The CE model of 1988 was created to offer guitarists a less expensive PRS, and to that end it featured a bolt-on maple neck and alder body.

A year later, PRS made it more PRS-like with a maple top/mahogany back version, but the figuration of the CE tops would have been graded in the 5-6 range – less curly than the 7-8 top that was standard on the Custom, and much less dramatic than the optional “10 top” or the “10 plus” top of the Artist.

However, despite the company’s best intentions, the bolt-neck CE gained a following in its own right – not as just a downgraded PRS Standard. It deserved, and received, a version with a 22-fret neck in 1994, and as this 1988 CE 22 Maple Top illustrates, a spectacular, quilted-maple top was not too good for a CE.

The CE Maple Top continues today as a mainstay of the PRS line, with 22 or 24 frets, a nicely figured maple top, and optional gold-plated hardware.