Celebrity Death Match: Yamaha Weddington Custom vs. PRS Custom 24
Life slowed down enough this past week that I had time to kick back and play guitar for a little while each evening, which was a refreshing change. I took the opportunity to pull my ‘89 PRS Custom 24 out of it’s trusty case and play it back to back against my Yamaha Weddington Custom, trying to zero in on the differences I picked up on in my earlier comparisons. I also wanted to revisit the Weddington in particular since I’m growing more familiar with how it works and how it sounds.
Perhaps the most noticeable difference between the two guitars is the weight. Pick up the Weddington and you know you’re hefting a fair bit of weight. I don’t have a scale at home, so I don’t know exactly how much but it’s clearly heavier than the PRS but I wouldn’t be surprised to find it weighs in at close to 10lbs.. Chalk the weight difference in construction, especially the thickness of the body. The Weddington Custom is similar to a vintage Les Paul with about 2” of mahogany capped by about 5/8” of maple compared to the Custom 24’s thinner mahogany body and slightly thinner maple cap. Another factor is the neck—the PRS’ neck is single, slim piece of mahogany while the Weddington Custom’s neck is a five-piece maple and mahogany laminate. Despite the increased heft, the Weddington is a very comfortable guitar. I don’t know that I’d want it strapped over my shoulder for an entire day, but the weight disappeared once I had it in place. Another noteworthy difference is that the Weddington “fits” more comfortably when I’m sitting down. The instruments seems to balance better on my leg, with the heavier neck and headstock balancing against the lower bout so that it doesn’t move or even feel uncomfortable. The PRS, on the other hand, seems to be a bit unbalanced, with more weight in the lower bout; the result is the neck inches up gradually. Not a big deal, but I’ve found that PRS’s with either heavier necks (like the maple necked CEs, and rosewood necked McCartys) or lighter bodies (especially the Hollow Body Spruce) balance better. Balance and feel are personal preferences, of course, but the Weddington just works better for me.
Another area where I prefer the Weddington Custom is the controls. After using both guitars for the week, I came to appreciate a couple of things about the Weddington Custom. First, the five-way blade switch is easier to use than the Custom 24’s rotary switch. You can tell at a glance which position is set, while I often found myself changing the pickup selector on the PRS just to figure out where I was. Guys who play PRS’ on a regular basis obviously figure out the small numbering on the knob, but for me the blade switch was easier to use. I also greatly preferred having separate volume controls for each pickup as it allowed me to blend the two pickup on any of the middle three pickup settings. This was a bit of a light bulb going off over my head discovery—silly, perhaps, but I never really “got” this until last month when I figured out how much I could extend the sonic palette of this guitar just by rolling on or off the volume controls. Interestingly, while I thought individual volume controls were a boon, separate tone controls did nothing for me. Anytime I started to roll off the either tone control, I felt like I was missing something. Using the individual volume controls to vary the sound worked much better. On the PRS Custom 24, the “sweet switch” worked well and I had a lot of fun trying it with different pickup settings, though sometimes the effect was subtle.
One other physical difference stood out between the two guitars: the necks. I need to measure the Custom 24’s neck to make sure, but I believe it is what PRS a “regular.” It is slightly thinner at the nut than any other neck I’ve played on recently. And, to be blunt, I don’t like it. If I were to play this guitar in a store today, I would admire its beautiful quilted top and amazing workmanship, then I would put it back on the rack and try something else. In fact, I think that the neck is one thing that keeps from playing and enjoying this guitar more than I do. I much prefer PRS’ wide-fat necks. The neck on the Yamaha, on the other hand, is good. Maybe not the best neck I’ve ever had in my hands, but it’s comfortable and plays well. The nut is a bit larger, and the profile a little different (more of a flattened “D” shape maybe?), but it works for me and that’s what counts.
This is all secondary to the real test—how each instrument sounds. Here I will stand by my original thoughts, but with some minor revisions. The PRS’ pickups are hotter (HFS, anyone?) and more articulate, and the guitar sounds great for modern, high-gain humbucking tones. String-to-string articulation is much better than on the Weddington Custom, especially the neck pickup. I’m convinced that the Benedetto neck pickup that’s installed in my Weddington Custom is one of the guitar’s weakest points; it might be good for smooth, round jazz tones, but it leaves much to be desired for blues and rock. The PRS’ bridge pickup really screams, as you’d expect from a ceramic magnet ‘bucker, and it can easily push my Ceriatone DC30 into overdrive. Good stuff on the EF86-flavored channel. Very good indeed. The Weddington Custom, on the other hand, has a more vintage flavored bridge pickup. Not exactly PAF, but more laid-back and warmer compared to the PRS. Running both pickups on the PRS is great, but the Yamaha goes a step further by offering the more tonal range simply by rolling back the individual volume controls. Want it a bit brighter? Roll off the neck pickup. A bit more overdriven grind? Dial the neck pickup all the way up and roll off the bridge pickup to suit.
