The idea was to produce a regular sounding PRS electric, but with the addition of sounding like an acoustic when you switch from the regular pickups to the piezo system.
PRS aren’t new to piezo use – they’ve had them in their hollowbody models for over 10 years now. To produce the new piezo system, PRS got back together with LR Baggs who worked on the original system, to reduce the circutry to a small enough size to fit into a solid body guitar.
I’ve listened to seveal demo recordings of the new PRS P22, and I’m totally convinced by the piezo ‘acoustic’ sound it produces.
The PRS 22’s regular features are up to Paul Reed Smith’s usual standards: maple top, mahogany back, mahogany neck with a 22 fret rosewood fingerboard (25″ scale), and 53/10 humbucking pickups.
“The ability to blend in an acoustic sound along with whatever electric tone you are recording would be a game changer in certain situations. I noticed that it really helped the notes ring clearly through the haze, which is a tough thing to accomplish in a complex mix sometimes. I could see it becoming my go-to session guitar, and I’ll be one of the first in line when it comes out!,” said Grammy Award-winning Producer and Engineer Don McCollister after a recording session with the P22.
This video was release by Paul Reed Smith just before the guitar was launched at NAMM:
No word on the price yet – but it is expected to begin shipping within the next couple of months.
The full specs are available at prsguitars.com/p22/specs.php
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Well, that’s just awesome!
I have one question:is this some similar system Epiphone used on their ultra series (I don’t mention the difference in quality, sound, cost, etc) ?
i.e. do you have to plug it into an acoustic amp and can you switch during the playing between the piezo and the normal pickups with some kind of switch or do you need those A/B footswitch?