Help me ID this older PRS

[Tigger]

Hello, newbie here. I used to own an early Santana III but had to sell for some bills, etc. Am looking to get another PRS and am interested in what turned up in my local pawn shop.

Here are some details; let me know what you think. :biggrin:

Serial number: 2 157xx
Double cut solid body, glued in neck
22 frets (counted twice )
Two covered pickups
3 gold/amber knobs.....volume, tone, and continuously variable rotary switch*
*not a 5 way; 1 is bridge alone, 10 is neck alone, 5 is both pickups, with a continous bleed or mixing of pu's between 1 and 10
Standard PRS trem bridge
Locking tuners
Birds with flame maple (I assume) top
Teal blue finish

From the first '2' in the serial number, I'd say it was a 1992 model...however the 157xx part dates it to 1993....I would assume they made more than suspected in 1992, and this is a 1992 model.....?

The 22 frets leads me to believe this is an even later instrument, ie, later than 1993. I always thought PRS made 24 fret necks exclusively through 1993.

The continuous bleed rotary switch is kinda neat, but I admit I have never seen this before. Is this particular to any particular year? Is it a feature that 'just did not work out....?'

All in all, it appears to be a Custom 22, but I have assumed this guitar to be a 1992(?), and I also assumed Custom 22's did not start until 1993.

By the way, how much do you think I should pay....ballpark wise?

Thanks for any help you can give me!

 

[justmund]

Could be lots of things, a normal early custom 22 that someone pulled the 5-way rotary out of and put a blend pot into (like on lots of basses) or could be a proto of some kind. Serial numbers aren't exact...

Can you pull the pickups and take some photos of the cavity? Or you could try emailing PRS customer service with the compete serial.

Value? Don't think we're allowed to talk about that...

 

[]-[@n$0Ma☩!©]

Sounds like an early CU22. It's a long-shot but it could even be a very early proto McCarty (some had CU22 characteristics). The McCarty protos I've seen were around 3_17XXX.

It's a 1992 but with the rest of the serial number I'd say late 1992.

A photo would go a long way. especially of the back of the headstock (for any writing), side of the headstock (to see the angle and thickness), the body near the output jack (to see body thickness), and especially the pup cavities.

 

[Tigger]

Thanks!

 

[MykeWright]

Trem and locking tuners say Cu22 rather than McCarty, but the pickups have either been covered or are non-original (likely given the blend pot). A '93 Cu22 should have uncovered Dragon pickups (not the later covered Dragon II)