NGD 1997 PRS custom 24

[voggin]

Sorry about the crap photo.

So, long story short, I recently sold a Les Paul studio, and had some gear money. I also had a tele I never really got along with, but had bought a few years ago because it was a great deal. Took the cash from the LP and traded in the tele for this fella.

Not much wear for a 22 year old guitar. Frets look new. A couple of little dings on the top below the bridge.

My first U.S. PRS. I had an SE years ago. First impression are it plays great. Nice slab of rosewood on the board. The five way knob for pickup selection takes a bit of getting used to. I've only played it through my bedroom rig, as my real one is at my band mates place, but we're rehearsing tomorrow so I'll get to really hear it. First impression of the pickups is the bridge seems pretty hot. They're stock so if anyone knows anything about them, please let me know.

 

[SlyFoxx]

Re: NGD 1997 PRS custom 24

Looks like it's been sitting in a case under a bed for 20 years. Bridge saddles look to have only slight wear. Nice score. You can cover a lot of ground with a C22/24.

 

[Wattage]

Re: NGD 1997 PRS custom 24

nice score!

 

[jeremy]

Re: NGD 1997 PRS custom 24

a good friend had a very similar one, his main guitar since i met him in the late 90's to this day. congrats and enjoy!

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: NGD 1997 PRS custom 24

Super jealous! Congrats!

 

[RorySquier]

Re: NGD 1997 PRS custom 24

That sure is a nice guitar and beautiful wood. Did you also get the trem arm?



;>)/

 

[voggin]

Re: NGD 1997 PRS custom 24

That sure is a nice guitar and beautiful wood. Did you also get the trem arm?



;>)/

No, the original was gone. The store threw in a new one, but had to order it.

It's a very nice guitar, and very different than what I'm used to. However, the quality is obvious and I like the fact I don't have expectations about how it sounds. You know, when you buy a strat or a LP you have this iconic sound in mind.

I'm hoping it will get my head moving in other directions, if you know what I mean. It's certainly an easy guitar to play.

 

[voggin]

Re: NGD 1997 PRS custom 24

Took it out to jam with a songwriter pal and a drummer. got to play it through my Roland Blues cube artist with the ultimate blues tone capsule in. Left it on the classic marshall-esque channel.

It was very comfortable strapped on. The bridge pickup on humbucking mode had a nice edge, reminded me of a JB I used to have. The neck pickup sounded good, but was a little muddy. In fact, I was surprised at the muddiness, given the position it's in due to the 24 frets. Still, to be fair, we were rehearsing and had limited time, so I didn't bother trying to hard to dial it in. Without any work, they were good to very good, so I'm guessing if I actually get some time to tinker I'll have it dialed in PDQ.

I didn't really get a chance to try the single coil positions, but I accidentally ended up on the bridge single coil, and it had a nice quack. Although I'm not totally sold on the rotary pickup selector switch. Seems like an over-clever solution to a problem no-one had. But I suppose in the early days of PRS they wanted to differentiate themselves from G and F as much as they could, so a unique switching system would have made sense.

Of course, being a SDUGF member, I'm already contemplating the next set of pickups. I think it would take better to something a little hotter than my usual faves (Seths). Maybe a WLH set or the new Saturday night specials. Something in the "PAF-Plus" area. Thoughts?

 

[jeremy]

Re: NGD 1997 PRS custom 24

i bet the sns would be great in that guitar. i assume hfs and vb pups in there now?

 

[SlyFoxx]

Re: NGD 1997 PRS custom 24

Regarding the muddy neck pup. On my C22 I've found that the neck excels at lead playing to the detriment of chords. Each note is so thick that too many (especially low notes) notes can just become indistinct. My solution was to go to position 3 for big rhythm tone where the bridge alone would cut too much. Many players avoid the neck for solos. I use it often.

As for the rotary switch. I got used to it long ago. One nice thing is you'll NEVER accidentally knock it out of position.

 

[Ascension]

Re: NGD 1997 PRS custom 24

View attachment 100173

Sorry about the crap photo.

So, long story short, I recently sold a Les Paul studio, and had some gear money. I also had a tele I never really got along with, but had bought a few years ago because it was a great deal. Took the cash from the LP and traded in the tele for this fella.

Not much wear for a 22 year old guitar. Frets look new. A couple of little dings on the top below the bridge.

My first U.S. PRS. I had an SE years ago. First impression are it plays great. Nice slab of rosewood on the board. The five way knob for pickup selection takes a bit of getting used to. I've only played it through my bedroom rig, as my real one is at my band mates place, but we're rehearsing tomorrow so I'll get to really hear it. First impression of the pickups is the bridge seems pretty hot. They're stock so if anyone knows anything about them, please let me know.

HFS Ceramic in the bridge Vintage Bass Alnico 5 in the neck would be stock. I personally like the set as have the same set up in my 07 Royal Blue Custom 24.

The HFS stands for Hot Fat Screams and is one of the only Ceramic mag bridge pickups I have ever liked. Looks like a nice one congrats!

 

[voggin]

Re: NGD 1997 PRS custom 24

I really like the bridge pickup. And a little tweaking with the eq has done wonders for the neck pu.

Jesus, Ascension, that blue finish is amazing!

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: NGD 1997 PRS custom 24

Love the HFS/VB set. Even the import version in my SE is very good. They’re very sensitive to height adjustment.