Let's see them

Ok I'll star I have to confess I love all prs models but my favorite is the Santana,I love the headstock,the short scale neck 24 frets,body shape reminds me of my first guitar a double cut t.v.special and it's the first prs I ever saw Howard Leese heart Philadelphia spectrum
 
Pretty much this. A Custom 24 with trem, birds, the classic sunburst finish, the HFS/VB pickups, rotary knob. When I think PRS and 'PRS sound,' this is the image that comes to mind immediately.

06%20PRS%20Custom%2024%2020th_Front.JPG
 
Interesting word, icon. It used to just mean a religious artifact, and most specifically a religious painting on gesso'd wood intended for an altar or shrine.

Now, it's come to mean something that symbolizes a brand, or a person who symbolizes something about a culture, etc.

PRS has been making guitars since 1985, and its original model was the "PRS Guitar" with a second model, "The Custom" being the fancier of the two, and that model is now known as the Custom 24. However, PRS has been making other models besides the Custom for a long time. The Signature Series started after about a year, and within a few years there was a Studio, and other models. Most of us can rattle off the various models and eras of PRS guitars.

The Santana didn't become a production model until the mid nineties. PRS was in business for nearly a decade, selling lots and lots of guitars before the model was released. It doesn't really look like most PRS solid body models. I love the Santana model, don't get me wrong, but when I think of PRS, I the Santana isn't the model that comes to mind.

A lot of people think of the Custom series as the quintessential PRS model. Some think the McCarty is "the" PRS model that embodies the essence of the brand.

My favorite PRS electric guitar model is undoubtedly the Singlecut, but I know very well it's not the guitar that comes to mind for most folks when they imagine a PRS. On balance, I'd have to agree with the folks who think that the Custom is the icon, and here's why:

It's the shape and model that has been in the production lineup the longest, and most PRS models are shaped like it, if not based on it. It's the model that made the brand famous. It's the model that started the whole thing with curly maple tops and bird inlays.

In fact, everything about the Custom meets the criteria for "icon" and almost no other PRS model does so quite so strongly. So my vote goes to the Custom. Here's the one I'm currently rockin':

 
The Std 24 w/moons that I didn't like(I go waaaay back to when they first appeared and even further back to the Guitar Player interview from Feb '82 where he had roller saddles on the bridge). It wasn't until the birds came out that I reluctantly gave-in after several visits to the store.

The Cu24 is king, but the Standard set the tone...to me.
 
The CU24 is what "branded" the company IMO. Vintage yellow, royal blue, whale blue, emerald green, grey black are what I think of.
 
Iconic?? It has to be the Cu24. There is no other choice, I admit, and its far from my favorite PRS.
 
I would say the Custom 24 is the most iconic for sure. I do believe the McCarty model symbolizes a lot of Paul's influences.
 
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