TTK, great job of researching and presenting this. Best job I'[ve seen on this topic. I much prefer the deeper more rich tones of the 22 fret. The difference was obvious during the demo. I actually didn't know which was which till I went back after choosing the one I liked most.
@@jesuzleonardo Almost no issues. If you bought a say, Warmoth Strat replacement neck, the only issue you might run into is the placement of your neck pickup. As TK noted about the PRS 24 fret guitar, the neck pickup has to move a little forward toward the bridge to accommodate the extra length of the 24 fret fingerboard. Would be the same on a traditional Strat. Go to Warmoth.com and you'll find this info there. Hope this helps.
The 24 fret is brighter and that is a good thing. You can always use the tone control to roll it off. I find the 22 fret guitars are too warm for me, especially on the wound strings.
I was an employee at PRS down in beautiful bayside Stevensville, working in the finishing department (I'd still be working there, but they didn't pay enough and I couldn't afford to wait some 15-20 years, working my way through the production stations to raise my luthiery skills and salary.. During the 2016 PRS Experience expo/concert at the factory, I had a conversation with Paul over some beers about this very issue. I told him I was a 22-fret man, always was. I see in this video you spoke to him at NAMM, but he was speaking to a customer, which is very different than speaking to his own people. He told me that he felt the same way, and strongly at that. He said that he wouldn't even produce 24-fret models but for the extreme demand for them, and PRS Guitars is a business after all. As for the birds, one extra detail not mentioned is that all the species are native to Maryland. We are very proud of what we do.
LOL... damn I knew this 20 years ago. I've tried to tell people many times. If a guitar has a certain scale, 22 or 24 are exactly the same except the 24 fret just goes farther into the body pushing the neck pickup closer to the bridge, that's it. I don't see how it's rocket science. :)
Ron Padgett ; Exactly! And I can't believe any experienced guitar player doesn't know that the 22th fret is at the exact center of the scale length. I love 24 frets because to me it makes sense to have a full 2 octaves than to save 3/4" or so of wood! Neck position pickups aren't so much fatter sounding so much as there is more string movement at the base if the neck than at the bridge - so the bridge pickup needs to be hotter. I'm not even all that experienced and I've know this stuff since the late 79s, early 80s. And I'm not even that bright.
Its not just the neck pick up tone that is different but it also affects the 'middle' switch option with both pick-ups on. Because they are further apart in a 22, you get a bigger 'difference' between the two pick-ups which also affects the tone when playing with both pick-ups together. If you also have coil splits, this affects the tone of any selection that uses the neck pick-up - whether that's on its own (H or S) or in combination with the bridge(H or S). The only tone that is the same is when using the bridge pick-up on its own. That's not to say that one guitar is 'better' because its neck pick-up is closer/further away, but that it changes the majority of tones available. The 24 is a bit brighter, more articulate in the neck but the 24 is warmer so it depends on what you prefer, want or need...
Well, i can't understand why ppl dislike this video, because he's telling knowledge some of you did know before. In my case, i was thankful for this information, because i was never into a 24 guitar and so i didn't know it. What i can understand is, that ppl want to hear a clean tone comparison. It's much more easier to hear the difference and character of each guitar. Thumbs up for information. But i guess no mystery
Thanks for this info. it's SUPER useful for me. I'm planning of getting PRS P22. After watching this video, I won't do it because I prefer the sound of 24 frets PRS. Beside that, I think having two extra frets is an advantage. Because I can still play that guitar as a 22 frets guitar. But, I can't do the opposite with 22 frets guitar.
Great info! I have to admit to liking the fatter sound of the 22 neck pick up. I have always been a fan of the Les Paul, and therefor a 22 fret guitar, because of the fatter, fuller, deeper sound. This experiment just proved it for me. Thanks!
It's a shame to see people criticising this guy for not knowing this stuff earlier. So what? We learn new things every day. And very few of us actually bother to help others with the new information to enable them for better decision making...especially today when most musicians (read guitarists) are busy sizing each other up on knowledge, skills and gear, rather than enjoying music. And here we are posting toxic comments on a helpful video...wow! Some of us are totally making the most of our time. So considerate and not at all insecure of us to be doing that.
Its not a helpful video, he outlines the absolute fundamentals of how a 24 fret neck works and then plays both guitars with so much distortion its pointless.
