What were your thoughts when trying a PRS custom 22/24 for the first time ?

[pat_rocks]

Hi i'm anti brands when it comes to guitars because often what you get for the price isn't reflected in the price of the components and in the price of hand labor but more into the brand logo... $$$

For me partcaster building is a great thing if you have the knowledge the will and the patience.

i always tried what i could and one the things i hate the most is guitars not being able to whistand bends and trems dives without going out of tune.

I tried jacksons, Ibanez, fender, gibson, dean, evh, charvel, gretsch, schecter, epiphone... and son on. Appart from evh wolfgangs (the body shape i hate) and their necks profiles, humbuckers and weight i rarely was impressed.

Despite this factor, i still have some love for fender because they nowadays offer some not so bad affordable instruments.

It's really rare that i want to buy branded guitars despite being able to afford them because i always say i could build better for the same price. Even a 59 body carved lespaul i would prefer to build it myself to my specs (the binding scrapping would be the only very difficult part).

I always thought PRS was all about the finish and the pretty look and that they used this argument for their prices.

How wrong was I... The only guitar that i tried and said to myself wow this is worth the price and i would never be able to replicate this amount of quality : it was a custom 22.

I mean the first thing which shocked me was the neck scale. I mean wow every chord seems so easy to play and it seems you can't fail a chord at all.

The neck finish was great despite being very glossy it didn't stick and the feel was very good.

The set-up was spot on and The action was low.

You could dive bomb it stayed in tune with the prs stock trem...

Frets were nice and it had good harmonics.

Only downside the pickups didn't sound exceptional but you could feel the potential if you swapped them.

I mean if any guitar is worth 3k it's PRS, the fact that they are indivually checked by a number of employees after assembling and set-up is just amazing dedication. The components are top quality : brass tremolo, knife edge 6 screws, thick flamed maple top, awesome stains, non sticky finish. Those components they use are way supperior to the other manufacturers that I even used a tremolo and tuners from PRS on a custom build.

Of course there is some brand cashing, however you can feel that the guys are trying to make a quality instrument, which plays great, which stays in tune and which looks cool. Despite being expensive, i mean it's an exceptionnal instrument.

what was your first experience with a custom 22/24 like ?

 

[mark123]

I think It was 1995 or 1996. Worked for a pretty big music store. Got a really pretty PRS in. Played like hot butter but sounded absolutely horrible. Muddy and honky in the mids. Each position on the weird 5 way knob sounded worse than the last. I pretty much wrote them off until I heard the 513. That was the first PRS that I liked the tone.

 

[pat_rocks]

I think It was 1995 or 1996. Worked for a pretty big music store. Got a really pretty PRS in. Played like hot butter but sounded absolutely horrible. Muddy and honky in the mids. Each position on the weird 5 way knob sounded worse than the last. I pretty much wrote them off until I heard the 513. That was the first PRS that I liked the tone.

I really wonder if the issue about their sound is the pickups or the body carve shape or its thickness ? Many people say the seem to see the prs sound/pickups as their big downside.

 

[mark123]

I really wonder if the issue about their sound is the pickups or the body carve shape or its thickness ? Many people say the seem to see the prs sound/pickups as their big downside.

If it’s just the pickups, a swap would solve it. However, I would have a hard time buying a $3000+ guitar knowing I’d have to modify it.

 

[RCM 800]

Hi i'm anti brands when it comes to guitars because often what you get for the price isn't reflected in the price of the components and in the price of hand labor but more into the brand logo... $$$

For me partcaster building is a great thing if you have the knowledge the will and the patience.

i always tried what i could and one the things i hate the most is guitars not being able to whistand bends and trems dives without going out of tune.

I tried jacksons, Ibanez, fender, gibson, dean, evh, charvel, gretsch, schecter, epiphone... and son on. Appart from evh wolfgangs (the body shape i hate) and their necks profiles, humbuckers and weight i rarely was impressed.

Despite this factor, i still have some love for fender because they nowadays offer some not so bad affordable instruments.

