Double PRS NGD

ICBM

daveyh said:

I didn't realise PRS was one of those 'girl' guitar companies.

Think about it .......

I did, but I restrained myself . 

Also note that PRS think of their necks as "wide and fat", but no-one else does .

Adam_MD

guitarfishbay;28707" said:

If you played a new custom they've changed the necks since the CE days.  The old profiles were wide fat (which is possibly what is on your CE22s as they eventually made that the only option) and wide thin.  Most standard models used one or the other (CEs, Singlecuts, CUs etc).  Now they use Pattern Thin and Pattern Regular, which are evolutions of the original designs as far as I'm aware.

Usually you see the 22 fret models with the thicker of the two profiles and the 24 fret models with the thinner models, but there are examples of each with either.  Personally I think the old style wide fat on a 22 fret PRS is my favourite, they're very comfortable for my hands.

I do think there is a difference in feel between the mahogany set necks and the maple bolt ons too, all other things being equal.  You get a much more percussive and immediate attack with the maple bolt on CE.  It is worth trying both for sure if you can find a CE.  It is a shame they no longer make them.

Paul has said many times that he loved the ce models but they didn't sell in enough numbers to make it worth producing them so it was purely a business decision.

One of the things I like about prs is they are always trying something new, change models etc as they're not tied to the same history/heritage as the big F and G. Unfortunately the lines which they dropped were also my favourite models. Apart from the dgt my favourite era of prs is 22 fret models from late 90's early 00's I.e. ce 22, custom 22 and the standard. My favourite neck profile of any guitar brand is their wide fat.

guitarfishbay

FWIW they have started producing CU22s again, albeit with a few changes.  http://www.prsguitars.com/custom22/

They have the new neck shapes which are nice, but I agree wide-fat is my favourite too.  The other changes are 5 way blade switching in a new location compared to the old style, and phase III locking tuners (my CU22 has phase IIs, not sure when that switch happened).  They also now come with HFS/VB as standard now, I thought CU22s usually had lower output pickups unless I'm assuming that because the McCarty did.

Adam_MD

You can also order them with 57/08 pickups instead of the hfs/vb

ICBM

guitarfishbay said:

FWIW they have started producing CU22s again, albeit with a few changes.  http://www.prsguitars.com/custom22/

They have the new neck shapes which are nice, but I agree wide-fat is my favourite too.  The other changes are 5 way blade switching in a new location compared to the old style, and phase III locking tuners (my CU22 has phase IIs, not sure when that switch happened).  They also now come with HFS/VB as standard now, I thought CU22s usually had lower output pickups unless I'm assuming that because the McCarty did.

They originally came with Dragons - Is until about 1998, then IIs.

I don't like the new switch - type or position.

Adam_MD said:

Paul has said many times that he loved the ce models but they didn't sell in enough numbers to make it worth producing them so it was purely a business decision. 

In my opinion they made a mistake with the marketing of them - because they were priced lower, they were perceived as being inferior. They also must have made less money on them because they probably cost almost as much to produce but sold for less, so I suspect that may have been part of the 'business decision' too.

I always thought that was why they concentrate on the fancy models - they cost barely any more to make than the plain ones, but they can rip off the buyer charge much more for them. (In particular a '10' top costs exactly the same to make as a non-10.)

They should have made it clear that there was no quality difference between the CE, Standard and basic Custom by giving them the same appointments and options, and pricing them the same - then it would have been clear that it was purely a tone difference.

Adam_MD said:

Unfortunately the lines which they dropped were also my favourite models. Apart from the dgt my favourite era of prs is 22 fret models from late 90's early 00's I.e. ce 22, custom 22 and the standard. My favourite neck profile of any guitar brand is their wide fat.

Same here. Those will always be the best ones, for me. I'd also add the Swamp Ash Special and Custom 22 Soapbar into the list.

There's really nothing in the current catalogue that interests me.

guitargeek62

guitarfishbay said:

They also now come with HFS/VB as standard now, I thought CU22s usually had lower output pickups unless I'm assuming that because the McCarty did.

No they don't, a new one will ship with 57/08s - unless you pay for an artist package and swap something else in, or it's part of a limited run/special order etc.

As IBM said, the early CU22's had the rather lovely Dragon 1s, which were also what shipped on the earliest McCarty's too but in covered form. These were much higher output than either McCarty pickups, or the Dragon II's that succeeded the 1's on the CU22. The D1's were around 9/15k (neck/bridge) and used ceramic magnets whereas the II's are alnico based and had lower outputs.

The 57/08s are typically a similar output level to McCarty pickups, but are generally regarded as an improvement on them in all areas.

guitarfishbay

guitargeek62 said:

guitarfishbay said:

They also now come with HFS/VB as standard now, I thought CU22s usually had lower output pickups unless I'm assuming that because the McCarty did.

