S2 Custom 22 or S2 Singlecut?

[bigcohoona]

Aloha PRS!

I recently had another thread with thoughts concerning S2 Singlecut vs. the new Standard. It was so helpful I thought I'd ask for thoughts on another comparison.

Does anyone have experience on both the S2 Singlecut and the S2 Custom 22?

I think I plan to go with the Singlecut but the Trem and possibly somewhat brighter Custom 22 may be a better option... or my next option!

Is the Singlecut overly meaty for clean, clear, strumming etc.?

Would the Custom 22 not give me enough sustain for the ol finger tap?

If the Singlecut came with a Bigsby, I would be in players bliss (that being said, the stability of the PRS bridge would have me in Tuners Bliss).

Thanks!

 

[Artjr]

I like the custom 22. I had a stripped 58 and a se singlecut with railhammer pups and a trem on the SE. I thought the 58 sounded great but it was a very boring guitar 3 way switch no tremolo. If you go with the custom 22 you can upgrade pickups and get all the sustain you want. I just got a ce22 with M pickups and I can hold a note from now till Christmas.

 

[bigcohoona]

I like the custom 22. I had a stripped 58 and a se singlecut with railhammer pups and a trem on the SE. I thought the 58 sounded great but it was a very boring guitar 3 way switch no tremolo. If you go with the custom 22 you can upgrade pickups and get all the sustain you want. I just got a ce22 with M pickups and I can hold a note from now till Christmas.

Thanks Art! ... or I could just get a Fernandes Sustainer

 

[andy474x]

Hmm... that is a tough one. Most of the talk I've heard on the singlecut has been that it can be fairly bright and twangy if you want it to be. The stoptail bridge, IMO, lets all frequencies ring a little better, so I think you could get plenty of clarity with it. I have the 22, semi hollow version, and LOVE it, but got it because I also have an SE singlecut already. If I had to pick just one, I would probably get the singlecut. The stoptail is so good, and the individual coil taps via the two tone knobs adds a ton of versatility. I reckon you could get any tone from beefy bellow to sparkly clean, and anything in between. Combining one humbucker and one split coil is one of my favorite clean sounds. Alternatively, have you considered a Custom 24? Those hot pickups are much hotter.

To confuse things, here's a clip I cut on my S2 Custom 22, with some clean, some finger tapping. Adding a big boost from a tubescreamer pumped up the signal and presence enough to get some good cut for a tapping lead tone, this was a TS type pedal into a Plexidrive.

Anyways, great guitars whichever you choose. I say pick the one that has the options you want most.

 

[Artjr]

Andy rockin in jail cell. LoL You have that Sounding great

 

[bigcohoona]

Great video! Thanks Brother.

You are getting some great tones out of that Semi! I've read similar thoughts concerning the tone diversity and stop-tail from quite a few reviews as well. I think it's a core stop-tail.

I do quite a bit of muting but have never been much of a Trem user. I like the Bigsby purely for that slow Chris Isaacs kind of vibe, for using it on Daniel Lanois-esque slide, but again it's a rarity.

Thanks again Andy, awesome demo. What backing track were you using?

~C

 

[andy474x]

Great video! Thanks Brother.

You are getting some great tones out of that Semi! I've read similar thoughts concerning the tone diversity and stop-tail from quite a few reviews as well. I think it's a core stop-tail.

I do quite a bit of muting but have never been much of a Trem user. I like the Bigsby purely for that slow Chris Isaacs kind of vibe, for using it on Daniel Lanois-esque slide, but again it's a rarity.

Thanks again Andy, awesome demo. What backing track were you using?

~C

I think you're right on the core stoptail, and they are really a nice piece of work... I picked up a used Mira X a while back and was blown away at the quality of the core stoptail.

Thanks for the kind words on the clip! That was all original, part of a tune my band was working on a while back. Our drummer has an electronic kit, which makes for easy demos.

 

[bigcohoona]

Awesome!

 

[bigcohoona]

Thanks for all the help everyone!

