Paul Reed Smith Guitars Standard 24

My PRS is made in the US in 2005 and is the 20th anniversary model. It has 24 frets, a body out of one piece mahagony, a mahagony neck with a palisander fretboard, HFS treble (bridge)and vintage bass (neck) humbucker, one volume and one tone control, a standard PRS tremolo and it??s the version with the 3-way switch. Pulling the tone knob splits the humbuckers to single coil. Colour is vintage orange with transparent finish. A very heavy case was included.

I play in a cover rock band, playing classical rock songs of the seventies and eighties, like Iron Maiden, Gary Moore, AC/DC, van Halen, Led Zeppelin. I need a very versatile guitar to suit all the different styles. I play it through a Mesa Boogie Mark IIC+ with a Marshall 1960A cab and a Roland GP-100 effect. My other guitar is a Strat, and I use the PRS mainly for the dirty sound. When I entered the shop I was looking for a nice Les Paul, which is my favorite guitar model until today. But I realized again that I??m not able to play a Les Paul higher than to the 19th fret, so I left the shop with a 24-fret PRS.
In the contrary to the Les Paul, the PRS is a compromising guitar, it doesn??t dictate a sound, it gives the base to make it. It can sound like many other famous guitars, but never to 100%.
It is probably the best guitar for my kind of music, it has a warm singing tone and very nice sustain. It can sound agressive and can sound like a jazz guitar, I can realize many kinds of sound characters. The only bad feature is splitting the humbuckers to single coils. This gives a thin sharp tone without any twang, I never use it. My Strat can do that a thousand times better. The tremolo is good enough for me, I chose the 3-way switch because I could never come along with the PRS 5-way switch. The humbuckers are quiet even at high gain distortion.
The only thing I miss in this guitar is a kind of own character, sometimes I find it too perfect, but I know that exactly this makes this guitar so versatile and enables me playing 90% of my music with it.

The set-up was perfect, the pickups well adjusted, the string were a little to high, but the guitar shop adjusted it for me, so it was fine.

This guitar is almost perfect, with one mistake: The bridge is made of a material that doesn??t resist my sweat. At the beginning there was ongoing corrosion at strings 4,5,6, during my first gig with this guitar two strings failed because of corrosion on the bridge. I contacted PRS, they know that a small percentage of people have this problem, they offered me free of charge a new bridge. I didn??t make use of this, and now after two years I found that my sweat has corroded away the silver surface of the bridge and now it looks like brass, and the corrosion almost stopped.

Except with the corrosion problem of the bridge, I had nothimg to to with them. But in this case they were very helpful.

I play electric guitar since 35 years now, and as traditional hard rocker and die-hard Les Paul fan I had problems to get used to the PRS style of perfectionism. But now I think it??s the right guitar for me. May be it??s me who is not good enough for it, I have a very gifted son, who plays it from time to time and then it sounds like heaven.

I bought the guitar new in 2003 so I presume it was manufactured sometime between 2002/03.

The guitar is fitted with HFS Bridge pickup and Vintage Bass neck pickup. It also has the fretboard bird inlays and wide-thin neck.

There are 3 controls - Volume (which has a very low resistence and can be effortlessly fine-tuned with my pinkie while I'm playing), Tone (which I keep at 10 at all times) and a Rotary Pickup Selector.

I would have preferred a pole switch for the pickups, instead of the rotary switch which I find can sometimes be clumsy when going for the humbuckers for lead work mid-song. This is actually my only gripe on an otherwise perfect guitar.

It came with a good strong case, and a DVD showing you the PRS company, and manufacturing process.

> How does it suit your music style (and what is that style)?

Interestingly enough, my playing style was always more Country/Rock oriented before I bought this guitar. This guitar actually inspired me to develop both a much heavier playing style and, at the same time, a much lighter style. It's a very expressive guitar which will capture every nuance of your playing style. This, however, forces you to become a better player which I think is great.

I mainly use the bridge pickup - coil-tap for rhythm and humbucking for lead work. I also use the neck pickup in humbucking mode for lead work.

I don't use completely clean sounds much but when I do, I use either neck or bridge in coil-tap mode. A humbucker played clean does nothing for me, on this guitar or any other.

