Paul Reed Smith Custom 24

You know the features by now.

Mine is 2009 spec, which includes the brass Phase II tuners, the 2009 bird inlays, and one of the new colours (Fire Red) previously only available to Private Stock guitars.

It is a 10 top flame and it is GORGEOUS!

I have the standard rotary switch. The trem is equal to my Petrucci's (but without the extended range they have because of their routing) and the playability is superb.

The sound is magnificent. Clear, articulate, well-defined with phenomenal note separation.

The tone is rich and the clean sounds are excellent, especially the inner settings on the 5-way.

Back off the volume for more smokey tones and it does everything so well.

I play mainly Opeth, Dream Theater and metal but also have a weak spot for U2, Hendrix, Def Leppard etc. This guitar handles it all with consummate skill.

I always re-set up my guitars, but the finish and fit are flawless. The top is just wonderful.

It is so easy to play, you can forget you have 24 frets. The radius is flat enough for most speedy rock and it stays in tune.

Never gig without a back up but it does all I need it to for a range of styles. I've only ever had one problem with a PRS, which was an electrical fault on a 513.

However, this guitar I suspect will be fine as it doesn't have the complex electronics of the 513.

No experience to report

I would get another if it was stolen or damaged. It is now my swiss army knife guitar - a guitar that does what I need in one package.

I own a PRS Tremonti (also excellent) and three Ernie Ball Petrucci's (including a seven string and two BFRs). These are the only guitars I'll ever need.

I just love the looks, the playability and the sheer quality of every component.

What year was it made? Where was is made? (Japan, Mexico, USA, etc...)
How many frets?
Solid-Top? Laminated top?
Which controls are given (volume, tone, 5-way selector, 3-way, tap, etc...)?
Pickup configuration? (S/S/H, H/H, S/H, Piezo, etc...)
Make and model of pickups?
Active or Passive electronics?
Body and neck woods? (Maple, Mahogany, Alder, Ash, Basswood, Koa, Plywood, etc...)
Finish (Satin, transparent, quilted top, flamed top, etc...)
Body style (strat, tele, dreadnought, cutaway, thinline, etc...)
Bridge style (Tune-O-Matic, Floyd Rose, Wilkinson, Tele-style, String-thru body, stop tailpiece, etc...)
Tuners (Locking? Non-locking? brand of tuners - Sperzel, Gotoh, Grover, Schaller, etc...)
Neck/Scale (Fat, Thin, Jumbo Frets, Rosewood, Maple, etc...)
Any included accessories? (Case, gig bag, strap, cable, tools, humidifier, etc...)

This is a review for a 1991 PRS Custom 24
Made in the old factory in the USA
Solid Maple top, 24 frets, Volume/Tone/5-way switch
PRS T&B pickups (w/coil tap) passive system
Maple top, Mahogany back/neck, Rosewood fretboard
Black/glossy, (headstock, too) maple binding around body edge
SG body style (sorta) Now thought of as the PRS body style
Tune-O-Matic bridge (very rare!)
PRS old style locking "winged" tuners
The neck seems much smaller than a SG/LP, nice feel though
Case/tools

This is the best sounding, most versatile guitar I've ever owned!
My Randall RM100 amp makes it the best sounding guitar you'll ever hear.
The swath of sound it covers is broader than I can discribe.

For an 18 year old guitar, it's held up well.
It plays like BUTTAH!

You can beat on it all night and it will stay in tune!

Customer: "Hey could you ...."

PRS CS: NO!

Customer: "But you haven't even..."

PRS CS: "Click, dial tone......."

It took 10 years to find a PRS (used) with a T-O-M bridge.

Perfect, I feel that PRS makes a turely perfect guitar. As far as features go, its a guitar, it has a neck, pickups, tremelo, locking tuners, etc. Made in the USA, Maryland i think, 24 frets, And the finishes they do are turely the nicest i've ever seen on any guitar. The thing about PRS guitars, to me at least, is that every inch of this guitar is perfect, solid, the action is perfect. I've had this particular model for 3 & 1/2 years and other than a few very small surface scratches, its in just as good of condition as it was the day i opened the case for the first time, it even still smells new and i've giged with it a quite a bit, but i keep it in the case when i'm not playing it. The only thing i did to this guitar was put different strap locks on it and 10 guage strings instead of 9's. I love the tone of Strats and Les Pauls, but to me a PRS just has a slightly different and cleaner tone than a strat and i hate to say it but Les Pauls are just to damn heavy, i like'em, i've played'em many times and they definitely have a little more sustain than the Custom 24, i just feel that it suits me better.

