It makes sense that I start with my first PRS, My 2016 PRS 594 in Fire Red Burst.
The story of why I bought my 594 goes back to why I wanted to learn to play Guitar in the first place and that was hearing Slash play a Les Paul. His intro on Sweet Child of Mine just blew me away and after that, I had to get a Les Paul - A used Epiphone Les Paul custom. A few years of bedroom playing and dating led me to meet a woman who had kids from previous partners. 1 thing led to another and she became my wife. Working and looking after the children meant my guitar playing stopped being a 'regular' thing and then adding to the family with my own basically put a stop to me playing - at least my Electric. We ended up in a bit of financial difficulty so I had to sell my Epiphone and my Marshall TSL 602 Amp - something that was not getting much use and I had an Acoustic if I had the chance to play.
That marriage broke down and we ended up separating. As she had the house and all the furniture, white goods etc, any free money I had went on my small apartment but now I was single, not running around after Kids, I was wanting to get back to playing again. As I hadn't played an electric for quite a few years, and as the Les Paul was the reason I started playing, I thought buying a Gibson Les Paul should be first. Something I was most familiar with and I had never owned a Trem either. I looked for the 'one', the one that spoke to me, had no fit or finish issues and preferably one in the colour I preferred. One of the best sounding Gibsons though had a gap in the neck pocket - one that you could put a finger nail into or use it as a pick-holder. After trying a fair few and getting a bit disheartened with the search, PRS happened to launch the 594 as a 'core' model...
As soon as I picked one up, it felt quality and I could not find a single fault. Despite not being a 10top, the flame was better than any I had seen on a Gibson and I much prefer the natural 'faux' binding - especially as there was no evidence of the stain bleeding into it as I had seen on numerous Les Pauls. The neck and rolled fret board felt broken in, as if I had played it for years. The frictionless pots felt smooth and everything just oozed quality. A strum before plugging it in had me sold - it just rang and rang, it felt resonant and the weight wasn't bad either - 8lbs and something. I thought I had found the 'one' but just check, I grabbed another off the wall, the fit and finish too was flawless, a quick strum unplugged and it was just as resonant and rang and rang too, same with the 3rd and last in the shop. Every one could be the One so there and then, I decided to buy a 594 instead of Gibson Les Paul. Plugging it in, hearing the tone stopped any doubt...
The 24.594" scale suits me as I do prefer the shorter scale length and something I was used to with the Epi's 24.75" scale and the Pattern Vintage neck feels comfortable - overall the neck felt broken in as if I had been playing it for years. I prefer a lower output pick-up in general and the 58/15 LT's are great vintage sounding pick up with clarity even with gain. The option to independently split the Humbuckers via the push/pull tone pots gives you 8 useable Pick-up combinations. Even unplugged, my 594 guitar sustains very well which maybe due to the brass saddles and posts in PRS's tune-o-matic style bridge. We all know how the 3+3 Headstock design is 'perfect' for tuning stability with enough angle and straight string pull so you don't have the risks or stability issues that other guitars of this type can have. The locking tuners are great too and I love the open back design as well. The 594 comes with a Bone nut as well.
Its quite obvious what role this guitar brings as its clearly a Vintage Les Paul inspired guitar but with PRS quality, expertise and modern touches - like the locking tuners and coil splitting. I love the way it keeps the clarity and its a joy to play. Anytime I want a classic/vintage humbucker guitar, this is the one I reach for. I have mine set up with 10's and generally don't opt to use the split coil tones - mostly because I tend to use my 509 (a guitar for another post) for that. I used to think that if you want a 'Les Paul', you buy a Gibson Les Paul. In fairness, a Gibson has more grunt but lacked the clarity and finesse that the 594 has - at least in my opinion. If space wasn't a concern, I would add a Gibson LP - if I found the right one, but I wouldn't swap my 594 for one.
As I said this was my first PRS and the first guitar I could buy after a marriage breakdown, a marriage that also stopped my opportunity to consider buying a good guitar let alone a guitar of the calibre of a PRS. I am not 'bitter' as there is no point looking backwards at what could have been and better to look at what I have now. This 594 has led me to buy 4 more Core PRS guitars and I will get to those stories at a later date. I don't have favourite guitars either but I wouldn't trade this 594 in for anything other than a higher tier (wood library or Private Stock - not that I am looking or a trade).
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