Looking for the value of a 1986 PRS Custom 24 with birds and 10 top, in mint shape, with case

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pjwoogie

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If anyone would like to weigh in on the value of a 1986 PRS Custom 24 in vintage yellow in mint shape, with case and bird inlays and 10 top. It has the original neck with no nicks or scratches.

I am the owner and interested in selling. It's in the Rochester, NY area. The House of Guitars sent me here, since they couldn't do much useful with it. Haven't played it plugged in, in about 20 years. Bought it new and picked it up at Brian's Guitars in New Haven back in late October of 1986. I still have their polishing cloth in the case. It is all original as received back then, so no fret jobs or anything else. Has the tools and papers from PRS explaining how to use them. It has the all black case. I have taken pics of it. I would say the 10 top is gorgeous, as it stood out back then, but they've probably gotten more gorgeous over the years, I'm guessing. I don't believe there's any fading but I'm not an expert in finishes, and didn't inspect it with a microscope. The sweet switch appears to have a small washer. The S/N is 6 1574. Played it thru a 3 channel Mesa/Boogie Mark III 1x12 combo, with EV speaker, 100 watts, EQ, reverb, and Koa cab that looks kind of orange like a pumpkin, with the accompanying flight case. Since I don't play anymore, it seemed like I might as well part with them both. Not looking to make a killing, but I can always buy another guitar and amp someday down the road when I get back to playing.
 
Last edited:
pjwoogie said:
If anyone would like to weigh in on the value of a 1986 PRS Custom 24 in vintage yellow in mint shape, with case and bird inlays and 10 top. It has the original neck with no nicks or scratches.
Click to expand...

The Price is always what someone is willing to pay for it and that can vary from 1 area to the next. I don't know if you are the seller or buyer and which area you are in. I would think that an 86 in mint condition, all original with case and candy could be worth quite a bit more than a new Custom 24 to a collector but maybe less to someone who is looking for a tool to do a job - why pay more for a used guitar when you can buy a new one with more modern tuners and trem system - a guitar Paul would tell you is 'better' now than they were.

The point is, the price is not an easy thing to give you because there are a lot of factors that can affect the price. If you are seller, you may think the condition is mint but a buyer may think its good/excellent (depending on the Case and any case candy). The price can vary too depending on where you live too and whether or not its being sold as a collectors guitar - especially as it has to be one of the very early models - within the first few thousand made - maybe even earlier which may interest a collector more - especially if its all stock (inc Frets) and complete (case and case candy too).
 
The serial number will also make a difference - earlier is worth more ('86s typically range from early 400s to late 1800s). As you've said it's a ten top it must be a later one. Garett Park Guitars might be a good place to ask about value as they're probablyly the go to people for older PRS. Plus maybe Rumble Seat Music as theyve sold a few high end older PRS too. I'd also say the market in the UK at least is fairly flat at the moment, based on conversations with someone I known for a long time who recently sold off their PRS collection, including several '85 guitars plus some nice '86s including a very early Sig. But VY with Birds is the most valuable combination for early guitars, especially in mint condition.
 
Regardless of what we think someone will lowball you even if you have the lowest price on the internet, brutal out there for me when I was selling ended up going to Chicago Music Exchange for a no fuss deal , yes I could have ( should have ) gotten more but to not deal with the a&^%les it was priceless.
If I had an all original 86 I would need to be dead to let it go because the one I get to play now and again it an UNREAL tone monster ( VY also )
but 8K and up ( possibly way up )
 
Rider1260 said:
Regardless of what we think someone will lowball you even if you have the lowest price on the internet, brutal out there for me when I was selling ended up going to Chicago Music Exchange for a no fuss deal , yes I could have ( should have ) gotten more but to not deal with the a&^%les it was priceless.
If I had an all original 86 I would need to be dead to let it go because the one I get to play now and again it an UNREAL tone monster ( VY also )
but 8K and up ( possibly way up )
Click to expand...

That would be beyond my comprehension, but I haven't been on the scene in a long time. Honestly, it is probably as nice of a guitar as you'll find, AFAIK.
 
Mozzi said:
The Price is always what someone is willing to pay for it and that can vary from 1 area to the next. I don't know if you are the seller or buyer and which area you are in. I would think that an 86 in mint condition, all original with case and candy could be worth quite a bit more than a new Custom 24 to a collector but maybe less to someone who is looking for a tool to do a job - why pay more for a used guitar when you can buy a new one with more modern tuners and trem system - a guitar Paul would tell you is 'better' now than they were.