Again i love this guitar, i think they are so versitle, i have a Mesa Roadster and a ton of pedals, line 6 modeler pedals, some bootique effects from Death by Audio and Zvex, A Boss GT-6 that i run through the effects loop, some EH pedals and i think it sounds great with all of them. I really feel it has a great all around tone it can do great cleans and super heavy distortions and anything in between.

Again Perfect.

I've not had any problems thus far

Never had to deal with them

I've been playing for 15years and i love it, i would definitely buy another one exact make a model and definitely a different model i'm very interested in the Starla

After owning many guitas, including Prestige Ibanez, ESP Customs, Fenders, Gibsons, Etc. I aimed my expensive taste towards a PRS for a change. Figuring the combination of Double Cutaway, Mahagony Back and Maple top mixed with 24 frets and a floating bridge, how could I go wrong? The first thing I'd like to point out is how excellent the 5-way rottary switch is, both in cosmetics and function. Once getting past the stage of adjusting to a new way of selecting pickups (you have to be retarted if you can't) the rottary is a jem of a selector that I'll probably incorperate on the custom guitars I build myself.

I'm a music teacher and also spend alot of time recording. So I play every style, and I find the tones this guitar is capable of help in both those situations. I have run this guitar through everything from Marshalls, Fenders, Vox's, Line-6 amps and pre-amp units, mesa/boogie and even nameless Class A tube amps and everytime it's perfect. I find the series of complaints this guitar gets for it's tone is not so much the instrument but the inability of people to stop thinking of it as a strat or a les paul. This guitar is unique and has it's own voice. When you want it to cut through a mix with searing leads it will do it, if you want it to sing smoothly it will do it. Sometimes I find I have to adjust the settings on an amp to suit the pickup combination or a paticular style but that's called reality. IMHO the HFS and BASS pickups are fine and extensivly versatile, my only gripe would be that maybe PRS tried to make this guitar the Jack of All trades and as a result may be the master of none.

The fit and finish is probably only second to an Ibanez Prestige I once owned, but is light years ahead of the likes of Gibson. You will not find excess glue smearing out the sides of the frets, you will not find sharpy marks under the gloss finsih or bad setting of the neck. I found the Tremolo unit of the guitar even after the harshes treatment always returned to pitch (btw for all those that gripe about pulling back on the trem-arm and finding the guitar not returning to pitch, you do realise you have to give it a slight tap forward again to return equalised tension to the string, right? as you do with all trem-units) and even though my guitar was finished in high gloss black it looked amazing, no swell marks or scratches in the finish.

I play live atleast twice a week and and spend 6 hours teaching every day and this guitar is my workhorse for both and find it holds tuning very well and a good dosage of abuse too. The only thing I don't like is the polyurethane finish, so if you get a gash of chip there is no buffing it out. But hey just about every guitar manufacturer uses two-pack for a solid finish these days. I've used it many times without a backup guitar and every time it's never snaped a string or fallen of its strap buttons, but having said that, I'm a pood judge as I change strings every week.

I haven't delt with PRS personally and hopefully never will have too. Except to maybe order a complete custom job.

My main setup is with this Guitar. I use a Dunlop 535q, Fulltone Fulldrive 2, Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive, ISP Noise Decimator, Mesa Dual Rectifier Roadster and a Line 6 DL4. If this guitar was stolen or lost I would purchase another one in a heart beat, actually I already have. The honest truth though is, If you wan't a guitar that sounds and plays like a Fender Stratocastor buy a Fender Stratocastor, if you wan't a Gibson Les Paul do the same, but if you feel your a little disapointed with either of them or just would like something a little different, maybe your own voice, than give the PRS Custom 24 a try, it's not for everyone but don't dismiss or fall in-love with it because of someone elses opinion, just try it yourself.

