Good guitar guru for a geriatric guy with GAS

Outlander

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Currently have a CE Custom 22 semi-HB. Looking to upgrade due to tuning issues and GAS.

Not a very good player but working on it. Play mainly blues, some oldies rock and the occasional ballad. Also play acoustic. Amp will be whatever I purchase.

Considering a CU22, McCarty, 595 or a HB CU22 with piezos. My knowledge of current PRS offerings is weak at best so unsure about what else I should be considering.

Budget for guitar can be whatever it takes. Current concept is somewhere in the neighborhood of $5K USD. Looking to purchase sooner rather than later. Depends on how quick converting Kimbers to cash goes and scheduling around a month long trip during December.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Advice?

Ideally I would like to chat on the phone with someone who knows PRS products inside and out. Any recommendations on who to reach out to?

Much thanks.
 
For sheer flexibility, you might consider a P22 trem. It's got many tones, plus the piezo, and a trem.

It's essentially the same as a CU22 piezo. Depending on the year, you can get a variety of pickups, including 57/08 and 85/15.
 
There are a lot of folks here with TONS of product knowledge. I think your best bet is to ask some specific questions on here and then speak with a dealer. Here's a link to the PRS dealer page:

https://www.prsguitars.com/dealers/

I think it may be worthwhile to describe a few PRS terms, because this will help you decipher some info on guitars that you're looking at.

First of all are the top grades. The top grades are:
  1. Standard
  2. 10 Top
  3. Artist Package
  4. Private Stock
Each step on the list comes with an up charge. In terms of the maple caps used on the core models, the upgrades are cosmetic only. A 10 Top will be "nicer" than a Standard. An Artist Package top will be "nicer" than a 10 top. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I've seen Standard tops I thought should be Artist Package, and I've seen Artist Package tops I thought were "meh". It's all about personal preference. If beauty is a big concern, then IN GENERAL the 10 Tops and Artist Package guitars will be where to look (however, there are some STUNNING standard topped guitars). Private stock tends to be noticeably higher grade in terms of beauty, and the guitars tend to be about 2X (or more) higher prices than your posted budget.

You'll also see reference to Wood Library. Dealers will get to hand select woods for a specific run of guitars. PRS sets aside some beautiful and (relatively) more exotic pieces of wood into the Wood Library for this purpose. For example, you can get a Wood Library Standard top. This means the dealer chose the wood set for the guitar specifically, and PRS graded that top piece as a Standard top. Again, some Standard tops are anything but standard looking. Often times you will see Wood Library guitars as 10 Top or Artist Package, because the dealer chose REALLY nice pieces for their specific run.

The PRS pickups have a general naming convention. You'll often see two numbers separated by a /. For example 57/08. This means the pickup is voiced to sound like a classic pickup from 1957 and was created by PRS in 2008. You'll also sometimes see two letters after the pickup name. For example, 59/09LT. The LT stands for Low Turns meaning the pickup does not produce as hot a signal; it will be a little cleaner and more "open" sounding. There are LT pickups, HT pickups and MT pickups. Note that MT stands for Multi Tap. These are pickups that can be coil tapped to provide single coil and humbucker tones.

These are all generalities and refer mostly to the core models.

In your first post you mention both a semi-hollow and hollow body. Your budget puts you in the ball park for an Artist Package HBII with piezo. I have one of these guitars and can't adequately describe how nice it is. Personally I think this model would check all of your boxes, and I would encourage you to look at the HBII.

The quintessential PRS core model is the Custom. People go round and round about whether to get a 22 fret or 24 fret model; I'll leave that up to you. Since you mention piezo, then a P22 or P24 may be something to look into. These are the Custom model with a piezo pickup in the bridge.

Finally, I'll toss out the idea of a Custom 24-08. These are again based in the Custom model (the quintessential PRS core model guitar) and include the switching from the 408 model. This provides a three way toggle for pickup selection and two separate toggle switches to allow either pickup to be tapped for single coil sounds. The PRS tapped pickups provide tremensouldy realistic single coil tones. The Custom 24-08 is an amazingly versatile guitar that also provides the classic PRS experience.

I hope this helps.
 
dcm_guitar: Thank you. Just the kind of info I was looking for. I will definitely research your recommendations.
 
The good news is that if you’re looking at PRS, you can’t make a mistake. They’re all great. But given your musical style, it’d be hard to wrong with the 594. As a fellow geriatric GASser, I love mine, and I have had a lot of PRSes.

Barry Cleveland’s review in Guitar Player about says it all in its summary:

“This is one of the finest guitars I have ever encountered.”

Truth.
 
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For sheer flexibility, you might consider a P22 trem. It's got many tones, plus the piezo, and a trem.

It's essentially the same as a CU22 piezo. Depending on the year, you can get a variety of pickups, including 57/08 and 85/15.

I agree a P22 with a Trem would be a KILLER guitar.
That said with a 5K Budget and with some shopping you could have a CU22 ( or DGT :) ) and a HBII with a Piezo or something like that
Just saying
Happy hunting
 
Well ... with the suggestion of a 594 the total is now 4 different guitars to check out.

Everyone keeps mentioning the budget. The budget is flexible. Looked at some HB II with piezo and there are some real beauties out there.

Is there a store somewhere in the USA that has in stock the guitars suggested so far? I'd be willing to travel if it means getting the right guitar the first time.
 
I doubt you will find the really good ones in stock anywhere. I never see 594, P22, etc. I do see P245 guitars around occasionally. I have one and I love it.

If you can get to Stevensville MD maybe.
 
Well ... with the suggestion of a 594 the total is now 4 different guitars to check out.

Everyone keeps mentioning the budget. The budget is flexible. Looked at some HB II with piezo and there are some real beauties out there.

Is there a store somewhere in the USA that has in stock the guitars suggested so far? I'd be willing to travel if it means getting the right guitar the first time.

Plenty of dealers have PRS’ range in stock. Mine’s Northeast Music, Jack Gretz’ Shop (Jack is great), but there are others, and you’ll find them in the dealer section of this forum, as well as the list of PRS’ signature dealers on the PRS website.

And I applaud you for being willing to travel to find what you want!
 
Dave's, in LaCrosse. Wilcutt,in Kentucky. Eddie's, in St. Louis. Brian's, in CT. Moore Music, in Indiana. Guitar Maverick. John Mann's Guitar Vault, in NH. Wild West, in Cali.mwildwood, in Colorado. Take your pick!
 
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