Questions about McCarty Soapbar

[Santana157]

So, I am looking for a simple mahogany guitar with 2 P90's.

I am wondering if anyone has any feedback on a used McCarty goldtop from '98 vs. a new McCarty Korina w/ Brazilian rosewood? ( Both with P90's).

I played a McCarty P90's about ten years ago and I really liked it. I am not familiar with the benefits of a korina guitar. I am wondering if one might be a much better instrument than the other? The newer guitar might have some improved features but the older guitar, having been built when PRS was slightly smaller, might have been made better.
i have an EG Bolt-on from the early 90's that is a very nice instrument.
It seems like PRS has been gravitating towards more mass produced instruments, which may be fine, but might not?

I also saw a 25th Anniversary Mira that had P90's. I read some posts on here about it. I think a few thought it seemed flimsy and the pickups were too hot. For close to the same price, i would assume the McCarty is probably a better instrument.
Thanks.

 

[Serious Poo]

I own a Korina McCarty BRW and a stock '04 McCarty, both with soapbars. The Korina is more midrange focused, which I personally like a lot. However, the stock pickups were a little too muddy with that guitar so I put Lollar P90's in it and really like the results. Still mid-focused, but clearer, less-hot and more touch sensitive. The '04 McCarty is dead stock and has a more wide open sound and is the guitar I write a lot of songs with. That guitar is just magic for some reason.

Build quality is the same, they're both really well put together. Hope that helps.

 

[Brad737]

I used to have 2005 McCarty Soapbar...all mahogany body and neck, IRW board. I really liked the guitar a lot, but I found the stock pickups to be just a little flat. I tried some Lollar and some Fralin pickups in her, and they were both a vast improvement over the stock Duncans. A few months ago I added a Ted McCarty DC245 Soapy to my collection. For me, I prefer the 24.5" scale with the soapbars. The only problem? Those same lame Duncan P-90s. (Please don't think I'm a Duncan-hater...I'm not. I just don't particularly care for their P-90s.) I added a set of the noise-cancelling Fralin Soapbars. They're pretty darn close to vintage P-90 tone...probably 90 to 95%...close enough for me! But these suckers are quiet. They're a vast improvement over the stock pickups.

Moral of this long story? Get a Soapy! But don't be afraid to swap the pickups. I feel it's almost a necessity with this model. Good luck!

 

[John Beef]

I added a set of the noise-cancelling Fralin Soapbars. They're pretty darn close to vintage P-90 tone...robably 90 to 95%...close enough for me! But these suckers are quiet. They're a vast improvement over the stock pickups.

I have a set of these in my only non-prs guitar and I agree, they are fantastic.

 

[tdarian]

I'm a fan of the Korina McCartys, and I have one with P90s (Lollars like SeriousPoo above) and another with PRS 5708s. Both are superb, I do lean a bit harder on the one with the buckers.