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tjon901 « Old discontinued Singlecut »
Published on 12/28/11 at 16:08The PRS Singlecut model has had quite a history many different changes. They were discontinued at one point due to a lawsuit and once PRS won that suit they were issued again and with vigor. This is one of the models from a few years ago and it has a few things that I like over the current models like the 245 or the SC 58. Lets start with the basics. This guitar is basically your classic single cut. The body is made out of mahogany with a maple top. The model I tested out had a flame maple top with a blue stain on it. The neck is mahogany as well and it is set into the body. The neck had the old wide fat profile which they call pattern regular now. The neck had a 25 inch scale with a rosewood fretboard. The fretboard had the old bird inlays on it. Up top on the headstock were the 2nd generation PRS locking tuners. It has two uncovered PRS pickups with a volume and tone for each with the pickup selector on the upper bout. The bridge is the wraparound fine tuner bridge that they hardly use anymore. The 245 didnt have an adjustable bridge and the SC 58 has a new two piece tune-o-matic style bridge.
UTILIZATION
The playability on these is typical PRS. The setup is great and playable. The locking tuners hold on to the strings quite well. I do not know what they changed from the Phase 2 to the Phase 3 tuners but they both work well and they could have kept the phase 2 tuners but PRS is always looking to improve their stuff. I like the wraparound bridge with the fine tuners on this mode. They dont make many PRS models with this bridge on it now. One of the Opeth guys has it on his signature guitar. If you plan on down tuning a PRS I would recommend this bridge because it is much more adjustable than their normal wrapround bridge. The wide fat neck is very comfortable and fills your hand in a good way. It is very playable even though it is pretty big. The fretboard width and flatness adds to the playability. The newer single cuts the 245 and the SC 58 have a 24.5 inch scale which is a bit cramped for me. The newer single cuts have necks shorter than Gibson necks. These older ones had standard 25 inch PRS neck.s
SOUNDS
Being an older model the pickups seemed slightly different from what I have been playing recently on the newer models. The pickups reminded me of kinda what you get in the PRS SE models now. I guess the import models have pickups based on their older US models or something. The bridge pickup in this guitar seems hotter and brighter than what they use now. The pickup is hot albiet clear which sometimes does not go hand and hand. The neck pickup has a more traditional tone to it. It has a lot lower output it is kind of a mis match with the volume and ouput differences between the pickups. The neck position is very smooth and is great for cleans and leads. It can get a nice bluesy or jazzy tone or with some overdrive give you a classic rock lead tone.
OVERALL OPINION
The great thing about PRS guitars is that they are always evolving and improving and changing their models. This is also a bad thing because a model might have something you like and they may get rid of that individual part you like. With this guitar I like the fine tuner wrap around bridge that came on this model. The current single cut model the SC 58 has a two piece tune-o-matic style bridge that allows for some adjustment. Even though they may look very similar the PRS singlecut has gone through many changes throughout its history. You should look though the models and see if there is one in particular that you like the best and try and look out for that model.
UTILIZATION
The playability on these is typical PRS. The setup is great and playable. The locking tuners hold on to the strings quite well. I do not know what they changed from the Phase 2 to the Phase 3 tuners but they both work well and they could have kept the phase 2 tuners but PRS is always looking to improve their stuff. I like the wraparound bridge with the fine tuners on this mode. They dont make many PRS models with this bridge on it now. One of the Opeth guys has it on his signature guitar. If you plan on down tuning a PRS I would recommend this bridge because it is much more adjustable than their normal wrapround bridge. The wide fat neck is very comfortable and fills your hand in a good way. It is very playable even though it is pretty big. The fretboard width and flatness adds to the playability. The newer single cuts the 245 and the SC 58 have a 24.5 inch scale which is a bit cramped for me. The newer single cuts have necks shorter than Gibson necks. These older ones had standard 25 inch PRS neck.s
SOUNDS
Being an older model the pickups seemed slightly different from what I have been playing recently on the newer models. The pickups reminded me of kinda what you get in the PRS SE models now. I guess the import models have pickups based on their older US models or something. The bridge pickup in this guitar seems hotter and brighter than what they use now. The pickup is hot albiet clear which sometimes does not go hand and hand. The neck pickup has a more traditional tone to it. It has a lot lower output it is kind of a mis match with the volume and ouput differences between the pickups. The neck position is very smooth and is great for cleans and leads. It can get a nice bluesy or jazzy tone or with some overdrive give you a classic rock lead tone.
OVERALL OPINION
The great thing about PRS guitars is that they are always evolving and improving and changing their models. This is also a bad thing because a model might have something you like and they may get rid of that individual part you like. With this guitar I like the fine tuner wrap around bridge that came on this model. The current single cut model the SC 58 has a two piece tune-o-matic style bridge that allows for some adjustment. Even though they may look very similar the PRS singlecut has gone through many changes throughout its history. You should look though the models and see if there is one in particular that you like the best and try and look out for that model.