2008 Paul Reed Smith Guitars Custom 24 solid body electric double cutaway guitar. "Old" (filled-in) abalone bird inlays, whale blue standard grade 1-piece quilt top, gloss black back, natural maple edge. Polyurethane-acrylic composite finish. 5 way rotary selector, volume, tone. 25 inch scale length, HFS and Vintage Bass pickups, nickel hardware, PRS tremolo. You know the drill. Locking PRS 14:1 Phase II locking tuners (much better than Schaller or Sperzels, by the way, and I like both of those). Regular neck carve. Case included.

This guitar is one of best-sounding guitars I have played at any price. In my quest for a new guitar I have tried all the major brands, and some of the not-so-major brands. I compared it against 4k+ Les Paul Customs and VOSes, Strats, ESPs, Ibanezes, Jacksons, etc, as well as a slew of other PRS guitars (including a PRS Modern Eagle). This was the best sounding and playing out of them all by far (with the rosewood-necked Modern Eagles a close second).

This is a very versatile-sounding guitar. The bridge pickup is biting and aggressive but cleans up well, and the neck pickup is round and full, chock full of harmonics. The in-between single coil positions on the 5 way are my favorite sounds of the guitar in general and are great for blues or rock rhythms, while the full-on humbucking positions are excellent for hard rock/metal shred and super-aggro riffage. There is a TON of definition in the bridge pickup...as such the guitar is not very forgiving. Your mistakes will show but your triumphs will shine through as well. It's a very 'transparent' guitar-- you can get YOUR sound out if it.

Clean the bridge and neck pickup alone aren't the greatest sounds (however I'm used to an EMG 60 neck for my cleans so I'm biased), but once you have your amp dialed in with respect to the neck pickup, selecting the in-between positions will give you an AWESOME goldmine of clean tones. The neck pickup clean is very thick and meaty. The bridge clean is a little indistinct and honky.

Distorted, the bridge pickup is where its at. Searing leads that break into feedback very naturally, with lots of bottom-end. Between the bridge and neck PU you can get some very LP tones out of the guitar, and then using the single coil positions you get crisp and bright--dial back the volume a little and you can go from VERY distorted to nice and clean, without even touching the amp.

I'd say this is possibly the most versatile guitar I've ever played (save for maybe the PRS 513).

Oh and this bears saying: You will not find a more rock-solid tremolo system. Granted it doesn't have as much up-pull as a Floyd, it WILL stay in tune! If I ever get a customized, Private Stock PRS, I'm definitely requesting an uprouted tremolo cavity like Mark Tremonti has done.

I don't think I ever played this guitar straight-from-factory. The store had it set up already (they did a very good job considering it was GC). I had my buddy set it up afterwards and it went from great to MIND-BLOWINGLY easy to play. Dead straight neck, nothing frets out, no buzz, perfect intonation. Aside from the action nothing needed seeing to.

The finish gets me compliments every time I open the case. You really can't beat a PRS figured maple top. There were absolutely no flaws. I've yet to see a mass production guitar rival the quality control at PRS.

I know many guitar players, both professional and hobbyist, who swear by their Paul Reed Smith Customs. I swear by mine already. This is a sturdy guitar meant for the road. I have a friend who just bought a PRS from 1986 that is in just as good shape as mine which is fresh from the factory.

Only time will tell but I'm going to give it a '10' because of the firsthand experience I've had with PRS as old as I am that have seen constant use and have yet to fall to pieces.

My first week with the guitar I accidentally had the tremolo arm tightening screw fall out on me and get lost (I found it later). I emailed PRS for a replacement screw and it was sent to me the next day, no questions asked, no charge, and it arrived at my door within a couple of days. Many thanks to Shawn Nuthall for his awesome customer service!

I play this guitar through a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier Roadster and an Orange Tiny Terror, and I get pretty much any tone I need. I definitely love how reliable this guitar is but also how resonant and full it sounds. I no longer resort to active pickups to get the bite and attack I need...it's all here in this nicely put together work of luthier art.

