CE-22 Questions

[SirMilo]

Hello everyone.
This is my first post here and I was hoping somebody may be able to enlighten me a bit on this guitar.

Here's the story-
Years ago, roughly late 94 or early 95, we purchased a new guitar for the wife. She wanted a PRS so we picked this one up for her since she loved the color but she never really played it much. The only thing I know for sure is that it is a maple top 94 CE-22.
Can anyone enlighten me about what pickups are in this guitar and whether this would be an Alder bodied model? I suspect that it is Alder since Mahogany doesn't usually get the black back treatment. Just trying to get an idea of exactly how this guitar is equipped so I can accurately describe it when it eventually goes up for sale. I would rather not tear the guitar down to answer these questions, if possible, since it was recently set up and cleaned up.
Obviously, I am not asking about value since that is against forum rules and there are plenty of ways to confirm market value through other avenues.
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[solacematt]

wow, looks nice. And it has a Rotary!

 

[Egads]

Hey there. She's a hot one! Should be Alder with HFS and Vintage Bass...I think. Mahogany started in '95, though there may be some prior to that. Good luck. I'm sure it will sell quickly.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

Most likely mahogany back and Dragon pups...

Very cool to see a 22 with the small script logo on there!!! Never seen one with it before.

 

[justmund]

Is it my imagination (or the photo angle/lighting) or is that a steel trem block? It doesn't look like brass and I heard PRS experimented with steel blocks prior to the DC3 etc.

What does it look like in real life, or even better, does a magnet stick to it?

 

[sergiodeblanc]

Good eye, Justin.

 

[justmund]

Nah I just always look at the trem to see what the block is and if it's a one-piece or not, espec on guitars of this vintage. Coz you never know, ya know?

 

[redmax61]

The serial number indicates that it's a 94 model, so I'm about 99% sure that it's Alder. IIRC, Mahogany backs didn't start until late '95. BTW, I have a Mahogany backed '96 CE22 and it's also painted black.

The pickups are Dragons. The HFS/Vintage combination came on 24 fret models.

 

[justmund]

I was under the impression there's no such thing as an Alder CE22? If there is, I'm in trouble!

 

[SirMilo]

I went to go vote and came back to a bunch of replies- thanks everyone!

The reason I was asking about Alder was due to the sketchy info about 95 and up having mahogany bodies. Since the first year of the CE22 was in 94, this left a big question mark about the body wood. As for the trem block, it's definitely not brass. Here is a better pic without the cover.

 

[terickson]

Looks identical to my '94 in a different color. Hog back, dragon 1s, steel block, rotary, wings. Wish mine was in that nice shape. can't imagine why you would sell it if it sounds half as good as mine.

 

[SirMilo]

Wish mine was in that nice shape. can't imagine why you would sell it if it sounds half as good as mine.

terickson, thanks for the info. I also appreciate everyone else's input as well.

The problem is that I have a couple of custom builds that are all I play anymore. To make matters even worse, I have 4 other electrics in addition to the PRS and the 2 custom builds. I have finally reached the point in my life where, for me, there is such thing as owning too many guitars. Selling the others was easy..... what remains is not so easy since each brings something to the table, even though they are seldom played.

It just seems wasteful to have such a nice guitar sitting in it's case. Fortunately, I don't need to sell it so I may just try to bust it out of the case and play it occasionally.
I will say that there must be something about the guitar that works for me since it's still here while many other guitars have left the premises over the years.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

I was under the impression there's no such thing as an Alder CE22? If there is, I'm in trouble!

There is, but they came out in 2008 (I think). This one totally looks like mahogany to me judging from the screw holes in the "trem" pic.

 

[guitarman001]

Looks great.... really great...!!

 

[toothace]

I was under the impression that there were no alder backed CE 22s...and whale blue has always been paired with the black back.

 

[Egads]

There is, but they came out in 2008 (I think). This one totally looks like mahogany to me judging from the screw holes in the "trem" pic.

That's a good eye!

 

[jbloggs]

Just checked mine - I think its a '93 - 57 serial #

Mahogany back, maple top, Dragons, vintage yellow burst

 

[SirMilo]

While I haven't spent copius amounts of time researching, I have been randomly trying to gather some info on this guitar over the past year or so.
I contacted PRS and didn't receive much helpful info. With everyone's assistance, I have gathered more info in an afternoon than I have found in all other searches combined.
This is the only PRS that has been in our possession, for almost 20 years now, so it's nice to know a little something about it.

I very much appreciate everyone taking the time to respond. Thanks!

 

[redmax61]

Yeah, I also noticed that the color of the wood around the rear plate holes on SirMilo's guitar looks like Mahogany.

That's interesting. I was told that prior to 95, CE's were Alder. I hadn't heard that it was only 24's. The Gold Top '94 CE24 that my brother had was definitely Alder.

I remember that there were a few color combinations that came with a black back. I don't know the rhyme or reason behind it. My brother's was natural.

Great information here!