Saw and played my first PRS S-2 custom 24 yesterday.

[Ascension]

Being a PRS player who owns a USA Custom 24 I have been wanting to get my hands on one since I heard they were coming out.
Yesterday I was at my local Guitar Center and they had 3 2 with flame tops and 1 in solid black. I played the black one.
First off on the wall with other PRS guitars they just look really cheap with that goofy top bevel. The sold black one was not so bad but IMO the 2 flame tops were downright FUGLY and looked really cheap!! The SE Custom 24 looks much better than the S-2 in the flame top when you see them side by side.
So I pull it down and start looking it over. First thing I notice is that the trem is the import trem off the SE not the real USA PRS trem. Second thing I notice is that both pots are so loose they are about to fall off the guitar so not a great first impression so far.
However when I plugged it in and played it ( after I had their tec tighten the pots) I have to admit I liked it. It felt and sounded just like a typical PRS Custom 24 should and the pattern thin neck was a little different from my 07 with the wide thin but close enough where it familiar and she really played out very well. The 3 way and pull pot I had dealt with on SE Custom 24's and I got some usable tones with it easily. Sounded really good through the Orange Rocker 50 I plugged into in the vault and the response was even all over the neck like a typical Custom 24 should be.
Would be a nice guitar if they would fix that FUGLY cheap looking top rout and I had no issue with the SE trem when I played the one I did as with the locking tuners it seemed stable although I would have liked to have been able to abuse the bar and little to see how it stood up.
Bottom line here is I can take the look of the solid color versions but the flame tops are hideously ugly and very cheap looking. I don't know if I would pay double for one of these over a SE as they are not even up to par with the SE in appearance and the one I played just was thrown together and everything was loose on it so the quality control is suspect. From any USA PRS I expected more attention to detail and at double the price of a SE as cheap as they look I just don't know if these are going to fly in the market.

 

[RorySquier]

Re: Saw and played my first PRS S-2 custom 24 yesterday.

The best PRS guitars ever made were from 1985 to 1995. Once they went down to 22 frets and gone with that cheap looking wrap-around bridge, I believe the quality has gone downhill. The new PRS guitars are not the same like when they first came out. If I were to buy a PRS guitar, it would probably have to be used one (a '95 or earlier), but I bet they fetch for a pretty penny.

 

[jmh151]

Re: Saw and played my first PRS S-2 custom 24 yesterday.

The best PRS guitars ever made were from 1985 to 1995. Once they went down to 22 frets and gone with that cheap looking wrap-around bridge, I believe the quality has gone downhill. The new PRS guitars are not the same like when they first came out. If I were to buy a PRS guitar, it would probably have to be used one (a '95 or earlier), but I bet they fetch for a pretty penny.

I disagree with the quality going down as I have a 2010 limited edition Korina that I'm happy with.

The S2 series, though, is a step down. The regular Made in Maryland series is every bit or better than the original ones, though they are expensive. The S2 series is their budget american line, and from what I've seen, they do not compare to the standard Maryland line.

For my money I'd hunt down a used American model. Unless you want a 10 top or artist top, you can find used USA made PRS for the price of the S2 line.

 

[JeffB]

Re: Saw and played my first PRS S-2 custom 24 yesterday.

I do not think any modern PRS..over the past 15 years or so, has come close to the original custom I had. That guitar was handmade with alo tof love, and much higher quality tonewoods. I did have a 20th McCarty that was pretty sweet and my Singlecut 250 and Starla were well built, precision instruments, but they all fell short of those original guitars of the 1980s. Man, I miss going over to Chuck Levins Washington Music Center, going down the stockroom elevator, and hand picking an original PRS Custom out of a dozen they had (that is what they did BITD if you were interested in buying one). Fun times.

Sorry to hear the S2s are not up to snuff

 

[RorySquier]

Re: Saw and played my first PRS S-2 custom 24 yesterday.

I disagree with the quality going down as I have a 2010 limited edition Korina that I'm happy with.

The S2 series, though, is a step down. The regular Made in Maryland series is every bit or better than the original ones, though they are expensive. The S2 series is their budget american line, and from what I've seen, they do not compare to the standard Maryland line.

For my money I'd hunt down a used American model. Unless you want a 10 top or artist top, you can find used USA made PRS for the price of the S2 line.

There are exceptions for some PRS guitars after 1995 and I believe your guitar would be exceptional quality, but PRS guitars from '85 to '95 were handmade and they were basically the best guitars on the planet (may Les Paul roll over in his grave!). It's good to hear about the Maryland series so I can keep my eye out for one if I ever have any extra cash on hand.

 

[Ascension]

Re: Saw and played my first PRS S-2 custom 24 yesterday.

I do not think any modern PRS..over the past 15 years or so, has come close to the original custom I had. That guitar was handmade with alo tof love, and much higher quality tonewoods. I did have a 20th McCarty that was pretty sweet and my Singlecut 250 and Starla were well built, precision instruments, but they all fell short of those original guitars of the 1980s. Man, I miss going over to Chuck Levins Washington Music Center, going down the stockroom elevator, and hand picking an original PRS Custom out of a dozen they had (that is what they did BITD if you were interested in buying one). Fun times.

Sorry to hear the S2s are not up to snuff

I own a 2007 PRS custom 24 in Royal Blue with the HFS/VB pickups ,5 way rotary, Brazilian rosewood board and pau birds that I would put up against any early pre CNC PRS. I have spent time with early ones and later ones and while some are better than others, (unlike Gibson) over the years the Quality of workmanship and caber of woods on the higher end PRS's has never substantially declined.
I also played a new Custom 24 artist pac the same day I played the S-2 that was amazing. That one had a sick flame maple neck ebony board and was finished in the Esta-Verde green flame with chrome gold hybrid hardware. I will tell you without hesitation that particular example was one of the finest PRS's I have played from any era and had I been holding enough cash would have gone home with me!!!

