Tell me about the company´s Custom 22 and 24 finishing choices over the years.

[neurosis]

Hi everybody. I have been peeking around for a while but this shall be my first post.

I was wondering if the more experienced people, those of you who have been with the brand for over ten years now can explain a little of the development of the 22 and 24 Custom models. I am particularly interested in why some guitars were made with the top binding while others were left to look more like the Standards, with an even coat. I know why birds are or aren´t on a given model and what extra options can or can´t be ordered according to the price sheets PRS has made public on the net for years. But I have always wondered why most Customs were released with a body binding while others, like the dark sunbursts or those rare black nitro (I think that´s the color) were put out without it. I always thought a lot of the appeal of the Customs were the tops, ten top or not, with the body binding. Recently I have seen some new Customs without the binding made to specs of younger, current artists... but since it´s rather extraordinary (as far as I know) I am still curious why. I also would like to know if those models were in a different price category (binding on the body does´t look like it ever was an extra, it just was or wash´t available depending not he finish).

Thanks!

 

[John Beef]

That's a lot of info to ask about! :biggrin: It covers a lot of PRS history and changes, which are constant and hard to keep up with!

For a long time, up until about 2008 or 2009, Customs had moon inlays at the base price, and bird inlays were extra. I want to say it was a good $300 upcharge for birds. That is not the case any more. Now they're all birds all the time.

Some colors had faux binding, including black (like mine), where they don't stain the maple edges like they do with the top and back. Other colors had wrap around stains and no faux binding. I don't know which is which off the top of my head. I don't think there was a price difference.

As for the customs you're seeing that are marketed to younger artists, maybe those are S2 models? They don't have the faux binding.

 

[neurosis]

Actually the models I have seen that I remember off the top of my head had no binding and weren't S2s. I mean Between the Buried and Me (the Floyd Rose equipped Custom) and one of the guys in Periphery just made a demo of two PRS, one of them a Custom with no binding. I have been looking around to get a Custom second hand since my CE has served me well over the years and I haven't had it with me for a while. And somehow I noticed that a lot of the guitars I remember having a binding actually don't. Like that dark sunburst I was mentioning before, the one with the tear shape fading into black. It's a quilt top I think. Other finishes, like the usual green and black I remember had the binding (like you correctly observe a faux binding). Do they even make moon inlays anymore? I think they are neat. Thanks for the reply!

 

[alantig]

The finish color can play a part in whether the guitar gets the binding or not. There are some wrap-around bursts that don't get the binding, but I can't recall what other colors fall into that category.

 

[László]

I tend to like the colors that wrap around and don't have the faux binding, like Black Gold, etc. The wrap colors have been around a long time; Violin Amber Burst comes to mind as the first wrap color I had, and that was in the early 2000s. However, I've had a number of each, with and without, going back to 1991. Same with the birds and the moons.

Incidentally, you can still get moon inlays on a DGT.

 

[garrettb]

Generally, (historically, core models only) if it's a maple-topped guitar with a solid finish it will have the exposed faux binding. If it's a solid color and I don't see that maple edge, I'm going to assume it's a Standard unless someone pulls the pickups and shows me otherwise. I say generally because there will of course be the oddball exception or two out there, and with an artist's guitar all bets are off. They can make special things happen.

If it's a maple top with transparent finish, as already stated, they generally have the exposed edges with the exception of some bursts (I think there was a wrap around McCarty Burst and Dark Cherry Sunburst). Royal Blue is the only single-color transparent finish I can think of that wraps around.

The finish (solid/transparent, binding/no binding) never had a premium on it as far as I know. Custom finishes, I don't know. I remember that because it surprised me a bit when I went to buy my first. I usually like solid colors but figured what the heck, it's no extra money so why not spring for the transparent.

In the mid-late 90's they did offer a Standard with a maple top available only in Gold Top and I think they did a black top, too. As I remember, they were priced a bit lower than the Customs, but were essentially the same spec. I don't recall if it was just the 22 or if they did the 24 like that too. I just remember in 1998 almost compromising and buying a 22 fret gold top, maple-topped Standard, but I had my heart set on an Emerald Green CU24 so I went for that.

 

[neurosis]

Thanks a lot for the info guys. I am sorry I was gone for a while but I also don't know what else I could contribute to this conversation. I am really not knowledgeable in this regard despite my appreciation for these guitars.