Great info thank you. I was surprised how different my 594's pattern vintage neck feels from the Pattern neck on the HB II, so even slight differences can be pretty significant in the hands. I'll hit guitar center's high roller room and see what they have. They usually have half a dozen PRS core models there.
Is there a good all-inclusive reference for past models and what necks they have? You'd think PRS would have something like that available.
As I said, the two that stand out as different is the 594 - mainly because its 'thicker' and has an Asymmetric carve and the Pattern Thin - because it is thinner. The width at the nut though is the same, the width at the body is the same, the radius is the same - although the scale length is different and, if its stock Strings, your HBii will be 11's with a wound 3rd (G) string. The only neck that is different in terms of width at the nut is the Pattern Regular.
The point I was making is that the guitars that feel different from a 'standard' are the 'Thin' and the 'Vintage'. I say 'Standard', as the Pattern and Pattern Regular are very 'standard' necks. They are not too wide or thin, not too thin or to thick, not irregular or asymmetric - nothing that you can say particularly jumps out as being particularly 'different' - they are just standard necks - maybe why the HBii felt like 'home' to you because there is nothing particularly different from any other 'regular/standard' necks.
The 594 does jump out - as I said - because it is 'different' thanks to the asymmetric carve and being a bit chunkier too and the Cu24 neck does jump out because its a bit thinner. Its like Playing a chunky broken in Les Paul neck and then playing an Ibanez Wizard neck (not quite that extreme) where as the Pattern & Pattern Regular are just 'nondescript', quite standard necks that fit somewhere in the middle of those.
I am not being negative about the Pattern and Pattern Regular but the only way to describe them is 'standard' necks that are very stable, comfortable for many because they are not too wide or too narrow, not too thick or too thin. The fact that they are so 'middle of the road' so to speak, means that you don't really notice the neck, its not really a feature as such - its just a very stable, comfortable, middle of the road neck. That allows you to focus more on the 'features' else where. You don't have to worry about whether its too thick or thin, too wide or skinny so leaves you to focus in whether the guitar offers you the tones you want or other features. Its no secret that after years of repairing Strats and Les Pauls, PRS took the best of both of these and built his guitars around this. The Scale Length of 25" is between the two as well so it stands to reason that the Pattern and Pattern Regular are quite 'standard' necks - maybe why he settled on using the 'term' Regular as well. Pattern is just a term to indicate they are cut with a 'pattern' which is repeatable and consistent.
To reiterate what I said in my first reply, and again in this, the two necks that do stand out because they are noticeably 'different' is the Vintage and the Thin where as the two others, Pattern and Pattern Regular, are very standard, nondescript necks that probably feel like 'home' because they are so 'standard' and regular when coming from a multitude of other electric guitars. That's not a 'bad' thing at all - you can't deny that the necks are incredibly stable, comfortable and with the attention to fret work and rolled edges, the actual neck doesn't stand out as being 'something'. As soon as you pick up a PRS and run your hand up and down the neck (as we do), you don't really focus on the actual neck anymore because its just a good but regular/standard neck. Your attention then goes straight to something else and don't really think about the neck anymore.
With the Vintage and Thin, these necks do stand out because they are 'features' - whether that's the chunkier asymmetrical carve or the thinner carve - these stand-out because of that. This is why I said you should find any Pattern or Pattern Regular like 'home' because they are so 'regular', so standard, 'normal', 'Middle of the Road', nondescript necks that you immediately focus on something else about the guitar. I struggle to find anything more to really say about these necks (as far as shape goes) because they are so 'regular' - not skinny or wide, not thick or thin - just a regular neck that most (if not all) will be 'comfortable' with. In most reviews too, I notice that they don't really have a lot to say with these necks unless they also include the fretboard, the frets, the woods (especially if its a flame maple neck) where as they will mention more about the thin and especially the Vintage necks.
I again have written far more than I intended or probably merited so the TLDR of BOTH is that the Vintage and Thin do standout more as being 'different' and a 'feature' where as the Pattern and Pattern Regular are so middle of the road that they feel like a 'standard' neck with the quality and stability that you expect from a PRS.
