Paul Reed Smith Guitars Custom 24 Ten Top

PRS 1995 Custom 24 10 top violin amber, 5 way rotary switch, trem. 2 PRS humbuckers, Wide, thin neck. PRS locking tuners.

I was disappointed in the sound of this guitar. With a clean amp there is no life here. It seems to have a nasal high mid tone that is annoying. I tried it with Fenders, Marshalls, and Boogies. The Mesa on thick saturation was the only good tone I could get out of this guitar.
I really tried to like this guitar because it was beautiful and played like a dream, but the tone put me off. I have a large collection of guitars and I have been playing since 1963. I always wanted a PRS and when I got it, any Strat, Tele, or Les Paul I own has more life than this guitar. Then I read a Carlos Santana interview and he says the same thing. He said it would make a nice lamp and gave it back. He plays PRS guitars, but only his signature model which is basically a double cut Les Paul

Beautifully made and a dream to play, gorgeous top, lots of flame. Very smooth and buttery feel to the neck and frets

It seems to reliable enough

Very friendly, but don't want to hear issues about tone.

I started playing at 9 years old and I am 54 now. I have a nice collection of Fenders and Gibsons. 3- Les Pauls, 2 goldtops, 1 With Lollar P90s, and one cherry sunburst standard, '54 ES-175 TDC,72 Les Paul Special w/ Bigsby, '92 Firebird IV. Strats, '69-'79- and a '94. '62 Tele, '65 Jaguar, Reverend Slingshot. '75 Jass Bass. Plexi Marshalll 50 watt head and 2-12 cab. Black face Fender Deluxe reverb, Black face Princeton reverb, '61 Brown 4-10 Fender Concert amp. Groove Tube Solo-75. And I build amps for myself. If it were stolen, I would collect the insurance and buy another one just to see if I got a lemon.
I'd like to give PRS another try.

Most of the details have been wel descibed. I'd like to add that my Custom 24 is a 10 Top and Matteo Blue. But here's the thing........the Top is a ONE-PIECE TOP. Not a two piece center seamed. Just a STUNNINGLY BEAUITIFULL electric to look at. The Matteo Blue 10-Top with a set of Zebra bobbins rally make the 24 look like a million bucks. I played my 24 right next to a Custom 22 with a Wide-Thin neck. My 24 has a substantially thicker neck. I NEVER cader for the locking Tuners on PRS electrics. Though since my PRS is a 01 hey have since came out with a Sperzel set that I think are much better. Its NOT that they don't hold a tuning. Th issue is they are a pain in the ass to work with. Especially on the high E and B strings. At least to use a they are suppose to be used!!!

The Pick-u[ps on the guitar? Wll on my 24 iy comes stock with a neck Bass Vintage and bridge HFS. I like this set a LOT. I had owned a CE-24 in the past with the same pups and liked them here also. I do not care for PRS Dragon II pups. And the McCartys are good with solid mahogany bodys. So you really need to listen to theri pick-ups. You may not like one of their sets.

I have been playing since 1967. I have owned just about every guitar you cab name. I was fortunate enough to be playing on-stage by 69. So by that time I was already playing high-end gear. I have stuck with Fender Blackface and early Silverface amps [68 and 69 silverface]. Guitars I basically use Fender Strat's and Tele's, Gibson LP's and SG's. I also have a P-90 Melody Maker I love. Also Hamer electric's. I have played and owned many over the yeasr. To date I own a 96 Mirage II loaded with a set of humbuckers that fred DiMarzio custon buil for me. He built two humbuckers[using 4-rail pups] 2-fast tracks, a cruiser and a chopper and a 5-way superswitch added. No tone I can't get now,

But the PRS is a very special; electric. I wanted one very versitile electric. After deciding to go PRS. I have played MANY over the months in search. Came across MANY DOG's. Friend of mine who manage's Sam Ash by me. Called me at home and said I ought to come play a 24 he took in used?

So off to Sam Ash I went. When I looked at the Custom 24 I was blown away immediatly. It just has a very atractive appearence to it. I plugged into a Fender 57 Twin. The guitar brought a RARE shit eating grin to my face!!! Its been a LONG time since I have heard a electric that I thought sounded THIS GREAT. I could NOT find a bad position on the 5-way. With a bit of tweaking in each position...al soundd very very good.

