PRS SE Custom 24-08

first play
PRS SE CUSTOM 24 & 24-08
16
GUITARIST APRIL 2021
However, to kick off 2021 PRS has
chosen to launch three additions to its
SE line: our two review models and a
classy makeover of the consistently-
selling Zach Myers with its semi-hollow
body construction. Our SE Customs are
refined and, in the case of the 24-08,
tweaked. Both feature what PRS calls a
“shallow violin carve” to the maple tops,
which we first saw on 2019’s SE Paul’s
Guitar and which moves the appearance
slightly closer to the more heavily dished
USA-made Core models. And if the 24-08
looks familiar, yes, its already a Core
model and its also pretty similar to last
year’s SE 35th Anniversary Custom.
Custom Style
While it might be the guitar that launched
PRS back in 1985, this latest SE version
(now made by Cor-Tek in Indonesia) is
considerably different. That glued-in
maple neck, with its natural headstock,
actually looks more like the USA-made
CE 24 bolt-on. So, is this essence of the
classic Custom 24 or a flavour in its own
right? Well, a bit of both actually, if we’re
honest. But lets forget the backstory for a
moment and concentrate on what you’ll
get for your money here.
Not surprisingly, the SE Custom centres
on the classic PRS ingredients: a 635mm
(25-inch) scale length, 24 frets, vibrato and
dual humbuckers that can be coil-split. It
remains a do-it-all’ platform, combining
elements of the obvious classics with what
is now a hugely recognisable aesthetic.
That shallow violin carve to the figured
maple top (actually a veneer over solid
maple) does add a little more of the real PRS
style, but the light dishing occurs in just a
small, approximately 30mm wide portion
around the edge; the majority of the top is
flat. Compare that with the CE 24 which,
again, uses a lesser dished top carve than
the Core models and you’ll see actually
how ‘shallow’ the SE carve is. Mind you,
you can’t knock the craft. The edges of the
vividly coloured veneer are really very
clean and its the only colour on the guitar:
the sides, back and entire neck (with the
exception of the rosewood fingerboard) are
clear gloss coated.
And while PRS built its empire with
the use of one-piece necks and one-piece
bodies, here both are multi-piece out of
necessity. The neck is actually a three-piece
longitudinal laminate of maple the two
outer sections diagonally matched either
side of that rift-sawn centre piece. The
1. While the headstock
hasn’t changed over
the years, the logo
has. Today the ‘SE’ is
downsized in favour of
the Paul Reed Smith
logo. Here, too, we get
non-locking tuners
2. This long-running
vibrato is used not only
on the SE line but also
the USA-made S2 and
bolt-on CE 24 models
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GIT470.rev_prs.indd 16 18/02/2021 08:55