Single coils...

I knew the 513 would sound darker, but I was surprised how much darker it was. I assume it is a mahogany vs. alder thing but it could also be that there are 250K pots in the 305 and DC3 vs. 500K in the 513. The 305 and DC3 sounded more similar than I thought they would. I thought the bolt on neck would make the DC3 a touch more chimey.
 
jchix said:
I knew the 513 would sound darker, but I was surprised how much darker it was. I assume it is a mahogany vs. alder thing but it could also be that there are 250K pots in the 305 and DC3 vs. 500K in the 513. The 305 and DC3 sounded more similar than I thought they would. I thought the bolt on neck would make the DC3 a touch more chimey.
Click to expand...

I'm totally with you. I was surprised at how similar the 305 and the DC3 sounded. I wonder how they all would have compared if the 513 was ash with a maple neck...
 
Casi1 said:
I'm totally with you. I was surprised at how similar the 305 and the DC3 sounded. I wonder how they all would have compared if the 513 was ash with a maple neck...
Click to expand...

I can tell you, pretty damn close. I have a beat to snot 513 with a Swamp Ash body, maple neck, and rosewood board. It gets surprisingly close.
 
I only got a 305 a few months ago. TBH it's my first ever single coil guitar. After playing it, I thought to myself '*satisfied grunt* where have you been all my life?" I chose this over a DC3, as it has the familiar carve top, & birds.
For the longest time, I was scared away from single coil, as aeons ago I had played in a band with a guy who played a MIM Telecaster. It was so harsh it made my ears bleed. I was totally ignorant of the dynamic range and smoooooth cleans.
Haven't really put it down since i got it. Love love love!
dDB9blE.jpg

Added a custom truss rod cover from WECInlays (wild e coyote Inlays)
CfVkn8p.jpg
 
That was really interesting. Thanks for posting!
My response was not what I was expecting, but in retrospect, I suppose it makes sense
For neck, neck and middle, I greatly preferred the 305, over the other two.
When the bridge was involved, I greatly preferred the 513. The DC sound nice, but I didn’t love it.
I was expecting to prefer the 513 in all positions. But definitely not the case
 
BWV548 said:
That was really interesting. Thanks for posting!
My response was not what I was expecting, but in retrospect, I suppose it makes sense
For neck, neck and middle, I greatly preferred the 305, over the other two.
When the bridge was involved, I greatly preferred the 513. The DC sound nice, but I didn’t love it.
I was expecting to prefer the 513 in all positions. But definitely not the case
Click to expand...

You are welcome... I stumbled upon the video on Youtube. I appreciate that this guy took the time to make a video like this one. I'm still kinda surprised at how similar these models are tone-wise and how 'strong' that PRS tone is.

To me, this video magnifies how different the Silver Sky is from the previous single coil models...
 
The video shows why I like my 513 so much, little more meat and output than the 305 on to mention the shorter scale I love.
my 305 was nice just liked others better at the time MaPete has ( had ? ) a 305 I really liked, I think if I go that route again I would want a maple neck
 
rnodern said:
I only got a 305 a few months ago. TBH it's my first ever single coil guitar. After playing it, I thought to myself '*satisfied grunt* where have you been all my life?" I chose this over a DC3, as it has the familiar carve top, & birds.
For the longest time, I was scared away from single coil, as aeons ago I had played in a band with a guy who played a MIM Telecaster. It was so harsh it made my ears bleed. I was totally ignorant of the dynamic range and smoooooth cleans.
Haven't really put it down since i got it. Love love love!
dDB9blE.jpg

Added a custom truss rod cover from WECInlays (wild e coyote Inlays)
CfVkn8p.jpg
Click to expand...

I am in a similar boat. Never wanted single coils until recently when I got a decent guitar that had them. Now I love them. I had a 513, but it just wasn’t “my” guitar. I would also like to have heard a 509 in that comparison. Along with the silver sky. I’ve never been a maple fretboard guy. But maybe I need to re-evaluate that also.

Fwiw I had read the comments about the 513 being darker. And until he added the bridge pickup, I was like, what are they talking about? It was slightly darker, but that 513 bridge is a lot darker. Not bad at all, but that was no doubt the biggest difference imo.