No they don't, a new one will ship with 57/08s - unless you pay for an artist package and swap something else in, or it's part of a limited run/special order etc.

Honestly, it says so on the PRS site.  The 57/08s are the alternate option, HFS/VB are the standards.  Either the website is wrong or the dealers you go to are picking the 57/08s for their stock.  Honestly I wouldn't be surprised if it was the latter, the new pickups feel more appropriate for it, a HFS is pretty hot and an acquired taste.

http://www.prsguitars.com/custom22/specs.php

Not sure if this copy paste will work - >

HARDWARE/ELECTRONICS
Bridge	PRS Stoptail or PRS Tremolo
Tuners	PRS Phase III Locking Tuners
Truss Rod Cover	"Custom"
Hardware Type	Nickel
Treble Pickup	HFS
Bass Pickup	Vintage Bass
Pickup Switching	Volume and Tone Control with Redesigned 5-Way Blade Switch
OPTION
Top Option	Flame or Quilted Maple  10-Top Flame or 10-Top Quilted Maple
Neck Option	East Indian Rosewood
Hardware Option	Gold
Finish Option	Special Order Finish
Other Option	Uncovered 57/08 Treble & Bass Pickups

SimpleSimon

Nice score I've been eying up several copper CE's on ebay recently, for those prices you cant fail to go wrong.

Adam_MD

[quote="ICBM;28876"]

Same here. Those will always be the best ones, for me. I'd also add the Swamp Ash Special and Custom 22 Soapbar into the list.


Dude I completely forgot about the SAS and custom 22 soapbar. I had serious gas for the custom soapbar for years. I must have a look on evil bay to see what they go for these days.

ICBM

I had a really nice Custom Soapbar - black with maple fingerboard - and I loved the way it looked, played and sounded... on the front two pickups. I disliked the bridge pickup quite intensely! Nasty all-mid nasal honk. I tried a lower-output one and it made a difference, but not much - it still had a really nasal tonality... I guessed it might be because the P90 was screwed into the very thin layer of wood above the trem cavity - so much so that the holes stripped and I had to fit brass inserts. I did think about putting a Firebird pickup in it with a mounting ring but I didn't want to spoil the look of it.

In the end I wasn't using it much, and when that ^ Rickenbacker came up for sale and I couldn't afford it, I swapped the PRS for it. (Straight.) Given what's happened to the relative values of both guitars that turned out to be a very wise move!

guitargeek62

guitarfishbay said:

guitargeek62 said:

guitarfishbay said:

They also now come with HFS/VB as standard now, I thought CU22s usually had lower output pickups unless I'm assuming that because the McCarty did.

No they don't, a new one will ship with 57/08s - unless you pay for an artist package and swap something else in, or it's part of a limited run/special order etc.

Honestly, it says so on the PRS site.  The 57/08s are the alternate option, HFS/VB are the standards.  Either the website is wrong or the dealers you go to are picking the 57/08s for their stock.  Honestly I wouldn't be surprised if it was the latter, the new pickups feel more appropriate for it, a HFS is pretty hot and an acquired taste.

http://www.prsguitars.com/custom22/specs.php

Not sure if this copy paste will work - >

I stand corrected! All of the CU22's I'd since the reintroduction of the model had 57/08s!

Dave_Mc

Very nice

Normally I like the figured maple top ones but there's something about that copper one that just works really well.

I really like the sunburst one too, of course.

DefaultM

I'm surprised everyone seems to prefer the copper one. I showed my girlfriend and she said it was hideous.

fretfinder

Hey, not everyone! Not sure my view is quite as extreme as your girlfriend's but I definitely prefer the sunburst one, a lot.

ICBM

DefaultM said:

I'm surprised everyone seems to prefer the copper one. I showed my girlfriend and she said it was hideous.

I could equally say I'm surprised anyone likes the sunburst one! To me, that's the one which is absolutely hideous.

But I'm not really surprised - this is personal taste and it would be a dull world if we all liked the same thing...

DefaultM

I think if the sunburst one had birds it would be too much for me. Really surprised with the copper one. It stays in tune better and trem is a lot sturdier.

Dave_Mc

DefaultM said:

I'm surprised everyone seems to prefer the copper one. I showed my girlfriend and she said it was hideous.

Oh I still prefer the sunburst one.

SimpleSimon

If you decide to move either on give me a shout, im in Sheffield and travel to Leeds quite frequently.

handsomerik

I was watching that copper one. I've always loved the blazing copper CEs that they did. Hit me up if you decide to sell it on. 

DefaultM

I bought it from him the day after the auction went live and he just left it running, so I was wondering what his plan would have been if someone hit the buy it now button.