The ACTION? I have NEVER owned a electric with action better than this Custom 24, And I own CS Fenders, Gibsons and Hamer's. The action on this baby beats then ALL. What a nice FEEL to it. So smooth and Light. Plays effortlessly. Action is so-good I need to apply very little pressure to the fretted note's.

I have read a LOT of negative's about the pick-ups? These are VERY NICE sounding pups and SOOoooo versitile. When I bought the PRS I was looking fro a electric that would replace a couple others on stage. This 24 doe's this. Its Strat tones are VERY usable. The hubucker's sound amazing for chords. lead, funk, whatever your style may be. SHOULD I want to make the 24 into a straight uo ONE TRICK PONY. Then yes I would go with a different set of humbuckers. But that defeats the purpose of this fine instrument. Idea of the Custom 24 is to do a LOT of things VERY WELL. NOT one-thing GREAT? Also it must be noted that the TREM system is the best I've played on. Without going to a double locking set-up!!

Best I have EVER seen. And as I mentioned I own Custom Shop guitars by Fender Gibson and Hamer. So thats saying a LOT!! BUT....LOOK over what you are buying. I had played MANY PRS electrics. Many of them were dead-wood or had issues. Just because it says PRS doe's NOT mean your search has ended.

Not Sure...........its not a Tele or Strat so I imagine you will need to be very carefull with it. Can't grab the Trem arm and bounce the guitar off the floor like SRV. Not with a PRS? But for a tilt back headstock, set-neck etc etc etc. It is durable!

Not positive I've yet to contact them. But I hear they are great?

I've NEVER owned/played an electric that played so sweetly. Where the action was THIS GOOD yet the weight, feel, Tone and everytning else was in line also? This one is just ALL THERE. When you hear the phrase....This one's a keeper? Well this PRS is what they mean. Not specifically THIS GUITAR. But all its appointments, and its Tone, Feel, playability. I been at this a LONG TIME. To find a piece like this PRS you would certainly have to look at a lot of electric's. And it may still take MTHs or evenyears to find one. Just because a elcectric says PRS or GIBSON or WARRIOR or HAMER on the headstock. That doe's NOT mean its a KEEPER. Lot of good guitar out here. But not a lot odf GREAT ONE's

Whale Blue Quilted Ten Top Custom 24. I bought this guitar brand new from Make'n Music in Chicago. Came with Case and all Case Candy. The finish is excellent. Wide/Thin Neck profile with all PRS Hardware. Very nice guitar. The bridge pickup is nice and hot, and the neck pickup is smooth. The 5 way rotary switch is sometimes annoying, but it provides versatility.

This guitar is very versatile. If you want a Les Paul Sound, buy a Les Paul. If you want a Strat Sound, buy a Strat. If you want a guitar that you can throw in a case and take to an audition to cover a wide array of tones, this is it. I use it as my main guitar in an original Rock band, and as my main guitar in a working cover band that covers all kinds of styles. This guitar really sings. Good sustain and overtones.

Factory Setup was good. Set up the guitar for 10-52 string set, and the guitar plays excellent. Gives it a little more bottom end. I really like the wide/thin profile. It's not like an Ibanez Wizard or ESP M series neck, bit I like it. The thickness and radius makes it easy to chord as well as blaze through leads. No Flaws whatsoever.

Extremely reliable. Judging from the other PRS owners, seems like it will last. I use this guitar as my main guitar all of the time, and it holds up great.

NEVER GIG WITHOUT A BACKUP. PERIOD. STRINGS WILL BREAK.

I've not had to contact PRS for anything, so I have no opinion.

Excellent guitar!! Would buy another one if both of mine got stolen. I play PRS Custom 24s and Gibson Les Pauls. This guitar is very versatile, and a comfortable player. It's comfortable to carry on your shoulder all evening, and it stays in tune.

Again, if you want a specific guitar tone, buy that guitar. This isn't a replacement for every guitar. It is a good subsitute at guitar auditions for carrying three guitars. Its full of versatile tones.