My signal chain is Guitar --> Blackstar HT-Dual --> Ibanez TS-9 DX (with Keeley mods) --> Keeley Compressor --> Boss GT-8 (with Marshall JMP1 preamp in FX loop) --> Marshall EL34 50/50 Power Amp --> Palmer Speaker Simulators --> PA & Marshall 1960A cabinet. I run the rig in stereo through both the cabinet and the PA.

The guitar cleans up beautifully with the compressor placed after the overdrives. Even with the volume down at 2 I still get a really nice rich sound (my Strats generally only get down to 4). The tone thickens up really smoothly as you increase the volume and at 10 I can get searing tones that always cut through, but never sound harsh.

The setup on the guitar was perfect. The action was super low and no fret buzz whatsoever. Not sure whether that's just standard PRS attention to detail because I know that the shop where I bought it regularly check the setup on all their display guitars.

The finish is Old Gold Metallic. This is a really nice finish and I get regular comments on it at gigs.

This is a very solidly built guitar. Some of the plating on the saddles has rubbed off, where my hand rests when playing, but it doesn't seem to affect the sound any. In any case, I coat the saddles and nut with graphite each time I change the strings.

Tuning stability is very good. I rarely have to tune it more than once during the course of a gig. Also, I check the setups on all my guitars every 6 months or so and the PRS has never needed a thing done to it in the 5 years I've had it.

Never had to call them.

The day I bought this guitar, I had actually gone into the shop with an ESP or Jackson type of guitar in mind. I have always been a Strat player and I wanted something roughly like a Strat but with a much heavier sound. I tried various guitars, and liked none of them, and then the guy who was looking after me suggested trying the PRS. I wasn't convinced because it kinda looked like a Gibson, and I hate Gibsons with a passion, but I tried it just to keep him happy.

The second he plugged it into the Marshall TSL100 I could hear that the guitar was quality - it was like closing the door on an Aston Martin. He left me in the room and I sat and played the guitar for a solid half-hour. I was playing licks that a Strat would never have inspired. I took it back out to him and told him to wrap it up :-)

It is the most expensive guitar I've ever owned but I have never regretted buying it for a second. I still have (and love) my Strats but over the past few years, the PRS has gradually become my main guitar. My musician friends still can't believe that I could be so much into something that doesn't have Fender written on it :-)

If it were ever stolen I would definitely look for the same model. I've tried several of the more recent PRS models but, to my mind, they don't hold a candle to the Standard 24.

Paul Reed Smith Standard 24 , Black sunburst, all stock, with 3 controls, volume, tone, and 5 way selector. original case and all documents included

I am primarily a studio musician although i do gig about 20 times per year, either with my own instrumental trio(Azhar Kamal Trio Me Rio) or with my James Brown cover band called JB Jr.&the Nervous Flames. The guitar i acquired second hand was in immaculate condition and resonated wonderfully. i have owned one 1990 model PRS CE 24 which i absolutely hated because the neck pickup sounded too woofly(i.e. undefined, muddy, lifeless) and the bridge pickup was over compressed and too "american" sounding. The Standard 24 is another ball game. This specific guitar really "spoke" to me. It is very very precise intonation wise, which is idiosyncratic for PRS guitars which i rate as the best built factory made instruments. they are far far superior and quality consistent to anything that Fender or Gibson put out. And i own em all. The PRS Standard 24 is my favourite guitar. Of all my working instruments(20 different electrics and acoustics) it is in the top 4 along with my 2001 Ibanez John Scofield , my 15 year old Flamenco Guitar and my 25 year old Takamine Jumbo Acoustic. The PRS Standard 24 is the ONLY guitar that will really cover all demands you would have while performing electric guitar in a recording environment. Ergonomically it is absolutely an extension of my brain and hands. It lets me "emote" easier and doesn??t let me worry about things like tuning, intonation and tonal richness. I use it ampwise with a 1970 100w Marshall super lead , a 1970ies Fender Twin Silver Face w. JBL??s , a 1967 Tremolux with a 2x12" Fender speaker enclosure(original) as well as a Boogie MKIIIc and MKIV. My pedalboard is with a fulltone FD2, Boss DD2 Gigadelay, Morley Bad Horsie or Cry Baby and a Z VEX Fuzz Probe. Let me tell you that the PRS sounds amazing and integrated itself instantly with my set up. Marriage made in Heaven!