Well done video. I'm glad you took the time to explain what all guitar players should already know about scale length, the 12th fret and fret spacing. I am also glad you got that 24th fret tone in there. I was afraid I wasn't going to get to hear the screech owl.
Here's a little tone science for everyone concerning pickups: When Ted McCarty designed the Les Paul, he chose the 24.75 scale and 22 fret setup for a tonal reason. It allowed the neck pickup to be placed at the end of the fretboard WHILE being directly under a natural harmonic node. This is part of the reason Les Paul's have that sweet creamy neck pickup sound. While there are additional harmonic nodes moving towards the bridge, they are not as rich. Given the 25" scale length, PRS guitars, regardless of the number of frets, cannot place their neck pickup perfectly at the same harmonic node. This is a throwback concept that Fender might not have been fully aware of because of his lack of history with acoustic guitars; Gibson was aware of the importance of harmonic nodes because traditionally that's how they determined the best placement for centering the sound hole on an acoustic guitar. When PRS came along with the concept of blending a Strat and Les Paul, the perfect pickup placement was a compromise that he had to lose in order to find middle ground with their scales.
Dustin 2112 actually Leo Fender specifically originally designed Fenders with 21 frets because he believed that the pickup placement with a 21 fret neck was superior in tone to a 22. They all have reasons for doing what they did, each believing they had the superior design and tone. Me personally I don't hear a huge difference.
Norval Wallen I'm not saying I agree with what Leo Fender said or that I think like he did, just pointing out that he had reasons for his designs like PRS and Gibson and he did know some stuff about tone and pickup placement and all that
Excellent observation. What some folks miss about music is that it is all about math; and harmonics. My intuition was correct, thanks for validating that :D
Why are you trying to show subtle distinctions between the guitars with a massively processed, over-driven and distorted channel going? That kind of defeats the whole purpose as characteristics of the amp are overwhelming characteristics of the guitars there. For the love of God, ditch the effects and just use a lower powered amp where you can get just enough on the verge of over-driving it but still let the guitar do it's thing. Your demo setup now would make a $150 guitar sound indistinguishable from your beautiful PRS's
In distortion based music the difference is not in sound which is 90% pick-up\amp settings but in balance, weight, ability of stay in tune that make the big difference from a 200 $ and a 1500$ guitar
Wrong. A cheap 150 dollar guitar does not sou d like a 10k PRS no matter the amount of processing. If you can't hear the difference get your ears checked.
@@chrisking6695 Yeah no kidding. The difference between the two guitars demonstrated in the video was completely obvious and distinct. Apparently this guy couldn't hear the difference due to all the signal processing LOL.
The 12th fret is always the midway point of the scale length regardless of how many frets are on the fingerboard. This is why you get harmonics on it. The length of the string is halved so a natural harmonic occurs.
you know what's really funny about the whole 22/24 fret thing? any non guitarist listener could give two craps haha. I've never ever had someone say my tone was too shrill or my harmonics weren't right because I have a 24 fret guitar. or that it sounded too muddy because of my 22 fret guitar. I have however heard that my neon pink guitar does not match my black metal band haha. in the studio it may make a difference, but not as big of a difference as single coil vs humbucker, active vs passive etc.
Great vid, I went for the Custom 24 because I felt it retained the PRS style [rather than their Les Paul shape] whilst also having something different with the 24 frets, to tonely make it distinct from some of my other guitars.
If you just look at the two instruments, you will see that on the Custom 22, the upper body cut-away meets the neck at the 20th fret and on the Custom 24 it meets the body at the 22 fret. The neck is set more FORWARD on the Custom 24, and the neck pickups are in the EXACT SAME POSITION on the body. On the Custom 22, the bridge pickup and bridge itself is located slightly more back to the rear or, v.v, on the Custom 24 the bridge pickup and bridge are both located slightly more forward. this is so easy to see that it doesn't even require measurement.
To sum up:a 24 fret,double humbucker guitar,sound's a little bit ''brighter'',because the humbuckers are closer together,like the other comment says,the neck pickup is now closer to the bridge,but you gain a couple of octaves,from the 2 extra frets.A 22 fret guitar,sound's a little more ''full'' because the humbuckers have more space between them. In the end it comes down to personal preference,if you play a lot down the neck,a 24 fret guitar may be more up your alley.
