S2 Custom 22 vs Standard 22 (vs 24??)

Standard vs Custom 22?

  • S2 Standard 22

    Votes: 5 62.5%
  • S2 Custom 22

    Votes: 3 37.5%
  • Other!

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    8

RobertDBG

New Member
Joined
Dec 1, 2015
Messages
7
Hi all, I've mostly just been a lurker here, but first thread here!

So I'm trying to find the one electric guitar that can get most/all of the sounds I want. I'm mostly an acoustic player, so bringing multiple electric guitars for a gig is not feasible. I play mostly clean to light drive sounds, so basically in the edge of breakup spot, on a Vox style amp. Mostly worship and light rock.

Right now I have a PRS SE Zach Myers, and a G&L Tribute S-500 (like a strat with more meat). I love the neck and middle positions on my ZM, particularly clean - very warm, but with nice chiminess on the top end. I don't like the bridge at all. It's very scooped in a bad way: muddy low end, and ice picky harsh highs, no girth. This is after trying to readjust the pickup heights multiple times as well. On the other end, I love the tightness and clarity I get out my S-500, particularly with the overdrive. It's a lot more focused, but can't achieve the same warm and open sound I get from the ZM neck pickup. Likewise, I have yet to recreate the tight driven sound from my ZM that I can on the S-500.

I figured some of this is humbucker/single coil, and scale length (25.5 vs 24.5). So I'm considering getting a S2 Custom or Standard 22, to hopefully get the best of both worlds. Which of these would work better for me? Or would it really not matter that much other than looks? I am worried that the Standard will be too dark, but worried that the Custom will be too bright.

Or should I go for a 24? In theory the 22s sound more up my alley, but I've never gotten a chance to try a 22. I've only been able to try a couple SE Custom 24s and a S2 Standard Satin 24. The SE Cu24s weren't warm enough in the neck pickup I think because of the maple neck, but the S2 Standard 24 was pretty close to the sound I was looking for.

Sorry I'm all over the place! Most of the stores around me have very limited selection, so I'm going off of internet reviews until I can find a store nearby that has more than 5 PRS guitars to choose from!
 
Oh, and not sure how much this affects decisions, but I'm a rhythm guitarist, so mostly chords and minor background riffs, no soloing at all. The number of frets doesn't affect me because honestly, I rarely go above the 12th fret anyway.
 
Did you try dropping the pickup and raising the pole pieces? That will increase the clarity. I'd get a used Swamp Ash or NF3 if you want to cover maximum ground.
 
I have an S2 Standard 22. I also have a bunch of Core guitars. I VERY much love my Standard 22. It has a different vibe but the same feel and killer tone. I like the neck pickup sound on the 22 fret guitars more than the 24 fretters. I have an older one with the #7 pickups. They are awesome!

PS - I voted standard 22, lol....
 
Hey sorry to bug. I wonder what you think about differences of #7 pups vs. s2 #7's?
 
Did you try dropping the pickup and raising the pole pieces? That will increase the clarity. I'd get a used Swamp Ash or NF3 if you want to cover maximum ground.
I did try something like that, but usually got the guitar sounding even more harsh and screechy in the bridge. The best sound I could get from the bridge was from doing the opposite, lowering the pole pieces and raising the pickup, but then it was unbalanced with the neck, or the neck would lose the clean sound I liked.

What about either of these would make these preferable? I'm open to exploring them, I just don't know much about either of these two models yet.

For what it's worth, I think I've discovered I prefer both ends of the pickup spectrum, rather than an in-between sound. I've tried a few filtertron guitars, and they just don't do it for me. I've tried a minihumbucker once and didn't have much problem with it, but it also didn't sound that different than my regular humbuckers, so it might've been an oddity. Also, the "strat quack" is not a necessity for me, as I never really cared for the 2 and 4 positions on my S-500.
 
I like the swamp ash for its clarity and versatility as a rhythm instrument. You can still get the humbucker howl when you solo. The NF3 doesn't sound like any other guitar. That alone makes it worth consideration in my book. Having said that, I've been playing a hell of a lot of EG II with 3 Lindy Fralin dominos lately. It was one of my bucket list guitars that I got 2 months ago. It has a perfect neck.
 
S2 Satin Standard 22 gets my vote. I've never thought mine was dark sounding at all. Play a Satin alongside a gloss finish, you'll hear how much more the guitar breathes tonally. Plus, you'll save a wad of cash!

I also have an S2 Custom 22 semi hollow that I use mostly for P&W, if you can, try one of those too. Might not be your thing due to your feelings about the ZM, but just for kicks.
 
S2 Satin Standard 22 gets my vote. I've never thought mine was dark sounding at all. Play a Satin alongside a gloss finish, you'll hear how much more the guitar breathes tonally. Plus, you'll save a wad of cash!

I also have an S2 Custom 22 semi hollow that I use mostly for P&W, if you can, try one of those too. Might not be your thing due to your feelings about the ZM, but just for kicks.

I thought the Satin 24 got really close, I just don't like the feel of the satin finish on the body. I was hoping the gloss finish would still sound similar enough!

I also really want to like the semi-hollow, but there doesn't seem to be any nearby I can try. I really like the way they look, but I'm not sure that it would help me get the sound I want, so that plus the extra price makes me hesitant to go for that instead of a solid body. I thought the youtube demo of the new SE semi-hollow was too bright for my hands, but I'm not sure how much of that was the semi-hollow as opposed to the maple neck / SE line.
 
Hey sorry to bug. I wonder what you think about differences of #7 pups vs. s2 #7's?

Sorry man, no point of reference. I can compare the S2 #7 to the Dragon II and 57/08. I feel like it's right between them. Korean made vs. USA made - bah, once it's turned up loud it doesn't really matter, lol.

I will say this, though - my S2 #7 pickups will give me a sound that is just different enough from my Dragon II or 57/08 loaded guitars. I am sure most of it has MORE to do with the differences in the instruments. In the end, the S2 #7 gives me a pleasing sound for multiple styles of music, just like all of my other PRS guitars.
 
I managed to get to Righteous Guitars and tried a couple S2s. Wasn't able to try a CU22, but did try an old Std22 with #7s and I liked it. Still need to figure out if it can replace my S-500, but it was definitely more usable than my ZM.

New question! Could anyone tell me the differences I'll get from the #7s vs the 85/15S pickups?
 
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