Played a PRS Custom 24 for the first time today...

[hippietim]

pm box cleared.

[roodyrocker]

I know PRS didn't use that rotary switch on everything but I still see quite a few of them pop up for sale on the various forums and whatnot. I'd have to change that as its just not functional for me. As for the three separate mini toggle switches that Jackson/Charvel used, well that goes even further back than the PRS rotary switch Still, I have no problem actually using those three mini switches live. Still have my Charvel Model 6 that I bought new and those minis are still on there Of course this also comes from the guy who bought a Strat Elite back in the early 80's, remember those? Instead of three mini toggles like Charvel had the Strat Elite used 3 push buttons! Yep, still have those in that Strat and prefer them over the PRS rotary knob

[surfreak]

The PRS Custom is a very well made guitar, and in terms of consistency there's pretty much nothing out there that beats it, maybe except Suhr. In my opinion, having owned both an early, Annapolis-made one (the one with the small neck heel, Mann bridge and rotary control), and a modern one, here are the pros and cons:

- great build quality and solid construction (those who say that the neck joint is weak don't know what they're talking about, with due respect. the neck joint is very chunky, and if you've ever seen a dissected PRS you know that they have a very deeply set in tenon).

- great playability, they typically set up with very low action and no buzzing.

- good resale value, especialy the earlier ones.

- great wood choice, the mahog+maple combo is very consistent in weight (all the ones I've tried are in the 7.5-7.9 lbs range), with some spectacular flame tops, if you're into that stuff.

- tone is subjective, however this for me is the biggest cons. Depending on the pickup selection, the Custom sounds *almost* like a LP, *almost* like a Strat, *almost* like a few other iconic tone references. Great if you play in a gigging cover band and need just one axe to cover a lot of ground, but if you look for your own voice, or even to closely replicate your hero's tone, look elsewhere. Unless he plays a PRS too.

- again tone wise, it is great to have easy access to 24 frets, but in my opinion the Custom 22 sounds much better. The neck pickup on the 22 is right at the sweet spot, and it sounds distinctively fatter and more "vocal", for lack of a better word. As a result, also the other pickup combos end up sounding better to my ears.

- The PRS has a "hybrid" scale length, in between Gibson's short scale and Fender's 25.5. Again this has significant implications in terms of playability and tone: it plays quite slinky and doesn't fight you like a Fender would, but in terms of tone it's again a jack of all trades but a master of none, as it doesn't quite reach the Fender spankyness nor the Gibson tonal depth.
and, again in my opinion, scale length is one of the of the most important, yet most overlooked elements in your tone.

Bottom line, my recommendation is, make sure that it sounds right for you but do try a PRS Custom 22 for comparison.

[Shawn Lutz]

I have one USA Jackson strat with the the mini on/off switch and its kind of cool having something a bit different. I typically never use 2 pickups at a time so I have to make 2 switches to changes pickups, turn on the one I want, turn off the one I was on

I haven't see rotaries on PRS's in ages. See them on BCR's but its not for pickup switching. I prefer a 3 way switch 98% of the time

[j2379]

+1, once you get used to the rotary i thought it was great. i had an old standard 24 back in the day, great guitar but like most of my stuff back then i traded it for a BCRich.

personally, i like the rotary switch. it was weird at first, but i got used it live pretty quick. i was actually a little more accurate with my switching using the rotary vs. a 5-way blade. sometimes with the blade i get a little too excited. the newer ones with the toggle or the blade switch are nice too, and certainly easier for a traditionalist.

[straycat]

I like the 25 in scale length its what make PRS a little different tone wise.
I do prefer the custom 22's to the 24.
Try the bolt neck PRS's they play great

[Flatpicker]

The PRS Custom is a very well made guitar, and in terms of consistency there's pretty much nothing out there that beats it, maybe except Suhr. In my opinion, having owned both an early, Annapolis-made one (the one with the small neck heel, Mann bridge and rotary control), and a modern one, here are the pros and cons:

- great build quality and solid construction (those who say that the neck joint is weak don't know what they're talking about, with due respect. the neck joint is very chunky, and if you've ever seen a dissected PRS you know that they have a very deeply set in tenon).

- great playability, they typically set up with very low action and no buzzing.

- good resale value, especialy the earlier ones.

- great wood choice, the mahog+maple combo is very consistent in weight (all the ones I've tried are in the 7.5-7.9 lbs range), with some spectacular flame tops, if you're into that stuff.

- tone is subjective, however this for me is the biggest cons. Depending on the pickup selection, the Custom sounds *almost* like a LP, *almost* like a Strat, *almost* like a few other iconic tone references. Great if you play in a gigging cover band and need just one axe to cover a lot of ground, but if you look for your own voice, or even to closely replicate your hero's tone, look elsewhere. Unless he plays a PRS too.

- again tone wise, it is great to have easy access to 24 frets, but in my opinion the Custom 22 sounds much better. The neck pickup on the 22 is right at the sweet spot, and it sounds distinctively fatter and more "vocal", for lack of a better word. As a result, also the other pickup combos end up sounding better to my ears.

