PRS Paul Reed Smith Custom 22 Guitar, Faded Whale Blue

Music Store Live is proud to offer up this Custom 22 from our friends over at Paul Reed Smith. 

PRS regularly outdoes themselves in terms of quality, consistency, and tone. The straightforward and yet versatile Custom 22 is a dynamic and lively instrument with everything you need for great sound and nothing that'll slow you down. Hot, responsive, and rich, the 85/15 pickups on this guitar respond well through high-gain and clean settings. They're an updated version of the original pickups that Paul Reed Smith was putting in his guitars when the factory in Maryland first opened up. These are what made him famous! You'll have a tough time finding a guitar that feels better than this - it plays exceptionally well even by PRS standards.

The Pattern neck is not overly bulky at all and yet gives you a bit more substance to hold onto than the Pattern Thin counterparts. It's just 1/16" deeper at the nut, so the difference is subtle. Bends are effortless and the neck is super comfortable and fast thanks to expert carving and immaculate fretwork. With the diversity of sounds you can get out of this thing, it can cut any gig in the world, period. This Custom 22 is for the player who wants to inspire and be inspired every time they pick up their guitar.

Unlike its Custom 24 brother, the neck pickup on the Custom 22 is directly under the natural third harmonic of the strings which makes for a pretty different tone. Richer, creamier, warmer, and with some more harmonic content would all be good ways to describe this effect that the neck pickup has by being located where the extra 2 frets of the Custom 24 normally are. It's not better or worse, really... It's just different. I happen to really love the way the neck pickup sounds on a 22 fret guitar.

The PRS 85/15 pickups sound clear, precise, and articulate - whether you are going for a clean tone or something overdriven with some more grit. They are modeled after the original pickups that Paul put in his guitars back in 1985 when they opened up shop in Maryland. These are basically a more refined version of the pickups that started it all for PRS and put Mr. Smith and his guitars on the map. They're the pickups that Santana fell in love with and... well... the rest is history.

The Custom 22 is a classic workhorse with all the tones you’ve come to expect from your PRS with a distinctive midrange and clarity thanks, in part, to its 85/15 pickups. These pickups are wired for our 5-way blade switch, which offers a dual humbucker option (see switching positions below). The Custom 22 also features a PRS patented Gen III trem and comfortable solid mahogany pattern neck.

Pickup Switching Positions

Position One: Bridge humbucker
Position Two: Bridge humbucker with neck single-coil, in parallel
Position Three: Bridge and neck humbuckers
Position Four: Neck single-coil with bridge single-coil, in parallel
Position Five: Neck humbucker

Our in-house guitar tech will inspect, test, set up, and clean all of our instruments on site prior to shipping. All of our instruments are guaranteed to be fully functional upon arrival.

Music Store Live is one of PRS's top independent dealers and is one of only a select few PRS Signature Dealers. If you still haven't found what you're looking for, we are more than happy to help you custom order your next Paul Reed Smith instrument. Our PRS experts can help guide you in purchasing a new SE, S2, CORE, Artist Package, or even your very own Private Stock guitar or bass. Message us for details!