It's really rare that i want to buy branded guitars despite being able to afford them because i always say i could build better for the same price. Even a 59 body carved lespaul i would prefer to build it myself to my specs (the binding scrapping would be the only very difficult part).

I always thought PRS was all about the finish and the pretty look and that they used this argument for their prices.

How wrong was I... The only guitar that i tried and said to myself wow this is worth the price and i would never be able to replicate this amount of quality : it was a custom 22.

I mean the first thing which shocked me was the neck scale. I mean wow every chord seems so easy to play and it seems you can't fail a chord at all.

The neck finish was great despite being very glossy it didn't stick and the feel was very good.

The set-up was spot on and The action was low.

You could dive bomb it stayed in tune with the prs stock trem...

Frets were nice and it had good harmonics.

Only downside the pickups didn't sound exceptional but you could feel the potential if you swapped them.

I mean if any guitar is worth 3k it's PRS, the fact that they are indivually checked by a number of employees after assembling and set-up is just amazing dedication. The components are top quality : brass tremolo, knife edge 6 screws, thick flamed maple top, awesome stains, non sticky finish. Those components they use are way supperior to the other manufacturers that I even used a tremolo and tuners from PRS on a custom build.

Of course there is some brand cashing, however you can feel that the guys are trying to make a quality instrument, which plays great, which stays in tune and which looks cool. Despite being expensive, i mean it's an exceptionnal instrument.

what was your first experience with a custom 22/24 like ?

C22, One of the most beautiful guitars I ever put my mitts on. Emerald green nice flamed top. Sounded ok but I hated the rotary pickup selector. Couldve been great with some push pulls and a 3 way but hated the rotary. I have thought about getting a PRS SC someday.

 

[Matthews Guitars]

I was impressed by the build quality and fit and finish from the very start. Playability was excellent and the setup was as good as it gets, if you like the action height it was set up at. (I preferred mine a touch lower.) Was not, and still am not, particularly impressed by the sound of the pickups and electronics. I favor more conventional wiring and other pickups.

Ergonomically, I'd found something better than anything I'd played before. Even more comfortable than a strat, that played WAY better than any strat.

I felt like it was a blend of a Les Paul in terms of construction and a Strat in terms of ergonomics, only improved over both.

Scale length: Honestly, I'm one of those guys who hardly notices and doesn't care. Gibson 24-and-5/8" scale or Fender 25-and-1/2" scale, it just doesn't matter to me. The difference is trivial, actually not even worth noticing, and I've always been kind of mystified that some people claim that they can play one but not the other, or that the guitar sounds different because of the scale length difference. (Pro tip...it doesn't. Everything else is probably different which matters a lot more.) The compromise PRS 25" scale length is fine by me.

Materials quality and fit and finish and consitency tell me that PRS (American made core series) guitars should be expensive. I know a premium product when I see one, even if the pickups and electronics don't make it for me.

As an infrequent builder of guitars, I set out to match PRS levels of quality in execution of ideas and fit and finish. Because going beyond that standard would be very difficult, when I'm essentially looking at perfectly executed guitars.

 

[RCM 800]

I was impressed by the build quality and fit and finish from the very start. Playability was excellent and the setup was as good as it gets, if you like the action height it was set up at. (I preferred mine a touch lower.) Was not, and still am not, particularly impressed by the sound of the pickups and electronics. I favor more conventional wiring and other pickups.

Ergonomically, I'd found something better than anything I'd played before. Even more comfortable than a strat, that played WAY better than any strat.

I felt like it was a blend of a Les Paul in terms of construction and a Strat in terms of ergonomics, only improved over both.

Scale length: Honestly, I'm one of those guys who hardly notices and doesn't care. Gibson 24-and-5/8" scale or Fender 25-and-1/2" scale, it just doesn't matter to me. The difference is trivial, actually not even worth noticing, and I've always been kind of mystified that some people claim that they can play one but not the other, or that the guitar sounds different because of the scale length difference. (Pro tip...it doesn't. Everything else is probably different which matters a lot more.) The compromise PRS 25" scale length is fine by me.

