ANNIVERSARY PARADE

CUSTOM

The cornerstone of the PRS empire – the Custom 24 as it’s known today after a 22-fret version was offered in 1993 – reigns supreme, and for the majority of the past 35 years it has been the best-selling instrument in an ever-changing range. It’s also been the foundation of the majority of PRS designs over the past years; despite the variations, its body and headstock outline remain a constant.

Today’s Custom 24 retains the original’s thinner 49mm-thick figured maple-over-mahogany body, 635mm (25-inch) scale length, dual humbuckers (85/15) and vibrato appointments. Long gone is the original five-position rotary pickup switch (not to mention the original’s sweet-switch) in favour of a Fender-style five-way lever switch offering a combination of humbucking and single-coil voices that are central to PRS style.

35 years on, Paul Reed Smith is still experimenting with this duality. The Custom 24-08 (pictured here) appeared