PRS 509/513 or semi-hollow special for metal?

[masashimaru]

Hello guys. I'm looking to buy my first PRS. I'm deciding between a 513, 509 or a semi-hollow special. I have been a super strat guy all my life but I looking to buy my first high end guitar and I'm looking for a PRS. My influence is mostly shredding stuff like Yngwie Malsteen or powermetal like Dragon Force. Will I be able to accomplish a metal tone with the semi-hollow special or should I choose the other ones?

 

[DISTORT6]

Any of those will work for metal. Even the semi-hollow.
It will come down to feel, tone, and number of frets. Also, one other thing to consider, you can’t change the pickups in the 509 or 513 without serious modifications.
So, I voted yes.

 

[21Hemispheres12]

You can achieve a “metal” tone with pretty much any guitar and the right amp, but I don’t think any of those would be optimal if you are looking for a guitar specifically for metal. I would suggest looking at the custom 24 or custom 24 floyd. In my experience with the 85/15 MT in my 24-08, they do everything very well and sound most at home in high gain applications. The custom 24 floyd comes with /m\ pickups which I haven’t personally played but have read great things about, these pickups are high gain and specifically geared towards metal.

 

[DISTORT6]

 

[Jazzedout]

As others said, depending on your rig you would be happy with any of them. The semi hollow will be lighter weight, if you care about that. The 513 will have the highest output pickups in the heavy humbucker mode, if you like higher output pickups.

 

[masashimaru]

Thanks for the responses guys.

I got a question. I have seen a lot of comments about not been able to change the pickups for the 509 and 513. Are the stock pickups for the PRS not that great as a custom pickup? the few that I have tried sounds amazing. Of course I'm comparing with the nicest pickups that I have, all my guitars have stock pickups. My guitars are:
-Fender american professional stratocaster (ssh noiseless)
-Schecter JL-7 (EMG 57-7H B and EMG 66-7H)
-Schecter 8 string blackjack sls(SD Blackouts)
-Epiphone Traditional pro III (Gibson ’57 Classic and Super ’57)
-Epiphone dot (Don't know what those pickups are but it's a semi hollow, It can do metal but it's a little darker I believe, but this is only true if we are talking about rhythm riff, shredding soloing is completely fine)
-LTD EC-1000 (EMG 85 and 81)
-Musicman JP (DiMarzio LiquiFire and DiMarzio Crunch Lab)

I guess my favorite pickups from those guitars are the strat ones and the music man.

What do you think will be the best PRS to add some flavor to my collection?

 

[masashimaru]

As others said, depending on your rig you would be happy with any of them. The semi hollow will be lighter weight, if you care about that. The 513 will have the highest output pickups in the heavy humbucker mode, if you like higher output pickups.

I'm using a fractal AX8 that goes directly to the audio interface or a powered cab.

 

[Maertl513]

If you want a PRS (core) guitar that is designed especially for Metal, then go for

- Mark Holcomb Signature (used) (stoptail)
- Dusty Waring Signature (FR)
- Mark Tremonti (vintage, but routed vibrato system)

Deciding between 509 or 513, I recommend 513, because in full humbucking mode you have a very high output. And you have additionally the opportunity playing with a vintage voiced humbucker (clear humbucking) or real single coils.

 

[Jazzedout]

With the AX8 you could shape your tone to your liking.
I love the 513. The single coils are a little more powerful than a Strat. The heavy humbucker mode would be closer to the JP.

 

[masashimaru]

If you want a PRS (core) guitar that is designed especially for Metal, then go for

- Mark Holcomb Signature (used) (stoptail)
- Dusty Waring Signature (FR)
- Mark Tremonti (vintage, but routed vibrato system)

Deciding between 509 or 513, I recommend 513, because in full humbucking mode you have a very high output. And you have additionally the opportunity playing with a vintage voiced humbucker (clear humbucking) or real single coils.

Thanks for the response man.

I have tried 2 of those guitars but I only liked the Mark Holcomb one (Was the SE model though). Tremonti was too chubby for my taste. It seems to me that the body is not so weight balanced as the double cut ones.
The Dusty seems nice but I'm looking something without a floyd and more versatile.

