594 Soapbar versus 58/15 Pickups

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Cocorosa

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So, in the continuing story of my next PRS guitar and my first ever McCarty 594, I was in Andertons today and accidentally bonded with 2 of them: the standard one and the soapbar edition. This isn't a good state of affairs as I cannot justify both of them under any circumstances. I was playing them through a Blues Cube and the 58/15's sounded a little more responsive and mellower to my ears but I don't know if that was just me / the amp.

Anyone compared the two sets of pickups and have a view on them? aka can anyone help me out here! Thank you :)
 
Tucson Thump said:
I would suggest playing them through whatever amp you have or plan to get.

Guitars are like pretty girls and amps are like dresses .... if the dress changes your impression may also.
Click to expand...

Great advice and good metaphor!

I have a P245 with 58/15s and I love them. So now I want a soapy. I think the humbucker is more generally useful, but the soaps are cool for occasional applications. I actually love the idea of the Chris Robinson with one of each. Or the Duncan P rails - I think those are cool.
 
To my ear, the soapbar 594 is snarlier, surlier, and less midrangey than the 58/15LT version. The humbuckers are a little smoother and respond more to changes in playing technique.

And I'm sure this comment is the exact opposite of "helpful," butI prefer the humbucker at the bridge, and the soapbar at the neck.
 
Tucson Thump said:
I would suggest playing them through whatever amp you have or plan to get.

Guitars are like pretty girls and amps are like dresses .... if the dress changes your impression may also.
Click to expand...

I have that problem most days when trying to decide what to wear. So I take your point in both meanings :)
 
Herr Squid said:
To my ear, the soapbar 594 is snarlier, surlier, and less midrangey than the 58/15LT version. The humbuckers are a little smoother and respond more to changes in playing technique.

And I'm sure this comment is the exact opposite of "helpful," butI prefer the humbucker at the bridge, and the soapbar at the neck.
Click to expand...

Yes, I think that's what I heard too. I like them both but thought the humbuckers might be more useful across a number of styles?
 
Herr Squid said:
To my ear, the soapbar 594 is snarlier, surlier, and less midrangey than the 58/15LT version. The humbuckers are a little smoother and respond more to changes in playing technique.

And I'm sure this comment is the exact opposite of "helpful," butI prefer the humbucker at the bridge, and the soapbar at the neck.
Click to expand...

I'd agree with this. I have a SC594 that I put a set of Kinman Noiseless HB sized P90s in. It rawks hard! After 8 months, I think I'm ready for a change, I've got a set of Klein 59s to put in it. Can't decide if I want to leave the P90 in the neck, or swap them both.
 
I own both. A gold top soapbar SC594 and a wood library humbucker SC594.

The neck position is the biggest difference to me. The P90 has something that’s just unique to it. I still have a hard time describing it. It has a single coil top end, but still puts out a lot of bass. The neck 58/15LT isn’t a dark pickup at all. It’s just that the P90 has a zing.

The middle position on the SoapBar has a lot of Tele character. It really has that sound. The middle on the humbuckers is exactly what it’s meant to be. LP like.

The bridge pickups can be similar, depending on how much overdrive you are using. Under very light overdrive, there’s nothing like a P90. Under most other circumstances, I’m happy with either.

Both are outstanding. You have to think about the history behind the P90 and the humbucker. P90 was first. Ted McCarty didn’t like the 60 cycle him, so he had Seth Lover try to fix it, but not change the tone. Hence, the humbucker was born.

Both of these guitars and their electronics are meant to mimic that original P90 les Paul and the following Humbucker les Paul. In Gibson terms, you’re dealing with the difference between a 1956 LP reissue and a 1957 reissue. There are differences, but it’s not night and day. It’s two different flavors of chocolate ice cream that are different, but both are still chocolate ice cream.

In the end, the normal 594 is a production guitar. The SoapBar 594 is a limited edition that is no longer being made. That could make it more desirable 20 years from now. On the other hand, the normal 594 doesn’t hum!