All set up really well. As is said i bought the guitar second hand from a collector in need of cash who had not played it much and done no adjustments apart from changing the strings. All I did was oil the fingerboard , wipe it thoroughly(i am a bit of a disinfection junkie,germs man germs!), shine it up and put a fresh set of thomastik infeld power brights. Oh, the only thing i found out was: a PRS sounds best with thinner strings. Normally i use 011-053 on electric guitar but opted for a 009 gauge for the prs. it requires me to change my picking technique a bit but other than that: "i feel good"

This guitar seems to be very reliable. Unlike my 1990 PRS it has those new Phase 2 tuners which make a string change soooo easy and stay in tune very very well(also thanks to these great thomastik-infeld power brights strings). The strap buttons are quite safe but i changed them against schaller security locks. I ALWAYS gig without backups. I even played a televised live at montreal jazz set with MARSMOBIL without backups.With this guitar you just need your strings handy. changing is very fast and in any case i NEVER break strings(unless i wanna!)

Since i have a supporting deal with the german distributor service is exceptional whenever anything occurs with their products(amongst PRS they also distribute, Ibanez, Tama etc..)

I am 40 years and have been playing 34 years. Professionally since 1986. This is the best guitar i have ever had the luck of finding. and it cost me very little since the seller was skint. i did not load bad karma on myself because i answered an ad in my local paper and drove down to veni, vidi, vici!!

Phantastic black sunburst. all mahagony neck and body.new tuners which make it possible to change strings super fast. vol, tone and five way selector. hfs and vintage bass pickups(stock).24 frets.made in usa 2002

nice defined tone. very good clean and overdriven. i use the guitar with a 1970 fender twin , a 1971 marshall 100w super lead, a 1967 fender tremolux. my pedalboard is very sparsely equipped with a tuner,a wah, a compressor and a delay. the guitar sounds very precise and is champions league intonation wise. triads, add2 voicings can be performed with utmost harmonic precision. the guitar is very versatile and very very good for studio work.

perfect set up!!

rugged and resilient and ergonomically a wonder. everything fits.

been playing professionally since 1985 and have owned and still own quite a few guitars. this guitar is my favourite tool, an inspiring non obstructive instrument. my prs ce24 had all these feature albeit a somewhat sterile sound. this one resonates and sustains like a human voice(tenor). it is sleek and wonderful to play. it provides you with workable strat-ish and humbucking tones. you could even play bebop with it.thank you for making such a good guitar.

1997 Plain mahogany red finish.PRS whammy.Normal neck size.Hate the tuners.Pain in the butt to change strings in a club in the dark..Wish I could find better ones that fit the holes.Changed the 5 way to a normal Gibson 3 way..much better now.Also changed the PUs to Tom Holmes.Huge difference.Wish the frets where bigger too.Not bad tho after a few changes.

Great tone from the Tom Holmes PUs.Its like a Gibson thats clearer.Great overdrive tones too/

No probs there with 10 to 46 strings.

never had a prob.

Dunno yet.

Been playing over 35 years.owned them all so far.This is nice.

It's a Standard 24, Charcoal Satin Finish.

I agree with the comments below. The PRS Trem is simply THE BEST trem ever. It has a little upward movement which is really nice for wild "grab on and shake" vibrato use. It is much more pleasant to use than a Fender or Floyd Rose trem. The push in-pull out trem bar is a brilliant concept! Well done lads!


VERY quick to change strings thanks to the tuning pegs that screw and lock on the strings. Change strings with the turn of a penny.

I've got a 3 position switch on mine and a push-pull tone pot for coil tapping. I hated the rotary switch. Just hated it. I'm sure I would have got used to it in time, but with a choice, I didn't want it. Not for me, some people love it though.

I play classic rock and metal in the bands I'm in.

My set up is-
PRS->JD 95Q wah->Korg DT10-> Digitech Bad Monkey->Peavey Valve King 212

Simple.

The bridge pickup is very, very hot. It really burns with distortion. However, there is a chance you might not like it. The reason lies in the satin top. As someone said when writing about the satin top elsewhere, it lacks some clarity and high end that you gain with a maple top. You can hear that it doesn't have a maple top.
But the sound is very warm, rich and just plain gorgeous. Try one.