 

[Rider1260]

I don't really play metal but do play with plenty of gain , depending on what you call metal any of those guitars can do the job I love both my SSH and 513.
really like the 513 going between single coil and heavy hum bucker mode
the 513 has a slightly longer scale ( 25 1/4 ) which you might like if tuning down.
the SSH can be on the dark ( warm ) side , it does brighten up a lot by lowering the pickups.
All the guitars you mentioned have thicker necks just an FYI
The CU24 and Tremonti are the core guitars most though of for metal IMHO

 

[masashimaru]

With the AX8 you could shape your tone to your liking.
I love the 513. The single coils are a little more powerful than a Strat. The heavy humbucker mode would be closer to the JP.

Wow!!! That's a great statement there man. Thanks. Now I was reading some comments that the 513 can be a little bit noisier and muddy. Does humbucker mode is not good at hum cancelling or do you think they are talking about the pickups that are high output? and the other question that I have is that I read that 509 comes with coiltap instead of coilsplit like the 513. Do you heard any volume loss on that one? Because I believe this is the only chance from coiltap to coilsplit

 

[masashimaru]

I don't really play metal but do play with plenty of gain , depending on what you call metal any of those guitars can do the job I love both my SSH and 513.
really like the 513 going between single coil and heavy hum bucker mode
the 513 has a slightly longer scale ( 25 1/4 ) which you might like if tuning down.
the SSH can be on the dark ( warm ) side , it does brighten up a lot by lowering the pickups.
All the guitars you mentioned have thicker necks just an FYI
The CU24 and Tremonti are the core guitars most though of for metal IMHO

Thanks for the response bro. I'm mostly a powermetal guy. That's the kind of metal that I play. But I play on a country band too. So I'm looking for something versatile. Also I read some advice from people on reddit saying that If I'm interested on the SSH I should go for that one instead of the 509/513 because the SSH is a limited edition and It will be difficult to find it later, and I still can buy a 509/513 in the future,it will be easier because the have a longer run.

FYI: I'm planning to buy the guitar on aftermarket not a new one. The majority of my guitars are used ones and I'm fine with that.

 

[Maertl513]

Muddy? How about the EQ setting of the amp? Noisy? Could depending on external electricity radiation.
The 513 made between 2014 and 2016 (until being a discontinued model) came with point to point soldered electrical parts/hand-wiring instead of a PCB as a 'hub'. Those are more sensitive due to more antenna effect of all cables, but additionally this design delivers by Paul's opinion the best transparent sound.

In singlecoil mode pos. 2 and 4 are noise cancelled, in clear and full humbucking mode, only the middle single coil is not hum cancelled.

 

[DISTORT6]

You really need to get your hands on as many as you can before you commit to one.

 

[Jazzedout]

You really need to get your hands on as many as you can before you commit to one.

Basically this!

Regarding the noise, I don't find my 513 ( an early 2005 Brazilian) noisier than my Custom 24 or noisier in single coil mode than my 1987 Japanese Strat.
As for the darkness, one man's bright is an other man's dark. Try one if you can. I do remember the JP that I have played (a 2012 - 2013 model) was not very bright but felt very balanced and powerful to my ears. That's why I told you the sound was around that ball park.
I remember visiting a friend a couple of years back for jamming using his rig and I was playing with the 513 tone control at 7 because it felt too bright, but did not want to mess with his rig, a line 6 / bogner amp.

 

[masashimaru]

Basically this!

Regarding the noise, I don't find my 513 ( an early 2005 Brazilian) noisier than my Custom 24 or noisier in single coil mode than my 1987 Japanese Strat.
As for the darkness, one man's bright is an other man's dark. Try one if you can. I do remember the JP that I have played (a 2012 - 2013 model) was not very bright but felt very balanced and powerful to my ears. That's why I told you the sound was around that ball park.
I remember visiting a friend a couple of years back for jamming using his rig and I was playing with the 513 tone control at 7 because it felt too bright, but did not want to mess with his rig, a line 6 / bogner amp.

Great, thanks for the info man. I was thinking about the the ssh could sounds darker not the 513, but is great to know that the 513 is on the musicman clarity side.

 

[Jazzedout]

Haven't played a SSH so can't compare...

 

[Mozzi]

With an AxeFX you can basically play metal on ANY guitar with the right Amp and/or pedals. The choice therefore comes down to what you want.