The only thing I wish is that PRS would put out a Custom 24 with a Floyd Rose Double Locking Bridge on it. Would be great for those Van Halen-style tunes.

The guitar looks great and plays great. I'd recommend going to a store and playing one. Excellent.

USA made 2005, 24 frets, dual humbuckers(HFS and Vintage) , 5 way rotary switch, set in neck, Mahogany body with a great looking flamed maple top, rosewood fretboard, PRS tremolo, locking tuners, case. The rotary knob takes a bit of getting used too.

Play progressive rock on Mesa Boogie Stiletto w/Keeley DS1, Boss MT2, Voodoo Labs Micro Vibe, Bad Horsie Wah (All on floor)along with TC G-Major, BBE Sonic Maximizer, Hush Super C (in effects loop) into Mesa 4x12 cab. The sounds from this one are very, and I stress VERY clean and clear. There is warmth on either of the humbucker settings and the center position is kind of stratish, however the other 2 settings are very clean. Pretty serious volume drop on any setting that is not full bucker, but great tone none the less. Overall has a very pronounced, bright alive kind of tone. Good marriage of Paul meets Strat.

String action was really crappy from the store...no sweat. P/U were adjusted just fine and the finish is beautiful! Only flaws I could find are ones that occurred at the store, none from the factory. The volume and tone knobs feel a bit loose, but I am changing real soon.

Haven't had any issues yet. Seems to be built very well. As far as a backup is concerned, I don't even go to rehearsal without 2 or 3 guitars.

Good warranty (Limited Lifetime). Never had to contact PRS for anything.

Have given a basic run down of my rig: guitars are Jackson SL 2, Fernandez Revolver Pro, Am. Strat, Ibanez Rg's and now the PRS. Please don't steal. I don't want to have to afford another one! Honestly I think everyone should have a PRS in their bag of tricks. Too many great sounds to pass up on.

Nice features. 5-way rotary pickup selector. Vintage bass and HFS pickups. Sperzel low yada yada tuners. 24 frets. Nice neck. Shaped similar to a Gibson SG special neck , Big D shape but slightly slimmer. Doulbe cut body makes playing in the upper register very nice. Neck heel could be done a tad better but its not as un-ergonomic as a les paul or a strat. Nice frets, Large sized possibly stainless steel ?? Too smooth for nickel. The finish is very nice, i picked out a nice Teal / Emerald green hybrid color on ebay, apparently a mistake color creation by prs, I havent seen another one like it so far. Flame 10 top, nicely book matched. Its a fine blend of 2 guitars, Stata-paul. The prs trem system is absolutely the best. I have guitars with floyd rose ,fender vintage 6 screw and fender 2 screw modern tremolos and this thing is the best.

Sounds good to me. I like it allot. I completely hate fender gutiars at this point. I've played strats in a price range of $500-$50,000 and i've yet to see what the whole "golden-egg" thing is with them. They twang and have no bass. The prs has great Gibson sound, it has that 5 way rotary switch with auto coil tap so if I want it I can get nice stevie ray sounds but richer and fuller sounding.

The pickups are pretty well made. I have owned just about every major brand of pickups and These seem to be of good quality. They're not Lindy Fralins but they're just as good as a $100 seymour duncan or Dimarzio pickup out there.

Noise.. None. Use good cables. Use ground eliminators if need be. Stay away from computers and dimmers for lights and halogen and any guitar will be quiet. Un less its a piece of crap.

I have 2 amp rigs at the moment. My main rig is a Fender Deville 2x12 with mullard power tubes and sovtek pre-amp tubes (left channel) my right channel amp is a Mesa boogie 2x12 Heart breaker. I have Mesa El-34's and 12AX7's in that. I run these through my pedal board which changes all the time. But straight through and split the guitar sounds nice and clean. It definately has its own distinctive tone through the clean channel. Un-like any other guitar.

My Conspiracy theory about PRS and Mesa boogie.
I think they designed the Entire Rectifier Series amps to be used with PRS Custom 22-24 guitars. When I plug into one of those.. Jesus oh my god of Holy gain does it sing like the wind. The Custom 24 and Single, double, triple, any rectifer or recto verb will rock the house. I've also played that amp with other guitars and its not the same... So thats my next amp at this point.

