PRS Guitar Advice

[mkh02]

Had a go of my friend private stock PRS the other day and was absolutely blown away! It was one of the best sounding guitars I have ever heard or played!

Its a fixed bridge 22 style and he is selling it for £5,000 which is a lot less than he payed for it!

Alas I can't afford it but it has convinced me that I have to have a PRS some advice would be great.

I am looking for a fixed bridge custom 22 style with a flame top and Dragon II picjups as I have gathered that the fixed bridge has a much better sound quality and sustain to it. Also from speaking to other musicians the neck pickup on the custom 24 is a little further back which results again in a poorer tone to the custom 22.

Any opinions on this would be good, I do like a whammy bar however have a custom Ibanez JEM and my Super Strat for that kind of thing. I am looking for a top quality PRS that has a heck of a lot of sustain and voice like a Les Paul but is comfortable to play like a Fender which after playing my mates PRS has convinced me that this is the way to go. Budget around £2,000

Anyone played both the Custom 24 and 22? Again I keep hearing musicians mention that the 22 knocks spots off the 24 in tone?

Thanks in advance guys.

[Twinfan]

A Custom 22 isn't better than a 24, or vice versa, they're just different  :)

Dues to the pickup placement difference, and the pickup models themselves, the Custom 22 is generally a bit more vintage and the Custom 24 a bit more modern rock.

If you want some Les Paul-ish tones from a PRS for around £2000, you need to look at the following models:

SC245 (singlecut, thick body, fat tone)
McCarty (doublecut, thick body, medium fat tone)
Custom 22 (doublecut, thinner body and tone)

Finally, have a browse around Mark's site.  One of the best PRS dealers in the UK, and if you speak to him, tell him I sent you  ;)

www.guitars4you.co.uk

[Philly Q]

A Custom 22 isn't better than a 24, or vice versa, they're just different  :)

Agreed!

Apart from the factors TF mentioned above, there's also a difference choice of neck shapes - 22 fretters usually have Wide/Thin or Wide/Fat options, 24 fretters have Wide/Thin or Regular (also, confusingly, known as Standard).  If you like a bigger neck you'll probably prefer a 22 with a Wide/Fat.

(Now they've confused things by introducing the new "Pattern" neck shapes, but I'm assuming you'll be looking at slightly older stock!)

[Twinfan]

Good points Philly!  McCarty models ALWAYS have a Wide Fat neck, Custom 22s and SC245s can be found in Wide Fat and Wide Thin varieties.  I'd hunt down something with a Wide Fat for a beefier tone.

The new neck shapes are very similar to the old ones, but with a little less "shoulder".  They map as follows:

Wide Fat = Pattern
Wide Thin = Pattern Thin
Regular/Standard = Pattern Regular

[mkh02]

Yeah it would be the wide fat neck I would be looking at.

Thanks for the web link I will take a look!

I understand what you are saying re differences in tone. I think I am happy with the 80/90's rock and shred metal I get from the Ibanez and Strats. My Gibson has got nailbombs in it which has really brought it to life as the sound from it was awful! The only thing I can't get past is the single cut away and I just find the guitar uncomfortable to play.

I am thinking about the PRS as a half way kind of sound and feel. The McCarty is one I have not really looked at.

Do you find that the inclusion of the whammy bar reduced the sustain and beefyness of the guitar?

[mkh02]

Just had a look at the site

Wow he has some nice guitars thanks mate!

[Twinfan]

Mark is a true gent with some cracking deals.  He's a one-man-band and his guitars are superbly well looked after.  Top customer service too  :)

Trems alter the overall feel, but my Swamp Ash Special sustains as well as anything else I own.  I've not owned two of the same model both with and without trem, so can't comment on the beefiness thing.

