also, you should open another location near Nashville, TN ;D Just saying lol. Btw, the truss rod cover with the "Private Stock" Eagle is custom made with Rosewood and the inlay is Abalone and Mother-of-Pearl

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Incredibly happy with this guitar!

What a great guitar! It had impeccable factory adjustments out of the box, and overall quality is super impressive! My sales engineer Jon was awesome, as always. Jon spent a great deal of time helping me pick the right guitar and followed up with all the orders' updates. Thank you, Jon! I love this guitar so much I can't stop thinking of which PRS is going to be my next :) Thank… read more you!

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I am wowed!

Traded up to this CE from another brand/model. Absolutely love it! Sweet tone, great sustain, much lighter than a Les Paul. And my sales engineer Riley was a huge help to me in making this choice. Thanks!

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PRS Pretty sweet

I have a confession, this is my 12 year old sons guitar. He is making payments to me. He wanted a new guitar and he has a USA stratocaster he plays. I convinced him to buy the same level or better of a guitar and this is a big step up. But when he is not around I sneak in and grab it and jam on it. It's really nice to play. Strings are set real close so it makes fast play. Real… read more quick and it's lighter than my Les paul custom which is too heavy. Besides that the finish is crazy cool. Very nice instrument. We love it.

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Awsome!!

Great sound

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My new #1 or I'm no longer a Set neck snob

So, you know where I'm coming from I own 3 Core PRS Guitars Custom 24, Tremonti (w 57/08 PU & coil tap mods) & a P22. I play in a cover band on weekends AC/DC to disco 50's to today. I saw the CE24 semi hollow coming out and it sounded interesting. I wanted something a little different & the semi hollow tone combined with coil taps and another guitar with 24 frets checked all the… read more boxes. I did tons of research because I have been a set neck person for so long. I got my hands on a few solid body CEs & was impressed There was no loss of sustain. Two other concerns I had were the bridge is not the core bridge & the bird inlays are plastic. Honestly the bridge being made of steel not brass is a benefit as it really helps the singe coil tones chime. There is no loss of sustain in clean or heavy tones. The inlays are fine. Though not as pretty as the core birds they are not offensive. The neck is the most comfortable of any of the guitars I have. I love it so easy to play. Notes are super clear & ring out all the way to the 24th fret. The pickups really make this guitar shine. The tone is a favorite with the people in my band too. It easily goes form Hard rock, to blues overdrive to clean & coil taps sound like single coils not just a reduced humbucker. All the positions are useable. I"m a vibrato user. This thing stays in tune with aggressive use. It"s nice and light so it will be nice having it hang on my shoulder all night long. The body is slim & super comfortable. This guitar can cover all of the areas my #1 is doing and feel a little more comfortable doing it. The only downside and that is just for me is it comes with a gig bag. I have seen way too much stuff fall on my hard cases and was grateful l my guitars were in a heavy wooden case. A gig bag would not do much in the way of protecting in that situation. If I was not loading my SUV from top to bottom with gear each week it would be great. This guitar can cover all of the areas my #1 is doing and feel a little more comfortable doing it. If you own a core model it is worth checking this one out. If you are looking for your first PRS this is a great place to start.

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