This is a simple build guide and pickup suggestion for the PRS SE Custom 24 electric guitar. This guitar is a moderately priced electric, usually retailing in the $600-$700 price range, depending on whether you buy new or used.
The SE PRS lines are cheaper than the main PRS electrics and are manufactured in South Korea plants, instead of PRS headquarters in Maryland.
They're good guitars, but parts are usually stock and far cheaper than what we get in the mainline PRS models.
But if you already have a PRS SE Custom 24, investing in it is usually a good option, and can get it sounding (and playing) much better.
We'll recommend pickups, bridge hardware, and potentiometer replacements
If you want to look for a different set of pickups, you can use our pickup selector tool for a list of compatible options for the PRS SE Custom 24.
Parts Recommended for this Upgrade
Gear | Title | Rated | Browse |
|---|---|---|---|
 | EMG James Hetfield Signature Humbuckers | n/a | |
 | PRS Gen II Tremolo Bridge | n/a | |
 | Potentiometer Wiring Kit for Paul Reed Smith | n/a |
Upgrading the PRS SE Custom 24. Flickr Commons image via Freebird_71
Humbuckers
EMG James Hetfield signature pickups.
The humbuckers we've selected are the signature James Hetfield set from EMG which is an active pickup set requiring a 9V battery to run. Though we like the active EMG pickups because they come with everything you need to do a solderless installation.
This particular set is punchy and percussive, with a modern edge and plenty of sustain. It'll make the SE Custom 24 more aggressive and should cut down on noise compared to the stock PRS humbuckers that the guitar ships with.
Bridge
The Gen II PRS tremolo bridge. Image via Reverb
Our bridge recommendation is arguably more extensive than the pickups themselves. The Gen II tremolo is the same hardware that comes on the nicer PRS guitars, which should significantly improve playability and tuning stability.
If you plan to use the tremolo arm a lot, consider this or an alternative bridge hardware upgrade for your SE Custom 24.
Potentiometers
Electronics and potentiometer upgrade kit for PRS guitars.
In cheaper electric guitars it's the electronics that are most likely to get downgraded. That's why we almost always recommend a potentiometer upgrade, which has led us to the PRS kit that Stewmac carries.
Note that this upgrade only makes sense if you don't use the EMG solderless kit, since it comes with its own pots and electronics.
If you go with a different pickup set, without the kit, consider the PRS Stewmac electronics kit to compliment.
Conclusion
The PRS SE Custom 24 is a great guitar, but it can definitely benefit from the upgrades in this list. If you have questions or other recommendations that weren't addressed here, feel free to reach out via the comments section below and we'll chat about it.
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