22 vs 24, as it relates to pickup tone, is like a Les Paul vs an SG because the SG neck pickup is located closer to the bridge than the Les Paul, even though both have 22 frets. Similar tonal differences are obtained between a Strat Neck and a Strat Middle pickup. Do take some cautions when comparing two guitars, the electronics effect the resonant frequency of the pickups and pots alone can vary 20% and caps can vary 10% and all still be 'in spec'... That's like imagining the controversy of one guitar being a foot longer or shorter than the other.
The neck pickup is farther away from the actual bridge. So the strings are able to have a larger diameter sine wave circle of vibration and hence you hear a looser tone. Note that the strings can not vibrate at the attachment point to the bridge since the bridge acts like an anchor. Hence the bridge pup being closer to that anchor point the strings have a smaller diameter vibration circle sine wave and sound tighter but not as loud. So on the 24 the neck since the pick pup is 3/4" closer to the anchor point at the bridge and this means the vibration diameter sine wave circle is slightly smaller= tighter in diameter and it sounds tighter. That's really what is happening here. Play an acoustic guitar and pluck the strings very close to the bridge. You will notice a sharper, brighter but shorter sound period than if you pluck the strings over the sound hole or a few inches above the fingerboard and closer to the middle of the string. Here you will here a more soft and mellow tone and the tone will last longer. Flamenco guitarists play very close to the bridge when they pluck the strings in order to get that fast and crisp sound. Opposite that, have you ever noticed Kieth Richards often plays (plucks) the strings above the finger board far away from the bridge and actually above the finger board instead of the pup's, almost but not exactly at the strings mid-point? He does that for a reason, as described above.
Great stuff Tone King. Some people say that, on a 22 fret guitar, the neck pickup screw coil is positioned directly under the harmonic node located at the virtual 24th fret location. They also say that this gives the best blend of harmonics since it's at a natural harmonic location. Supposedly this makes more of a difference with clean tones. Some models work around this issue by putting a single coil sized HB in the neck position of a 24 fret guitar (look at the Satriani model). The neck position in a 24 fret guitar will sound less boomy, or "swollen" mostly because, the closer it gets to the bridge, the less string vibration there is to pick up. I prefer 22 frets for tones from clean to slightly overdriven and either for high-gain stuff.
If you’re going to be playing any jazz I’d pick the 22 fret model for sure :) I like the tone of the neck pickup on the 22 fret much better. Just my 2 cents ✌️❤️🎸
I own many Gibbo 22 fret Standards. I also own various other 22 fret axes. I am almost 60 years old and have not fallen in love for the past 40 of them. I think though, that I have fallen in love with the 24 fret PRS. Thanks for the review, Colin. Wales UK
Wow! I am glad I watched this. You totally changed my mind about the PRS 24. I had made up my mind to buy a 22 to scratch my Les Paul itch. If all tone controls were equal in this demo, I really liked the neck pup tone on the 24 better. I assume there was no difference in the bending ease on either guitar? Thanks for the lesson..
Most players don’t realize the effect pickup placement has on the plugged in tone of a guitar. The difference can range from subtle to significant, depending on the ears of the person playing the instrument. After hearing demonstrations of both the SE 22 and SE 24 I realized I prefer the SE 22; the bass pickup is the most traditional sounding to my ears. Both are great instruments for their price point. Thanks for posting.
For all of you guys complaining about playing with distortion for the demo....maybe some people want to hear the difference if played with overdrive/high gain. This video did a good job of showing there IS a difference between the two guitars when played under high gain.
Stands to reason Dickey Betts being one of the first players to change over from a Paul to play one ,The 24 gives more bending ability , that’s it , and two more slide frets of course.
I have the 24 and I purchased it right after I heard Mr. Bosco France play a few Blues riffs on it! Distortion is good, but I think one could hear more of the differences with some Clean settings as well, that’s what sold me on the 24.
Simple. If the scale length is the same, a 22 fret guitar (versus a 24) has more space to put the neck pickup further up the neck (away from the bridge). So it's a brighter sound. That, and of course, two fewer frets. There's no mystery, that's it.
Interesting that one of the differences between the classic Les Paul and SG was that in the latter, the neck pick up is further back and nearer to the bridge pick up, making it a rockier sound.
