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The physical condition is 9.95 on a scale of total perfection.  It is free of scratches, dents, dings, fret ware, tarnish, chips of bumps of any kind.  Some but certainly not all of the guitars from the early 2000's have been known to experience a cloudy hazing of the polyurethane clear coat over time.  This is one of them and the asking price has been reduced accordingly.  So, let's start there.

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Enlarge and consider all twenty-four of the photos as you consider this fabulous instrument.  I've seen guitars from this era with a stronger presence of hazed clear coat than this one and some with even less.  At twenty-two years old, perhaps the clear coat has stabilized as seen in the photographs provided (primarily photos #3, #14 and #15).  If you feel that it's a concern, there are things that can be done about it.  More about that below. 

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The gold hardware shines and the Rosewood fretboard is accented very nicely by the rich abalone bird inlays.  The action is low and the frets show absolutely no wear at all.  Equipped with gold cover Dragon II pickups, which were standard issue in Custom 22’s since they were first developed for the late 1990’s guitars.  Comes with its gold tremolo bar and the leather-bound Artist case with gold combination latches.  The case is also in brand new condition. 

 

I've been gigging Custom 24's continuously since the 90's.  This Custom 22 makes me wonder if I should have perhaps given the model a better look a long time ago.  The string bending feels slinkier on a 22 fret neck and the harmonics jump right off the strings into the amp.  I'm really impressed with the tone and playability this piece.   

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PRS has a program at the factory to remove the original clear coat and replace it with a clear Nitro finish.  I've seen some examples of their work and the guitars are essentially perfect when they come out of the PRS Tech Center.  If you're the original owner (which I am not), they do it for free.  For non-original owners they quoted me $700 for the service.  I have discounted the asking price by over $1000 to more than cover the cost of having the clear coat service completed.  Alternatively, this is also an opportunity for you to get an exquisite Custom 22 Artist in a special run color and simply take advantage of the discount.  Enlarge and review all of the photographs to see the value in this beautiful and sonic PRS flamethrower just as it is.

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I’m a working (weekend) musician who has bought, owned, gigged and sold over 300 different PRS guitars of all models since 2001.  This is a super clean Custom 22 Artist Package guitar in a limited run (40 guitars) Raspberry finish.  The certificate posted to the photo's is not for this particular guitar.  The previous owner didn't provide it or perhaps didn't have it to give.  I found this certificate of another Raspberry Artist Custom 22 online, from the same PRS Academy run.     

 

 

A Word About Core PRS Guitars:

 

PRS has always made great guitars and they still do today.  From 1985 until 2002, all PRS guitars were core PRS guitars.  The 2001 Santana III was their first model created as a second-tier instrument.  Basically, a financial decision to explore a lower price point in the market.  A thinner body blank with no inlays, lesser parts, cheaper pickups and under-whelming neck inlays.  Through the mid 2000’s the core line developed and increased production of premium Artist Package Custom 22’s and Custom 24’s.  At that time PRS also jumped heavily into the development of the S2 (second tier) and SE (third tier) builds, which have since been off-shored and represent the largest part of their business.  These guitars are essentially made by two different companies creating two different families of instruments.  Theres the cores in one family and everything else in the other, not to mention the Wood Library pieces (comparable to the 2000’s Artist Package guitars) or of course Private Stock, both in a league of their own.  I’ve played some rather impressive SE’s that were pleasantly above my expectation for their price point.  I’ve encountered some planks too.  In the Forums I see a lot of SE’s with problems right off the rack or that have been so modified by their owner, they could have just bought a core PRS to begin with. PRS still regards the new CE-24 as a core model, but they are less than one-half the guitar that core CE’s were from 1995 to 2016 and one-quarter the guitar that the pre-factory alder body CE-24’s are.  The body blank is thinner (less mass, easier to build and to finish), loaded with second tier parts and come with a gig bag for $2,500 bucks.  The internet is full of rock-solid core customs in that price range (with a hard case).  Used CE’s, even pre-factory CE’s which I consider to be among the best guitars PRS ever built, can be found for under two grand with a hard case.  Those second and third tier guitars lose what value they had quickly.  The new core guitars are fabulous instruments, but sticker north of five grand and will be worth far less in 4-5 years.  If you’re casually looking here out of curiosity, while thinking more seriously about buying your sixth SE in a different color, your third S2 or a new CE-24, give some thought and consideration to stepping up from what you’ve already got plenty of already.  If necessary, you could sell any two of those and find a rock solid Core like this Academy Special PRS Artist Package in their place.  Just the opinion of a PRS enthusiast that has bought, sold, owned and gigged over 300 PRS guitars across the last 25 years.

 

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Please be sure to take a moment and click here to look at my ABOUT page. or access it from the top menu bar.  I encourage even the smallest of questions so always feel free to e-mail me any time.  Over 140 of my online feedback ratings are from PRS guitar sales.

 

This guitar is also listed on sites with a starting price of $350 more than I'm asking here on my site, just to put a dent in the seller fees they would charge me for a transaction there. 

 

Why pay more than you have to?  Check my feedback and buy it here.  It may be gone soon.  Send me an e-mail and we'll talk.  

 

                       If you've come to this page directly through an organic Google search, click this link to see                              a list of all the guitars I currently have for sale before leaving this page.

 

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$2,200 Includes Ground shipping to the lower 48

 

I recently heard someone a lot smarter than I am say: 

"Life is short..... Buy the guitar".