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MGR/BonBon « Paul Reed Smith CE 22 »
Published on 09/07/04 at 15:00I had this guitar special ordered new by Guitarville in Seattle for $1,575. I'd seen new and used CE 22s and they were all beautiful. But I didn't come across a solid black one like I'd hoped. So I ordered one. 3 months later, it was in my hot little hands.
The first thing I noticed about the CE 22 was how wonderful it felt to play. Moving across the fretboard, bending strings, and playing bar chords all felt smooth and effortless. More than any electric I'd played. The wide-fat neck gives my frethand a sturdy grip and allows for quick movement. The Dragon II pickups are nothing short of stunning. Such full sound and versatility. The 5 way rotary pickup selector takes a little getting used to, but once familiar with it, switching tones is easy. I've been a strat man my whole life and am not really into the heaviness Gibsons. So it was nice to discover PRS's warm midrange sound that is a nice contrast to my strat's sharper sound. And my PRS is GORGEOUS!!! Black is Beautiful!
The only thing that threw me off a little about this guitar was the locking tuners on the headstock. Changing the strings for the first time was kind of a pain and I'm still not used to it. But I suppose a little more experience is all I need.
Solidly built! Before buying I was able to view the Paul Reed Smith DVD that gives you the factory tour. Nearly every step in constructing their guitars is done by hand. And they give the impression that their quality control standards are incredibly strict. I enjoyed viewing the step by step process of how my guitar was built. And now that I've been playing it, I'm very impressed with how sturdy it is and how terrific it sounds. Even after lots of string bending and whammy bar torquing, the thing stays in tune. Wow.
I'm very pleased with my gorgeous black beauty! At first the price tag seemed a little steep, but the more I play the more I feel my money was very well spent. I guess I would recommend looking for a used one if you wanted to spend a little less money. But if you've got your heart set on a specific color, good luck finding it used. Because everytime I saw a good deal on a used CE 22, it sold pretty quickly.
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com
The first thing I noticed about the CE 22 was how wonderful it felt to play. Moving across the fretboard, bending strings, and playing bar chords all felt smooth and effortless. More than any electric I'd played. The wide-fat neck gives my frethand a sturdy grip and allows for quick movement. The Dragon II pickups are nothing short of stunning. Such full sound and versatility. The 5 way rotary pickup selector takes a little getting used to, but once familiar with it, switching tones is easy. I've been a strat man my whole life and am not really into the heaviness Gibsons. So it was nice to discover PRS's warm midrange sound that is a nice contrast to my strat's sharper sound. And my PRS is GORGEOUS!!! Black is Beautiful!
The only thing that threw me off a little about this guitar was the locking tuners on the headstock. Changing the strings for the first time was kind of a pain and I'm still not used to it. But I suppose a little more experience is all I need.
Solidly built! Before buying I was able to view the Paul Reed Smith DVD that gives you the factory tour. Nearly every step in constructing their guitars is done by hand. And they give the impression that their quality control standards are incredibly strict. I enjoyed viewing the step by step process of how my guitar was built. And now that I've been playing it, I'm very impressed with how sturdy it is and how terrific it sounds. Even after lots of string bending and whammy bar torquing, the thing stays in tune. Wow.
I'm very pleased with my gorgeous black beauty! At first the price tag seemed a little steep, but the more I play the more I feel my money was very well spent. I guess I would recommend looking for a used one if you wanted to spend a little less money. But if you've got your heart set on a specific color, good luck finding it used. Because everytime I saw a good deal on a used CE 22, it sold pretty quickly.
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com