PRS Gold Top Query

Rich Note

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Apr 4, 2022
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Can anyone weigh in on this Gold Top. Is this a legit USA PRS ? Only seen the S2 and SE in all gold. The machine heads look cheap and the serial looks suspect. I think the serial translates to early 90s which does correspond however...

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Send the pick of back of the headstock (put the serial number in the email in case they do not want to open the pic for security reasons) to PRS and ask! They will give you a lot of the specs on the guitar and you can compare to what you have in hand!! If it is real, I would say that is a keeper!!!
 
Looks like a legit 2001 PRS Custom 24.
I think 2001 was the last year of the phase I tuners and they came without the shared D and G screw (like the later Phase II tuners) and with black tuner buttons instead of the usual nickel ones.
 
It’s possibly a Standard 24. I’ve seen a couple of all gold Standards over the years. (… and I want one!)
 
It’s possibly a Standard 24. I’ve seen a couple of all gold Standards over the years. (… and I want one!)

It looks to me that it has natural binding, but then again it could be the lighting and you could be right.
 
Yep, legit 2001 STANDARD 24.

General guide back then is if it had a maple cap, it would be a Goldtop with natural back. If it was a Standard, it would be gold all over.

Serial number isn't the cleanest looking, but I've seen worse from the factory. A "feature" of it being handwritten.

The black plastic tuner buttons are stock. The next year they would transition to the "low mass" Phase II tuners, but from '99-'01-ish, they put plastic buttons on the Phase I keys presumably to take some mass off the headstock.

The toggle might be original (it was a factory option), but likely would've had the rotary switch originally.
 
Check the serial number with PRS. That might help. Not an expert but I have not see serial numbers on PRS formatted that way.
 
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