When I first got into PRSi back in 2004, the 24-fretters were what originally caught my attention... I had been bouncing back & forth between hot-rodded Ibanez RG's and old-school Les Paul's and thought the Custom 24's would bring a bit of the best of both worlds. So I started by picking up the four Custom 24's below, then gradually started branching out into other PRS models in the following months.
Several of the guitars have had electronic modifications made to them, either pickup swaps or control (knob/switch) reconfiguration. So what's been reconfigured? On the PRSi with 5-way rotary switches, I "optimize" the controls for my personal playing style. I tend to use the pickup selector more frequently than the volume and/or tone knobs while playing. So I do a bit of a round-robin... put the rotary switch in the original volume pot position, put the volume pot in the original tone pot position, and put the tone pot in the original rotary switch position. I find it easier to adjust pickup combinations "on the fly" with this control setup, whle still getting to the volume & tone knobs easily enough when I need to. For PRSi with 3-way switches, I leave them in the stock positions with the pickup selector switch behind the bridge.
Paul Reed Smith Custom 24 #1 - This is the first Custom 24 I picked up... it is a 2002 model in whale blue with 10-top flame, bird inlays, and regular neck profile. It still has the stock (HFS/Vintage Bass) pickups, though I have reconfigured the controls. It is, without a doubt, my "go-to" PRS for gigging and recording, mostly because I prefer the slightly meatier "regular" neck to the wide-thin neck.
Paul Reed Smith Custom 24 #2 - This is the second Custom 24 I bought, very shortly after the whale blue one... it is a 1998 model in violin amber burst with 10-top flame, bird inlays, wide-thin neck profile, and the (now discontinued) fixed bridge. It has HFS/Vintage Bass pickups (though it had Dragon II's in it originally, which I put into the Custom 22 semi-hollowbody to be more "accurate") and the controls have been reconfigured. This one is a close second to the whale blue one in terms of "go-to" status, because it's hard to argue with (and kinda hard to find) a giant chunk of mahogany & maple with a fixed bridge and 24 frets.
Paul Reed Smith Custom 24 #3 - Here's a 1995 in grey black finish with 10-top flame, bird inlays, and wide-thin neck profile. The pickups have been swapped for zebra Artist-series pickups, which are a bit more laid back than the typical HFS/Vintage Bass pair, and the electronics have been reconfigured. This is probably the oldest electric guitar I own, but it really doesn't look like it's 13 years old.
Paul Reed Smith Custom 24 #4 - And finally, here's my last Custom 24 from 1997 in cherry sunburst with 10-top flame, bird inlays, gold hardware, and wide-thin neck profile. Once again, the stock pickups have been swapped out--this time for a pair of PRS Dragon I's--and the electronics have been reconfigured. In person this one looks like the stereotypical cherry-sunburst Custom 24 from old PRS catalogs and advertisements.
Paul Reed Smith Standard 24 - Last but certainly not least is a Standard 24, which is a 2003 model I acquired in 2007. It has the (now discontinued) cream finish, bird inlays, and regular neck profile. Electronically, it is the only stock guitar listed here (with the original HFS/Vintage Bass pickups)--it is equipped with the McCarty-style 3-way switch and push-pull coil-tap on the tone control. Visually simpler and tonally darker/warmer, it provides a nice contrast to the flashier (both visually & tonally) Custom 24's above.
The only other 24-fret PRS I have is the recently-acquired 2007 Mira in Vintage Cherry... I won't say much about that one since I recently gave it a full write-up, but needless to say, it is considerably different in body style/construction and electronics than the Custom/Standard 24's described here.
--B
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