Greetings Enablers

DelcoSol

New Member
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Jul 12, 2020
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14
Hey guys, I am having some serious GAS for a PRS, specifically a piezo model. Now, let me say that I am Fender guy mostly, I have played Gibson as well. I am considering thinning the heard and going with one electric. The Piezo model seems so versitle to me. I mostly play rock and blues, no metal really.

I want a core model. The SE just doesn't do it for me. I am torn between the 22, 24, or McCarty, hollow or solid body. I prefer the double cut shape. The trem I am kinda leaning to not want one because I dont use them on my Strats. I think I like the shorter scale as well. Neck profile is another question. Being used to Fender 9.5" modern C style, will I like any of the PRS profile? I dont mind a chunky neck either. Being in the Philadelphia area we do not have premium dealers nearby so I have not even got my hands on anything but an SE model. I plan to make a trip to Northeast or Brian's. I tend to like a littlle more hotter pickup over the vintage style as well.

Sorry for being all over the place, I am still learing the model differences. Thanks for your help.


Frank
 
So...as long as it's blue I think you'll be able to figure this out;)

Seriously though, I don't own a piezo so I can't help you with that. I assume you can understand the differences between a hollow and a solid body...but what about a semi-hollow...huh??:) Your differences between the 22, 24, and McCarty(thicker) will be body thickness. IIRC, unless you're going Private Stock your core piezo options are 22,24 and Hollowbody. Not sure anyone has done a piezo WL run...

I can personally vouch for Brian's...he is quite the enabler himself. I know others love Jack at Northeast. Check with them about what your options are. I don't think you can go wrong with either of them.
 
Buy a clean, used, P22 stoptail with the much-desired 53/10 pickups. That way you also get the piezo and excellent single-coil tones. The 10" radius should be comfortable if you are used to 9.5 and the scale is 1/2 inch shorter than a Strat.
 
Welcome to the forum, Frank.

Personally, I get along with all of the PRS necks, but I prefer the fatter ones, like you’ll find on the McCarty. I also like the thicker body on the McCarty because the carved top looks really thick with very pronounced carves when you look down at the body.

However, the Monkey’s suggestion makes more sense based on what you’re looking for.
 
Thanks for the replies guys. I see everyone talking about how great the 2020 models are. Would an older P22 be worth it over the newer one? I am not opposed to used, neck shape and pickups are going to be the main deciding factors. How are the 85/15 vs the 53/10? Also, I see the HB2 has different pickups as well. Is the HB2 a McCarty or regular CU22 shape? How does the tone differ between 22,24 and HB with the piezo?
 
Buy a clean, used, P22 stoptail with the much-desired 53/10 pickups. That way you also get the piezo and excellent single-coil tones. The 10" radius should be comfortable if you are used to 9.5 and the scale is 1/2 inch shorter than a Strat.

Great advice from Hans! I have a '12 P22 that ticks all the boxes. It goes to every gig I play.
 
I looked and looked and finally found a nice used P22 with rosewood neck a few years ago.
Although the pickups are labeled P22, they are actually uncovered 57/08. Later PRS changed them to 53/10.
This is a very comfortable and versatile guitar. Neck carve is Pattern regular.

IIRC, that went the other way around. The early P22/P24 pickups were 53/10s (I think the 2012 included), and they later changed to 57/08s when the 53/10 supply dried up.
 
IIRC, that went the other way around. The early P22/P24 pickups were 53/10s (I think the 2012 included), and they later changed to 57/08s when the 53/10 supply dried up.
Well... you could easily be right about that. Mine's a 2012 which I "think" was the first year.
Yup... you're right my friend... here's the email I got from customer service. I sit corrected! :D


Thanks for contacting PRS Guitars.

We stopped using 53/10 pickups in the P 22 by March of 2012, your guitar was shipped after this date so your guitar should have 57/08 pickups.
 
I'd recommend an hollowbody but I'm partial to them, they are the same body shape as a custom. And tend to be a couple pounds lighter than the solid bodies if you prefer something lighter weight.
 
I own a 2013 P22 stoptail with 57/08 pickups, and a 2017 Custom 24 Piezo with 85/15 pickups. Both have the pattern regular neck carve, which is pretty close to my Strat's carve.
The 24 is the more versatile of the two for me, as the 2 and 4 positions can sound pretty stratty, while the 1, 3 and 5 cover traditional gibby ground quite well. The 85/15 pickups are a little hotter and more modern sounding than the 57/08s. The trem also works beautifully, unlike all but the best Strat trems, I would have no reservation about trusting a PRS core trem to stay in tune. The most I ever have to do to mine is add a little lube to the nut once in a while.
The P22 is great in its' own right, it kills in drop D and its' in between switch positions have their own thing, just not quite as stratty as the 24.
I have a dozen nice electric guitars, and if you told me tomorrow I could only keep two, it would be these two piezo PRS'. If you want to get the most from the piezo tone, run it into a PA or acoustic amp separately from the magnetic signal, and use some sort of nice acoustic preamp like a Fishman Aura, etc. I route my piezo signal through one of the two paths of my Line 6 Helix and add compression and an acoustic guitar impulse response and it does a fantastic job of covering acoustic parts.
I would love to get a Hollowbody II piezo as well, but bear in mind they do not have switching that splits the pickups, so they won't cover as much Strat ground.
 
