Aluminum Wraptail Bridge "oomph" Question

[Blakemore]

Hey friends,

I recently purchased a 2013 Custom 22. It has the PRS aluminum wraptail bridge instead of a Trem (I do prefer hardtails.)

(backstory details)
The guitar plays very well but I'm having trouble with the sound a bit. It does sound thinner than I'm used to and I would not call the top end sweet.
It also seems to be missing a bit of low/ low mid "oomph" I realize it's not going to do the les paul thing nor do I expect it to sound like my 594 or HBii, however, the balance just seems off somehow and it lacks punch in that frequency spectrum, which did surprise me. The guitar only weighs 7 lbs, so this could be paart of it as well.

I have a CE22 around and it has more "oomph" than the custom 22, even with the maple bolt on neck. The top end is much sweeter on the CE22 as well but still cuts in the high mids where it should.

The CU22 came with the HFS in bridge (not my cup o tea) and I have also tried a dragon II and a 59/09. The latter were more my speed but still not great in the low/mids. It is setup with 11s and I'm no stranger to adjusting pickup height.


All that brings me to this question. I'm wondering if a John Mann 2300 bridge might be the ticket to a more even and musical sound with the Custom 22? Has anyone tried one and been happy with the results on a CU22? Not a knock on the PRS aluminum bridge, but I did use the 2300 on a Zach Myers and it was a great improvement overall. I'm thinking the same might be true here but just looking for opinions and input before I go off and buy a bridge. Cheers

 

[Tone-y]

Are you talking about the plugged in sound, the acoustic sound or both? My PRS is based on the CU22 platform and has the aluminium wrap around bridge. It is also very light weight, but resonant with it. Because the body is fairly thin, and it is lightweight it doesn't do a Les Paul thing as you've noted yourself, but I haven't noticed anything unbalanced or missing in the frequency spectrum. In fact quite the opposite - though of course we're in the SG ballpark rather than Les Paul.

One thing that I have done, that for me has warmed up and filled out the bottom end, and made the top sweeter, is to disconnect the 'treble bleed' capacitor on the volume pot, and then change the 0.033uf tone cap for a 0.022uf cap. I found that too much of the treble content was bypassing the controls and going straight to output for my liking, and I didn't like the effect it had on the volume pot taper (tends to make the volume come on suddenly rather than gradually). The change in tone cap was just to bring back a little of the top end sparkle, but this was subtle against the change of disconnecting the treble bleed cap.

It sounds like you're not afraid of tinkering so maybe give that a go (just disconnect one leg) and see what that does for you.

 

[Tone-y]

Here's my guitar. Under 7lbs they said. I've never weighed it so I don't know what it is exactly.
I'd say that the sounds in the demo are a fair representation of how it sounded before I removed the treble bleed (bearing in mind the matchless is a bright amp too). Now I would say that it has a more vintage correct voice and warmer bottom end.

 

[Alnus Rubra]

So great to have that video of your guitar being demonstrated and sad that Jeff is no longer with us.

What a great memory to have.

 

[bodia]

Hey friends,

I recently purchased a 2013 Custom 22. It has the PRS aluminum wraptail bridge instead of a Trem (I do prefer hardtails.)

(backstory details)
The guitar plays very well but I'm having trouble with the sound a bit. It does sound thinner than I'm used to and I would not call the top end sweet.
It also seems to be missing a bit of low/ low mid "oomph" I realize it's not going to do the les paul thing nor do I expect it to sound like my 594 or HBii, however, the balance just seems off somehow and it lacks punch in that frequency spectrum, which did surprise me. The guitar only weighs 7 lbs, so this could be paart of it as well.

I have a CE22 around and it has more "oomph" than the custom 22, even with the maple bolt on neck. The top end is much sweeter on the CE22 as well but still cuts in the high mids where it should.

The CU22 came with the HFS in bridge (not my cup o tea) and I have also tried a dragon II and a 59/09. The latter were more my speed but still not great in the low/mids. It is setup with 11s and I'm no stranger to adjusting pickup height.


All that brings me to this question. I'm wondering if a John Mann 2300 bridge might be the ticket to a more even and musical sound with the Custom 22? Has anyone tried one and been happy with the results on a CU22? Not a knock on the PRS aluminum bridge, but I did use the 2300 on a Zach Myers and it was a great improvement overall. I'm thinking the same might be true here but just looking for opinions and input before I go off and buy a bridge. Cheers

I have a MannMade 2300 on a 2006 Cu22. I would say it added to note clarity and sustain. Not that things were bad with the wrap tail. Just a little different now. I like it better with the 2300.

 

[John Mann]

Thanks

 

[bodia]

Thanks

You bet!