If you're after a beefy sounding double cutaway PRS you need a McCarty.  Here are a few:

Regular mahogany/maple McCartys:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PRS-TED-MCCARTY-SUNBURST-MAPLE-TOP-NEW-/250788036499
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PRS-McCarty-Rare-Black-Cherry-Birds-/160560909459
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PRS-McCarty-/180638745175
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PRS-McCARTY-2000-/180642340409

Solid mahogany McCarty:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PRS-McCarty-2001-special-order-electric-guitar-OHSC-/120704570522

McCarty Korina:

http://www.theguitarworks.co.uk/acatalog/PRS_USA_Made_Guitars.html

Plus a Custom 22 wildcard:

http://www.coda-music.com/product_info.php?cPath=170&products_id=9730

[Gizmo]

I'd also look at Peach guitars. I bought my PRS Mccarty there. They also have a great selection. http://www.peachguitars.com/

Also have a look at world guitars. again good selection.
http://www.worldguitars.co.uk/

Your friends private stock what neck did it have? A lot of private stock have solid wood necks like rosewood. You can get this option on all the models suggested so far. I have a indian rose wood neck on my mccarty which is the main reason i bought it. Its so nice to play.

[kevinr]

I have worked on many PRSs and the McCarty would be my choice if you don't like the SC!

[darkbluemurder]

Definitely check out a store which has a selection of PRS - they are all good but all different. I had the choice between 2 very different Customs. One of them spoke to me with a dark loud voice and that was the guitar I took home. With the Single Cut it was not so clear. There were two that were very similar but one was a silver metallic so I went for the Antique Sunburst one. Both have BKPs now.

As regards set neck vs. trem - one of the best PRSi I played was a Custom 22 w/ trem. It just blew the PRS Customs in that shop out of the water. I should have bought it ...

I would not focus too much on the Dragon II pickups. IMHO pickups are the weak point with PRS - but that can be solved quite easily as I have come to know :).

Cheers Stephan

[viking]

I am looking for a top quality PRS that has a heck of a lot of sustain and voice like a Les Paul but is comfortable to play like a Fender which after playing my mates PRS has convinced me that this is the way to go. Budget around £2,000

 = McCarty,McRosie(rosewood neck),DGT.

[dave_mc]

you really have a lot of options at that kind of money. Fair enough if you tried a PRS and loved it, but if it's the only high-end guitar of that style you've tried, of course you're going to love it. I mean if you've only driven superminis and suddenly get to drive a ferrari, it's going to kick ass too, but you're not gonna know if you'd maybe have preferred a lamborghini more if you haven't driven one of those too.

Note, I'm not telling you not to get a PRS, I'm just telling you to try everything you can at that kind of money. If, once you've done that, you like the PRSes the best, get the PRS.

[mkh02]

In regard to Dave Mc Comment, I do agree with you to some degree.

But I already have a les paul, custom shop fenders, Ibanez.... just out of interest what other options would you suggest?

[dave_mc]

it's really up to you.

it also depends on how easy you are on spec and the price, too.

For example things like tylers, suhrs, vigiers etc. are very nice, but they're more in the superstrat camp.

for something more along the lines of PRS, I dunno, maybe nik huber? Though the ones with the flashy tops etc. might end up being a bit more than that £2000 budget.

I like patrick eggles, but the older ones (earlier than 2000) are meant to be better (with what little experience I have with the two eras I'd cautiously agree with that) and that means going second-hand... which is a judgement call. Personally I don't much like going second-hand, to get the best prices often means Ebay (which is risky as you normally can't try first), and getting to try one first normally means a shop, which means much worse prices :lol:

JJs are quite nice, but (for me anyway) it'd depend on getting a good deal (like I got on mine). I'm not sure they're just as nice as a real PRS, but for a quarter or a fifth the price (the price I got), they're sweet. Don't think I'd pay £1200+ for one, though (which you tend to have to do for the flashier ones with the figured tops).

There's probably something really obvious which I'm forgetting too.

Where are you (roughly) in the UK? There are several big shops with a wide range of high-end brands which might be worth making a trip to. Worst case scenario (as long as you're reasonably close, lol) is that it'll just confirm that PRS is the best option, you don't have that much to lose (as long as you don't end up spending tons on travel).

[Twinfan]

One word: resale

JJs and Hubers suffer worse than PRS, if that's a consideration...