This is great stuff guys. Thank you for the warm welcome. Not being a metal guy I kind of assumed that the 24 trem wasn't for me. I was leaning more stoptail for tuning stability but you're saying that the trems are pretty stable? My Strats aren't awful but can be finicky sometimes. The Gibsons were the worst as far as tuning stability for me. Weight isn't an issue to me since I typically play while sitting. On other guitars I found the coil splits to be a little lacking. I have not seen how the PRS ones are. Do they actually sound like a good single coil? The Fender and Gibson I've tried were no good to my ear. To me, a Strat is the only thing that can sound like a Strat. (Well, Strat style guitars) The scale length, the three single coils on the plastic pick guard, and the quack sound are very distinctive. I am going to keep one Strat and use the PRS to cover all non Strat tones, so am I better off with a 22 or 24?
 
I'd vote for the 24. You're right, it's not a strat, but the 24 does what I need out of one, the only thing missing is the single coil neck pickup only. Short of metal dive bombing (and even allowing a bit of that), PRS trems are rock solid. I often use my CU24 Piezo for my entire set. If you can play both, by all means do so.
 
I also vote for P24 - the trems on PRSi are very stable.

I also like Hollowbodies, though, so if you want a more airy/woody tone and don't need a trem, they are a fine alternative. But they generally cost more (new and used).
 
Look up "Watch Tower Guitars" in Morristown NJ. Not terribly far from you. Give them a call and see what they have. They are a premium dealer.
 
I never liked trems until I got my first PRS, they are just rock solid. Last night I took my 24-08 out of the case for the first time in a week, it didn’t need to be tuned, I played some 80s metal with lots of trem work and checked the tuning at the end and it was still in tune! I find I use the trem all the time now because it’s so good.

I’m biased but I would go with the P24 with trem. The neck position pickup sounds great and the high frets are so easy to reach, there isn’t a better guitar to me than the Custom 24 and all it’s variants.

Also I highly recommend Brian’s, he does some of the best Wood Library runs in the biz and is great to work with.
 
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I am going to try to make a trip this weekend. Watchtower is the closest to me. I am about two hours from Northeast and three hours from Brian's.
 
Ok guys, yesterday I went to see Jack at Northeast. First off, if anyone hasn't dealt with him I highly recommend. He was knowledgeable, helpful and polite. The store has a pretty good stock as well. Anyway, I went to get my hands on a few core models mainly to feel the neck shapes. To my surprise, the shapes were not the issue for me, it was the stickiness of the necks. I know that most people don't have issue but I must have sweaty or oily hands and the neck felt like glue. Jack even cleaned one up and waxed it, It helped for a bit but quickly went back to normal in a few minuets. I love the way the unfinished neck feels on the CE. Is it difficult to come by a non finished neck core model? Jack had suggested possibly roasted maple. I see the 2020 models are now nitro finished. is this much different than the poly on the neck? I know sanding the neck is a possibility as well, but I struggle with paying that much for a guitar that I basically have to ruin it's finish to make it playable for me.

Now as for the guitars, I played two cu24, a McCarty 594, a McCarty HB, a CE24, and a CE24HB. I also played the SE HB Piezo. Of all that I played, the 594 was the most special. It had sustain for days, and stayed in tune. It felt like an improved Les Paul to me which is that theyre going for I assume. The HB vs solid wasn't too much difference to me besides the weight. I typically like hotter pickups, think Gibson Burstbucker, but didn't mind the 58LT on the McCarty. I would like to hear a McCarty with 85/15 in it. Are they ever offered?

I went mainy to see a Piezo model. I played the SE but i didn't really care for it. Maybe it was the amp I was using, it didn't sound as acoustic as the videos I had seen. I still want to play a core model with it and try it out. So now my only sticking point (pun intended) is the neck. Are the rosewood or satin necks as sticky as the gloss? Would roasted maple do the trick?
 
I went mainly to see a Piezo model. I played the SE but i didn't really care for it. Maybe it was the amp I was using, it didn't sound as acoustic as the videos I had seen. I still want to play a core model with it and try it out. So now my only sticking point (pun intended) is the neck. Are the rosewood or satin necks as sticky as the gloss? Would roasted maple do the trick?

I think it's standard practice to showcase a guitar with both a good amp and either an acoustic amp or some form of PA. Most quality YT videos do this. You'd need to sample the guitar with both jacks enabled as was demoed in several better quality videos to fully appreciate the HBII Piezo's versatility.

That being said, I've not yet done the same with my audio interface and computer monitors yet, and may indeed discover that a traditional acoustic amp or PA is actually required.

Regards neck stickiness, a Satin neck is closer to what you might appreciate regards an unfinished neck. Both the S2 Cu22, S2 Cu24 and S2 Singlecut were made in satin finishes, and some CE models unfinished necks as well.

If perhaps your local shop has a satin finished guitar, be sure to check it out. Meanwhile, view some YT videos displaying each model and you can determine from there what might be more appropriate for you.

I realize that you may have your heart looking for a core model with unfinished neck, but these will be indeed rare except for the CE unfinished neck.

Rosewood necks are a separate issue and price point. Some find that rosewood is also sticky, others don't have the same problem...

That being said, rosewood neck or Private Stock is currently your only other unfinished neck option than S2 satin, and CE...
 
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