I just wish the trem had more up-pull to it! haha

If it were stolen, there'd be a lot of hell to pay, police involved, and much scandal. If I lost it, and couldn't find it, I'd buy another PRS Custom 24. In fact I may do that anyways and have one in a different color to suit a different mood. :)

Talkin' bout a PRS CE 24, PRS trem, abalone moon inlays. Bought it in Belgium. Maple vintage yellow top which contrasts beautifully with the red back, neck and headstock. Wide thin neck, HFS treble pickup in the bridge position, vintage pickup in the neck. Nice locking tuners.

Wow! I was already in a very good mood when I bought it. The moment I plugged it in, I knew it was what I was looking for. I messed around for the past 3 years with gear and though the PRS CE 22 was the max I could get for rock, jazz blues and pop. For the shred, I chose a Music man silhouette I beefed up with a bare knuckle 'rebel yell' pickup. To be frank, both guitars sound like a joke compared to the CE 24 and I'm going to sell them instantly.

The tone of the CE 24 is thick, rich and smooth for the neck PU and it bites with the bridge one. With the neck PU, roll down the tone knob and presence of your amp and you get Santana easily. Switch to the bridge pickup, add some presence and treble, the SD-1 and you'll hear Zakk Wylde.

Great harmonics as well. For cleans, some nice jazz sounds on the neck PU with the tone knob halfway and on position 2 or 4 you come close to a strat. Wide fat neck plays like a dream and, very important, while playing some jazz arpeggio lines the definition remains very precise even with full distortion.

All above mentioned styles are covered, except funk, but for this I keep my fender strat. Also the reason why I give it a 9.

I run it trough a Kock multitone head (great one!), a 2x12 koch cab with and some boss fx (SD-1, CS-3, CH1, DD3), You can easily forget bout the fx cause it sounds already awesome when I plug it in directly. Think PRS and koch matches perfectly, and recently discovered that PRS endorses koch. No surprise for me.

See under 'features'. Everything flawless but this goes without saying considering the price. Still I am amazed that PRS can still deliver such quality and their standards and craftmanship. did not go dowm after their success. In the end, quality pays off.

Just have it for two days. Will use it in my band next week and hope to get live with it soon. Finish looks great an reliable.

Great stuff. Well done. Just tried it while writing this and had difficulties putting it aside ;-).
Have to come back a little to my remark on the funk sounds, cause it does sounds great as well. Still I'll keep the strat cause you can't beat the original.

Would look for a new one if it was stolen because you get a grin on your face once you are plugged in. As said above, tonewise my music man and CE22 (ok this one a little less cause it still has a warm sound) are dwarfed by it. Only thing is that I would have preferred 22 frets to give the PU's more breathing space, but you can't have it all.

Ok, if you have red other reviews, you know the stuff... Two humbuckers, 24 frets, five position rotary switch, one tone pot, tremolo, etc...
Mine is a 98' orange, not top ten, moon inlays..I give an 8 because of the rotary switch...More of later.

This is NOT a mixture of a Strat and a Les Paul, neither the clone of them. It has its own sound, and maybe not everybody's cup of tea, IMHO. I like it, it fits me ;-)I play in a cover band, 60s, 70s 80s songs, mostly rock. I am not Steve Vai or Satriani (unfortunately), but it has a very distinctive, characteristic sound. The neck PU is deep, a little bit muddy if you use heavy distorsion. The neck PU is very good, it bites. The in-beetween settings are also useable, but volume vise a little bit lower than the others, which is not necessarily a bad thing, if you want to do a solo during a song with in between setting, you just switch to a humbucker setting...

I bought it used, so I took it to my local guitar shop for a good checking, setting, etc... The finish is beautiful, the binding is neat, the neck is very comfortable, it almost plays itself. I use 9 set of strings (yes, I do not have monster hands).

I have other guitars, so I do not gig it very often, but it never broke a string. I like the locking tuners, the big strap buttons, because I do not use straplock. It is not heavy, it would be important during a long gig. I would NOT do a gig withouth a spare one, because of the tremolo and possible string breaking, but othervise I rank it a good 9er.

I sent them mails 3 times, they answered promptly. I asked them the exact colour, model, because in the shop they did not even know this info. Next time I asked them how to lock the tremolo, as Mr. Clapton did, they asnwered promptly and politely. Last time I asked aboutfactory setings, like PU height, it was the same.

