For DECADES it was the Ibanez super-strat – the RG and the R, my oldest friends and conspirators. I first started looking for better when I got my Les Paul in 2009. That wasn’t it. I’ve found it, at least for now, in the PRS Custom 24.
Thinner than a strat, Ibanez RG or LP and therefore lighter. The carve is fantastic. The balance is amazing. The neck carve (at the time) was the very best I’d ever seen (now that goes to the Ormsby, but the PRS is still amazing). I might also prefer a Floyd to the PRS trem bridge, but it’s still quite good. Tonally, I can cover everything I want and a few things I never thought of. The 25″ scale neck is longer than the Les Paul’s 24.75, so access on the high frets is not as cramped, but shorter than the Ibanez/Strat 25.5, so I can do a 1-3-5 stretch on the low E much easier.
Still chasing perfection for me, but the PRS is 98% and while it’s far and away the most I’ve ever paid for a guitar, it was worth every single nickel.