Anyway my plan is to get my hands on a 509 when I’m ready to buy another guitar. Unless I find a figured maple 305 first. :)
 
gush said:
I played a 513 at GC a few years back and was surprised how dark it was, kind of turned off of 513s. Would love to try a maple neck 513. It just seems a 513 would be such a great tool to have.
Click to expand...

I can vouch for the maple necked 513. I had one and it was awesome. I miss it sometimes. If I ever bought another one, it would definitely have a maple neck. That guitar covered so much tonal territory and nailed every sound that I needed from it.
 
Casi1 said:
I can vouch for the maple necked 513. I had one and it was awesome. I miss it sometimes. If I ever bought another one, it would definitely have a maple neck. That guitar covered so much tonal territory and nailed every sound that I needed from it.
Click to expand...

Did you ever play a hog neck 513 for comparison?

I guess the other side of the coin is this. I wanted a 408 too but as time goes on and prs keeps putting out great guitars with great pickups a guitar like the 408 is locked in place with the pickups it has. Not many choices available if you don't like the pickups OR you just want the latest pickup offerings.

The 513 kind of fits in this category too. I still want to try a maple neck 513 and a 408 but I'd be a little cautious before buying.
 
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gush said:
Did you ever play a hog neck 513 for comparison?

I guess the other side of the coin is this. I wanted a 408 too but as time goes on and prs keeps putting out great guitars with great pickups a guitar like the 408 is locked in place with the pickups it has. Not many choices available if you don't like the pickups OR you just want the latest pickup offerings.

The 513 kind of fits in this category too. I still want to try a maple neck 513 and a 408 but I'd be a little cautious before buying.
Click to expand...

Yeah I tried both the hog and the rw necked ones; I thought the maple necked ones just offered more tone-wise (I do like bright guitars). Maple was more in my ballpark of what sounds good to me.

I hear you about being locked in with pickups. I like being able to mod guitars myself then restore if necessary. That being said, I have a 408, a SAS NF, and a DC3 all with their specialized pickups. I made sure that I played and liked the tones from the 408 and NF before I bought those guitars because I knew I’d be locked in. As for the DC3... the guitar feels like no other (it’s SO comfortable) but my custom 24 in position 4 can get pretty close to its tones therefore I foresee a modification on the horizon...
 
Matte82 said:
I am in a similar boat. Never wanted single coils until recently when I got a decent guitar that had them. Now I love them. I had a 513, but it just wasn’t “my” guitar. I would also like to have heard a 509 in that comparison. Along with the silver sky. I’ve never been a maple fretboard guy. But maybe I need to re-evaluate that also.

Fwiw I had read the comments about the 513 being darker. And until he added the bridge pickup, I was like, what are they talking about? It was slightly darker, but that 513 bridge is a lot darker. Not bad at all, but that was no doubt the biggest difference imo.

Anyway my plan is to get my hands on a 509 when I’m ready to buy another guitar. Unless I find a figured maple 305 first. :)
Click to expand...
So far, I have played both 509's and 513's with maple necks and without and a 305 with a maple neck. The 509 wouldn't have been as dark as the 513 in any case, and it has a subtly different voice than any of those three. The 509 pick up sounds more like it was wound with the wire used on 5708's, clearer and more articulate. The bridge also has more of a growl and a bit of a twang to it. I will be interested to hear how these 509 wood library run guitars sound with maple necks and swamp ash bodies.
 
Dancing Frog said:
So far, I have played both 509's and 513's with maple necks and without and a 305 with a maple neck. The 509 wouldn't have been as dark as the 513 in any case, and it has a subtly different voice than any of those three. The 509 pick up sounds more like it was wound with the wire used on 5708's, clearer and more articulate. The bridge also has more of a growl and a bit of a twang to it. I will be interested to hear how these 509 wood library run guitars sound with maple necks and swamp ash bodies.
Click to expand...

More clarity, a bit of growl and twang. Sounds perfect. :) have you played a 509 with a rosewood neck? I just love the way they feel. Never understood what they do to the tone. I’ve heard they add some highs/bite almost like maple, but also a focus on the low mids. Which again would be great. At least on my mind.
 
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