Gearank

PRS (Paul Reed Smith) is a guitar brand that's been waves in the electric guitar manufacturing industry. Despite being a premium brand, their more affordable guitars garner a good reputation. Quality so good that Fender and Gibson may need to be on their toes.

Among their highly rated electric guitars is this PRS SE Custom 24.

Right off the bat, this solid body guitar looks stunning. The curves and contours of this stunning guitar are somehow modern yet classic feeling. The guitar is ergonomic without too much of that "Ibanez guitar super strat" aesthetic - the build quality is pretty great.

It also has a maple neck with rosewood fingerboard. It also comes in Black Gold Burst, Bonni Pink and Faded Blue Burst finishes. These have flame maple veneers - nothing less than outstanding at this price point.

It even sports a patented tremolo bar in its compact bridge section.

It's no slouch in tonal options either. It feature 2 “S” humbucker pickups paired with a volume, push/pull tone control split, and 3-way blade pickup selector giving you 6 choices of tone style.

The only downside I can see with this guitar (and this would be seriously nitpicking) is with its approach to versatility. It kind of does not have a distinct tonal character in the way a Tele, Strat and a Les Paul have their own "sound".

But nonetheless, I'm not listing the unique design approach as a fault: somewhat in between a Strat and a Les Paul and a multi-genre musician's dream. The thick sounding humbuckers can be split to achieve single coil tones.

Those guitars I've mentioned have had most of the last century to establish their signature sounds in countless records. Maybe the PRS Custom will become a classic this century! It certainly is one of the most versatile guitars.

If you're not one for tradition and just want the best electric guitar at this pricepoint, the PRS SE Custom 24 breaks the mold. Especially when it comes to playability, looks, sound and affordability.

This electric guitar proves that Les is not the only Paul in the game.

Specifications

• Body: Mahogany with Maple Top
• Finish: Flame Maple
• Bridge: PRS Patented Tremolo, Molded
• Pickups: 2 x PRS 85/15 “S” Humbuckers
• Neck: Maple
• Scale Length: 25"
• Fingerboard: Rosewood fretboard with PRS Bird Inlays
• Fingerboard Radius: 10"
• Frets: 24
• Nut Width: 1.6875"
• Controls: Volume knob and Push/Pull Tone Control with 3-Way Blade Switch
• Pickup Selector: 3-way blade pickup switch