Materials quality and fit and finish and consitency tell me that PRS (American made core series) guitars should be expensive. I know a premium product when I see one, even if the pickups and electronics don't make it for me.

As an infrequent builder of guitars, I set out to match PRS levels of quality in execution of ideas and fit and finish. Because going beyond that standard would be very difficult, when I'm essentially looking at perfectly executed guitars.

yea scale length really doesnt matter to me as long as were talking normal and not barritones, short, or whatever. I go back and forth between 25.5 and 24.75 without thought.

 

[Frodebro]

They've been my guitar of choice ever since I bought my first Custom in 1994. Part of the reason is because I played hundreds of bar gigs with that guitar back in the day, so it's what I'm most comfortable with.

 

[Leonard Neemoil]

I really wonder if the issue about their sound is the pickups or the body carve shape or its thickness ? Many people say the seem to see the prs sound/pickups as their big downside.

Try an older style CE with the same specs as the customs. I sold my custom once I got my CE. Only difference between the two is the CE has a bolt on maple neck and it sounds WAY better. Never getting rid of it.

I tried a zillion different pickups in the custom and it was always a little undefined and too honky in the mids.

 

[Wildeman]

My thoughts were, beautiful, well made, very nice and I could never see myself owning one, it just wasn't my style, in the same way a pink JEM ain't my style. I don't feel the same way now though, and would love to have either one.

 

[StrummerJoe]

First one I tried was in the late 80s. Thought it was well built...

In that price range of 3K or more I would go for Suhr or Tom Anderson. They are a step above, IMHO, and stay in tune through vigorous wiggle stick wanking.

I do respect what Paul Reed Smith has accomplished. The 25" scale length has never appealed to me though.

YMMV

 

[paul-e-mann]

I plugged one in that was several thousand dollars and there wasn't anything I liked about it, and I dont like the shape.

 

[pat_rocks]

Yeah i guess it is special we have our own tastes and preferences ^^. For example i like the lespaul however they are way too heavy for me despite their great tone. I really want to try a chambered one once too see if it impacts the tone or not.

 

[Matthews Guitars]

Get a wide strap, preferrably a leather one of good quality. It will distribute the load more evenly across your shoulder and make any guitar feel lighter. I use a 3 1/2 inch wide leather strap and my 10 pound LP feels just fine.

If your strap is 2 inches wide, there's half your problem right there. If it's a string, that's maybe OK for a mandolin...

 

[paul-e-mann]

Yeah i guess it is special we have our own tastes and preferences ^^. For example i like the lespaul however they are way too heavy for me despite their great tone. I really want to try a chambered one once too see if it impacts the tone or not.

Look for a Les Paul Lite, its got a thinner body, super cool guitar!

 

[axe4me]

I think consistency.

 

[mark123]

… In that price range of 3K or more I would go for Suhr or Tom Anderson …

Yes, for the price there are better options for me, with a more likable tone.

 

[Deftone]

Look for a Les Paul Lite, its got a thinner body, super cool guitar!

FWIW: Not all LP Lites are actually light weight, despite being 2/3rds as thick as any normal LP. There are several options including weight relived and chambered. Be sure to check the weight 1st.

 

[TheLoudness!!]

Look for a Les Paul Lite, its got a thinner body, super cool guitar!

I had one for a little while. Those are fantastic guitars! The only and I mean the only thing I did not like was the slim taper neck.

If the neck was the large '50's profile, I'd still own it.

 

[RLW59]

For example i like the lespaul however they are way too heavy for me despite their great tone.

8.5lb solid Historics are pretty common. Solid sub 8lb is rarer but they exist.

Solid Original Collection Les Pauls have been creeping up in weight, but Sweetwater has an 8lb 11 oz one and several others a little under 9lbs.

My Strat is 7.5lb and considered to be on the light side for Strats. My SG '60s Tribute is 8lb 12 oz which is "heavy" for an SG but not uncomfortable.

I've had hollowbody and semi-hollow electrics that were close to 10lbs.