My 2024 PRS Custom 24

[Revelation]

I purchased a PRS 2024 Core Custom 24 and I wanted to share my thoughts on this guitar. This guitar is one of the most comfortable guitars I have ever played. It is lighter than my 594 and is balanced. The neck is for a shredder and with the easy access to the 24th fret.

Pickups: Tone wise, compared to my McCarty 594, the Custom 24 has a more mid range push. The 594 has a little thicker (richer lower end) sound while having a more open top end. The Custom 24 has a little more breakup than the 85/15 LT's pickups on the 594. I love both guitars and depending on what type of sound I want; it will dictate which will be best for a certain song. All the sounds on the guitar I really like. The split coil sounds on 2 and 4 are a little quieter than the humbucker selections. They don't sound just like a Strat or Silver Sky with toggle switch 2 or 4 but they have that family sound that will work when you want it. In using words that Paul Smith does, the Core 24 is a Aww sound while the 594 is a Ahh sound.

Frets: I checked all the frets and not one of them on any string buzzes. The wang bar (whammy bar) I was a little concerned about because a friend who got the S2 Custom 24 and some issues with the guitar staying in tune after using the whammy bar. Thankfully there are no issues with the guitar staying in tune after using the whammy bar. Doing that gentle tremolo with chords is a delight as well as dive bombs.

Craftmanship: Not surprising, the quality on this guitar is superb. I tried to find any issues with the fret work, neck joint, etc. but there are no complaints. The tuning pegs move so smoothly. Really nice experience on tuning the guitar. Though it's not a Top 10, the top is beautiful. I also like how the headstock wood looks like it continues down the neck. It has a very nice wood color.

Cons: Every guitar has some cons. To be honest with you, I am not crazy about the black color on the back of the guitar. As you can see in the photo, you see all the dust on the guitar. I'm not sure if this is because its black or if the nitro finish on this newer guitar is not completely dry and the dust sticks to it. Any opinions on this?

The Core Custom 24 is really a nice guitar and it's a lot of fun to play. I will provide more insight after I have had it for a while.

 

[Glide-bpm]

$weetne$$!!!!!!

 

[dmatthews]

Simply classic and gorgeous, congrats!

 

[Revelation]

After spending more time with the guitar, I can really hear the mid range push that some have talked about. I think on some amps it's more obvious than others and on the amps that it really stands out, it can be annoying

 

[Simon Says]

After spending more time with the guitar, I can really hear the mid range push that some have talked about. I think on some amps it's more obvious than others and on the amps that it really stands out, it can be annoying

Love the guitar

I'm on the same page with the black back, prone to scratches, finger print and dust attractor fo sho.

Midrange push? Would argue that. Yeah, 85/15 are mid dominant, but this is where the guitar should be dominant, isn't it? The lows are not flubby, highs are sweat and round but not yappy. Turn the guitar volume down a notch, move the master tone a bit, if its to mid-pushy.

CU24 on 85/15 can take you everywhere. If I'm not sure where my playing mood will take me to, it's my 35th Anniversary CU24 IS what's in my hands. I can weep or scream and anything in between.

 

[bodia]

Sweet as sweet!

 

[FatFingerBlues]

That's purty as a speckled pup!

 

[Revelation]

Love the guitar

I'm on the same page with the black back, prone to scratches, finger print and dust attractor fo sho.

Midrange push? Would argue that. Yeah, 85/15 are mid dominant, but this is where the guitar should be dominant, isn't it? The lows are not flubby, highs are sweat and round but not yappy. Turn the guitar volume down a notch, move the master tone a bit, if its to mid-pushy.

CU24 on 85/15 can take you everywhere. If I'm not sure where my playing mood will take me to, it's my 35th Anniversary CU24 IS what's in my hands. I can weep or scream and anything in between.

My humbucker guitars from Gibson, and others always had a full spectrum sound which I think many expect. So this different character with a mid push is something we are not used to.

My opinion is the guitar does sound great but only after scooping some mids out with the EQ on my amp. I would have preferred a little less mid push. I will try reducing the volume knob a little. I was not aware that this would affect the midrange sound.

 

[Revelation]

I just noticed that PRS changed the binding on the Custom 24 on some of them. Previously, the color of my guitar had tan binding, but on the 2024 model, they have a binding that matches the body.

 

[Simon Says]

I just noticed that PRS changed the binding on the Custom 24 on some of them. Previously, the color of my guitar had tan binding, but on the 2024 model, they have a binding that matches the body.

Nah, sometimes they stain it, sometimes they don't

 

[Revelation]

Nah, sometimes they stain it, sometimes they don't

So that is not a plastic binding but just the wood body?

