Question about serial number in Custom 24 Gold Top

PabloAR

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Aug 8, 2020
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Hello, I am about to buy a Paul Reed Smith Custom 24 Gold Top made in 2011. I attach here the certificate of authenticity. Everything seems to be ok with the guitar as far as I can see in the photos. The issue is that is does not have a readable serial number. According to the owner, everything is stock and also sent me an email in which he bought the guitar to Axe Palace. Could this affect the resale price? The owner says it is due to the wood being dark.
However, I couldn't find information about faded serial numbers in PRS guitars. I live in a place with a lot of humidity, but I don't know if it could be a factor to considerate because the guitar is just from 2011. I found this exact guitar in Darrel Braun's Youtube channel and it has a fully readable serial number:
Minute 2:10

Thanks in advance!

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Mmm maybe they forgot it?
I don't think someone sanded it off since it's under the finish...
I would check the pickup cavities, must be written under one of them, if it matches with the tag, I would probably not worry so much...
 
Thanks for your reply. The owner says it is there and I am going to see the guitar now, so I will update it in an hour or so. It just seemed odd to me that it has faded. I will tell him if I can check the pickup cavities, but I don't think it will be possible.
 
Thanks for your reply. The owner says it is there and I am going to see the guitar now, so I will update it in an hour or so. It just seemed odd to me that it has faded. I will tell him if I can check the pickup cavities, but I don't think it will be possible.

it’s no big deal to take out 2 screws, he should have taken these pics already, i mean really.
 
it’s no big deal to take out 2 screws, he should have taken these pics already, i mean really.

I agree. If you look closely though you can see 11 and then 18 so I'm assuming it's legit since that matches the hangtag.
 
Yes, it is legit. I went to try the guitar. It was fine, I liked it. However, I found more imperfections and I think (I'm not sure as I haven't seen this before) that maybe the neck could have been relacquered or something could have happened. The neck is comfortable, but you can see these lacquer imperfections and I have no clue about the neck joint. Here there are some pictures I took. Again, the serial number is really hard to see even in person. Also, the owner says it is stock and he bought it that way. I have not bought it yet because of this.
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it’s no big deal to take out 2 screws, he should have taken these pics already, i mean really.

I forgot my screwdriver and the ones he had were kinda broken. I will bring it if I come back and check electronics too
 
Yes, it is legit. I went to try the guitar. It was fine, I liked it. However, I found more imperfections and I think (I'm not sure as I haven't seen this before) that maybe the neck could have been relacquered or something could have happened. The neck is comfortable, but you can see these lacquer imperfections and I have no clue about the neck joint. Here there are some pictures I took. Again, the serial number is really hard to see even in person. Also, the owner says it is stock and he bought it that way. I have not bought it yet because of this.

Yeah that definitely looks odd. I noticed that as well in your first set of pics, maybe it's a repair of some sort.
 
Now that kind of "glue" on the neck joint makes me think that the neck has been changed.
Maybe the original got broke in some way, they cutted it off at the neck joint and replaced with a new blank one...
I would stay away...
 
I had not considered that but it makes a lot of sense. Do PRS provide the service? I am most likely staying away from it. Just asking so I can at least inform the owner so he can sell it properly
 
I don't know if the PTC offers this service. However, I remember seeing a les paul custom from a friend's father that had the same whitish line around the neck joint. as he told me it had been repaired because the neck had broken (probably in the headstock), seeing no signs of a joint anywhere, I concluded that the whole neck had been replaced. I simply associated this case with yours.
 
Now that kind of "glue" on the neck joint makes me think that the neck has been changed.
Maybe the original got broke in some way, they cutted it off at the neck joint and replaced with a new blank one...
I would stay away...

I had not considered that but it makes a lot of sense. Do PRS provide the service? I am most likely staying away from it. Just asking so I can at least inform the owner so he can sell it properly

No, they don’t do necks.
 
Yeah they do, I think that was the first year but I'm not 100% on that.
Yes, 2011 was the first year for Phase III tuners. At least on Custom 24's. I have an early 2011 Custom 24. When I ordered it, the webpage said Phase III tuners but my guitar has Phase II tuners. They're both great so that didn't bother me.
 
I don't know if the PTC offers this service. However, I remember seeing a les paul custom from a friend's father that had the same whitish line around the neck joint. as he told me it had been repaired because the neck had broken (probably in the headstock), seeing no signs of a joint anywhere, I concluded that the whole neck had been replaced. I simply associated this case with yours.
Thanks for the info! I will keep that in mind in case I see some guitar in the future with those signs on the neck joint
 
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