I also run a 1986 Marshall JCM-800 Lead Series *50 watt* combo through a mojo-tone 1x12 cab with an english made celestion inside 200watt rare speaker? 2x12 total. Screams. You really have to tweak the lead controls but you can get it.

I bought this guitar from guitar center (the enemy) but it was setup nicely and they put new strings on it. The pickups needed to be lowered. Some idiot had them so close that when you used the upper frets, lets say anything above the 14th fret the strings would contact the face of the pickup.. DUH.... 10 minute fix. Back on track and rocking away.

The finish is great. THey have a nice clear coating system, unlike my les paul which constantly eats bottles of polish the prs I just use a polish cloth and its good as new. Little spray every now and then thats about it.

The saddles need to be replaced with graphtech ones. I dont know why prs just doesnt put them on for you. The nut on the guitar is graphtech . Just boggles my mind.

There are 2 or 3 small finish flaws. Nothing I cant live with. I also have a $1900 les paul and it has way worse flaws then this guitar.

I'll give it a 9, needs graphite..

Solid. Light weight. You can gig it without worries. You get what you pay for.

Put schaller straplocks on though. The stock strap buttons are good for leather ended straps only. if you use those nylon straps you cant do over the shoulder throws with the guitar, Just kidding about the throws but add strap locks.

Never contacted them yet. I would assume with guitars ranging from $1499 to $60,000 they would have a good ass kissing support team.

Playing since 1992, I have 13 other guitars including a les paul, RKS Dave mason *darkstar*, Ibanez jem , SG's, custom made jagmasters and some other odd ball stuff and I cant put this guitar down.

If someone stole this from me i would go renegade hunt them down.
I compared this guitar to my Les paul AAA Top and a 68' strat which sucked the donka donka.

My custom 24 has the wide/thin neck, birds and 10 top with HFS and vintage bass pus.

Here is the main reason I am writing this review. The ONLY way to get this guitar to sound great, and I mean GREAT, is to change out the pick ups!! For some reason, the guitar sounds way to clean with the stock vintage bass and HFS pick ups. I have run it through my JCM 800 with a silver modded tube screamer, a JTM 45 with a tonebone british, and a Fender twin reissue '65. On all these amps it was too sterile and clean, although it did work with the JTM 45 and the Fender, but with the JCM 800 it didn't come close. I put in dimarzio pick ups, AND THE GUITAR SHINES!!! BETTER THAN ANYTHING!! I have Les Pauls, strats, tom Andersons, etc., and this thing WITH THE DIMARZIOS, sounds the best!! I use the super Distortion in the bridge and the PAF pro in the neck. I think any choice of high output pickups would work, but do not use the traditional types, this guitar needs push!! Now the guitar gets a 10, but since I had to add pickups, it gets a 9

this guitar is very well set up, and the action and finish is first rate. I didn't change a thing from the factory. All I did was add 10 gauge strings and tighten the springs on the tremeolo a bit to realign the tension. also, I had to reintonate the first two strings. But, even out of the box, this guitar is set up very very well!! If you use 9 gauge strings, it is perfect!! Medium low action!! If you need to change the gauge, minor mods!!

I believe this guitar will stand the test of time. My model is a 2004 and I have played it over 1000 hours, and so far, excellent. Also, it is really tough to scratch. I have classical nails on the right hand, and when I go to switch the rotary, I know I am scraping the finish, but no scratches!!

Actually I emailed them once about the fret jobs and didn't receive a response. boo hoo in this section!

Overall, the guitar is my main axe!! I love it, especially now that it has been set up for 10 gauge strings, AND NEW PICKUPS!! DIMARZIOS REALLY HELP A TLEAST 50%!!

1996 10 top Custom 24. 24 frets, bird inlays, locking tuners, flamed maple top w/ a touch of quilt, amber burst finish, dual truss rod, 5 position pickup selector. Just a really nice guitar.

