MusicRadar

The Custom 22/12: a work of art!

1 of 2 » View in gallery

• Review
• Manufacturer's Description

PRS's first production line 12-string has clearly had a difficult birth. We're looking at only the second one to be shipped to the UK – over a year after it was officially launched in January 2004!

Far from a mainstream instrument, the Custom 22/12 aims to be the most luxurious electric 12-string outside of small custom shops. At the other end of PRS's USA line is the bolt-on CE Mahogany, making a welcome return after some five years.

Overview

As a custom guitar maker, Paul Reed Smith's pre-factory career produced a smattering of electric 12s. "I made my first 12-string in about 1977," remembers Smith. "It was a Flying V 12-string for Peter Johnson. The second one was for Al DiMeola," then with Return To Forever; Heart's Nancy Wilson bought a 12-string while both Neil Schon and Carlos Santana purchased 6/12 double-necks.

PRS Guitars made its first electric 12 in 1995, in the Guitars Of The Month programme, a precursor to Private Stock that has produced a small number of one-off 12-strings for well-heeled purchasers.

"Even though there aren't that many, we've made them consistently over nearly a 30-year period," says Smith. Clearly PRS plans to make a lot more as, although it's far from cheap, the production 22/12 costs a lot less than a Private Stock guitar.

Why did PRS decide to bring such a niche instrument into the production line? "Because we believe we're good at it," states Smith, "and because there's a need for good 12-strings. Most available 12-strings are hard to play, and we thought if we did it right, there would be real interest."

Outwardly the Custom 22/12 is simply a 12-string version of the Custom 22, but closer inspection perhaps reveals the reason why it took so long to ship.

Aside from the elongated headstock (around 40mm longer than the six-string), necessary to hold the additional six locking tuners, there's a new nut moulding that had to be designed and produced, a new neck carve, new 12-string pickups, and probably most complex of all: a 12-string version of PRS's adjustable Stop-Tail wrap-over bridge.

The neck – still one-piece – not only has that elongated head but, compared to a wide-fat, is approximately 1.2mm wider at the nut. The depth is virtually identical, and it's approximately 1.5mm wider at the end of the neck.

Didn't PRS feel the need to reinforce the neck? "No, our necks are strong enough," says Smith. "They're built of very high-quality, stiff mahogany. Historically, electric 12-strings usually have exceptionally heavy gauge strings. We have a custom set on these guitars that sound great but don't pull like steel cables. In addition, our double action truss rod works great."

That custom gauge runs from the .010-.046-inch (the normal strings), then the top two are doubled (.010, .013) and the octave strings are .009, .012, .017 with ? nally a wound .022.Combined with a slightly flatter fingerboard radius, and those 12 strings of course, the 22/12 is quite a handful compared to a six-string Custom – but as a 12-string it's a revelation.