PRS McCarty - What do you love about yours? Any owners modifying?

[FireBottle]

I'm about to take ownership of a used McCarty...I liked the neck on this one. It's an '04 in fantastic shape, smokin' hot deal I couldn't pass up. Frankly, I wasn't sure I'd be much of a PRS guy since I really hadn't bonded with a couple I owned briefly a while back. To be fair, they were both C24 with W/T necks which is just not my thing I guess.

Do the bridges & pickups deliver on the McCarty or are you guys flipping them out for something else?

 

[the_Chris]

I love the wraparound bridge on the McCarties. I've owned several McCarties over the years, a Soapbar w/ IRW neck, standard (all mahogany) Soapbar, and a few humbucker equipped regular McCarties. I've had my keeper ('96) for quite a while (realistically at least 3 years at this point). I HATE the stock pickups, but your mileage may vary. I put in a pair of Wolfetone Marshallhead pickups (Alnico V) and they've been a perfect match. The guitar sounds great split as well so it's very versatile and gets me all the perfect PAF tones I could ask for.

If you like the feel and the tone, jump on it. There are plenty of good deals out there and I'm a big fan of these models : )

 

[jamdogg]

I bought grapeshot 's '06. Awesome neck. Best guitar i have ever owned or played, hands down.

Its got the McCarty pickups in it which sound fantastic. He also included a Dimarzio 36th Aniversary PAF which i have yet to try. I figure why bother if i can get where i need to be without them. In fact, i have a pair of '84 Tim Shaw RI PAFs, SD Antiquities and a Williams Attackbucker sitting on my shelf - they wont be going in this guitar. The coil- tap pot was replaced with a Standard PRS pot, so i cant speak to the splits.

 

[Sean]

Mine is a '00 that I had the top refinned to Goldtop gold and put antiquities in. I also removed the coil tap push/pull. I'll never part with this- it's a keeper.

 

[Tim Plains]

What do I love about mine? Everything!

 

[jamdogg]

Thats an 11 top!

 

[axe4me]

10 top......

Whitey......

 

[aroman]

My 2000 McCarty has been my favorite Guitar for 11 years !!
I have tried : Pearly Gates, '59 Neck with Custom 5, Duncan Distortions, Harmonic Design Z-90s, WB Habaneros, TV Jones Classics, WCR Darkburst with Godwood.
I can NOT make this Guitar sound bad. It sounds like Fender and Gibson had a very resonant child !!

 

[GlueMan]

I had my McCarty pickups replaced with the PRS 57/08s. The guitar really came alive after than. I feel like those pickups have a much more organic sound to them. The McCarty PUs sounded kinda sterile to my ear. I'll also note that I've never been a humbucker guy - I've always like single coils better.

 

[joeh77]

Love my McCarty 10 top with the Indian Rosewood Neck! Have not changed a thing on it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/18975893@N07/1915876501/in/set-72157603007775049/

Joe

 

[jokerjkny]

i'm huge prs guy, and yet, cant stand the wide thin necks. other than my mccarty's, my cu24 is standard necked, which is as "thin" as i'll get.

also, i tend to gut all my guitars and my mccarty's are no exception.

i own two: '95 goldtop (6lbs 7oz) and a '96 mcburst (7lbs 5oz).

both have tone pros bridge and locking klusons. not a fan of the pickups. just too compressed and pushy for me. and i never had any use for the so called single coil setting. so, the mcburst has antiquities, which are amazing in that guitar. nearly single coil like air, with a warm present bottom end. goldtop has tom holmes and is all hairy oddly musical midrange. terrific main rock 'n roll machine.

all adds up to some killer guitars.

 

[scuba200ft]

Wouldnt change a thing on my McCartys.

 

[cpricecpa]

I put a set of uncovered WCR Fillmores in mine. They work well in the guitar but there's is nothing wrong with the stock pu's either.

 

[tdarian]

Love the Wide/Fat neck carve on these, and the general layout of the controls. I have 3 McCartys, including a Modern Eagle 1 which is in essence a McCarty, as well as two Korina McCartys. All 3 have been refretted with SS 6100 frets, and the humbucker Korina McCarty has PRS 5708s pickups in it and they have worked out well.

Great guitars!

 

[kylek350]

Whitey......

I dig, I dig! So do the McCarty Soapbars have their own thing going on, or are they pretty true to the Gibson vibe?

 

[axe4me]

I dig, I dig! So do the McCarty Soapbars have their own thing going on, or are they pretty true to the Gibson vibe?

Maybe it's the finish or the quality of the wood cut, McSoapy has a vibe that is a cousin of Gibson but not the same. Very cool guitar though. I'd like to get an all black McSoapy some day.

 

[tdarian]

I think you really have to take scale length into consideration when making comparisons with Gibson. The 25 inch scale on McCartys seems to have a different thing going on than a 24.5 or 24.6 Gibson scale would.

 

[jokerjkny]

I think you really have to take scale length into consideration when making comparisons with Gibson. The 25 inch scale on McCartys seems to have a different thing going on than a 24.5 or 24.6 Gibson scale would.

yea,

if anything, my mccarty's feel snappier and more responsive.

 

[kylek350]

Well, no matter what, that guitar's gotten me all GASsy. Bloody hell.

 

[Sean French]

My '97 McCarty has just a couple of mods.
Swapped the stock pickups for a DGT set.
Steve Rowen (RIP) of Pigtail was kind enough to make me a custom pair of steel studs that fit the stock McCarty wraptail.Stock studs are brass.
Plus I have a treble bleed cap installed.

Here is mine.