#5910 – PRS Custom 22 – amber – used/2002

How many times do I hear the phrase ‘ I daren’t take my PRS out on a gig as I don’t want to mark it’ ? – Or words similar to this – If this is the case, or indeed you are looking at moving up the ladder and require a serious guitar that is a league or two above the Far Eastern mass produced models, then why not check out this used PRS Custom 22 from 2002 – A desirable stop tail model, with a classic amber gloss finish on a figured maple top – For additional aesthetic trimmings then don’t forget that set of colourful abalone bird inlays – Weighs only 7lbs and 14oz  – So whilst it is has now  enjoyed its 21st birthday celebrations , it is still a pretty clean guitar – It certainly won’t acquire that ‘near mint condition’ tag – Yet neither does it look like it has just completed a world tour with a punk band – Any hints of a blemish are subtle and barely mark the top surface of the gloss finish, so nothing nasty whatsoever – Look carefully and you can just about find a couple of pin prick size nicks  – Any merest hint of any fret wear is not even worth a discussion – In fact if it has taken over 21 years to acquire the merest hint of any fret wear, and merest is the key word here, then you’ve got another 22 years of playing before any fret dress might be required – You’ll find some of the usual tarnishing to the nickel hardware – So used but not abused, so play it and gig it without any fear – Complete with the original deluxe case as well as the eagle swing tag- Re-strung with a set of 10-46 gauge strings and set-up with a slick ‘n’ easy action

Classic styling thanks to the amber finish and a set of abalone bird inlays  – One piece select mahogany body, is par for the course on a Custom 22, which in turn is topped of with a  highly figured maple top – Note the natural maple edged body binding – A true PRS trademark  – Whilst the build quality and tonal variation of a PRS is from the top draw, to me a large part of the magic of a PRS Guitar is the neck – So easy to play with a fluid playing action and effortless string bending – It just about makes a set of 9’s redundant, as a set of 10’s still feel slinky, so with a well balanced action, along all 22 frets, this a very easy guitar to handle – One piece mahogany neck with a wide/fat profile and an Indian rosewood fingerboard – Measures .865″ around the top nut end and .971″ around the 12th fret – The neck possesses a very comfortable amount of girth, but it ain’t chunk or fat – As it happens the difference between a wide/fat and wide/thin profile is 1/16″ extra depth – Wow – Big deal – The neck has somewhat of a comfortable LP flavour and profile to it that is eminently playable, with easy access to the higher frets – Such is the accuracy of the fret work, that chords still  sound in tune further up the fingerboard, which is a testament to the compensated wrapover bridge/tailpiece assembly, that is light weight and milled from aluminium, then mounted on 2 chunky posts – Note a set of PRS locking machine heads

The PRS Dragon 11 humbuckers capture and deliver fat humbucking tones – Neck measures 7.78K and the bridge pick-up comes in a touch hotter at 12.62K – 5 way switching, master volume, plus a master tone pot – The 5 way switch effectively delivers 3 fat humbucking tones, plus 2 single coil funky flavoured tones  – Granted, the coil tap options don’t produce the tone of a  true vintage Strat, but nevertheless they are useful for those funky Chic style rhythm chops, when you quickly need to move away from a humbucker voice mid song, or set – As such they deliver some very useful additional tonal variations as and when required – Some will tell you that a PRS Custom somehow sits between the voice of a Fender and a Gibson – Certainly the overall Custom 22 tone is bigger and fatter than a Strat, yet it delivers more articulation than a Les Paul, but any guitar with two humbuckers and a mahogany body/neck will always sit more firmly in the Gibson camp – The Dragon 11 humbuckers have excellent clarity, so they won’t sound mushy with hi-gain amp settings, especially when playing fancy licks or shred chords – Yet played on a clean amp setting, lush jazz/blues flavoured tones are easily achieved, which ensures a Custom 22 is anything but a one trick pony – The volume and tone pot have an excellent taper on them, so you can fully utilise them across the whole 1-10 range – Subtle tweaks on the volume pot provides effective variations, especially to any gain levels on the amp/pedal  – As such this allows you and the guitar to control the amp, to supply you with more soul, expression and emotion – Whilst the LP, SG and 335 are vintage classics, the Custom 22 is without doubt a modern classic, with vintage qualities

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Guitars4You is not another corporate high street guitar store - My selection of premium grade guitars is about quality not quantity. Every guitar has been selected, inspected and approved by me, with particular attention to the set-up and playing performance. Every sale, phone call, email and mail order transaction is handled by me. A journey that is now over 40 years old, has fuelled my knowledge, experience, love, devotion and passion for exceptionally fine guitars.