 

[jmh151]

Re: Saw and played my first PRS S-2 custom 24 yesterday.

I think the disappointment comes when someone us ordering a 10 top or Artist series top, and that's because the quality of the figure varies year to year. The pre 95 ones have the prettiest tops that didn't need the figure enhancement. I've seen recent 10 tops that wouldn't have made the grade years ago, and artist tops that should be 10 tops.

Same goes for Ernie Ball Music Man. I have a run of the mill 2001 Axis that has as standard an insanely quilted top and Birdseye maple next that kills any PRS.. It destroys any Ball Family Reserve, and the standard tops these days are disappointing .

If you can ignore trying to spend a ton of money on the option for a highly figured maple PRS top, and go for an opaque finish, or as I did- solid Korina, you'll find current American made PRS- with the exception of the S2 line- are the best made to date.

The S2 line is serving a purpose. With this economy and the price of the standard Maryland line (generally starting above $2,000), sales have slowed down. The Import SE line has met the demand by a lot of players for a more affordable guitar, and the sales have kept the Maryland factory afloat while sales of high end PRS slowed down. The S2 line, while not up to the standard of the Maryland line, is about half the price of the Maryland line, giving players the option of something better than the import line.

 

[That90'sGuy]

Re: Saw and played my first PRS S-2 custom 24 yesterday.

I don't know what it was, but I can tell you that my '96 McCarty sounded better than any PRS of a later year I've owned (and that was about a half a dozen). Most of the ones I've played in the store lacked that certain something and that '96 had it. I've yet to try the latest PRSi, but from my experience, there is something to earlier ones (and I realize that that example is a "later" one compared to the start PRS had in the 80's).

 

[Mr. B]

Re: Saw and played my first PRS S-2 custom 24 yesterday.

I played two of the S2 Custom 24s yesterday side by side with a "real" custom 24 and an SE line Custom 24. The S2 is thinner than the real Custom24, but slightly thicker than the SE. The SE's look better, probably because they have a thin veneer over the maple cap, and the S2 does not? The neck on the S2 felt a little rougher than the SE or the real Cust24. The pickups on the S2 are pretty generic sounding, and not much better sounding than the SE line. I would immediately have to replace them. You are basically paying for locking tuners and a top that is a little more authentic, but looks worse than the SE line, and maybe a little better wood on the back and neck, but who knows. I would say they are a step up from the SE line, but not a big step.

Now, what was a BIG step up was a used PRS McCarty I played after I finished with those. Holy Crap ! That was a nice guitar.

Have you seen on the PRS website that they are also releasing an S2 Singlecut and Custom22? The Singlecut is still a 25" scale guitar, which is the mistake they made with the SE Singlecut. People want them to sound more like a Les Paul, and they aren't going to unless the scale is the same as a Les Paul.

 

[Kosh Naranek]

Re: Saw and played my first PRS S-2 custom 24 yesterday.

I guess I missed out on the really good ones. I didn't become a PRS owner until 2011 when I bought a new 305. But with that model, there is no concern over whether the top is better or inferior to older tops - it doesn't have a maple top.
The fretwork fit, assembly, etc, all appear to be flawless. It feels more solid and perfect than any of several brands of other USA guitars I have played.

 

[stevie_bees]

Re: Saw and played my first PRS S-2 custom 24 yesterday.

I consider the S2's to be PRS's equivalent of Fender's Highway One series. US made but with finish/hardware/finish limitations. I tried them when I was looking for my 'RAF departure' guitar and felt that the Custom 24 was the worst of the 3. I really liked the Mira I tried and was contemplating the Starla for a while. I think that it was a mistake to create S2 Cu24/Cu22 versions, but that the concept suits the Mira/Starla/Singlecut models. There's just too much heritage with their original Cu24/22's for it to work. IMO of course!

 

[aleclee]

Re: Saw and played my first PRS S-2 custom 24 yesterday.

After 1985 (not 1995), PRS was never "handmade" in any meaningful sense of the word. The duplicarver that Eric Pritchard designed for Paul back in the day was functionally identical to a CNC, just less precise. I can tell you first hand that the precision on some pre-CNC guitars was lacking. I used to have an 89 with a ridiculously thin neck (more "wide anorexic" than "wide thin") that speaks to the production variances back in the "good ol' days".

That said, I think that there's something to be said for those mid-90s PRSi. I've played a number of exceptional instruments from that period. The company was hitting its stride from a manufacturing standpoint while still being small enough to be able to get amazing wood. As PRS became more popular, I think it became more difficult for them to get the quality of wood (esp. figured maple) that they enjoyed in the early years. That said, the four post-2K PRS guitars I've owned were all wonderful instruments. IMO the wood isn't always as good as that in the older guitars but the craftsmanship is flawless. My 20th Anniversary Singlecut is a particularly nice example, with its rolled fretboard and finish sinking into the top.

I was very impressed by the earliest SE models but the ones in recent years haven't turned me on nearly so much. The earliest ones rivaled some of the US-made models while the current ones are more in line with other import guitars. They're well made and great platforms for mad modders but they feel more like they were built to hit a price point than to be a great guitar out of the box.

My $0.02, IMHO, FWIW, YMMV, etc.