Let me just emphasize: it is not everybody's guitar. It was love at first sight for me, and I do not regret I bought her. I have ten other geetarz, I am a really freak, but I would suggest an extensive test before YOU buy one. I saw a review here, a guiter fella bought 9 of them, and he/she still do not like it. Well, I would not buy the SECOND one after the first test failed...I do not like the rotary switch, but instead of swap it for a traditional switch, I installed a pointer washer on it. I rank it 9, because I like it, but it is up to you as well, my guitar brethrens!

Black cherry, Maple top with nice flame. Stock was 5 position rotary switch but I swapped it out for a standard 3 way les paul type. Excellent fretting and finger board finish. Swapped out the bridge pickup HFS for a seymour duncan Custom Custom. Also got rid of the bleed cap on the volume control (I'll explain later)

In it's stock configuration the sound is very much dependant on the amp played through. It sounded pretty good through a Marshall TSL2000 all valve combo (but so did my $200 yamaha pacifica)
Plugged into a Mesa F50 it sounded awful very harsh and brittle sound) At first I though it was the Amp (I suppose pride didn't allow me to entertain the fact my expensive PRS could possibly sound bad). It really did sound awfull. I changed the bridge pickup for a seymour custom custom (This is THE pickup for a PRS custom 24) It takes away all the top end harshness. Much Much better. After a while I couldn't stand the rotary switch so I put a regular 3 position one in. I'm going to rate it as stock (I'd give it an 8 with the seymour)

Best playing and nicest looking guitar I ever owned (Parker Fly came close), Nice action. Flawless construction. Perfect relief, no buzzes.

Nice to play live, not to heavy, a joy to hold and wonderfull for fast lead runs. Stays in tune very well also. Trem not too light, just right! Really looks the part.

Never had any call to use them!

I've been playing for 26 years, I've had virtually every model of guitar and amp. My current favourite guitar is a 1994 Orville Les Paul, fitted with Seymour JB on bridge ($500 from ebay). Soundwise, it totally blows away the PRS. It has a crunchy, smooth, sustained, warm tone that cleans down to pure jazz and blues. Wonderfull.

Basically I wish I'd never bought the PRS. But it makes a very nice ornament!

I play in a church worship band. The gear I use currently, and it's the best guitar sound I've managed to get so far, Vox tonelab SE (with Damage control Womanizer in insert loop), going into Sonic Maximizer stomp and then ending up going into a Tech21 Power Engine 60. The great thing about this setup is that you can have a wonderfully full powerfull tone without ear splitting volume. Very sound engineer friendly.

1994 (pre-factory) Whale blue stained flamed maple top, solid mahogany body, rosewood fretboard with birds.

I Play Metal, hardrock, rock, blues... celtic, bluegrass.

Have plugged this into solid state amps, stacks and combo tube amps. The most particular amps that compliment this guitars sound are any decent quality tube amp. The sound is just amazing. Even if this guitar didn't look as beautiful as it does, the sound alone would justify the price paid (ie. the market price for elite guitars today)
The sound, is absolutely incredible. Just the ring and resonation when it isn't plugged in once strummed will give anyone around a 'double take'.

The guitar was purchased used in 2000 ( 6 years old at the time) however I spoke to the original owner about the setup and all the other mumbo-jumbo and apparently it was A+. I purchased the guitar from a pro musician, and its setup was perfect.

The setup and finish is far beyond expectations for elite guitars and the competitors that are representative (the Gibsons and fenders of the world).

Just awesome!

This guitar will blow your mind in a live performance.

The hardware is solid, despite the tarnish from the saddles on the tremolo. BUT, that isn't a concern and it makes the guitar look super vintage.

The finish is pretine after 12 years of age and continual play and wear.

Strap buttoms are like concrete...no movement, no wiggle and oversized for anti-drop protection (for us doofus people who can drop lovely items....no one is perfect!!)

This guitar will go to the grave with me... totally dependable.

I don't believe that anyone should gig without a backup, just for the sake of being careful and prepared for anything. In all circustances, this guitar is super solid and just an incredible instrument... the only thing I can see happening at a gig would be a string break, in which case the locking tuners would ensure that I'd get a replacement string on in a few seconds. So, no backup required if absolutely necessary.

