What is an 1999 PRS Custom 22 worth?

Trippp

Worded differently - If you had an opportunity to buy one - what would you expect to pay for one?

Serial no: 9 40534 - if that helps

Update 1: OK - sorry - from the serial number it seems like it is 1999, not 1989

Update 2: Sheesh - maybe I should start from scratch. This might not even be a CE ...

Let's rather start with - can anyone identify the guitar in the picture - if not - is there anything more I can give to help?

Bob-Dubery

Well it is mint? Or has it been hacked open, resprayed out of a tin, had a bigsby and a couple of Teisco pickups bolted on?

Trippp

ok ... just saw the 9 can either mean 1989 or 1999

I will see the guitar up close tonight only, but you can find a (bad) picture here:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10860790/PRS.jpg

I have some other pics as well - it doesn't look like there is any damage, it is just very dirty. Been sitting in a box for years and I think some cement dust from building an addition to the guys house found it's way inside and settled on the pickups and everywhere.

domhatch

ok, so with that serial, it's definitely a '99. have a look:

http://www.prsguitars.com/csc/year.html

scroll down to 'set-neck serial numbers'.

the serial would also seem to suggest it's not a CE, as they have a different serial numbering system. (scroll down a little further.) a CE would be prefixed by a '7' or the letters 'CE'.

without being able to look closer, my guess is that what you have there could very well be a custom 22 (i prefer the set-neck to the bolt-on anyway). i have a 2002 custom 22 and it looks very similar. i'm sure someone with better knowledge of these guitars could offer you a better guess.

it looks like a nice top - probably maple with a tobacco burst or something similar. but i'd be careful of all the dust, especially if, as you say, it's gotten into the electronics. you may have to replace / have a lot of work done from pots to pups, not to mention the potential damage even fine dust can do to the finish. be careful wiping the guitar tonight if it's not necessary.

good luck
dh

Trippp

Thanks Dom.

Here is another pic - close-up of the pickups. Maybe it's not cement dust?

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10860790/PRS2.jpg

domhatch

hmm. i have wear on my pup covers that's quite similar to this, but it's more uniform in nature. what's also interesting is the wear on the trem unit. mine is a stoptail, and there's less noticeable wear, but i haven't really peered that closely at it of late - plus it hasn't been playing dust magnet for the last few years.

you have to remember that cosmetic stuff is just that - cosmetic. if it doesn't affect the tone or playability of the guitar, it could help you out as a purchaser. you could end up buying a beautiful instrument for a bit less than what you would otherwise pay, because of a few scratches and/or blemishes etc, which detract from it in no other way whatsoever.

best thing to do - go have a look. and i think the trem is an option on that model, if it is, in fact, a c22.

again, good luck
dh

Trippp

A slightly better photo:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10860790/IMAG0145.jpg

No-one willing to make a price? It's for sale - if I don't want it - you could get it ?

I was wrong about the cement dust - that was an assumption I made from the first pics provided.
I've opened the guitar and it is spotless inside - all the eletronics works perfectly as well.

aubs1

I may be wrong, but just an observation ...... don't the "Customs" come standard with "birds"?

domhatch

Aubs1 wrote: I may be wrong, but just an observation ...... don't the "Customs" come standard with "birds"?

Aubs, if i read things right, the original custom 22s were a derivation of the dragon 1, and were offered with the birds as an option. no special insight here, just looking thru the prs site. ? i think you are correct with current customs, which are 24-fretters, but i'm no expert...

dh

MoJo-JoJoe

Tiaan I replied to your PM with my mobile number if you'd like to chat about anything. It's def a '99 Custom 22. The tuners look to have been changed from "phase 1" winged locking tuners to the more recent "phase 2" locking tuners with the top-down locking screw. An improvement for most people. Also, the saddles have been swapped for StringSaver Ferro-glides according to your pic. Colour is Tobacco Burst and it looks like a very nice top for that year - possibly a 10-top (if so it will have a "10" written on the back of the headstock in the upper-right corner). Original pickups would be Dragon II pickups which are quite versatile. Good luck with the negotiations. I'd suggest (without an in-hand appraisal) that a figure between 16k and 20k would be fair.

- MJJJ

domhatch

MoJo JoJoe wrote: The tuners look to have been changed from "phase 1 winged locking tuners to the more recent phase 2 locking tuners with the top-down locking screw. An improvement for most people.

+1. had those things on my old standard 22. just could never get the hang of them. to be honest, never could get the hang of locking tuners per se. each to their own i guess, but the phase 2s are a humungous improvement on the phase 1s.

good luck
dh

Trippp

MoJo JoJoe wrote: Tiaan I replied to your PM with my mobile number if you'd like to chat about anything. It's def a '99 Custom 22. The tuners look to have been changed from "phase 1" winged locking tuners to the more recent "phase 2" locking tuners with the top-down locking screw. An improvement for most people. Also, the saddles have been swapped for StringSaver Ferro-glides according to your pic. Colour is Tobacco Burst and it looks like a very nice top for that year - possibly a 10-top (if so it will have a "10" written on the back of the headstock in the upper-right corner). Original pickups would be Dragon II pickups which are quite versatile. Good luck with the negotiations. I'd suggest (without an in-hand appraisal) that a figure between 16k and 20k would be fair.

- MJJJ

I haven't come around to give you a tring-tring - so let met just quickly post to say thanks a bundle for your help - I will call you shortly.