I just bought the 24 SE custom and my roomie bought the 22. I think that the 24 for me seems to fit me better. I got the Trampas green which I think just looks awesome. The gig bag that came with it is top notch as far as gig bag's are concerned. I am not rich, so buying a top of the line PRS is just way out of my price range, which is cool that they have the SE series priced at a level that I can afford and still have a great guitar. I am used to playing an Epiphone sheraton 2 pro and although I love that guitar, the PRS is just so much better of a fit for me, and it plays so smooth and nice that I have now demoted the Sheraton from my main guitar. I play blues and jazz and this guitar is like butter, and when I am in the mood to shred this is the bomb. I can't say enough good thing's about this guitar. I am going to splurge on a CE next time.
Thx so much for this TK! I have a Custom 24 SE, and sooooooo happy about it ! However, I was always wondering if i should have got the 22. I thought the extra 2 fretts were worth the trade-off, but i always had a doubt about the tone. Now, with this vid, i know that i'm loosing nothing with a 24 fretts. Which makes me love my guitar even more !!!!! THANK YOU
In terms of pure physics, the tonal difference between a 22-fret and a 24-fret guitar is where your harmonic "dead zones" are - the bits where the string won't be vibrating for certain natural harmonics. In particular, the harmonic at 1/4 of the string's length (aka the 5th fret) has a dead-zone directly over where the 24th fret is - makes sense as it's the same note that happens when you play a natural harmonic there, or just fret the note. On a 22-fret guitar, that same dead-zone is now directly over the neck pickup, which is what's making the difference in tone.
Yaaaawn. Although I am not a PRS fan of anything, I like your videos on PRS. I am a bonified guitarded older guy with G.A.S., so watching vids like yours helps me immensely with my guitar/ gear addiction as I buy, trade and sell gear. Thank you !
The neck location - where it intersects with the body - is the same in both cases. What changes is that everything related to scale length shifts toward the headstock the amount that is different between 22 and 24 frets. So... 1. The neck intersection in both cases is the same. 2. The nut and headstock are further away from the body, on the 24 fret. 3. The neck pickup is in the same location ON THE BODY in both 22 and 24 fret. 4. The bridge on the 24 fret is further away from the back strap button, corresponding to the distance the nut and headstock are further away from the body, compared to the 22 fret. 5. The bridge pickup on the 24 fret is further away from the back strap button as well. 6. The 22 fret *looks right.* 7. The 24 fret *looks goofy* with the two pickups closer together, the bridge pickup and bridge further away from the back strap button, and the nut and headstock further away from the body. :)
Nice explanation. TK keeps saying the extra 2 frets "push" the neck pickup closer to the bridge. A more accurate way to describe what's happening is the extra 2 frets require the bridge and bridge pickup to be "pulled" closer to the neck pickup in order to maintain the same 25" scale length. It's the bridge pickup position that's shifting on the body of the guitar not the neck pickup position. I've personally always preferred where the neck is positioned on a 22 fret guitar vs a 24. On a 24 you have to reach a little further to get to the first position. Of course this is a relatively minor issue and a subjective thing but I always thought 22 fret guitars felt more natural to play.
Difference in sounds flats more with more distortion. To compare the sound you should use clean or slight overdriven sound. That's because jazz players prefers 22 than 24 frets because che sound changes a lot almost as the neck and center pickup in a strat
With the amount of gain used in this video, which to me is very high-gain, the 24 sounds better. If you use medium of low gain, though, the Custom 22 shines. That’s why they call it more vintage.
CORRECTION: The definition you gave for scale length is actually the definition of string length (the distance between nut and saddle). Scale length is the distance from nut to octave x 2. Don't mean to nitpick, but I recently learned this myself
Cool vid. Your comment section amuses me. I’ve been playing for 26 years almost exclusively metal and I can easily tell a difference even with distortion on full blast. However acoustic always sounds generally the same to me. I assume that’s just because my ear isn’t developed to it.
i think the logic is not the 24 fret push the neck pickup toward the bridge, but because the scale length is same between 24 and 22, the 24 bridge need to be moved a bit to the neck direction to compensate the length of the neck, as the result both bridge and bridge pickup is moving to the neck not the neck pickup moving toward the bridge (as the body wood should be same/similar between 24 fret and 22 fret)
I have a 24 fret guitar with a 25.5 scale length. My neck humbucker is more than an inch closer to the bridge than the neck humbucker on a T style I have with the same scale length. I noticed how bright that humbucker compared to Les Pauls that I've had, when I tried the guitar. I don't know if it's the position of the thing, or the way it's made, clean, or not it's pretty articulate compared to other guitars I've owned. From my experience, I think you're right.
