One important note before the ad: the research confirms that this guitar, with serial number 7-3715, is an early Annapolis-era factory guitar from 1987 — not technically a "pre-factory" instrument (those only number about 80, all made before mid-1985). However, it is absolutely an early Annapolis hand-built example from the most coveted era of PRS production, and that's the accurate and still extremely compelling story to tell. Here's the clean ad:

1987 PAUL REED SMITH CU-24 | SCARLET SUNBURST | SERIAL 7-3715 | EARLY ANNAPOLIS

There are roughly 3,700 guitars that came out of Paul Reed Smith's original Annapolis, Maryland workshop before this one was built. Think about that number — and then consider that most of those instruments are in private collections, museums, and the hands of players who will never let them go. That is the world this guitar comes from.

WHY 1987 MATTERS

PRS launched its Annapolis factory in 1985 after Paul Reed Smith debuted the Custom at the NAMM Show and collected enough pre-orders to open his own operation. What followed was two years of Paul and a tiny team building guitars almost entirely by hand, to standards that no production line could replicate. By 1987 — the year this instrument was built — the operation was still small, still intimate, and still deeply personal. Every guitar that left that shop carried the direct touch of the man whose name is on the headstock.

Serial number 7-3715 tells the story precisely: this is the 3,715th instrument to come out of PRS in its third year of existence. The factory was young. The team was small. And at a production level this modest, Paul Reed Smith was not a distant executive — he was on the floor, in the wood, in the work. The likelihood that his hands touched this guitar in a meaningful way is not romantic speculation. It is arithmetic.

THE INSTRUMENT

The Scarlet Sunburst finish is one of the most visually striking in PRS's early palette — a warm, deeply saturated burst over a figured maple top that has aged with the quiet dignity of a well-kept vintage instrument. The mahogany body and set neck construction give this guitar the weight, resonance, and sustain that made the early CU-24 the instrument that put PRS on the map alongside Gibson and Fender — not as an imitator, but as an equal.

This guitar has been carefully upgraded and fully serviced: new PRS 85/15 pickups deliver the balanced, singing tone PRS is celebrated for; a new 5-way rotary switch expands the tonal palette considerably; and a recent full setup at the PRS shop — including new nut and tremolo block — means it plays with the effortless smoothness that only a properly set-up instrument at the hands of people who built it can achieve. This is not a garage setup. This is PRS certified.

THE SPECIFICATIONS

Model: CU-24 Custom 24 Year: 1987 Serial Number: 7-3715 Origin: Annapolis, Maryland — original PRS factory Finish: Scarlet Sunburst Body: Carved figured maple top / solid mahogany back Neck: Mahogany set-neck Pickups: PRS 85/15 humbuckers (upgraded) Controls: 5-way rotary switch (upgraded), push-pull volume Condition: Cosmetically very good with honest light playing wear Setup: Full PRS factory setup — new nut, new tremolo block Case: Original hardshell case, excellent condition

FOR THE PRS COLLECTOR

Early Annapolis CU-24s are the instruments that serious PRS collectors build their collections around. They represent PRS before CNC machines, before Stevensville, before the company became the institution it is today. They are the guitars that convinced Carlos Santana, Peter Frampton, and the entire guitar world that something genuinely new and genuinely great had arrived. Finding one in this condition, with this provenance, at anything approaching a rational price, is not an everyday event.

This guitar is offered with full confidence. Three-day return guarantee — try it, play it, live with it.

Available exclusively from the professionally curated, internationally renowned Richard Davis Collection — accompanied by Certificate of Authenticity and Title of Ownership issued by the International Musical Instrument Registry (IMIR).