Most Popular Paul Reed Smith Guitars
The most popular PRS guitars on Reverb, updated daily.
In the world of guitar brands, few names can claim the same degree and breadth and variation as Paul Reed Smith. The Standard 24, the Custom 24, the SE Custom 24, the S2 Custom 22: it’s not hard to see that the wide world of PRS comes with as many options as there are quilts in one of the company’s famous 10-Tops.
Here, you’ll find both the best-selling Paul Reed Smith guitars across all categories in electric guitar as well as factors specific to the brand to consider when making a purchase.
This page updates in real time with current data, so what you’re seeing is up-to-the-minute rankings. Click on each entry for more info and check out the bottom of the page for more details on buying a bass amp head.
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PRS SE Silver Sky
Starting at €446.23The SE Silver Sky keeps the signature details of the US-made original: the small bird inlays on the fretboard, the beveled lower horn, and the 635JM-style pickups. And with a slightly flatter fretboard, it's a bit easier to play, especially when soloing. It's just about the same guitar at less than half the price—like a premium Stratocaster, but built for everyone. - 2
PRS Silver Sky John Mayer Signature
Starting at €1,248.54Paul Reed Smith and John Mayer collaborated on Silver Sky Signature, aiming to bring to market a modern, idealized version of a vintage single-coil guitar. Mayer and PRS were inspired by and tried to include their favorite elements from vintage instruments released in 1963 and 1964, like neck shape and radius. It also features a special inverted headstock to accommodate Mayer's playing style and keep consistent length of string behind the nut for better tuning consistency. The tuners are vintage-style and closed-back with PRS's locking design and it also features a trem arm and Gen III knife-edge screws. - 3
PRS SE Custom 24 Electric Guitar
Starting at €405.66The SE Series, also known as the Student Edition Series, allows PRS to offer budget-friendly options for musicians of all kinds; this includes the Paul Reed Smith SE Custom 24. Although these guitars are manufactured in Korea, they mimic the USA-made classic Custom 24 with their double-cutaway body and appointments.- Features a mahogany body with beveled maple top and flame maple veneer, maple neck with 25” scale length rosewood fretboard, tremolo, and 85/15 ’S’ humbuckers
- Also available with a maple fretboard and Left-Handed
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PRS CE 24
Starting at €1,125.94The Paul Reed Smith CE 24 combines the company's flagship bolt-on neck design, hot PRS 85/15 humbuckers, and a figured maple top for an electric guitar that looks as good as it sounds.
- Body: Double cutaway mahogany with flamed maple top
- Neck: Bolt-on maple in Pattern Thin profile with Satin Nitro finish
- Electronics: 85/15 PRS humbuckers, volume knob, push/pull tone knob coil split, three-way pickup switch
- Other Features: East Indian rosewood fretboard, PRS tremolo bridge, locking tuners, 25" scale
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PRS Custom 24
Starting at €1,802.05The Paul Reed Smith Custom 24 is the company's flagship model – the first guitar that Paul brought to Winter NAMM in 1985 and still among PRS' best-selling instruments. The Custom 24's beautifully carved maple top comes in a range of finishes, from three-dimensional "10 Tops" to more understated, subtle flame and back again. This top is paired a mahogany back, mahogany neck and rosewood fretboard, creating a truly balanced sound. The neck can come with one of a couple different shapes to suit most any player, from Tom Johnston of the Doobie Brothers to modern shredders like Mark Holcomb of Periphery. More recent Custom 24s come with the PRS-designed 85/15 bridge and neck pickups and five-way switching with coil-tapping, producing a bewildering amount of tones that have made these guitars the go-to favorites of touring artists and studio guitarists for more than three decades. - 18
PRS Custom 24 10-Top 1991 - 2010
Starting at €2,249.18This "in-between" phase of the PRS Custom 24 marks the switch from Brazilian Rosewood to Indian Rosewood, though the 5-way rotary selector was still in place at this time, later replaced by a "blade" switch as is used on the most recent production guitars. This era also saw the first "explosion" of finish / color options offered by PRS. - 19
PRS SE 277 Baritone (2017 - Present)
Starting at €594.97- The 2017 update to the SE 277 features a mahogany body with maple top and flame maple veneer, a maple neck with rosewood fretboard, 27.7” scale length, and 85/15 'S' humbuckers
- Also available as a Semi-Hollow with soapbar pickups
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PRS NF 53
Starting at €1,257.56Based of a beloved 1953 Telecaster from Paul Reed Smith's personal collection, the NF 53 challenges the Tele in the same way the Silver Sky took on the Strat. The Narrowfield DD (for Deep Dish) pickups are unique humbuckers that capture the spank and sparkle of single-coils, and make the NF 53 a workhorse guitar for any genre.
What to Consider When Buying a Paul Reed Smith Guitar
Core vs. SE
You can think of this like the difference between a Fender Standard and American Standard: there will be some differences, but you’re getting a solid instrument either way. In general, Core models like the flagship Custom 24 will be made of mahogany and feature “Treble”/”Bass” or 85/15 humbuckers, while the factory-produced SE series is also made of mahogany with a flamed top, but tend to have non-PRS pickups like Seymour Duncan.
Another confusing point: “Standard” models can be either Core or Se: the name denotes the model, not the line.
Top
While they don’t have much effect one way or the other on tone, PRS tops are the single biggest consideration for some of the more aesthetically-minded players among us. Here, the sky’s the limit: an SE Custom 22 Semi-Hollow in Trampas Green is an affordable, beautifully detailed option, and you can go right up to the Private Stock and spend a pretty penny.
Neck Profile
Current production PRS necks can be divided into five categories: Pattern, Pattern Regular, Pattern Thin, Pattern Vintage, and JM. Pattern and Pattern Thin neck are the standards with the Thin, naturally, having a skinnier feel, while the Vintage and JM profiles offer chunkier, sometimes asymmetrical design for specific applications.