Pick one and know that you’re getting premium chocolate ice cream either way, and eat the crap out of that ice cream.
 
Cocorosa said:
Yes, I think that's what I heard too. I like them both but thought the humbuckers might be more useful across a number of styles?
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'd agree with that. I think on reflection if I could only have one I'd go with the humbuckers. The soapbar sure makes a nice second 594, though! :D
 
rmg471 said:
I own both. A gold top soapbar SC594 and a wood library humbucker SC594.

The neck position is the biggest difference to me. The P90 has something that’s just unique to it. I still have a hard time describing it. It has a single coil top end, but still puts out a lot of bass. The neck 58/15LT isn’t a dark pickup at all. It’s just that the P90 has a zing.

.
Click to expand...


That is such a helpful reply, thank you :).

I agree with you about the neck position, it was playing that which created my dilemma as it was such a specific and awesome sound. I get your point about residual values in 20 years but that isn't a driver here. Unlike pretty much everything else I have owned, I find PRS guitars to be keepers so I don't have an eye on resale.

Does the neck 58/15 put out the same amount of bass as the P90 on your guitars or is it more rounded in sound?
 
Herr Squid said:
Yeah, I'd agree with that. I think on reflection if I could only have one I'd go with the humbuckers. The soapbar sure makes a nice second 594, though! :D
Click to expand...


Trust me, I wouldn't be hesitating if I could afford to own 2 of them right now :D
 
Cocorosa said:
That is such a helpful reply, thank you :).

Does the neck 58/15 put out the same amount of bass as the P90 on your guitars or is it more rounded in sound?
Click to expand...

I find the neck soapbar puts out a little more bottom, less mids, and more top than the humbucker. It sounds less congested and clearer to my ears. Mind you that's with dirty amp settings because, well, I forget to play clean very much these days...
 
P90 without question, love them, very versatile. I didn’t own a P90 laden guitar until 2013. I didn’t know what I was missing.

They will give you the best of both worlds.

But that’s just for me. If you buy the HB laden guitar, you could always load them up with HB sized P90s, “hey presto” you have a choice of sounds and pups!

Have fun
 
I have both. I love them equally.

Here’s a clip of both guitars back-to-back through a PRS DG30 amp and cab, with an Xotic BB on the melody parts.

The rhythm part was soapbars only, neck pickup, no pedal. The first lead is the bridge pickup on the soapbar; the second lead is bridge pickup on the humbucker.

I generally run the volume controls on the guitars around 6-8. They get brighter if you max the volume, obviously, but I like things a bit warmer. YMMV.

Also the humbucker guitar has a maple neck and Braz fretboard. I can’t say how much difference that makes, but having played the mahogany/IRW version, it’s pretty subtle.

Please forgive the sloppy playing.

https://soundcloud.com/lschefman/messya-deux-v2
 
Last edited:
LSchefman said:
I have both. I love them equally.

Here’s a clip of both guitars back-to-back through a PRS DG30 amp and cab, with an Xotic BB on the melody parts.

The rhythm part was soapbars only, neck pickup, no pedal. The first lead is the bridge pickup on the soapbar; the second lead is bridge pickup on the humbucker.

I generally run the volume controls on the guitars around 6-8. They get brighter if you max the volume, obviously, but I like things a bit warmer. YMMV.

Also the humbucker guitar has a maple neck and Braz fretboard. I can’t say how much difference that makes, but having played the mahogany/IRW version, it’s pretty subtle.

Please forgive the sloppy playing.

https://soundcloud.com/lschefman/messya-deux-v2
Click to expand...


Thank you :) The playing was great and I can see why you love them both equally. Quite specific and lovely tones. Possibly the bridge humbucker edged it for warmth for me but I am going to listen again a few times more to check that one. Thank you so much for giving me this comparison to work with.
 
I agree, I find more bass from the P90, which makes sense, because the pickup cover on a 58/15 is going to attenuate both the high and low frequencies.
 
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