After listening to about 50 hours of youtube demo's from Sweetwater, PRS, NAMM, and anywhere else, and reading and re-reading everyone's thoughts here, the Singlecut prevailed! I was surprised at how few demo's there actually were compared to some of the others.

The higher top end from the Maple will get me somewhat closer to the Vela I sent back but still retain the milder attack I need. You can almost get that similar phased out tone the D-Coil had as well with either the HS or the SH selection (not sure which one it was). It's not the same as the Vela but it's close enough to tweak it for a great strummer. The coil split on the Custom 22 seemed just a tad thin for what I want now, but is probably more capable of pulling off a Tele-esque tone, so I'll settle for the Fender-ish one of the SC, lol. I think the Custom 22 will be my next one though, having both would be a great tonal arsenal.

The idea of the stoptail being a core piece also appealed to me.

So here's the unveiling (I love how Sweetwater let's you see and pick the exact model you want). I am biased but I think I'm getting one of the better Whale Blue versions I've seen!

Thanks again for all the thoughts, it was a lot of help. (I just copied this from the other thread I started, sorry for the lack of originality... It's late and I have 5 kids! )

... now to order the Ivory tone pots and tuners, and get a white toggle top!

 

[g.wizz]

Great choice
I see one for myself a bit down the road (probably semi) to compliment my 513
with some vintage flavors

:top:

 

[garrettb]

Nice one!

 

[andy474x]

Wow, nice!!! For sure one of the best blue S2's I've seen.

 

[mapleleaf14]

I just recently picked up an S2 Custom 22 Semi-Hollow and an S2 Singlecut at the same time...love them both. If I had to just pick one, I'd have gone with the Singlecut.

Yesterday, I put a push/pull pot on the volume of the 22 Semi-Hollow so I can tap both pickups individually and I'd say that makes it closer now between the two though.

My particular S2 Singlecut is the heaviest PRS I have though for sure...it's a beefy beast!

Really look around though...I've seen some S2's that have really nice tops and some pretty plain tops...I think I lucked into two really nice tops for the S2 price point.

 

[bigcohoona]

I bet that extra coil tap will add quite a bit to your 22! The blue one above is the actual guitar I got, and I agree there is a huge variance of how good the tops are in the S2 lineup.

I watched a tour of the S2 assembly line on Youtube last night and they try to find Grade C tops for them. The first SE Tremonti I had in Cherry Sunburst was extremely quilted, just amazing, the 2nd one (had to send the first back) was poorly matched and uninteresting.

The blue SC I nabbed could not have been better for what I normally look for. The Low E string is slightly closer to the top (and more importantly the high E string further from the bottom), it's a good blend of quilted and linear striation, and it's darker, more subdued, and the striated Rosewood is interesting. I prefer a more subtle subdued guitar for stage... if I was making my own Private Stock I might want something as bright as Australian Black Opal... or something like the private stock "Northern Lights" at Sweetwater right now (http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PSB5315) ... looks like it sold last night, lol!

I think PRS should consider leaving Grade C maple tops for the solid colors (adding some other solid colors like that Ice Blue Firemist!) and add an extra $100 for a AA or AAA on the clear maple capped S2's.

As to weight, I'm curious to see what it's like. I think the Tremonti SE is thicker and I thought it still wasn't nearly the weight of my LP. We will see, I get her next Wednesday!

~C

 

[mapleleaf14]

I dig the Whale Blue too! I'm lucky that I live "fairly" close to Sweetwater (about 3 hour drive) so I go up there from time to time. I checked out almost of all the S2 Singlecuts when I was there so I very well may have played yours! Haha. I've been there a few times and they are always helpful with bringing up whatever you want to look at from the warehouse which is nice. It's a pretty impressive place IMO.
I first went up when I got my DGT Artist...no way I was gonna spend that kind of money without playing it first, even with their return policy!


You're gonna love your Singlecut...I love mine. Mine is heavier than my SC58...seems thicker too, but I think it's just the way they do the carve differently on the S2's. I noticed the other night at practice that my neck started to hurt a little bit, but I had been using my DGT and Paul's Guitar a lot lately so it might've just been that difference.


I'm WAY impressed with both of my S2's...hard to beat for the money.

