prs help

[shane8002]

hey guys just got a 97 paul reed smith 22 custom 5 way rotary switch with stopbar bridge, i want to love this guitar it looks and plays great. I used to use a 04 american strat i had 2 lace sensorsblue/silver and a hot rail in the bridge it sounded great, however the paul reed smith sounds bad. I play through a 2005 hot rod deville 4x10, the prs sounds bad through it. The lower 3 strings sound muddy no definition and the top three and super bright ive adjusted the pickups to really high and tried the bill lawrence method with the nickels i cant get this thing to sound good. I pluggedinto a peavey classic 50 too sounded slightly better but not much diffrence. Any advice guys? I play music for a living and got this as a gift from my dad hate to have it sit in a closet because it playssowell and I love the way it looks. Any other tips from long time prs users would be greatly appreciated.

[prsguitarman101]

It has the Dragon pups right? I have heard nothing but good about them, so I dont know, maybe some others will chime in with some ideas.

[bluefade]

It has the Dragon pups right? I have heard nothing but good about them, so I dont know, maybe some others will chime in with some ideas.

Put on new strings, reset the entire guitar back to factory specs. Be sure to set all the pickup pole pieces back to spec. This will give you a solid starting point to begin your investigation,as to what may be the problem. At the very least, there may be nothing wrong with the guitar that a GOOD TUNEUP won't fix!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[swede71]

When u say bad sounding is that compared to the Strat?What kind of player and sound are you?The custom 22 has a very different midcharacter compared to a strat.I would suggest trying other PRS guitars before spending lots of money on new pickups and parts.Some guitars dont have it.Find one that sounds good through your rig and trade it.One model i find very interesting is the NF3.

[shane8002]

When u say bad sounding is that compared to the Strat?What kind of player and sound are you?The custom 22 has a very different midcharacter compared to a strat.I would suggest trying other PRS guitars before spending lots of money on new pickups and parts.Some guitars dont have it.Find one that sounds good through your rig and trade it.One model i find very interesting is the NF3.

I've always wanted a humbucking mahogany guitar strats sound thin i play a lot of blues jam band and classic rock

[swede71]

Have you tried Eqing the amp differently?Using the crunch channel and using volume knob on guitar for different tonal nuances?More master volume than preamp volume and using less bass concentrating on middle and treble controls.For blues and classic rock i really recommend u experiment with pickup height.You dont want the pickups too close to the strings,especially if the pickup is a high output model.Dont have your action low,raise the strings.As Bluefade says,have it setup and intonated properly.

[vchizzle]

Step 1, as stated, set it up to PRS specs with new strings. Make sure to adjust the pickup height to their recommendations as well. If you don't have experience, have a reputable shop do it(one that is a PRS dealer would be ideal).
There's too many variables as to why it may not sound good. If you start fresh, where it's supposed to be, then you have a starting point to make small changes. If its still sounds bad to you after the initial set-up, it may not be the ideal guitar for you. The Dragon pickups are quite hot, for your style they may not be ideal for the sound you're after.

[Bryan Gunsher]

Does the guitar sounds good when you play it unplugged?
If not then the guitars a dud for you.
If it does sound good unplugged I would consider changing the pick ups.