Shift gears a bit and go from pure humbucking pickups to split single-coil coil mode and things get even more interesting. The PRS in any of the split single-coil modes sounds a bit tamer, a bit clearer, a bit quieter (a drop in volume)... and a bit more lifeless. The problem isn’t that the PRS’ split single-coil modes are bad, but that the Yamaha’s are just better. I don’t know that I can explain the differences well, but to my ears, the Yamaha’s “in-between” positions come much closer to a Strat in with the pickup selector set to both the neck + middle or bridge + middle pickups. The bridge + middle mode is sharper and a bit more raw, and the neck + middle mode is a great setup for thicker overdriven blues tones. These are the tones that I love so this is a big deal for me. Here too, I found that I could adjust the individual volume controls to control how the guitar sound and I really liked the tonal palette that I could dial up easily. I should probably work on expanding my own tonal palette, but these sounds just felt ‘right’ to me.
So, do we have a winner? Hard to say. The PRS’ neck just doesn’t work well for me, and that’s a tough issue to overlook. The Weddington is a heavy guitar, but is balances well. The PRS is also a beautiful to guitar. It feels like it plays, very fast, powerful and responsive. I love how the Custom 24 screams and the high-gain humbucking sounds are great, but split single-coil sounds just don’t work as well for me. Throw in the versatility afforded by the separate volume controls and the Weddington Custom gets the nod.
Comments
Byron, you’re right - both are very well constructed and Yamaha doesn’t give up anything to PRS in this area. I’m also surprised that other manufacturers haven’t adopted a neck-to-body joint similar to the Weddington’s since it’s an excellent design.
In terms of resonance, the PRS does feel a bit more “alive” in my hands if that’s what you mean. I suspect that this may be due at least in part to the difference in body thickness—the Weddington is a lot thicker than any PRS—but there may be other factors at work.
Great review. I do not personally own a PRS but do own all 3 Weddington models as well as a variety of other guitars. In my opinion the Weddingtons will hold their own to any guitar in a price range up to 100% higher in cost. I believe they are the most versatile guitars made as far as tone goes using passive electronics. Yamaha did a fine job of combining wood and electronics. The finish on all three models is superb.
The Custom easily stacks up to my Les Paul Custom and Warrior Isabella, guitars costing much much more. To be honest the Classic does too. My Custom has a cherry red figured maple top with a nice slab of mahogany in the back. Classic Les Paul vibe but with very realistic single coil sounds using the blade switch. The Classic has a red metal flake type finish so you cannot see the beauty of the wood but it really stands out. It also has excellent tone. The Special doesn’t have the carved maple cap but is made of a beautiful piece of mahogany and has great tones out of its pickups. I would easily match this instrument up to guitars costing much more. The finish work on this “budget” instrument compares to high end guitars.
These guitars are all “keepers” and will remain in my arsenal until they are pried from my hands! If you have never tried 70s to 90s middle to high end Yamahas you owe it to yourself to take the plunge. The SG2000 put Yamaha on the map and is a very fine instrument too but the more “modern” features on the Weddingtons push the envelope a step further.
To be fair to PRS I have played a 3 soapbar pickup McCarty with a butt ugly top on it that was one of the nicest playing and sounding guitars I have ever played. Wish I had bought it when I had the chance. Would have been interesting to stand it up to the Weddingtons.
ha! a very interesting comparison, thanks for sharing your thoughts. I play a custom 22 and a weddington custom, and have often mentally pitted them against one another more than a few times! pickups aside, i think the construction is pretty comparable, with the weddington sporting a few standout features that I think should have caught on like wildfire in the guitar making community. plus, with the roseburst finish, it’s an absolute stunner. However, I’ve never quite gotten the same resonance out of it that I feel in the PRS- despite the prs having a floating bridge. Any thoughts as to why this might be, or possible recommemdations? If I could get the weddington to sing like the PRS, i’d sell the prs and pick up another weddington (perhaps a classic?) in a second!