 

[bigcohoona]

Thanks "mapleleaf"! Encouraging to hear, can't wait to run her through her paces.

Indiana is just a great place for music stores! One of the other stores I was working with was Moore Music in Evansville, another great store. Dennis was an extremely knowledgeable (and honest) salesman, I'd recommend both places. I almost went to work at Sweetwater, they flew me out for a weekend but in the end it didn't work out (I was still Active Duty then). Can't say enough about Sweetwater as I've been using them for over 20 years now.. I can't believe I bought my first synth in 94 (Korg X3).

I think if PRS can grow this line and mature it just a tad that it will place them quickly as one of the most widely used guitars out there... incredible bang for your buck. I'd love to see them make a few things standard options such as a Bigsby or Maple cap or no maple cap, etc. Currently from the video I watched having very few options is how they planned on keeping the price point low to begin with, but since 2013 when the video was made they've added the Semi's, Standards, and the Vela... Man, I love that Vela!

I'm curious to see if the SC is as thick as the SE Tremonti / Zach Meyers are.

Yeah, it was either going to be the Blue or the Antique White (though they all look stunning), in the end I couldn't find any blue ones and mine came in the night before last, so I figured resale would be easier, lol.

What has been your favorite PRS overall?

 

[mapleleaf14]

What has been your favorite PRS overall?

Oh man...I love them all for one reason or another! I guess if I had to pick just one, I'd have to go with the DGT. You can do anything with a DGT! I love the control layout, the taps, the neck...everything about it just works for me. I started playing .11's on all my electrics after getting my first DGT.

That being said, can a person go wrong with any PRS?!? In my 30 years or playing, I've never come across a brand with more consistent quality than PRS...you just know you're gonna be okay 99.999% of the time if you go with a PRS!

 

[bigcohoona]

That being said, can a person go wrong with any PRS?!? In my 30 years or playing, I've never come across a brand with more consistent quality than PRS...you just know you're gonna be okay 99.999% of the time if you go with a PRS!

That's an incredible answer/statement if you really think about it.

There's a short documentary from 1985 of Paul and his fledgling company and it was neat to see his vision, "just-a-regular-guy-ness", and this statement "Were not up there with Fender or Gibson yet, but give me a few years."

I just checked out who "DGT" was a couple days ago and spent 2 hours watching him play, interviews, etc. What a great normal guy... who can pick-n-grin that thang to death! If I get a core that will be high on the list.

That led to me checking out Jerry McPherson (who's on one of my favorite Charlie Peacock albums)... he was playing a DGT, lol.

.... or this one! Sweetwater hasn't sold the "Northern Lights" yet, I was looking at the non-Semi (http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/P245SemiFNL).

These colors are just exquisite.... for $11,000+

 

[mapleleaf14]

That is sweet. If (or when) I ever do a PS order, Northern Lites and Olive will be high on my list for colors.


I didn't know who David Grissom was until after I got my first DGT...now he's one of my favorite players!


i was thinking that it'd be kinda cool if there was an S2 program where you custom order other colors and pickups...they could charge a bit more for the choice, but still come in under a core model...would be great, but would probably cut into too many core sales!

 

[bigcohoona]

That is sweet. If (or when) I ever do a PS order, Northern Lites and Olive will be high on my list for colors.

I didn't know who David Grissom was until after I got my first DGT...now he's one of my favorite players!

i was thinking that it'd be kinda cool if there was an S2 program where you custom order other colors and pickups...they could charge a bit more for the choice, but still come in under a core model...would be great, but would probably cut into too many core sales!

I didn't realize that "Northern Lights" was a normal color scheme option... What a great name.

I also like that David is not one band or another, neither is he a Vai, Satrianni, or Tommy Emmauel (I'd love to see an Emmanuel PRS Acoustic), he's been on everything, everywhere! I'd also love to see a Daniel Lanoise signature also... I just think he's so incredibly out of the box.

That would be a great idea to have a made-to-order S2 for ~$2,000, and have the core line clear coat on her Speaking of which, do you think the S2 clear coat colors the tone much?