Barquentine
New Member
- Joined
- Oct 26, 2015
- Messages
- 171
Is there much tonal difference between them ? Which do you prefer ?
I'd have said buy the one you're gonna enjoy looking at more because they play and sound the same. Obviously others with more discerning ears disagree with that assessment, so I guess you have to decide if YOU can hear a difference. For me, the DC I had sounded an awful lot like every Lester I ever played only a bit better. For me a double cut was an easy choice because I don't like the look of any SC electrics other than telecasters, but whatever you prefer. And if YOU can hear a difference and you have a preference, well, there's your answer... I can't.
-Ray
I disagree about them playing the same. Yes, they will both have the same immaculate fretwork and setup, but the Singlecut is thicker and the shape sits differently on the body, plus the neck joint impedes upper fret access.
Also, there is overlap in weight, but the Singlecut tends to weigh half a pound or more than the double cutaway.
They should be seen as two very different models IMO. The body shape of a guitar, especially between singlecuts and doublecuts, makes a big difference in the tone.
You can hear the difference even playing acoustically unplugged, cos it happens at a very fundamental level. Basically the same metal string vibrates very differently when attached to a singlecut or doublecut. So of course it shows up when plugged in.
Singlecuts will give the ‘Les Paul’ tone, although I hate to use that term because no one has patent rights over the singlecut shape.
The 594 DC is essentially the quintessential PRS shape, not much different from a Custom 22, McCarty,
DGT etc, just with a different bridge, body thickness and scale length etc. You will get more or less the same tone compared to the DC family in corresponding proportion to the differing variables.
The DC appeals because for many years I played an SG then spent a fair few years playing a Firebird. Last three years have been spent playing a Bernie and more recently an S2 Singlecut (maple top). Both have BK pickups - Abraxas in the Bernie and Rebel Yells in the S2. They both play and sound great but I'm wondering about stepping up to a core model. One concern is whether I'd find the Low Turn pickups a bit weak by comparison. I don't do any recording so my guitars are gigging tools. If I were to buy a core SC or DC and put RY's in it would it play and sound better enough to justify the extra cost ? I would need to do some serious financial juggling to buy a core model.
The Low Turn Pick Ups are NOT weak. These are supposed to be reminiscent of 'vintage' Humbuckers - the kind that pretty much all the great 'Humbucker' rock music was built on. High Output are generally 'hotter' but also higher output means more distortion at any given amp setting. A super high output may mean you can't dial in a decent clean tone because the pick-ups are creating distortion.
If you were going after a 58 Les Paul for example, then chances are it would have 'similar' pick-ups - A traditional LP had hand wound PU's and varied depending on the person winding them but the 're-issues' tend to be more consistent and more of an 'average' number of turns. You could look at the CU22 which has hotter pick-ups. It seems 'criminal' to me to buy a 594 that was built to be a 'Vintage' feel/sounding guitar and then try and make it 'modern'.
Anyway, here is a comparison between a 58 reissue LP and a SC 594 and you can see how great the tones are.
and this is a video of the DC 594 being looked at in depth...
In both, you can hear how great the tones are (imo) and what those 58/15LT's really do bring to the table. I love my Double Cut and wouldn't dream of changing those PU's as it really does sound so great....
The Low Turn Pick Ups are NOT weak. These are supposed to be reminiscent of 'vintage' Humbuckers - the kind that pretty much all the great 'Humbucker' rock music was built on. High Output are generally 'hotter' but also higher output means more distortion at any given amp setting. A super high output may mean you can't dial in a decent clean tone because the pick-ups are creating distortion.
If you were going after a 58 Les Paul for example, then chances are it would have 'similar' pick-ups - A traditional LP had hand wound PU's and varied depending on the person winding them but the 're-issues' tend to be more consistent and more of an 'average' number of turns. You could look at the CU22 which has hotter pick-ups. It seems 'criminal' to me to buy a 594 that was built to be a 'Vintage' feel/sounding guitar and then try and make it 'modern'.
Anyway, here is a comparison between a 58 reissue LP and a SC 594 and you can see how great the tones are.
and this is a video of the DC 594 being looked at in depth...
In both, you can hear how great the tones are (imo) and what those 58/15LT's really do bring to the table. I love my Double Cut and wouldn't dream of changing those PU's as it really does sound so great....
The DC appeals because for many years I played an SG then spent a fair few years playing a Firebird. Last three years have been spent playing a Bernie and more recently an S2 Singlecut (maple top). Both have BK pickups - Abraxas in the Bernie and Rebel Yells in the S2. They both play and sound great but I'm wondering about stepping up to a core model. One concern is whether I'd find the Low Turn pickups a bit weak by comparison. I don't do any recording so my guitars are gigging tools. If I were to buy a core SC or DC and put RY's in it would it play and sound better enough to justify the extra cost ? I would need to do some serious financial juggling to buy a core model.
To be honest I think the tonal difference is mostly marketing and wishful perception. When I bought my 594 last year I tried a bunch of both DC ans SC and there was no "trend" one way or the other. I attribute any difference to no two guitars ever sounding exactly the same.