PAUL REED SMITH
CE24
REVIEW BY PHILLIP DODGE
STREET PRICE $1,999.00
Today, we’re exploring a
recently reintroduced classic
from PRS Guitars. The CE24
was first released in 1988
as the first “affordable”
PRS. The price in 1988 was
$1,099—not exactly a cheap
price 28 years ago. The new
CE24 retails for $1,999.
Affordable or not, it was
one of the first (if not the
first) guitars to successfully
blend the best of the two
most important electric
guitars ever—one that
“casts for the sky” and one
named after a guy who is
“more than a big deal.” If
you’re still wondering what
these two classics are, just
ponder the CE24’s bolt-on
maple neck and its maple60
GEAR REVIEW
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capped mahogany body
(the original had an alder
body for the first few years
of production). That should
clear any confusion you
might have. Back in the day,
the name CE24 stood for
“classic electric” and “24
frets.” It’s still an accurate
name given that the CE24
can cover so many classic
sounds, and well, it still has
24 frets. Bonus points: all
24-fret PRS guitars with bird
inlays have an adorable little
screech owl at the 24th fret.
The new CE24 is built
on PRS’s main line in
Stevensville, Maryland and
it shows the meticulous
attention to detail one
would expect from a PRS.
Paul Reed Smith CE24
The nut is cut precisely, the
frets are smooth and wellpolished, the intonation is
precise, and the finish is
impeccable. It’s a beauty to
play or to just stare at. It’s
light weight, well-balanced,
and generally just really
comfortable to play.
When it comes to tremolos,
I’m a Bigsby man. I’ve
always had too heavy of a
hand to really use a Stratstyle tremolo but the PRSdesigned trem on the CE24
responds remarkably well
to both heavy and light use.
And paired with the locking
tuners, it stays in tune even
with some pretty heavy
dive-bombs and pull-ups.
The CE24 features the