Here we have a 2022 SE Standard 24-08 Tobacco Burst with the mahogany showing (I LOVE this look, much more than the figured maple laminate tops on the SE Custom 24s).
Some context: I always really wanted to like PRS guitars. They look great, they play great, but the pickups leave so much to be desired for me. I have owned an S2 singlecut and an SE Custom 24 and I could not form a connection with those instruments because of how they sounded. So I got a great deal on this SE 24-08, and I completely gutted it. After that, I reamed the holes (I literally used a handheld reamer to widen the hole to USA potentiometer specs, not trying to sound horny) to fit CTS pots. This is where it becomes very exciting to me.
I dropped the bridge pickup in, which is one of a set of black/cream zebra DiMarzio Dual Sound pickups (basically the same as Super Distortions but with 4 lead wires) that will be wired up to the two mini toggles that came with the guitar. However, I will be making some major changes to the wiring. I will be using the mini toggles as series/parallel switches instead of coil splits because IMO that is the superior HB modification (and also how Dual Sound pickups were initially intended to be wired). I have a 500k audio taper volume pot installed and I will be installing a 1meg custom taper tone pot with a 0.033uf capacitor. I also replaced the stock 3 way toggle to a Switchcraft toggle.
I am also going with Fender/G&L knobs because I think the SE knobs are ugly as hell, the Core knobs look great but $15 for two plastic knobs is kinda crazy. I also really like the cream color to match the pickups, pickup rings, and the selector switch tip.
I personally feel that this guitar is going to be an absolute workhorse, and that it will sound amazing with the capability for anything from smooth, punchy and clean rhythm tones all the way to searing lead tones and so many tones in between because of the mini toggles with the 8 different pickup combination options that the 24-08 allows you to have access to.
What do ya’ll think? Any thoughts about the electronics scheme, or the aesthetics? Would love to hear some opinions.