1999 PRS 22 Custom LH

    Something about this guitar thats different than all others I've played (Strats, Tele, Gretsch, Rick, Gibson, etc) is it is articulate in the extreme.

    The closest example I can think of is my Rick 4003, where every movement of your finger comes through the sound and so you have to have good technique. But unlike that bass, it's nuance that adds 3D to the tone and doesn't sound like you have bad technique. (if you do with the bass, the Rick will highlight that lack of polish)

    It's like this guitar can speak language. That was unexpected. I'm actually listening to myself play to hear how I'm producing such a variety of textures never having heard them in other guitars. It doesn't make it sound bad in any way, just really very nuanced.

    What a cool "feature"!

    BTW, sorry for writing "22 Custom" in the title. I type dyslexic sometimes, lol.

    Quote from db9091

    The only thing that bothered me at all was that on settings 4, 3, 2 the bite or pick attack treble sound seemed a tad bright or harsh, causing me to want to key back on the tone knob to about 3-4 and/or the volume to 6-8 (tone knob works best) more so on chords than single note playing. 0 and 1 were fine full up. I can see this as a good thing depending on what you are playing though. I'm thinking of it as a Full Range of capability, not something to be excised. But as I've read some complain about the Dragon II pickups, this is what they seem to be talking about, and I get that, but it can be assuaged easily and it's on all pickup settings and can be a good thing depending on the needs for the song.

    Positions 4,3 and 2 are weird but cool.. Intentionally used odd coils and phased all weird to give some great sounds. Very single coil like in some of them.

    From the PRS site:

    ROTARY POSITIONS

    Position 10: Treble pickup
    Position 9: Outside coils- deep and clear - parallel
    Position 8: Series single coils – Warm version of the "in between the treble and middle pickups"
    Position 7: Parallel single coils – Crisp version of the "in between the treble and middle pickups"
    Position 6: Bass pickup

    My view of the Dragon II pickups was that they were just too dark in positions 1 and 5, so I'd eq my amp to fix that. Then it sounded great! ..... but..... the other positions (the ones you mention) were then way too bright and harsh. I suspect this is the same thing you are encountering. This symptom of the Dragon II's has been well discussed on other forums.

    I much prefer the 59/09's sounds in every combination. IMO the traditional humbucker tones are much better, and the middle oddball ones are fantastic without having to re-eq the amp. It seems PRS listened to the feedback and managed to find a great wind for the unique switching with the newer generation pickups. All just my opinion though.

    Very glad you like the guitar mate. :thumbup:

    I'd be curious about the 59/09's but I'll hang with these pickups for about a year and if they tire or I got $400 to blow I'll give them a whirl. If I don't like them there is a resale market. But if I do, prob should keep the Dragon II's in case of resale. Since this is a first year lefty for that company, there is a certain "vintage" market that will attach to this as it ages I'm sure. Just thinking of the progeny, haha!

    Did I say I'll hang with the Dragon II's for about a year? Well I guess it's been a whole year. Let me be clear, I love 2 things about guitar: Pickups and Soldering.

    So I decided to pick up some 59/09's and put them in. I got all my soldering supplies today and will probably do it tomorrow on Good Friday.

    I went to RadioShack. They are kind of going out of business and were bought out. The shelves were very empty because their warehouse was not allowed by court order to send shipments. Weird. But I found the shrink wraps I was looking for and decided to pick up some new soldering tools. I'm thinking I'd rather clip the wires about an inch from the 5-way rotary dial board than solder the board lest I over-heat it. This way I can't mis-remember which color matches what (Red, Black, etc)

    Haha.. Yeah.. that was easily a year. You have the same problems with gear (and tinkering with it) as I do it seems. :P

    I'd be very surprised if after you change them out you dont prefer the PRS 59's over the Dragon II's. I actually found the set of dragon 2's from removed a few years ago in a box the other day. I could have sworn I sold them.. ?( ... Maybe I'm losing my mind.

    The PCB on the 5way rot can be a little fiddly to unsolder/resolder the pickup wires, but its not hard as the wires are small and easily manipulated. Just be quick with the iron heat and use a pair of needle nose plies to handle the wires.

    I went a little crazy at radioshack the last few weeks. Their closing down prices were nuts. 90% off is a good deal anyway you slice it! I even bought some of their display cabinets and shelving!

    Good luck with the install!

    Actually, I may be re-installing the recently re-found Dragon II's in a few weeks as I might be putting the PRS up for sale and will try to return it to original spec as people seem to like that kind of thing in listings. A new guitar is due to arrive Monday which I'm hoping will do everything the PRS does and more. I'll keep the 59/09's for future pickup swaps.

    Bought a nice custom Nik Huber Dolphin II from Jerrys Lefty Guitars a few days ago.

    It's currently in transit on it's way to me. Very excited. If it's as good as I expect it to be it may take the fulltime place of my beloved PRS. I dont know.. The CU22 and I have played a lot of shows together and I am kind of attached to it - but if winds up never getting played - it will be up for sale to help fund further adventures.

    Never looked into them. Looks a bit of a cross between a PRS and a Tele.

    One thing I like about the PRS CU22 is that the double cutout allows my thumb to keep my hand aligned straighter and more on the fretboard when I'm up at the 17th fret. I didn't know how much more comfortable that would be until I had it. I can see why some might like the 24's if they play up there a lot.

    Jerry is real cool, isn't he? I've bought 2 guitars from him. A Parker PM20 Pro and the PRS. They are just as he says they are. I'd love to get down to his shop sometime to just hold and play a few guitars I'd never see elsewhere, like that Nik!

    You are right tho, if it gathers dust for a year, it can hit the chopping block. Guitars are meant to be used in my book.

    Wow!

    I get in there and the Dragon II Bass is soldered to the Treble on the board and vice versa.

    I wonder if someone took them out and soldered them back wrong? I also wonder if reversed they sound better, haha.

    Wow. Can't people friggin' read?!? The board is labeled with color and which pickup, pretty clearly.

    If I had to compare the 59/09's to the Dragon II's:

    The 59/09's don't have any of the brittle aspect I was taming in the II's. But then again, they are so mid-heavy that they make the Neck unusable for distortion. But this aspect makes the 3 inner knob split coil selections infinitely more usable and like a 1969 Strat.

    The Treble one is obviously the "rock" one but I think I prefer the II's for Treble. I wonder what a Dragon II in Treble would do. Would it keep the splits sounding nice, but give a better Bridge bucker rock tone (for my ears) or would I lose that? Only fiddling will tell.

    All in all, when you go to cleans the 59/09's really shine and are all amazing in every setting. Way better than the Dragon's. So Its really growing on me since I often like clean tones, and these dripping mid's of the 59/09's just shine because of it, which HUGE variety.

    Glad I grabbed them.