I also play jangley clean music on my own. The neck position has it. It has a lovely clean sound. Full to the brim with tone.

Coil tapping is BRILLIANT. I use it a lot to get (quite convincing) Strat sounds. HUGE variety in the tones you can get with this guitar.

I'm not convinced by the neck pickup when overdriven. I might change it. It's not perfect. For me, there's something lacking. However, I probably won't change it because I like the clean sounds.

I agree with what someone else said, tone wise, it can be seen to be somewhere alongside the SG. It's not quite the same as a Les Paul, and it's certainly more ballsy than a Strat.

PRS guitars are perfect. They just are. They are all delivered exactly the same, that's the lovely thing.

It's the satin finish that really sold it for me.
It is AMAZING. If you've never tried a satin finish, I recommend you do so, unless you want to keep your money that is! The maple tops are beautiful, but this is suble and sublime, just as pretty in my opinion.

The neck- gorgeous, slim enough for all that fast stuff, fat enough to have great sustain and tone.

Set up to the perfect string height.
I changed to a slightly higher string guage which put the floating bridge a bit out of kilter, but it was easy to change back to the right height with the advice off the PRS website.

I had a small trouble...kept snapping strings at the bridge. I think the saddles were sharp, so I changed them to graph-tech ones...haven't broken a string since.

Changed the strap buttons to Schaller strap locks, because that's the way I am. The strap buttons provided are good though- very wide.

The floating trem means that strings take a little while longer to re-tune when changing between tunings, and when you break a string/ drop tune, it affects ALL the strings tunings. Bear this in mind.

I rely on it all the time, but I usually have my cheap Epiphone LP for backup. However, if I break a string on stage, it's almost as quick to put a new one on than change guitars! (those wonderful tuning pegs!)

Couple of points taken off for the saddles thing...not really what I'd expect.

Never needed it.

The PRS website is pretty wonderful, but I can't give a rating simply judged on this.

If I had a serious problem, it'd be straight back to the shop for repair.

I've been playing for a few years now...6 I think.

I inherited money from my grandfather and promised myself I'd get a decent guitar.

Originally I was going to get a Les Paul. Dead set on a Les Paul. I tried one and decided it wasn't for me. Faultless tone but FAR too heavy and uncomfortable.

I was also going to get a 2nd hand 20th anniversary PRS, the birds are far prettier on those, but in the end I got a 6 week old, brand new standard. I got it for an AMAZING PRICE. Unbelievable.

If I ever get another guitar, it'll be a Blonde Strat or a '59 Les Paul (because the Les Paul just has a tone of its own).

I wish the bird on fret 24 looked less like a penguin from upside down and that the 'landing hawk' on fret 22 looked a little more like a landing hawk...but I understand that that's just the way they come...I actually kinda like the penguin, it's quirky.

You get what you pay for with this. It makes everything else feel inferior. That's why I'm giving it a 10.

This 1991 PRS Standard was bought used off of Ebay. Included original black case.
It is all gloss black with chrome hardware. Maple binding on the body.
Mahogany neck & body, vintage Bass/Treble pickups, PRS standard tuners, small heel neck (the only way the PRS should be made) and the special thing about this guitar....the reason I paid $2300 for it.....it has a Tune-O-Matic bridge! Yes, you read right! Try finding one with a T-O-M bridge....(it took me ten years of searching on Ebay)
In my opinion, you just can't beat a Tune-O-Matic bridge.

Wow! Hands down, the best sounding guitar I have in my collection!
My 3 Les Pauls all have the Bridge pickup switched to Seymour Duncan pickups (Pearly Gates, SD-6, '59er) and the PRS beats them all!
Right now I'm playing through a '95 Fender Blues Deville...it sounds lovely. I couldn't ask for better tone. It is a cross between a LP and Strat tones. The 5 way switch provides nearly any tone I need.