The point is, the price is not an easy thing to give you because there are a lot of factors that can affect the price. If you are seller, you may think the condition is mint but a buyer may think its good/excellent (depending on the Case and any case candy). The price can vary too depending on where you live too and whether or not its being sold as a collectors guitar - especially as it has to be one of the very early models - within the first few thousand made - maybe even earlier which may interest a collector more - especially if its all stock (inc Frets) and complete (case and case candy too).
Click to expand...

I edited my first entry.
 
Pics must be on a publicly accessible site, such as flickr, imgur, etc.

Find the image url, copy/paste, bookend with img tags:

{img}insert image url here, starts with https, ends with .jpg{/img}

Replace { } with [ ]
 
When Paul was looking to help one of the original investors in PRS sell a couple of older guitars he pointed them to Garrett Park Guitars, see links and relevant advert text reprodued below. I'd give them a shout to see if they can help. As indicated by others your guitar is both collectable and valuable, certainly several thousand dollars. Good luck with getting it sold - sounds like a great opportunity for someone.

We have just gotten two vintage PRS guitars from one of PRS first investors, Mike Ashford. Mike owns McGarveys, a famous bar in Annapolis, and was highly instrumental in helping Paul get PRS off the ground back in the day. He and Paul have remained very close through the years and Paul called us to help Mike evaluate these and we later acquired them for sale.

https://gpguitars.com/products/1986-prs-custom-with-birds-cherry-sunburst
https://gpguitars.com/products/1987-prs-custom-with-birds-vintage-yellow

Both the guitars in the links above are long sold so I hope it's OK adding them. Both ended up in England and I got to play both a few times (the '86 Vintage Sunburst being one guitar I probably should have bought when offered it).

EDIT: GP currently have a VY 1987 Custom for sale on their website with a serial that's fairly close to your guitar. That one has moons; birds probably double the value of an early guitar. That should give you some idea of your guitar's retail value to a dealer like GP Guitars, although I always think GP ask too much... The market for early guitars is very driven by condition / originality, birds, colour (VY is the most valuable), 'quality' of the flame top (how visually 'dramatic' it is), and age / year / serial. For info, you'll see nice low serial 1985 Vintage Yellow Customs with birds in the $30,000 range, although I have my doubts if they sell at that price in the current market. Early guitars from the first year of production (1985) comand a fairly big permium, so a 1985 guitar is worth a lot more than a 1986 even though they're effectively the same guitar.
 
Last edited:
Collywobbles said:
When Paul was looking to help one of the original investors in PRS sell a couple of older guitars he pointed them to Garrett Park Guitars, see links and relevant advert text reprodued below. I'd give them a shout to see if they can help. As indicated by others your guitar is both collectable and valuable, certainly several thousand dollars. Good luck with getting it sold - sounds like a great opportunity for someone.

We have just gotten two vintage PRS guitars from one of PRS first investors, Mike Ashford. Mike owns McGarveys, a famous bar in Annapolis, and was highly instrumental in helping Paul get PRS off the ground back in the day. He and Paul have remained very close through the years and Paul called us to help Mike evaluate these and we later acquired them for sale.

https://gpguitars.com/products/1986-prs-custom-with-birds-cherry-sunburst
https://gpguitars.com/products/1987-prs-custom-with-birds-vintage-yellow

Both the guitars in the links above are long sold so I hope it's OK adding them. Both ended up in England and I got to play both a few times (the '86 Vintage Sunburst being one guitar I probably should have bought when offered it).

EDIT: GP currently have a VY 1987 Custom for sale on their website with a serial that's fairly close to your guitar. That one has moons; birds probably double the value of an early guitar. That should give you some idea of your guitar's retail value to a dealer like GP Guitars, although I always think GP ask too much... The market for early guitars is very driven by condition / originality, birds, colour (VY is the most valuable), 'quality' of the flame top (how visually 'dramatic' it is), and age / year / serial. For info, you'll see nice low serial 1985 Vintage Yellow Customs with birds in the $30,000 range, although I have my doubts if they sell at that price in the current market. Early guitars from the first year of production (1985) comand a fairly big permium, so a 1985 guitar is worth a lot more than a 1986 even though they're effectively the same guitar.
Click to expand...

Wow, that's great info. I've been out of it for so long, I didn't even know or think about it. I will call them for advice. My guitar is pretty comparable to these you listed, although I did play it back in the day, so it isn't unplayed, but otherwise in great shape. Not sure how someone in the biz will evaluate it. Thanks again.
 
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