MA Pete
Pattern Thin Convert!
Haven't had an NGD since Tuesday, so I figured I was due for another one! LOL... 
Here is a used 2016 Custom 22 that was a great find for me given my current preferences. I have talked about how I am preferring Pattern Thin Necks, Trems and guitars with Black Backs and Necks.
I am really digging the Custom 24's for that reason, but I kind of still have a slight preference for the geometry and ergonomics of the 22 Fret PRS Doublecut - I adore my 25" McCarty, it feels like "home" for me. So I was searching for something that was 22 Fret Doublecut, 2 Humbuckers, a Pattern Thin Neck Carve, and a Trem. Not easy to find such a beast! It doesn't seem to exist out there in a Core guitar. McCarty's were always Wide Fat or Pattern Necks. Custom 22's seem to have been Wide Fat / Pattern, or Regular / Pattern Regular.
The only place a Pattern Thin exists in the 2024 Core lineup is the Custom 24 Models, and the Tremonti.
So when I came across this used Custom 22 with a Pattern Thin Neck on Reverb, described as Mint Condition and hardly played, I couldn't resist! This is a 10-Top in Grey Black.
I have had some challenging experiences over the years buying used guitars on Reverb from private sellers. I can think of several that went horribly, that I had to call them out on the condition as being way off, and had to return for a refund. (I don't buy that many used guitars, mostly new.) Not this time - the seller was great to work with, and the guitar was pretty immaculate, especially for an 8 year old guitar! It was built in 2016, the buyer bought it in 2018 from Sweetwater. The only imperfection is that there is a small spot where the finish has a small "misty" spot at the edge of the guitar on the top. About the width of a thumbnail, about 1/8" thick from the edge of the body, to the right of the 5-Way when the guitar is hanging or standing straight up. Once you see it you always notice it, but it is pretty small and for a used guitar at a good price, I am fine with it given it was the only issue. (You can see that misty spot best in the third and fifth pictures above - not a huge deal.) No dings or scratches, not even buckle rash or signs of wear on the back, which is pretty impressive for a guitar with a Black Back. One of the tuners is a little tight to turn, I may need to replace it. But it works fine for now. My guitar setup guy says the frets show basically zero signs of wear, as if it had hardly been played.
(It came with Chrome Tuner knobs, I swapped to Black ones right away.)
One of the reasons I bought it was because I am thinking of spec'ing a Private Stock sometime this year. I am thinking of something like this, but with Custom 2408 Switching. So like a 22 Fret version of the Custom 2408. Before going down that expensive path of a Private Stock, best to be sure and experience it first. This was a good to find to check it out and see if that is something I would want. (The other primary thought I had was to do the same but in McCarty body thickness. So like a McCarty Trem with a Pattern Thin Neck and 2408 switching.)
I like it! It is pretty much everything I thought it would be.
But as I played it twice today, I made an interesting discovery / assessment - the current day Pattern Thin is not the same as this 2016 Pattern Thin Neck Carve. Every neck is going to be a little different, but still - when I played this, it instantly brought back memories of the many older PRS guitars with Wide Thin and Pattern Thin Necks that I had bought and not liked, and many more that I had played at a shop or someone else's guitar.
I knew right away what the difference was - the shoulders are much softer on the current day Pattern Thin versus the 2016 Pattern Thin (and my memory of previous Pattern/Wide Thin Necks have noticeably harder/sharper shoulders. The harder shoulders of the 2016 make the Neck Width (in the Nut direction) seem bigger, and also as a result makes the neck seem thinner. It tricks your brain in that regard, and feels way more different than the Pattern (formerly Wide Fat) Neck.
I do like the newer spec for the Pattern Thin with the softer shoulders. It just feels like a cozy Pattern Neck with a slightly shallower Neck depth. I am pretty certain on this assessment, I A/B'ed with all 4 of my current day Pattern Thin necks (one 2022 and three 2023's). All 4 had the softer shoulders.
Interesting!! Now it makes a little more sense to me that I previously didn't as much so like the Pattern/Wide Thin Neck Carve, and now I do. This perceived difference of softer shoulders is a big part of that for me. It feels more like the Pattern neck but a little thinner, which makes it easier to go back and forth, they are less different. For playing things that you want a "faster" feeling neck for, I prefer this newer Pattern Thin feel over the Pattern feel. But they are not too far apart in shape, more so just the neck depth dimension.
That all said, I don't think that I will be disappointed with the guitar and the harder shoulders. Now that I know what it is, I think I can live with it, and enjoy the benefits of having a 22 Fret Custom with a Pattern Thin Neck.