- The PRS has a "hybrid" scale length, in between Gibson's short scale and Fender's 25.5. Again this has significant implications in terms of playability and tone: it plays quite slinky and doesn't fight you like a Fender would, but in terms of tone it's again a jack of all trades but a master of none, as it doesn't quite reach the Fender spankyness nor the Gibson tonal depth.
and, again in my opinion, scale length is one of the of the most important, yet most overlooked elements in your tone.

Bottom line, my recommendation is, make sure that it sounds right for you but do try a PRS Custom 22 for comparison.

Actually, if you are looking for your own voice, the PRS is perfect. It's not Strat, not Tele, not LP or SG. It gives you the chance to find yourself.
Same with scale length. What you are thinking of as a disadvantage is only one if you are looking for a tone that is already existing. In that case, you probably shouldn't be looking at the PRS.

I have a CU 22 (Technically, an Al D) and a CU 24. They are both incredibly consistent in their build quality, but I like the 24 better for the HFS/VB and extra frets.

Everything else is spot on in terms of playability and wood choice.

[j2379]

that may have been true in 1990, but now tons of players use PRS's. a PRS thru a boutique amp now, is like the les Paul thru a marshall back in the 70's.....common and almost a standard.

Actually, if you are looking for your own voice, the PRS is perfect. It's not Strat, not Tele, not LP or SG. It gives you the chance to find yourself.
Same with scale length. What you are thinking of as a disadvantage is only one if you are looking for a tone that is already existing. In that case, you probably shouldn't be looking at the PRS.

I have a CU 22 (Technically, an Al D) and a CU 24. They are both incredibly consistent in their build quality, but I like the 24 better for the HFS/VB and extra frets.

Everything else is spot on in terms of playability and wood choice.

[Flatpicker]

that may have been true in 1990, but now tons of players use PRS's. a PRS thru a boutique amp now, is like the les Paul thru a marshall back in the 70's.....common and almost a standard.

Good point.
I don't listen to too much modern metal because of the Cookie Monster vocals. If I do I tend to listen to stuff from Europe like Edguy and Aeryon. I think the are mostly Ibanez and ESP.

[roodyrocker]

I have one USA Jackson strat with the the mini on/off switch and its kind of cool having something a bit different. I typically never use 2 pickups at a time so I have to make 2 switches to changes pickups, turn on the one I want, turn off the one I was on

I haven't see rotaries on PRS's in ages. See them on BCR's but its not for pickup switching. I prefer a 3 way switch 98% of the time

I actually got pretty good at turning one pickup off and another one on in one motion on my Charvel Model 6. Almost like snapping your fingers but with one flipping the mini toggle up and the other mini toggle down. My issue with the rotary 5 way on a PRS is trying to get any of the middle positions. You can't click the thing quickly from say, 1 to 4. If it was the extremes then sure, 1 and 5 were easy. Anything in between forget it.

[hippietim]

PRS is really just about the only company actually doing anything kind of new with pickups. The Narrowfield pickups are simply amazing - wide open theiy're like a hot P-90, on 8.5 they're like a Fender. The 408 pickups achieve single tapped tones without a big volume drop - and they sound fantastic. Everyone else seems to be just rewinding the same pickups. They've also done some fantastic new humbuckers lately - the 5708, 5909, and 5310 pickups are all fantastic and very versatile.

[markD]

i really like the narrowfield pickups. i am actually thinking of grabbing one of the NF3 guitars - just not 100% used to the new body shape....it is a little more "stratty", which isn't a bad thing, just not what i am used to with PRS.

[hippietim]

i really like the narrowfield pickups. i am actually thinking of grabbing one of the NF3 guitars - just not 100% used to the new body shape....it is a little more "stratty", which isn't a bad thing, just not what i am used to with PRS.

I just got my NF3 back from the PTC - I had them install a Floyd and change the pickup config. Full details here: http://prsguitars.com/forum/showthre...-at-PTC-for-me

[pro-fusion]

- tone is subjective, however this for me is the biggest cons. Depending on the pickup selection, the Custom sounds *almost* like a LP, *almost* like a Strat, *almost* like a few other iconic tone references. Great if you play in a gigging cover band and need just one axe to cover a lot of ground, but if you look for your own voice, or even to closely replicate your hero's tone, look elsewhere. Unless he plays a PRS too.

This. Completely this.

The setneck PRS guitars are the tonal equivalent of lukewarm water. I've never found them inspiring, except for one really really early one I played years ago that had a solid finish and (I suspect) different wood choices than the typical PRS.

The ones that really sound great are the bolt-on CE-24s. I've owned two of them over the years, and they both sounded fantastic. Forget about the fancy tops and the silly bling on the Customs. The bone-stock CE-24 is the best guitar PRS makes.

[markD]

I just got my NF3 back from the PTC - I had them install a Floyd and change the pickup config. Full details here: http://prsguitars.com/forum/showthre...-at-PTC-for-me

wow! that is awesome!! now - i wanna see the SAS!!