PRS CE 24 vs PRS Custom 22

[Kinx]

How would you compare CE 24 and Custom 22 tonewise? I'm choosing between these two since i can have them for very similar price (custom is 2007 and has 10 top + birds). I know CE 24 quite well and i like that guitar very much (except for it's neckplate, that bugs me a little), but custom 22 seems right too . i don't care very much for extra 2 frets on CE.

I'm looking for guitar that is tonally diverse from strat (which is my main guitar right now), articulates well, has no "dead spots", good sustain and "rings well" (excuse my english, i'm from czech republic). CE can basically do that, but almost everyone praises customs for these qualities.

thx for your opinions

 

[MusicManJP6]

24 fret prs usually has the hotter HFS/VB pickups and a wide thin neck. The CE has a bolt-on neck and maple nack but i prefer these qualities.

22 fret prs have the less hot Dragon II pickups and a wide fat neck. The Custom has a set neck so the sustain may be a little better.

Depends on who you talk to but i've heard the CEs can have more punch and clarity than the customs due to the maple neck.

 

[Blue Fin]

I recently picked up a Custom 22 and it seems to have the qualities that you are seeking. It can produce a very wide range of sounds and plays great.

 

[Rocky]

Have you played them both?

 

[jdurso]

Have you played them both?

Great question... the only way i could ever decide between guitars is by playing both. One should "speak" to you more than the other especially between those two models. The different necks, paired with very different pups and an overall different feel should let you know which is better for what your looking to do. I really like both guitars alot for the very reason that they paly and sound very different from one another.

 

[Elpelotero]

Since the CE is a maple and bolt on neck, just like your Fender, I'd go for the Custom 22.

 

[SonOfIAm]

I've had the CE-24 and CE-22, played the Custom 22 and Custom 24. Can't say that I noticed much of a difference between to CEs and Customs except in playability. By far my favorite is the CE-24. Much more diverse sounding, probably the best bridge pickup I've heard, almost a vocal quality to it. The best tonal range with the 5-way rotary as well in my opinion. The Dragon IIs are good pickups but they lacked a bit of clarity and seemed a little more generic sounding. The HFS is a high output pickup but that gives many more possibilities if you are accustomed to using your volume control.

 

[Kinx]

thx for replies

i play in alternative pop/crossover band (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfh9cDd3aBA , http://coolers.cz ) straight through mark IIC and mark I RI paired in stereo both set in lead mode - since about 60% of my playing is based on clean sound (i use volume pot all the time) i would appreciate that my new guitar (ce24 or cu22) could do some diverse sounds just by using it's controls.

friend of mine lent me his CE24 few days ago and i'm pretty amazed by that guitar, especially by it's clarity - every chord at every position sounds really creat and rich, articulation is outstanding and it responses to playing dynamics much better than my strat. I've never played any custom (i only played standard satin 22 and mccarty, i liked both very much - especially that standard, never compared them to CE24 in person through), but i got nice offer for one in warszaw (that's 500km - about 311 miles travelling by train for me) so i'm considering custom too.

unfortunately i don't have any possibility to try custom 22 (except for that one in warszaw) so i'm doing this research

 

[Elpelotero]

Are you a member of the PRS forum? birdsandmoons.com You'll get many more educated answers there, I think.

 

[Kinx]

i have trouble registering there, they always scrap my account - perharps admin thinks i'm some kind of spammer thanks to my e-mail adress or something.

 

[Commander Coo1]

yeah it took me lie a month to finally be accepted at birdsandmoons... they are definitely slow at new memberships. but as far as your question goes, i have a CE 24 and wouldn't trade it for any other PRS based on tone/playability, i love it. that being said, if you want a more diverse sound further from your strat, the custom 22 is probably the better idea. they have tons of warmth, but at the sacrifice of some of the CE's clarity. but im sure with the pickups split on the custom you could get some nice bright glassy cleans. the CE's maple neck gives a bit more aggressive sound than the custom, and the pickups included with the CE are also voiced more aggressively. as far as the diversity on the CE's sounds the 5-way rotary gives some really nice options, some of its single coil tones make for an amazing clean tone. i havent had enough time with a custom 22 to say much about the diversity of it's sounds, but being a PRS its probably very diverse also. i have owned 2 CEs and both have had "dead spots" when playing the note g on the 3rd string 12th fret. but it doesnt bother me, because it is actually quite a musical sound that it provides as it turns into a harmonic before fading away. you are less likely to encounter a dead spot with a 22 fret guitar.

this is just what i have noticed about the 2 guitars and i hope these observations are useful to you.

 

[Kinx]

i've eventually ended up with purple '02 custom 24 /w birds

price was slightly higher but it is totally worth it - this guitar slays

i would say that it's tone is halfway between custom 22 and CE24, having best of both. not as agressive and fenderish as CE24 and not as rounded as CE22 i've also noticed that difference between positions 2 and 4 on 5-way rotary switch (tapped inner/outer coils) is bigger than on CE24 or custom 22.

another interesting thing is that it has much hotter output than my friend's ce24 - even though it has same pickups (HFS + vintage bass).

 

[SonOfIAm]

Congrats on the new axe! I ran into a similar issue as your friend's CE, output was lower than I expected. You might suggest he check the shielding paint in the cavity. Mine showed some resistance in the ground when checking it with my ohmeter (back of one of the pots to paint in the cavity). I remedied my problem by removing the pots and switch and putting a couple of strips of 3/4" copper tape covering the control holes in the cavity, making sure to overlap and solder the joint, just a small blob will do. I carefully cut out the holes with an exacto knife and re-installed the controls. Huge difference! BTW, you may want to check yours just to make sure.

 

[73h Nils]

Woowee! That's gorgeous!

 

[shawnqa800720]

PRS's are finicky beasts. You can spend $10,000 and get a dog for tone and spend $2,000 and get a total gem. Case in point - I own 4 PRS's - a CE24, a 20th anniversary custom 22, a custom 22 artist, and an artist II series. the two best sounding are the two on opposite ends of the spectrum - the artist II series and the CE24. The 20th anniversary CU22 is the best feeling and sounds best when played unplugged, but comes in third when plugged in. The CU22 artist is dead last in tone and play/feel but was the second most expensive of the lot.

Keep in mind that a bad sounding PRS still sounds pretty **** good. But take the advice given many times on this thread - play them both and decide based on which one feels right and sounds best.