Hi Tone King and other listeners. In addition to the fret differences and pickup placements, you mention the electronics are not the SAME. Coil Splitting vs regular, etc. Even with both in Humbucker mode, I am sure there is some difference in these 2 guitars based on the Pots etc differences under the hood.
Great information, it helped me with choosing the 22 frets. Now what's funny is this is a 2017 youtube video and I got a 2021 35 anniversary SE. thanks for your help again.
Some times it's the little things like a 1mil difference in neck thickness or width can make or break a guitar feel. I've quite a few guitars now and I know I'll never buy another guitar with 24 frets, it's the feel, the way the strings lay on the neck, the tone of the neck pickup. It's personal and one of those little things. :)
With a 24 fret guitar I can tune it down a whole step and still get the highest note of a standart tuned 22 fret guitar,I'm planning to do this with heavier strings.
The 22 sounded better to my ear. While I definitely see the advantage of a 22 vs 21 fret guitar, I'm not so sure I do with a 22 vs 24. Perhaps a 24 neck pickup might stand out a bit more in a mix, but I'd still go for the warmth of the 22. With this said, PRS has done a fantastic job of providing options and a reason to pick or switch to them from Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, etc. The neck profile splits the difference between Fender and Gibson, as does the scale length and coil split humbucker. Genius!!!
The most relevant difference is the neck pickup closer to the bridge pickup. But also the neck itself is shorter in the custom 22 and bridge is in a different position in order to keep the 25" scale.
One thing you seem to have missed is bridge position. As you say the scale length is the same, but it's not the position of the neck pickup that has changed, it's the position of the bridge and bridge pickup. This means the neck (and therefore the whole guitar) is shorter and the bridge is closer to to the round end of the body. This must change the resonance of the wood. - Of course there is no good or bad just personal preference here.
Great video and topic like always brother! I own both, 22 and 24 fret guitars. If I had to pick I'd go with the 24 fret guitar but still love the 22 fret guitars just as much. I actually started out with a 24 fret guitar, custom 24 from PRS, and just thinking that I find it more playable probably because I'm more comfortable with it since I started with one... not 100% though. Keep rockin' and making awesome content brother!
what is the measurement (distance) between the two pickups on both guitars...? This also may produce a slight variant on the tone with pickup selector in the middle position...
I did not hear him mention the heal sizes between a 22 and 24 fret neck. The 22's have bulky -squarish heals making it harder to do fast 6th - 1st string arpeggios at the high frets. The 24's come almost exclusively with rounded and contoured heals make soloing at high frets done with ease. I play both 22 and 24s. The 22's mostly for Country, Jazz, Blues, and the 24's for all out Rock and shredding.
I think you got it the other way around dude. Based on my research, the neck is longer on 24 yes, but joins the body on the same joint as a 22. Neck pickup doesn't move. To keep the scale length correct, the bridge will move up, and also the bridge pickup. So the neck pickup doesn't move up on the 24, it's the bridge and bridge pickup that moves.
That is not correct. Look at the guitars in the video. The bridge pickup is right against the bridge in both guitars. The neck on the 24 extends into the body further, and the pickups are closer together. The bridge pickup is the same; the position of the neck pickup is the difference.
24 on 25.5 inch scale for distorted and 22 on 24.75 for clean and overdriven sounds works for me. Sorry I don't play 25 inch PRS. Most people use neck pickup for upper fret lead tones, when you want guitar to sing. This is when 22 fret guitar shines.
Interesting and cool. My acoustic mutt guitar is 22, my BC Richenstien with modded guts is a 24. I've found differences in harmonics myself, and I find the 24 easier to play. I prefer the 24 and will be looking for an affordable wired acoustic 24 when I can. Your vid came up when I was searching for 24 fret acoustics. Cheers
Building Custom HH Tele & using PRS 4102 5 way rotary switch with one tone one volume, Tim Shaw Patent bridge and Seymour Duncan SH-6 Neck Distortion, was wondering if might have any wiring suggestions since you seem to know these as good or better then anyone else. Any and All help is appreciated and it is NOS 5way and have wiring diagrams for pre 2007 and after 2007 but seem to recall hearing something about Specific pickups might require a flip of magnet I have never done and not sure want to do on Vintage 84 Tim Shaw , Thanks and appreciate learning difference of 22 & 24
I believe the neck pickup is in the same position. Measure from the tail of each guitar to the saddle. I can almost guarantee the 24 fret guitar's saddle is 3/4" further from the tail of the guitar, so it is the bridge pickup location that is different, not the neck pickup.
oh wait, I see what you are saying. The neck pickup is further from the nut. Yes, that is true. The neck is longer, but as far as position of the pickup on the guitar body, the neck pickup on both guitars are in the same location. The bridge pickup and saddle are in a different location, further toward the neck, on the 24 since the scale length is the same for both guitars.
