McCarty 594 vs Custom 24

[HNSFury]

The guitar arrived today! Love it! Here are my first impressions !!

Impeccable finish, it's definitely brighter than my LP, it doesn't have that low-end growl, but it sure isn't muddy like the LP, especially on the neck pickup. The neck and bridge pickups (alone) on the PRS are really cool.

I've never warmed to that midrange floating substratum in high output pickups because I just hear it as being muddy, that's why I have aftermarket low wound pups on that Gibson, but it still is muddy compared to the PRS, at least to my ears.

I like the bridge pup on the PRS CU 24 more as well. The only sound that can't be mimicked by the PRS is the middle position on the LP.

I haven't tried it with an OD yet, but will later today.

In comparison to the strat, I think the PRS in between sound comes "close" to the strat quack but does not quite nail it 100% (which is understandable), but the tone is still useful and clear sounding. A strat is still a strat, and it has to remain in my stable. A single coil will always be clearer than a HB, although being thinner as well.

Overall, after playing all three together for a while, I can experience the comment "a PRS has G and F tones" first hand, which others can interpret as the PRS tone not "having a soul".

What makes a PRS what it is, IMHO (still to be confirmed after playing it a while) is the neck and bridge pups alone, the versatility of the in-between sounds, the workmanship and the ergonomics. My LP was just too heavy and clunky.


Any comments?

 

[László]

Any comments?

PRS guitars have their own voice, and it’s been carefully worked out. In a recent video, Paul Smith talks about how he designs the guitars to have an ‘ahh’ sound instead of an ‘eee’ sound. If you play a PRS’ treble notes, that’s exactly what you’ll hear. It’s remarkable. It’s a small window into the man’s thinking, and it typifies the attention to tone details involved.

There’s also a clarity and frequency balance with a PRS that’s different from most makes.

You may disagree, but for me, trying to work out whether it’s possible to clone Gibson or Fender sounds on a PRS kind of misses the intent of the luthiery involved. A PRS isn’t some scrambled-to-formula, slapped-together, thing that almost-sounds-this-way-or-that-way-kinda-ish-but-not-really.

It is a built-to-purpose, finely honed, surgical instrument that a player can express his/her own voice on. The soul comes from the player, not from the guitar. That’s as it should be. The beauty of the PRS is that it’s not a replica.

 

[HNSFury]

PRS guitars have their own voice, and it’s been carefully worked out. In a recent video, Paul Smith talks about how he designs the guitars to have an ‘ahh’ sound instead of an ‘eee’ sound. If you play a PRS’ treble notes, that’s exactly what you’ll hear. It’s remarkable. It’s a small window into the man’s thinking, and it typifies the attention to tone details involved.

There’s also a clarity and frequency balance with a PRS that’s different from most makes.

You may disagree, but for me, trying to work out whether it’s possible to clone Gibson or Fender sounds on a PRS kind of misses the intent of the luthiery involved. A PRS isn’t some scrambled-to-formula, slapped-together, thing that almost-sounds-this-way-or-that-way-kinda-ish-but-not-really.

It is a built-to-purpose, finely honed, surgical instrument that a player can express his/her own voice on. The soul comes from the player, not from the guitar. That’s as it should be. The beauty of the PRS is that it’s not a replica.

Thanks LShefman for your comments

I'd really like to see that video,..very interesting.... I'll search for it, but if you have it can you please share it ?
I totally agree with the clarity of tone comment, that's why I bought the guitar, it's this HiFi quality that sold me on it. I was looking for something different than both my other guitars but with a clear voicing.
With regards to the Gibson/Fender and the soul comment in parenthesis, they weren't my words but it's whats being circulated out there. I agree that the concept misses the point, I was just referring vids out there that claim that PRS tried to copy Gibson, fender in the old days etc... (I think it was an Andertons video). I'd never buy something that clones something else, it's always easier buying the original.

What strings do you use?

The salesman at Wildwire told me that when PRS visited their store last year, he asked for D'addario 10's not his own strings

 

[László]

HNS, I think the video was on John Mann’s site, but I’m not sure.

I use a few different types of strings, depending on the guitar; D’Addario makes the PRS strings, so that’s probably why Paul asked for them; PRS Private Stock certificates usually say “D’Addario” unless the customer specs something else.

On my CU24 I seem to be going back and forth between D’Addario .010s and Sono-Tone pure nickel round core .010s. I like both, for different reasons, so I’m pretty wishy-washy, I guess.