It's not a real throaty tough guitar if that's what you're looking for. However, it has a real nice tone to it. It's actually my go-to guitar most of the time. It's never noisy and it has a real smooth rich tone to it.

This is where this guitar shines. The guitar plays beautifully and rarely goes out of tune. When you learn to use locking tuners correctly, they really are some of the best out there. I actually like them better than sperzels.

The guitar is almost 10 years old and has stood up to a lot. Everything looks pretty solid. I had a scratchy pot one time, but after spraying it with contact cleaner it was like new.

I contacted them once, and they were very helpful

Great guitar.

The five way switch and decently balanced pick-ups are nice futures but the rotary takes some getting use to. Ten top and bird in-lays Wide thin neck profile. HFS and Vintage bass pick-ups.

I play everything that I can mostly Alt or prog rock-metal think eighties shread. Witch it love medium to high gain and has some good clean tone as well. I have many amps and different processors to choose from. I always see how a guitar sounds with cord to amp first and have tested this guitar with Fender Twins, a Marshall 800, Sound City, Traynor yc 40, and Mesa stiletto amps. It sounds great with all of them .It also processes well.I see a lot of disappointed reviewers here the only advise that I can give them is check out any instrument well before you buy one. Play it in the store thru a set up as close to what you use as possible run it thru the paces just because it is a PRS does not mean it will suit your style don?t get caught up in the hype. Tone is personal this may not be yours.

Finish is great but the hardware tarnishes Quickly.

I have been playing for twenty-two years. I have a long list of fine guitars this ranks up there with all of them.

10 top, 5 way rotary dial, wide-thin neck, etc....I can't complain about the features. In terms of options, the 5 way dial provides all the tones any guitarist would ever need, theoretically at least....

Sorry to say, this is the Cust24's weak spot. I had originaly bought this guitar hoping to use it in my studio to get a varitey of usable tones...it seemed like this guitar was pretty versatile. Unfortunately, none of the pickup combinations sound particularly good. The 2 and 4 positions are way too thin and glossed over sounding to be much like real single coils. The 1 position is too bassy and flabby on the low end. The 5 position is too mid-rangy and "quacky." 3 is ok, but still nothing stellar for a guitar that costs almost $3000. I own a Fender 4x10 concert reverb, as well as a Mesa Roadking with a Roadking and Rectifier cab, and this was true regardless of what amp I used. The weird thing is there's technically nothing "wrong" with the way my PRS sounded....it just didn't have a single killer sound, like a high end guitar should. Bland and souless are words that come to mind. This was especially true when I started recording with it. It just never sat quite right in the mix, no matter how I miced my amp, what settings I used, etc.

I think what this guitar suffers from is too much clarity. Even with distortion, it sounded so clear it was sterile...like trying to run an acoustic electric through a high gain amp. I don't know if anyone else has noticed this, but whenever I ran it through one of the high gain channels of my Roadking, it sounded like 1/2 the signal, the lower midrange and bass, would distort and buzz, while the other 1/2, the highs, would remain relatively undistored. Compare that to a Les Paul through the same setup, where you get a nice creamy blend of all the frequencies-much more natural and cohesive sounding. I've read other posts that have commented on the placement of the bridge relative to the pickups, which might attribute to the overly mid-rangy sound of this guitar. Personally, I think the maple cap is way too thick relative to the mahogany body, leading to an unbalanced tone. Actually, it'd be more accurate to say it's a little too balance to the point of sounding unnatural, like a Line 6 Variax sample. I was tempted to change the pickups out see if that would fix the problem, but I decided to look for a guitar that sounded good right from the start. Overall, I was really disapointed in this catagory.

Aside from the sound, I love everything else about this guitar. It's by far the most comfortable gutiar I've ever played. It fits right against your body, at a perfect angle when standing up. The next feels great-just wide enough for easy bends, just thick enough to grip chords. It is a beautiful looking guitar as well. The finish on the guitar was amazing, and the 10-top was truely 3-dimentional looking. The locking tuners never slipped, and the trem was extremely stable. But when all is said and done, this is a musical instrument, and it's all about the sound......see above.

1 minor gripe, again about the finish. It looks like it's a pretty think layer of whatever that they put on. From what I know about guitars, the thicker the gloss, the less tone you get from the wood.