The pickups are 58/15's, the original ones before the LT ones came out. They are nice, they remind me of 5708's.
Here is a used 2016 Custom 22 that was a great find for me given my current preferences. I have talked about how I am preferring Pattern Thin Necks, Trems and guitars with Black Backs and Necks.
I am really digging the Custom 24's for that reason, but I kind of still have a slight preference for the geometry and ergonomics of the 22 Fret PRS Doublecut - I adore my 25" McCarty, it feels like "home" for me. So I was searching for something that was 22 Fret Doublecut, 2 Humbuckers, a Pattern Thin Neck Carve, and a Trem. Not easy to find such a beast! It doesn't seem to exist out there in a Core guitar. McCarty's were always Wide Fat or Pattern Necks. Custom 22's seem to have been Wide Fat / Pattern, or Regular / Pattern Regular.
The only place a Pattern Thin exists in the 2024 Core lineup is the Custom 24 Models, and the Tremonti.
So when I came across this used Custom 22 with a Pattern Thin Neck on Reverb, described as Mint Condition and hardly played, I couldn't resist! This is a 10-Top in Grey Black.
I have had some challenging experiences over the years buying used guitars on Reverb from private sellers. I can think of several that went horribly, that I had to call them out on the condition as being way off, and had to return for a refund. (I don't buy that many used guitars, mostly new.) Not this time - the seller was great to work with, and the guitar was pretty immaculate, especially for an 8 year old guitar! It was built in 2016, the buyer bought it in 2018 from Sweetwater. The only imperfection is that there is a small spot where the finish has a small "misty" spot at the edge of the guitar on the top. About the width of a thumbnail, about 1/8" thick from the edge of the body, to the right of the 5-Way when the guitar is hanging or standing straight up. Once you see it you always notice it, but it is pretty small and for a used guitar at a good price, I am fine with it given it was the only issue. (You can see that misty spot best in the third and fifth pictures above - not a huge deal.) No dings or scratches, not even buckle rash or signs of wear on the back, which is pretty impressive for a guitar with a Black Back. One of the tuners is a little tight to turn, I may need to replace it. But it works fine for now. My guitar setup guy says the frets show basically zero signs of wear, as if it had hardly been played.
(It came with Chrome Tuner knobs, I swapped to Black ones right away.)
One of the reasons I bought it was because I am thinking of spec'ing a Private Stock sometime this year. I am thinking of something like this, but with Custom 2408 Switching. So like a 22 Fret version of the Custom 2408. Before going down that expensive path of a Private Stock, best to be sure and experience it first. This was a good to find to check it out and see if that is something I would want. (The other primary thought I had was to do the same but in McCarty body thickness. So like a McCarty Trem with a Pattern Thin Neck and 2408 switching.)
I like it! It is pretty much everything I thought it would be.
But as I played it twice today, I made an interesting discovery / assessment - the current day Pattern Thin is not the same as this 2016 Pattern Thin Neck Carve. Every neck is going to be a little different, but still - when I played this, it instantly brought back memories of the many older PRS guitars with Wide Thin and Pattern Thin Necks that I had bought and not liked, and many more that I had played at a shop or someone else's guitar.
I knew right away what the difference was - the shoulders are much softer on the current day Pattern Thin versus the 2016 Pattern Thin (and my memory of previous Pattern/Wide Thin Necks have noticeably harder/sharper shoulders. The harder shoulders of the 2016 make the Neck Width (in the Nut direction) seem bigger, and also as a result makes the neck seem thinner. It tricks your brain in that regard, and feels way more different than the Pattern (formerly Wide Fat) Neck.
I do like the newer spec for the Pattern Thin with the softer shoulders. It just feels like a cozy Pattern Neck with a slightly shallower Neck depth. I am pretty certain on this assessment, I A/B'ed with all 4 of my current day Pattern Thin necks (one 2022 and three 2023's). All 4 had the softer shoulders.
Interesting!! Now it makes a little more sense to me that I previously didn't as much so like the Pattern/Wide Thin Neck Carve, and now I do. This perceived difference of softer shoulders is a big part of that for me. It feels more like the Pattern neck but a little thinner, which makes it easier to go back and forth, they are less different. For playing things that you want a "faster" feeling neck for, I prefer this newer Pattern Thin feel over the Pattern feel. But they are not too far apart in shape, more so just the neck depth dimension.
That all said, I don't think that I will be disappointed with the guitar and the harder shoulders. Now that I know what it is, I think I can live with it, and enjoy the benefits of having a 22 Fret Custom with a Pattern Thin Neck.
The pickups are 58/15's, the original ones before the LT ones came out. They are nice, they remind me of 5708's.
