Why is the Custom 24 is the most popular?

P90s

P90s

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I was surprised to read that PRS sells more Custom 24s than any other model. I've never tallied up all the postings, but it seems like the PRS forum has a lot more conversation about the 594 (recently), along with McCarty's and other models other than the 24. Is that because the mainstream Custom 24 customer fits a different demographic than PRS forum members? Any theories? And, in general, what market does the Custom 24 fit that makes this model the biggest seller for PRS? I own a hollow body, a 513, and a Custom 22. Drawn to the 408 and 594 for a future purchase. Was never drawn to the Custom 24 and now I'm wondering why.
 
While I have to nod towards 11top's reasoning, one of the factors about CU24 vs the 594 is that the 594 hasn't been out as long - about a year, IIRC. Whereas the CU24 has been a staple since 1985 and before.

Which segues into: the CU24 (sold as "Custom") was the first mainstream model PRS offered as far as I can tell, which looked a bit like a strat and played more like a LP (but had its own thing going, of course). It was a popular model, and put PRS on the map, if you will. So it is "the" model when most people think about PRS.

Many (most?) of the models released since then still look like the basic CU24 or (CU22) shape, just with thicker bodies or 22 frets instead of 24. The Single Cut was a Big Thing (xref Gibson lawsuit), and the SC shape is still a relative minority in the PRS line-up. The Santana shape is found only on a few models (Santana, Mira, West St Ltd, Leese, etc). The Starla is basically a SC shape. The Vela was a truly new shape for PRS.

So, in short: because it was the first model released for "mass" production, it established the brand, and most PRS look like a CU24, even if they aren't.
 
I have often wondered the same. Every 24 fret PRS I have ever purchased was either returned or sold to fund something else.
 
To Joe Average Guitar player, the CU24 is THE PRS - it's the flagship, and the model most people associate with PRS. When young guitarists out there aspire to own a PRS, that's the model they're dreaming about. They see 10 top, and birds, and incredible playability all wrapped up in one cool package. It's only once the gateway drug has been swallowed that people start looking at the other PRS models, in my experience - then they're ready to try other things.

That being said, for me, the guitar that started me with PRS (for the above listed reasons) was a CU24, and it was indeed a gateway drug to my favorite - the CE24.
 
Aahzz said:
To Joe Average Guitar player, the CU24 is THE PRS - it's the flagship, and the model most people associate with PRS. When young guitarists out there aspire to own a PRS, that's the model they're dreaming about. They see 10 top, and birds, and incredible playability all wrapped up in one cool package. It's only once the gateway drug has been swallowed that people start looking at the other PRS models, in my experience - then they're ready to try other things.

That being said, for me, the guitar that started me with PRS (for the above listed reasons) was a CU24, and it was indeed a gateway drug to my favorite - the CE24.
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This! Totally agree!
 
Just a few thoughts on the subject:

1. The original 24 fret guitar was unusual enough to create true PRS interest. 24 fretters were the only production models for the first few years. So history was formed using these models.
2. The Custom 24 bridges a gap between the LP and the Strat. It was intended to be versatile and still is. The new LP's split for a reason. "If ya can't beat em join em". Same with Fender, they put humbuckers in the bridge of Strats for a reason. The reason didn't start with PRS, but the attempt to get closer to the LP is obvious. PRSh just gave players a better way to get the versatility they wanted.
3. It found a home with Metal players and later with Country. The tone created with a Custom and a Mesa triple rec was "the right sound at the right time". The players took that sound to new places because of new gear. Country found the versatility they needed and stable tuning kept them in the recording studio, although other models are filling out that space currently.
4. The new models PRS creates do not replace the Cu24. They are different enough in tone to keep the Cu24 in a different tonal space. With regard to a new model people say "It goes where a Cu24 doesn't go". It's true, but isn't that the point? The impetus to create a new model is to pull in buyers who were not excited by the Cu24. They are created to be different. Therefore, it makes sense that Cu24's sales are not going to drop significantly because of a new model. They don't compete much.
5. The Cu24 just works. I play an SC for a few weeks and I happen to get back to a Custom 24 and I think "Why haven't I played this all a long? It's killing it!"
 
You forgot the Owl, AP515! But yes..it's popular because it just plain rocks!
 
Tryed them all and ended up right back where I started. Custom 24
Average Joe
 
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As I am trying my best to have them ALL the CU24 is the best 24 fret guitar I have ever played and is a breeze to to get used to when coming from a 22 fret guitar.
IMHO is can be its own thing or do a great job of being almost any sounding guitar made

This was my first CU24 the classic VY with VB and HFS pickups and the rotary switch :)
I only sold it ( to a friend ) so I could get the below one Pic #2





#2 -- 2008 / 1958 it has a killer set of 57/08 pickups and a quilt to die for this guitar spoke to me the first time I played it



#3 - Not technically a CU24 but the same family and play feel but with the narrow 408s from the Pauls guitar :)
Brushstroke 24

 
Aahzz said:
To Joe Average Guitar player, the CU24 is THE PRS - it's the flagship, and the model most people associate with PRS. When young guitarists out there aspire to own a PRS, that's the model they're dreaming about. They see 10 top, and birds, and incredible playability all wrapped up in one cool package. It's only once the gateway drug has been swallowed that people start looking at the other PRS models, in my experience - then they're ready to try other things.

That being said, for me, the guitar that started me with PRS (for the above listed reasons) was a CU24, and it was indeed a gateway drug to my favorite - the CE24.
Click to expand...
Especially for the older ones of us that have been into PRS since the '80s, this is absolutely the truth. It was also the Dragons that made me gasp.

Once I bought a CU24, I was confused why they put a turtle on with so many other birds on the fingerboard. o_O
 
Boogie said:
Especially for the older ones of us that have been into PRS since the '80s, this is absolutely the truth. It was also the Dragons that made me gasp.
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I still remember the first time i saw a Dragon, on 48th St in NYC back when it was still filled with guitar shops.
 
Maybe it's because the CU24 is a superb and versatile guitar with its own very focused voice that cuts through a band, feels good to play, and is a great all-rounder

I got my first one in 1991. Great then, great now. Here's my current one (30th Anniversary):



Not that the other models aren't great; they are! Each one pursues a different thing, if you will. My #1 is a McCarty Singlecut these days, but I track with this one an awful lot.
 
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bodia said:
A lesson I just recently, and happily, learned! ;) The only problem; I can't stop looking at Santana's on line :rolleyes:
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I suggest holding out for a core retro if you feel like purchasing another. My recent PS retro is, to my ears, the best sounding Santana yet.
 
I have an Se Soapbar a Bernie, Custom24 30th Anni and McCarty W/L.
Where as my McCarty nails that classic Rock thing I craved all my life for and the splits are magic
the 24 will get me in any ballpark and hand on heart is my personal favourite.!!!
 
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