N/A

Been playing 15 years.

This guitar is such a gem and so important to me that I have it insured separately under my home owner's insurance policy. It's the gem of my collection. Some people will look at my collection and perhaps disagree. If you played this one, you'd agree.

Guitars I own: Vintage 67' Fender Telecaster, '98 USA Strat, 2001 USA Les Paul Standard, ES 335 Epiphone DOT, 1980 Fender Newporter (like a strat), Ibanez Artcore Hollowbody, Larrivee D-05 (acoustic), 2002 Martin D18, 1957 Gibson LG-1, 2005 Gibson Songwriter, 1997 Simon and Patrick

Previously owned: (I go through guitars like underwear....however there are some that one will always keep, gems such as the PRS Custom 24)
1977 Gibson J-45 Deluxe, Taylor 310-CE, 1999 USA Strat, 1994 Ovation Baladeer, G series Takamine, etc...

In the topic of elite electric guitars, I think PRS guitars in general are in a different category of their own, as compared to Gibson and Fender (as well as others). My custom 24 is a pre-factory, so there's a little more attention to detail in terms of fret work and the finger board, just to name a few features. The feel is unbelievable, and it is the best guitar I have ever played. It's like butter...plays so easy, sounds so good it makes the crappy guitar player think he sounds fantastic ( I used to think that way!)

10 top, dark cherry sunburst transparent finish, wide-thin neck w/birds on rosewood fretboard, 5 way switch, 1 volume, 1 tone, HFS and vintage bass pickup, PRS tremolo, locking tuners, graphite nut, tuning pegs, and backplate. Came with a nice case. Made in 1999-2000 in USA, 24 frets. Solid (and thick) maple top on mahogany back. For features this guitar is great. The finish is flawless. I kind of wish it had the 3-way switch with coil tap, but the 5 way is great too.

PRS guitars excell at versatility. I play mostly hard rock, rock, and blues and this guitar suits me well. For the blues, its not as good as a strat, but it sure can rock. I have used it with line 6(bleh), Ampeg V4 (100+ watt tube head) and a Tryanor YCV40WR tube combo. With the traynor and this guitar I can play just about any style - even metal with the bridge puckup and amp boost engaged. My one complaint is that for overdriven sounds, the bridge pickup can be a little harsh, and the neck can be a little muddy - typically I find a good middle ground using EQ. One thing I will say is that I absolutely love the sound of the vintage bass neck pickup through a clean amp - it has the sweetest warmest tone I have heard in a guitar pickup. I also like how the fender-like pickup positions 2 and 4 drop in output - with a tube amp a flick of the pickup switch can take you from a heavy lead sound to a smooth more touch sensitive bluesy grit. Again, probably not as good as a gibson or fender if you are going for those exact sounds, but has a character of its own and is far more versatile than these other brands.

Set up and shipped perfectly in tune, great action - everything perfect. Top bookmatched well, but not perfect. Fit and finish Perfect.

Everything about the guitar seems great except the chrome hardware - it oxidizes heavily and looks like shi*. This is unacceptable on a guitar that costs this much - the chrome hardware on my MIM strat started out less shiny, but looks a lot better now.

Finish has held up nicely, strap butten are oversized which is awesome. I would easily gig w/o a backup.

My only complaint is cosmetic - one you wouldn't expect on a PRS.

Havn't dealt with them, I should see if i can get the hardware replaced though.

Playing about 12 years, first guitar was a MIM strat and then I took a big step up to this guitar. I wish I would have known about the hardware - maybe the gold hardware is more robust. If I could afford a Les Paul and a US Strat, and had the room for more guitars i might prefer that setup - but the PRS takes up less room, sounds great, and I don't have to switch guitars to get different sounds. If it were stolen I would probably buy a strat since I couldn't afford a PRS.

One important note - compared it to the custom 22 - the 22 has a much larger and more uncomfortable neck heel. I might have prefered the 22 since the fret spacing is pretty small on the 24 and a little cramped to play in the upper registers, but the 22 is nearly unplayable in these registers due to the enormous heel.