I like pure nickel hex core strings on the McCarty and McCarty Singlecut, the combination enhances the vintage vibe, but I’m sticking with D’Addarios or the PRS branded ones on the 594 Soapbar and 20th PS Anniversary Ltd., because they’re perfect for me just as they are.

The “no soul” comment was around from Day One on the internets, and was a big topic of discussion in the 90s, but as people have gotten used to the idea that not everything has to clone Gibson or Fender, I tend to hear it less and less. The other myth was that PRSes were “metal guitars.” Back when my son first moved to LA, he had a CU22 Soapbar. When he pulled it out for his first label session, the producer said, “We’re not doing metal, what else have you got?” before he played a note. The CU22 Soapbar was about as far from a metal guitar as can be imagined. Stereotypes, right?

 

[dkilpatrick]

HNS, I think the video was on John Mann’s site, but I’m not sure.

I use a few different types of strings, depending on the guitar; D’Addario makes the PRS strings, so that’s probably why Paul asked for them; PRS Private Stock certificates usually say “D’Addario” unless the customer specs something else.

On my CU24 I seem to be going back and forth between D’Addario .010s and Sono-Tone pure nickel round core .010s. I like both, for different reasons, so I’m pretty wishy-washy, I guess.

I like pure nickel hex core strings on the McCarty and McCarty Singlecut, the combination enhances the vintage vibe, but I’m sticking with D’Addarios or the PRS branded ones on the 594 Soapbar and 20th PS Anniversary Ltd., because they’re perfect for me just as they are.

 

[HNSFury]

Thanks a million !!!

 

[Zack Matzanias]

Congratulations on that gorgeous guitar. I love my McCarty 594 but I don't think you made a bad choice at all.

 

[HNSFury]

Congratulations on that gorgeous guitar. I love my McCarty 594 but I don't think you made a bad choice at all.

Thanks a million !

 

[HNSFury]

The other myth was that PRSes were “metal guitars.” Back when my son first moved to LA, he had a CU22 Soapbar. When he pulled it out for his first label session, the producer said, “We’re not doing metal, what else have you got?” before he played a note. The CU22 Soapbar was about as far from a metal guitar as can be imagined. Stereotypes, right?

That's one of the more persistent ones. Until ten years back, even salesmen in guitar stores used to say that. That pushed me away from even trying one for years. The 24 fret configuration may be to blame intially.

 

[Screamingdaisy]

I picked up a Cu24 to be a metal guitar but was caught off guard by its versitility. It does a lot of things really well.

One particular surprise was the neck pickup. I thought that the neck being closer to the bridge than a 22 fret guitar would make it great for clarity when shredding, but that and that I wouldn't dig it for cleans or bluesy stuff. I was wrong; it sounds great for everything.

Whereas my McCarty gives me a bit of a 50s/60s vibe, my Cu24 makes me think of the 70s. Not sure if it's the sound of the open coiled pickups, but the Cu24 just has a little something-something I dig.

I think the 'no soul' thing came from earlier PRS pickup designs. I have a 90s CE22 with Dragons and the bridge absolutely screams for lead, but can be a little lifeless as I roll back the volume and try to play cleaner.

 

[László]

That's one of the more persistent ones. Until ten years back, even salesmen in guitar stores used to say that. That pushed me away from even trying one for years. The 24 fret configuration may be to blame intially.

When I got my first PRS in 1991, I bought it in a Mom/Pop small shop, and it was a new line for them. I bought the first one they got in the store, so the mythology about metal must have come later.

By 1992 or 3, PRS came out with the Artist II, that was 22 frets and clearly intended to be more Vintage, and I got one. So I never had that prejudice regarding PRS guitars - based on my own experience I knew better.

I wound up buying my son’s CU22 Soapbar that I got him in the first place! Hah.

 

[HNSFury]

Lschefman you really started early with PRS. The only non fender non gibson electric I ever had was a Korean Schecter c-1 24 fret in Amber. I changed the pups to SD JB/jazz and used it for a short few years for playing clean.

I heard many rumors about Paul when I lived in Maryland, especially from Guitar repair men who claimed to have known him back in the day, but I never had the urge to try his guitars, though I liked the look of the modern eagle that came out 10-12 years ago.

I’m really happy with the guitar, How’s the hollow body ii in comparison. Any experiences ?