PRS SE STANDARD 24-08

11
AUGUST 2022 GUITARIST
PRS SE STANDARD 24-08
uncovered TCI ‘S’ pickups that show off
black open-coil bobbins, as opposed to the
zebra-coiled 85/15 ‘S’ humbuckers of the
standard model. And while that standard
Standard offers simultaneous coil-splits via a
pull-push switched tone control, offering six
sounds, the 24-08 has two additional mini-
toggle switches, with small levers, that offer
what PRS calls “true single coil” switching
of each humbucker. This means you can split
the pickups individually, adding two more
sounds: the full coils of the bridge combined
with the neck single coil, and the full neck
humbucker with the bridge single coil.
Feel & Sounds
Combining the feel and style of classic
Fender and Gibson was always the basis
of the PRS Standard and Custom, and that
doesn’t change here. At 3.38kg (7.44lb),
the weight is more Stratocaster than Les
Paul, but the glued-in neck itself feels
more in the latter camp, especially with
its binding. Its Wide Thin neck profile is
the thinnest in depth that PRS offers, this
one measuring 20.75mm at the 1st fret,
23.5mm by the 12th. Wide? For the record,
the nut width here is 42.9mm, with a string
spacing of 36mm.
It’s hard to find fault with the fretwork.
The gauge is slightly different to the USA
models but not by much (approximately
2.67mm wide by 1.1mm high). The guitar
also ships with PRS Classic 0.009 to 0.042
strings, giving it a slinky feel. But moving
up to 10s is easy – aside from a very slight
tightening of the vibrato springs – and the
bigger gauge seems to drive the guitar a little
harder, which means you get more back.
It might not have a rockstar association,
but the SE 24-08 certainly holds its own
with the SE Silver Sky, the single coils here
sounding a little more hollow. We don’t have
those classic Strat-like mixes, but the neck
and bridge mix (which is hum-cancelling)
shouts Fender. The solo neck, while not
quite as woody-sounding as the Silver Sky,
is very valid, percussive and soulful, and the
bridge single coil actually hints at early Les
Paul with a little tone roll-off, or a Telecaster
with the tone rolled back up.
There’s not a huge volume leap as we
move onto the humbucking sounds; they’re
certainly thicker and, again, it’s the bridge
that impresses, particularly when thinning
the sound a little with some volume
reduction. The neck does that expressive
Santana voice to a T, even though it may be
too thick for some in a more classic style. Yet
again, use those controls because they’re
the key to the breadth and range of sounds.
It might not be made in the
USA, but this cast vibrato
is all steel and is the same
that’s used on the much
more expensive USA-made
S2 and CE models
Though the guitar is
made thousands of miles
away from PRS’s USA factory,
features such as the full-
width tenon join of the neck
to the body are identical
VIDEO DEMO http://bit.ly/guitaristextra
GIT487.rev_prs.indd 11GIT487.rev_prs.indd 11 09/06/2022 11:1409/06/2022 11:14