I'm pretty careful with all my instruments, so I almost never have problems. All the hardward and eletronics seem pretty solid. I've heard the finish on the PRSes are more scratch resistant than other makes, but if you give it a good bump, it gets a white foggy "bruise." Kinda like what happens when you bend a clear piece of plastic. It'd be a bummer if you ever dropped this guitar by accident. Luckily, I don't have to worry about that because I recently sold mine. Again, see the comments on sound.

Dunno. I never really had a reason to call them, which is a good thing, I guess.

I really wanted to like this guitar...I loved everything about it except for the tones I was getting out of it, but after 9 months of screwing around, hoping it would "grow" on me, I gave up and got a les paul instead. If they could give this guitar a little more personality, I would consider giving it another try.

Just as a side note: has anyone else noticed that the guitars with highly figured flame or quilt tops never sound as good as the plainer looking guitars? Chalk it up to superstition, but that's been my general experience. I realize design, personal taste, and individual pieces of wood have a lot to do with it, but could it be that the 10-tops that PRS is so widely known for is a worse tone-wood overall?

Some people swear by their PRS, and I'd have to agree that there's a lot to like about this guitar. But please make sure you like how it sounds before you plop down $2500 for one.

2001 PRS Custom 24 Tobacco Burst w/ bird inlays, HFS pickups, 5 way selector. Thin neck, rosewood fretboard. Hard case included.

5 way rotary pickup selecter is pure shit because you can't change it fast enough. Toggle is much needed. Pickups are WAY too low output to get get sufficient gain unless you are using some ridiculous mesa boogie gain monster. Pickups sound a bit brittle and thin to me as well compared to by Ibanez Universe with Dimarzio Blaze which aren't even the best in the world. This is true regardless of whether Im playing through an ampeg, a fender solidstate with a metal zone pedal, or a peavey XXX.

The tuners are dumb and hard to use. Im not sure of what kind they are but I detest.

Weak and too bright. I can't see getting a satisfactory distorted tone without changing out the pickups to something not made by PRS (the dragons suck as well, don't bother.)It just lacks clarity to me and despite that still has an obnoxious twang to it. I don't use any effects except gain, but I can say that if you crank the gain high enough to get decent level of gain it will sound like shit because you are turning your amp too high to compensate for the lack of output.

Despite this, unplugged the guitar is very obviously a pretty loud guitar even with relatively light strings (10s.) If you changed to dimarzios it might greatly increase the tonal value of this guitar.

VERY low action.
The volume knob is sort of lose and jittery on mine and sometimes vibrates, been that way since I got it new. Never had to mess with the wiring though.

This guitar gets dings and chips in its detained finish VERY easily. I have a Dean that I carried around without a gigbag for 2 years that has been wacked around by beginner students that looks flawless compared to this, and I barely even took it out of the house because of the fear of the massive loss of cash that would come of this guitar being injured.

I should say that all of my other guitars are a couple decades older than this one, and seem to be keeping up better than this one aesthetically speaking.

Never used them.

I wouldn't replace this if it were stolen or lost. I bought this guitar with about 2 years of experience because I was a dumb kid with a 5000 dollar inheritance. It is a beatuiful guitar and I enjoy looking at it, and if you are a rich dumbass who is looking for a guitar to hang behind a piece of glass and showcase, then this might be the thing for you. It's very trendy, very popular, and everyone who plays it claims to love it just because of their preconceptions that it is going to be awesome. However, in reality it can't possibly compare with my Ibanez universe black/green from 1990 that I got for less than half the price, or even my Jap strat that I got used for 400. If you actually play a guitar it is going to start to look like shit eventually, despite your best efforts. In my opinion, this guitar will reach the shitty stage within a decade, and at that point you might find yourself realizing that it isn't all that great sounding and feels next to terrible. Get it to look at, get it to fit in, get cuddle with at night, but if you are looking for a guitar to play and take out that needs to be good enough to feel comfortable live and solid enough to survive a couple crashes, this guitar is NOT for you, and for the money, you could get 6 guitars that are all twice as good as this one.