On a different topic, the guitar does not have an issue with too much midrange on my Fender Twin or Boogie Expess. It's only on my Mark VII amp as the voicing is more open on the mid and highs. But reducing the mids on the amp helped a lot.

 

[Simon Says]

So that is not a plastic binding but just the wood body?

Yeah, it's the top of the body, it's not a binding

On a different topic, the guitar does not have an issue with too much midrange on my Fender Twin or Boogie Expess. It's only on my Mark VII amp as the voicing is more open on the mid and highs. But reducing the mids on the amp helped a lot.

Boogies are quite middy. Yet, my EQ is T:0, M:7, B:3, and I love it. I play Fillmore 50

 

[xxxadixxx]

It sounds like it is a great fit for you. Congratulations on a beautiful guitar. If that top is not a 10, it must have been pretty close. It looks great. Your comments about the dust/marks on the back are correct. I go out of my way to find natural back PRS for that same reason. All but 2 of my PRS' are natural backs because it drives me crazy to get all of the dust on there.

 

[Revelation]

Thanks for your feedback. It is not a top 10 but I agree it's pretty close to it. In spending this much money for a guitar, I wanted to make sure it was the guitar for me. I tried to look at any cons there might be, but with so little concerns, it looks like a keeper. Its different enough from my 594, and the more I play it the more I am enjoying it.

The one question I have for Custom 24 owners is this: The whammy bar is directly in the path of the toggle switch. Do you go behind the wang bar to move the toggle switch or in front. Granted you can move the bar at 2 o'clock position (from your viewpoint looking down at the guitar) which makes it easier to go in front of the bar. With my Silver Sky and Strats with the toggle more in front so its not an issue. Bryan Ewald in the PRS videos seems to go from behind. It will take a little while to get use to doing that.
Nice sale on the Custom 24, $400 off the regular price.

PRS Custom 24 Electric Guitar

Get the guaranteed best price on Solid Body Electric Guitars like the PRS Custom 24 Electric Guitar at Musician's Friend. Get a low price and free shipping on thousands of items.

www.musiciansfriend.com

 

[DISTORT6]

 

[RedGuitars]

Beautiful guitar. Congrats. The binding, they do them both ways. Seems to be some colors don’t, or don’t always get the natural binding. I dunno…

 

[Birdsofprey]

If the color is described as a burst then it’s natural binding. Described as a wrap then colored binding. Both look great in my opinion.

 

[Revelation]

It seems the Fire Red burst has the tan binding with red back, while the Fire Smoke Burst has the red binding and black back. I also like both of them and am happy with the one I have.

I will tell you this, it's been a lot of fun getting to know this guitar. This guitar may push my McCarty 594 into 2nd place and have the Custom 24 be the new favorite guitar for the time being. The weird thing is to play the 594 right after the Custom 24. The neck on the 594 seems bulky in comparison.

When I played the Custom 24 over 20 years ago, my thought process was that the Core 24 was trying to be in between a Gibson and Fender and does not do either guitar great, just decent. So if you want a Gibson, play a Gibson and if you want a Fender, buy a Fender. The Core 24 would most mostly beneficial when playing live as it offers many different sounds on the one guitar. My opinion on the guitar has changed. To me, this guitar has its own character and personality. Yes, it is in between the Gibson and Fender but it has its own sound, and it sounds great. The guitar with clean is wonderful, especially using gentle chorus on toggle switch 2 and 4 with some reverb. Strumming clean chords and using the wang bar for vibrato is wonderful and it stays in tune. With just a little bit of grit, you can jam away with blues and hit your overdrive pedal for lead. Or hit more distortion and it will rock your world. The body is comfortable, its much lighter than my other guitars, and the neck shreds great and the 2-octave neck is a blessing. Obviously the craftmanship is excellent and the whammy with locking tuners. The Custom 24 08 has a brighter sound with its different pickups. So, if you want that brighter sound (the single coil sounds really benefit here) and want the flexibility of being able to make both pickups single coil with the switches, get the 08. If you want a warmer sound, get standard Custom 24. I wanted the 08 initially over the standard model, but as I prefer a richer tone, I preferred the standard model.

 

[Revelation]

I realized in toggle switch 2, the back pickup stays humbucker while the front pickup is split. But on toggle switch 4, both pickups are split. The 08 version with their more P90 pickups character allows a little more options.

 

[Revelation]

Has anyone noticed that toggle switch 2 on the Custom 24 sounds similar to a telecaster in the middle position? The more I play this guitar, the more I appreciate it.