A well made instrument, no flaws or adjusments needed, however I did put a TonePro bridge on it for better sustain (and to keep the bridge in place while changing strings).
The neck is like butter...even though it took a few weeks to get use to the neck (from playing Les Pauls for more than 10 years) I now prefer the PRS feel over a LP neck.
The small heel is a BIG difference and PRS really screwed up when (in 1995) they changed the design. If you can find a pre '95 PRS at a decent price (under $3000) buy it! Most of the more elegant finishes and special models will cost $4000+, so I got lucky finding this one.
These guitars (the older models, esp. ones with T-O-M bridges) will no doubt be collectors items one day. I think the T-O-M bridge was only a custom option and very few PRS guitars have them (stock from the factory).

As light as it feels and small as the body is, this thing is built like a tank! This guitar will last a lifetime. It is now my main guitar and my Les Pauls are getting lonely.
(Never gig without a backup guitar)

PRS is in the business of selling "new" guitars. It seems they have forgotten the reason they got to where they are....THE SMALL HEEL!
I wrote them twice...once to ask questions about my guitar (no response) and then, the second email, I raved about the guitar and asked why they don't use T-O-M bridges on some models. They responded, but only thanked me for the "kind words" about the guitar and ignored my questions completly.
Truely, I'd like to kick Paul Reed Smith's @ss and force him to make guitars like they use to. (with a T-O-M bridge as a standard model)
But Mr. Smith has already made his money and he obviously doesn't listen to anyone anymore. They won't even do work on their own guitars unless it's warranty work....pathetic!

I did tons of research before buying this guitar. It's everything I ever wished for in an electric guitar. None finer!
They'll be prying this baby out of my cold dead hands one day!
Simply the finest production guitar ever made!

you can see this beauty in prs.com, youll find all it's features
all I can add is that it has HFS pickup in the bridge and Vintage bass in the neck. 5 way selector,locking tuners,
it's 2004 ebony----u.s made of course, and it also has a PRS tremolo which is the best tremolo in the world!!

I play rock and blues (all kinds of rock, I mean ALL) and also metal (heavy metal-death metal-hard core)lately.
I pluged this babe to my VOX AC30cc1 and it shines with beauty,
now...there r no noises at all...I mean it, the sound is balanced,full,rich and not too bright as telecasters (which I also like) just as it should be!!
you can play anything with this guitar and I had a few guitars in my life this one is the most versatile axe, more then the strat (my ex)
you can play blues,jazz, and of course rock and metal---the high gain does'nt reduces the quality tone and it clarity and this is the key here.

this is a high end guitar, I know guitars I had fender,gibson,charvell----this one came from the factory all the way to Israel in a perfect action,fit,and finish!

this kind of guitars will last forever, yes Ill use it on stage without backup! comparing to the les-paul weight this one is a half lighter,less than the stratocaster,and heavier than the SG! comfortable like no other, and yet has it fat sound!!

I sent an email to PRS and I wasn't replied! I heard that their customer support is very good though..... that's a shame!!

I play for 14 years now, I had it all and I sold it and saved money for this one, it's very very expensive guitar but it's worth any penny (shekel...in my country..)
if it were stolen or lost Ill try to get the exact one or a custom model...but Ill die first!!
I love the fact that it's versatile and has it uniqe sound, the volume control moves faster then the tone which is very usefull.
if I would change somthing it will probably be the selector switch because it's a roll-over switch and sometimes when you switch it while playing so it doesn't get to the right way you want it, but it happend once in a long time and youll need to practice on this one too.
As I mentioned I had fender and a gibsom and this one is way better than these two, the only gibson that can beat any guitar is a vintage one as well as a vintage fender!!
if you r looking for the best and the most versatiled axe this one for you. that's right it quite expensive but man...but hey....this is music and tone that were talk about..so buy it (or any other PRS model) or wait and save your money for it!! GOOD LUCK

Standard 24
Finish: transparent vintage-cherry
Bridge: PRS tremolo
Tuners: PRS locking
Neck: Wide-thin, 25" scale, 24 frets, birds of prey inlays
Included accessories: Case
Year: 2006
Controls: 5-way rotary (soon to be 3-way tap)
Pickups: 2 HFS humbuckers
Body: All mahogony

This guitar fits my music style well. I've been a metal player for quite some time, and have been into blues and jazz lately. This guitar can cover any range of music.

I'm running this through a Peavey Audition 110, hooked into a Marshall Lead 1960 4x12 300 watt cab. I use a Boss ME-50 for effects.