The 509 is the replacement to the 513 and offers you the option to split the HB's individually - so you can run the guitar as a HSH, HSS, SSS or SSH and just use the 5 way. The 513 is SSS or HSH with two different voicings for the humbuckers. Both are 25.25" scale and you will need to like the Pups too. Both of these are more 'Superstrat' like and the 5-way offers the same switching you expect from a 5-way in a strat - so the middle position is just the middle pick-up.

The Special is a Custom 22 - basically a 22-08 (if they made one). The addition of the Narrowfield and swapping the 3-way for a 5-way means you get 4 extra options (NF + Neck or Bridge with either HB tapped or full) - you can't use the NF on its own without modding. As its more a Custom 22, the middle option here is the two humbuckers and of course, it has the typical 25" PRS scale.

As I said, any guitar can basically be used to play metal with the right rig. I prefer a medium output pickup in general - not generally the 'norm' for metal guitars (although Ola's Solar Guitars aren't 'high' output either) as its easier to boost the output if you want than it is to try and clean up high output.

The 513 isn't in production anymore so you will need to find a used one that you want and the Special was only made for a limited time too but there are still 'new' ones around. The 509 has been around since 2017 and still in production - if that matters in your decision. I own a 509 and Special myself and both have a place in my collection. I think the 509 is better for Single coil and more 'stratty/tele' sounds and it serves that purpose for me. The Special is a more versatile Custom 22 and offers a bit more 'punch' than my 594 - a more classic, than vintage sound but not as modern sounding as my 509.

The best bet is to try them to see what you prefer. I know that's not easy right now but what I would be happy with playing Metal, you may not - Kirk Hammet uses Greeny for 'Metal' and some may say a vintage LP isn't 'metal' at all and needs to have some very high output pickups to be 'metal' so its up to you. I think the 513 in 'Heavy' mode - basically the full windings of the HB's - is probably the hottest output and Clear taps some windings off - the 509 is somewhere between those two but closer to the 'Clear' - but you don't get the option to split the HB's individually (if that matters).

 

[masashimaru]

With an AxeFX you can basically play metal on ANY guitar with the right Amp and/or pedals. The choice therefore comes down to what you want.

The 509 is the replacement to the 513 and offers you the option to split the HB's individually - so you can run the guitar as a HSH, HSS, SSS or SSH and just use the 5 way. The 513 is SSS or HSH with two different voicings for the humbuckers. Both are 25.25" scale and you will need to like the Pups too. Both of these are more 'Superstrat' like and the 5-way offers the same switching you expect from a 5-way in a strat - so the middle position is just the middle pick-up.

The Special is a Custom 22 - basically a 22-08 (if they made one). The addition of the Narrowfield and swapping the 3-way for a 5-way means you get 4 extra options (NF + Neck or Bridge with either HB tapped or full) - you can't use the NF on its own without modding. As its more a Custom 22, the middle option here is the two humbuckers and of course, it has the typical 25" PRS scale.

As I said, any guitar can basically be used to play metal with the right rig. I prefer a medium output pickup in general - not generally the 'norm' for metal guitars (although Ola's Solar Guitars aren't 'high' output either) as its easier to boost the output if you want than it is to try and clean up high output.

The 513 isn't in production anymore so you will need to find a used one that you want and the Special was only made for a limited time too but there are still 'new' ones around. The 509 has been around since 2017 and still in production - if that matters in your decision. I own a 509 and Special myself and both have a place in my collection. I think the 509 is better for Single coil and more 'stratty/tele' sounds and it serves that purpose for me. The Special is a more versatile Custom 22 and offers a bit more 'punch' than my 594 - a more classic, than vintage sound but not as modern sounding as my 509.

The best bet is to try them to see what you prefer. I know that's not easy right now but what I would be happy with playing Metal, you may not - Kirk Hammet uses Greeny for 'Metal' and some may say a vintage LP isn't 'metal' at all and needs to have some very high output pickups to be 'metal' so its up to you. I think the 513 in 'Heavy' mode - basically the full windings of the HB's - is probably the hottest output and Clear taps some windings off - the 509 is somewhere between those two but closer to the 'Clear' - but you don't get the option to split the HB's individually (if that matters).

great response man. I’m more of a medium output too. You can crank the gain if you want anyways.

I’m not to worry about the hss or ssh configuration, I’m more worried about the tone. I read that the 509 doesn’t have the high output configuration and the coilsplit is somewhat better because its a coiltap that adds some of the wounds in singlecoil mode. Don’t know is this affects the tone, the volume when switching or what exactly