PRS Guitars Custom 24 – 10 Top

The PRS That Started it All

The story of the PRS Custom 24 is so closely intertwined with the PRS origin story that it’s impossible to separate the two. Paul Reed Smith is a revered figure in the guitar industry nowadays, but back in the early eighties he was building one guitar a month in an attic while gigging regularly around Maryland. To sell his guitars, he’d show up six or seven hours early before big arena shows, make friends with the roadies, and try to get backstage to put them in rockstars’ hands. Once, at a Ted Nugent show, he pretended to BE a roadie as he sprinted past security with guitars under his arms towards the motor city madman.

Though many artists were a bit skeptical of Paul at first, his guitars quickly won them over. In 1985, Paul had accumulated enough prestige to attend his first NAMM show. He only had two guitars to show, but they were so impressive that he was able to get enough orders to secure a hefty investment and build a brand-new workshop.

One of those guitars was a yellow dual-humbucker equipped guitar with a mahogany body, a figured maple top, and a 24-fret neck. It had looks that evoked classic guitars of the past, but it was its own animal entirely. This was the first Custom 24: a guitar so inspiring that it helped launch a guitar juggernaut.

To get people to pay attention back in the early eighties, Paul said he had to build guitars that looked prettier, played faster, and sounded better than anything else.

Now, almost four decades later, the PRS Custom 24 continues to set new standards in fit, finish, tone, beauty, and playability. Though Paul has enhanced the Custom 24 many times over the years, each of these guitars still carries that original spark of creative energy that led Paul to bum-rush his way past roadies back in the early eighties. We’re proud to celebrate the Custom 24’s legacy by showcasing these exceptional guitars, and we know they will inspire you to no end.