The HFS pickups have a nice warm sound to them, and have high output. I've always used EMG 81's in the past, but I like the sound of the HFS pickups better. I don't need to crank the low way up on my amp, or have extremly thick strings to get a warm sound. This might also have to do with the all mahagony body also. I'd be interested to hear what EMG 81's sound like through this guitar, but I have no desire to switch them out; it sounds too good already.

The factory setup was done well. The action wasn't too high. The pickups were at a good height. The intonation wasn't out of place.

The only reason I give this a 9 is because there is a little fret buzz. This could be due to sitting in a Guitar Center for a couple months, getting shipped to another location for me, then some of the employees messing with settings thoughout. This should be easily fixable with a little adjustment though.

I haven't had this guitar for too long, but all the parts seem very solid. Nothing is loose at all on it. The finish looks nice, and doesn't seem like it'll wear off.

I would think this guitar could take quite a beating. That's not something I'll do though, considering the price tag.

I haven't had any repair on the guitar done, but I've contacted PRS on several occasions via email with questions. They've always responded promptly with a clear answer to my question. I've been very pleased.

I've been playing off and on for about 11 years. I have owned several guitars, my favorite being a custom ESP KH2 until now. This guitar is by far the best I've played. The KH2 I had sounded great, played great, and looked great, but this PRS beats it in every category. I liked the shape of the neck on the KH2 a little better, but I'm getting used to this neck quite fast (wide-thin).

I don't know if I could purchase another brand of guitars after owning this one. I'd like to get another neck-thru custom ESP some day, but this PRS has way too many features that I'd miss. Maybe a black PRS with EMG-81's and a custom graphic would do.

I love everything about this guitar. The look and the sound are great, but all the little PRS enhancements are what really make me love it. The locking tuners are probably my favorite. This saves so much time. The tremolo setup with the bar just pushing in instead of screwing is really handy, it should make it last a lot longer this way. The 2 way truss rod is very nice also. I've had guitars that I've needed to give more reliefe to than the guitar would allow, and this solves that issue.

The only thing I wish I had was another PRS.

I was really impressed when I got this guitar into my hands. I like it a lot more than I though I would.

Year: 2004 I believe
Made in the USA
Frets: 24
Solid Top
Controls: Volume, Tone, 5 way selector knob
Pickup Configuration: H/H
Pickups: HFS(bridge) Vintage(Neck)
Body Wood: Mahogany
Color: Platinum Metallic
Bridge: Stoptail(Rare! this is not an option for these guitars, this was one of few Standard 24s that they made like this)
Neck/Scale: Wide Thin

This guitar suits my style very well. It is a very versatile guitar. I think it has a very fat and warm sound. I love the sound of mahogany. As far as styles this guitar can cover the whole spectrum of styles. I use this guitar for Rock and Metal primarily and this guitar totally Rocks! I find myself playing this guitar for hours on end and have a hard time putting it down. I like it that much. I've owned alot of guitars and this one is my favorite. Thank you Martin Music in TN for knowing my style and helping me find this guitar!

The guitar was setup perfectly from the factory. It felt great, just like I would have set it up.
Pickups were set perfectly no adjustment needed.
no flaws found on guitar that I can find. Love it.

This guitar has held up great over the years still looks new. It would withstand live playing without a doubt. Very dependable guitar. I wouldn't want to play a gig without a backup...but I could do it with this guitar.

Well, I've met Paul Reed Smith and he is very helpful and willing to talk tech and make suggestions. Very nice guy. I've never had to call customer support. no need to. The guitar is great!

Not sure how long the warranty is for.

I've been playing for maybe 15 years. I own several other guitars, a Peavey Wolfgang, Schecter custom guitar made for Dann Huff, a strat...I've owned an Ibanez RG550, an Ibanez S540, a Westone guitar...don't remember all the guitars I've owned. I've played through a 5150 head, a Line 6 amp, Yamaha 50 watt amp, now I'm playing through a Peavey Triple XXX(my favorite amp so far)

If it were stolen I'd buy it again in a heartbeat, can't live without this guitar. It's totally me.

When I bought it I compared it to every model PRS in the store which was every model available at the time and I kept coming back to this one...which said alot about it. I also played several PRS Standard 24s but this one was the only one with a stoptail which totally made the tone better. Great guitar.