PRS is the Double Cut guitar. Its an iconic shape and in truth, probably the only Double Cut shape I like.
I was a Gibson LP fan - before PRS were really known over here in the UK and ONLY a Single-Cut would do and ONLY the Les Paul shape - a shape that's traditional before Gibson - its got the same proportions as a traditional guitar - albeit a smaller body. It didn't have a trem to worry about, sustained for days and of course, no 60 cycle hum either. I was very picky even back then, and there was 'no way' I would buy a Double Cut.
However when I saw my first PRS, saw the Birds on the neck, the quality of the maple top and it came in 'Red'. The look of it replaced a Les Paul Custom in Wine Red burst (with Gold Hardware... ) as the guitar I wanted, the guitar I aspired to be in a position to own. Of course I still wanted the Wine Red Les Paul just because its the guitar that made me want to play, the sound of it from the artists I looked up to and, at the time, PRS seemed to be a cross between the Ibanez guitars that were popular, more so than Fender with a 24 fret, trem bridge guitar with great tops and Humbuckers - which was a good thing as I was not a Fender fan (still not). This was before the Custom 22 so I saw it more as an alternative to a Jem with the Ornate Tree of Life to show the craftsmanship - if they go to all that trouble to inlay more complex shapes than just drilled dots or chiselled blocks, then surely they must put that craftsmanship into their guitars.
Anyway, that's getting a bit off topic so I will jump ahead. When I found myself in a position to not only start playing Electric again after many years raising a family, I had the choice of buying something I was 'familiar' with and, as I had an Epiphone Les Paul for many years, it made sense to look at a Gibson Les Paul so I started to look around. Every one I looked at seemed to have something that I wasn't happy with - even the more expensive Custom Shop Reissues - the worst being a gap in the neck pocket that you could use a pick holder. At this time, PRS had released the 594 and I fell in love with the Fire Red Burst. Every one I looked at though was like the last - minor variation in tone as expected from a natural material. Whether it was a Single or Double, the differences were minimal to me, so I had a choice - not feel like I'm sacrificing 'something' by picking one shape over another - it was a choice based purely on Aesthetics.
That may sound petty or shallow - picking a guitar based on Aesthetics. However, when things like Tone, build quality, feel etc are all close enough that it didn't matter whether I picked the Single cut or double cut, didn't matter if I picked the Red over a McCarty Burst - the differences were small enough that I didn't feel forced to pick the single cut because it was much better, or pick the Double Cut because it was lighter and had better high fret access. The reality was that they were all in and around the same ball-park regardless. Because of this, I picked the Double Cut purely because it was an iconic PRS shape and I was buying a PRS.
I wouldn't be against picking a Single Cut PRS in the future but I do think that if there is a choice - like there was with my 594, unless there is a big enough difference to force me to buy, then I think I would pick the Double Cut because its PRS and its iconic for the brand. PRS is one of those brands where you can pick your favourite aesthetic without disappointment. I voted that I like Both but prefer Double Cut as that is the closest...
