PRS Custom 24
About the PRS Custom 24 Series
The PRS Custom 24 is the guitar that put Paul Reed Smith’s production designs on the map: a 24-fret, bird-inlaid double cutaway with a carved top and articulate humbuckers. Since its launch, the Custom 24 has grown into a family spanning three tiers that has attracted players like Dave Navarro, Mike Shinoda, Gary Moore, Wes Borland, and Sophie Burrell over the years.
SE vs. S2 vs. Core: Where Each One Is Built
The SE Custom 24 is built overseas, using PRS-designed hardware and non-locking tuners to help keep costs down. It’s a solid entry point for players who want the familiar 24-fret layout and signature bird inlays without the Core-model investment.
The S2 Custom 24 moves production stateside. These guitars are USA-made in PRS’s Maryland factory, sharing the Core’s 5-way switching, locking tuners, and gloss nitro finish, but with their own 85/15 pickup voicing and a leaner asymmetrical bevel top carve in place of Core’s hand-carved violin top. This makes the S2 a sweet spot for gigging guitarists who want flagship-level tone switching with American craftsmanship at a more accessible price.
The Core Custom 24 is the flagship: made entirely in the USA with close attention to detail, including hand-selected figured tops, DMO pickups, and PRS’s most refined fit and finish.
Each tier has its own personality, from the SE’s slightly rounder Wide Thin neck and push-pull coil-splitting to the Core’s sculpted Pattern Thin neck and expressive 5-way switching. Still comparing body styles? Browse our full range of solidbody guitars.
What 10-Top, Artist Grade, and Wood Library Mean
Within Core Custom 24 models, you’ll often see terms like 10-Top, Artist Grade, and Wood Library. These designations refer to variations in wood grade and features. A 10-Top designation means the flame or quilt patterning on the maple cap meets PRS’s highest standard visual grade. Artist Grade sits a step above that, with deeper or more pronounced curl in the figuring, just short of Private Stock grade. Wood Library Custom 24s go further still: Sweetwater’s guitar buyers travel to PRS’s Maryland factory to hand-select tops, body woods, and neck woods from its reserve stock, so these one-off builds can carry finish options and appointments you won’t find on a standard Core model. Visit our Guitar Gallery to browse high-def images of every Custom 24 we stock, so you can window-shop your exact guitar before it ships, and pick up a case to keep it protected once it arrives. Want the frets and setup dialed in even further before it ships? Sweetwater’s Plek Pro setup is available on Custom 24 models for players who want that extra level of precision.
PRS Custom 24 Questions & Answers
What’s the difference between the PRS Custom 24 and the SE Custom 24? The Core Custom 24 is made in the USA with premium woods and finish options; the SE version is built overseas to a more accessible price using PRS-approved specs and hardware. Browse the complete PRS lineup to compare every tier side by side.
What does 10-Top mean? It’s a grading designation for the figured maple cap’s visual intensity.
Why is it called a Custom 24? The name reflects its 24-fret neck, distinguishing it from PRS’s 22-fret Custom within the same body style.
Is the S2 made in the USA? Yes, S2 models are built at PRS’s Maryland factory, with a streamlined top carve that keeps costs down.