Local guitar store (Willie's in St. Paul, MN) has a 509. Are they really as awesome as they seem? Versatile? Sound as good in single coil mode as humbucker? Single coil sounds noiseless? Give me the scoop!
Local guitar store (Willie's in St. Paul, MN) has a 509. Are they really as awesome as they seem? Versatile? Sound as good in single coil mode as humbucker? Single coil sounds noiseless? Give me the scoop!
Well. That was damning with faint praise. It's not everyone's cup of tea. It's really a guitar that's in between a Strat, a Telecaster, and a Les Paul. The production versions are closer to a Les Paul in warmth, but with a telecaster growl on the bridge pick up and a strat like coo on the neck pick up. In the mixed positions, you can get P90 type sounds with the humbucker and single coil mixes as well as middle position ES-335 tones. Being a mix between a 513 and a 408, there is not real volume drop between singlecoil and humbucking modse due the asymmetrical winding in the humbucking pairs of single coils. In singlecoil mode, it is not really noiseless, but is practically noiseless in humbucking mode and in the mixed positions. The longer scale length causes the guitar to fight you a bit like a strat which some players really like.
Where the design shines is when you get into the limited runs. The wood library swamp ash bodied ones with a maple top and a maple neck are strat and tele killers. Amazingly, they still have the warmth but with extended top ends and focused lows without being nasal. It's really is shame that the production models don't baseline that wood combination, but swamp ash takes a long time to dry out which would mean much less production.
Well. That was damning with faint praise. It's not everyone's cup of tea. It's really a guitar that's in between a Strat, a Telecaster, and a Les Paul. The production versions are closer to a Les Paul in warmth, but with a telecaster growl on the bridge pick up and a strat like coo on the neck pick up. In the mixed positions, you can get P90 type sounds with the humbucker and single coil mixes as well as middle position ES-335 tones. Being a mix between a 513 and a 408, there is not real volume drop between singlecoil and humbucking modes due the asymmetrical winding in the humbucking pairs of single coils. In singlecoil mode, it is not really noiseless, but is practically noiseless in humbucking mode and in the mixed positions. The longer scale length causes the guitar to fight you a bit like a strat which some players really like.
Where the design shines is when you get into the limited runs. The wood library swamp ash bodied ones with a maple top and a maple neck are strat and tele killers. Amazingly, they still have the warmth but with extended top ends and focused lows without being nasal. It's really is shame that the production models don't baseline that wood combination, but swamp ash takes a long time to dry out which would mean much less production.
Yep!Nailed it!
OP - if you're close to Willie's, make the drive and check it out!
I recently bought my first PRS from guitar center used, a beautiful charcoal burst 509. I can’t expalin how great of a guitar it is. It plays phenomenal, keeps tune even with excessive Trem use, and resonates forever even without being plugged in. It’s an exemplary core PRS. When it comes to tone it is an absolute beast. It is exactly how I want an electric guitar to sound. I play a Kemper and they bring out the absolute best in each other. The Kemper is obviously amazing and versatile but it pulls out the versatility of 509 by exemplifiying each of the pickup selections. Different amp profiles will react differently with each pickup, for example a thin fender twin will give a Stratty sound especially when paired with a compressor while a cranked Friedman profile will give a very les Paul feel. Despite the fact that the 509 covers so much ground it is still very much it’s own guitar. There are upper harmonics that I’ve never heard in another guitar. It is warm yet very clear. It also has a very tame and elegant feel. It is not the guitar I pick up to play angrily. It does well with gain depending on what combination you have, but it shines in every position when clean. There are a couple reasons I feel they haven’t been as popular as they should be. The first would probably be how little marketing they’ve gotten from PRS. Marketing a guitar stating that it has nine pickup combinations isn’t that special. There are tons of ways a guitar can get way more than the 509 and for way under the price. There are very few articles or reviews on them online and we all know how important online presence is. They are also more expensive than other core models by a couple hundred. The 509 also carries the Jack of all Trades master of none stereotype. This is seen throughout the industry with starter amps and line 6 stuff that doesn’t really sound that great in any of their options, despite having so many. The 509 is not like this at all as each position is unique to the 509 and sounds like a real guitar. Finally I think the pickup look and size throws a lot of people off. They do look a little modern as well as being to big, making pickups swaps very hard, of not impossible. However I believe that if you’re going to buy a 3-5 thousand dollar guitar why would you switch the pickups. If you don’t like how the guitar sounds don’t buy the guitar. All this being said I would definitely encourage anyone wanting to buy the guitar to try before buying. It is a little different and I would encourage anyone to try. It maybe be a little niche but I would take it over any other core model offered.