I think they both sound muddy and I'm not a fan of that much distortion. Would have been good to hear both played clean . I had a Custom 24 SE, didn't like anything about it. Now have a Core Custom 22 and love everything about it.
Great video! I own a few core custom 24s and one core custom 22. I honestly love them equally, just depends what I am playing. As you mentioned, I feel the 22 has a bit more of a vintage thing about it for classic rock, and the 24 sounds a tad more modern, that being said, either guitar would excel in any genre--you cannot go wrong with a PRS. My favorite PRS is the McCarty platforms.
great presentation for sure. you take time to research and that is nice to see for a change. I'm sorry but when are we going to hear the guitars natural tone? I really was hoping to hear the neck pups clean. I don't really think it's possible to discern the difference with all the effects. Maybe the 24 sounded a tiny bit brighter but that's distorted so how much of that is the guitar? Still great work tho. I think the answer is to get both 22 for rythm and the 24 for lead.
Great review TK! I bought a 2017 PRS SE 245 and i love it! Its thick/warm sweet tone!..also got a 2016 PRS SE CUSTOM 24 w/ floyd, changed pups to John petrucci sig pups and it screams!
well i definitely heard a bit of a brightness difference. i tend to like 22 fret guitars a little more mainly because i don't find myself using frets 23-24 except that they give more access to earlier frets. i know people who won't touch a guitar less than 24 frets, but sometimes i see guitars like strats and i see only 22 frets and think why would i pay $800 for a 22 fretter? it's crazy how much a difference just 2 more frets can completely change the mood of the player as well as a guitar.
Excellent topic and enjoyed the video! I think either is good, but for "mental" reasons I always leaned towards 22 frets. Maybe because that's what my hero played. It's almost like guitar body shapes and how we associate them to different genres of music. This video is a good reminder to just keep and open mind! There are no rules! Thanks TTK!
Yo, Tone King ... I have to agree with those who thought that your video would have benefited from the use of NO distortion. Distortion governs the sound of the guitar very thoroughly, and is a main reason why the differences in tone are so subtle. They're masked by the distortion! That said, I have guitars with 22 frets, others with 24, and even one with 21 frets. I like the sounds of all of the decent guitars (I have one guitar with a plywood body and a mini guitar with nut issues, so I don't consider them "decent".), but as far as neck pickups go, I like the sound of my Schecter C-1 Elite Amber best. This axe sports a maple top on a mahogany body with a deeply set flamed maple neck, and a set of Duncan Designed HB-102 pickups. These are modeled after and sound very much like Seymour Duncan's USA Jazz neck and JB bridge pickups, AKA the Hot-Rodded Humbucker set. This guitar has a Strat-like 25.5 inch scale length, so the pickup shift will be different, but I LOVE IT! Great stuff!
for me 24 frets is a requirement for playing progressive/technical metal since most bands tune to D standard or drop C without losing the full octave, but the difference in the neck pickup is very noticeable
i think the magnetic pull of the pickup magnetic fields on a 24 fret guitar can be considered as an important aspect as well.since pickups are closer to each other the fields combined are having a stronger impact on strings,making them vibrate a bit less.that's just my opinion.but on the other hand,what if some guitar builder made a neck pickup with the closer side of it being scaloped,making that side of the pickuo go under the fretboard wood and effectively increasing the distance between neck and bridge pickup back to the "standard" 22 fret guitar pickup position...that would be intresting
I always feel like I know where I am without looking on a 22 fret guitar. I have had several 24 fret guitars and when I feel like I am on the 5th fret many times I am on the 7th. Maybe it's just me but I have tried it with several guitars and more than once. I just prefer the feel of a 22 fret, but like I said, it's probably just me. As far as tone, the 24 sounds brighter to me on the neck pickup.
