The Official "McCarty 594" Love Thread!!

[László]

P.S. Les - I confirmed with PRS that the 20th Anniversary PS you have has the 24.594" scale. They rounded to 24.6" in the writeup. Makes sense, each CNC program they write is a lot of work, they wouldn't do two for .006" difference in length. BTW, I can definitely feel the difference between the 24.5" and 24.594" scale. Close, but different. I would bet I could tell the difference blindfolded, after 7 years of the DC 245 being my main model!

This is great info, Pete, I really appreciate it! I wondered about that, because the neck does feel just a little different to me from the McSC, and my other 24.5s. Not much, just a titch, here and there.

Not that I could tell blindfolded probably...especially with this hand being so screwy. But..it is a great feeling neck and a wonderful sounding guitar.

I wonder if it's also the same carve...?

Meantime, I'm very excited to hear your report on the guitar when it arrives!

 

[ViperDoc]

What an epic journey! NICE PICKUP, DUDE.

 

[dkilpatrick]

Les:

Great post! That leads to my next point in the timeline and journey - the McCarty Singlecut!

I had owned several SC 245's and SC 58's. The best to-date had been the SC Wood Library Ted's, and as to why I believe it was because the woods were hand-selected, and the bodies were not weight relieved, as the Sunburst 245, 5708 Limited Edition and Production Ted runs supposedly were.

And then the Private Stock McCarty came out. The reports were pretty legendary. Les, your report on yours highly influenced me getting one (later 3) of these. Howard Leese had told me offline how much he loved his.

PRS had cracked the code on this one, all three of my MSC's were fantastic! My Citrus Glow one was the best sounding guitar I have ever owned.

My first one:

My second one, tracked down in "McCarty Glow" finish, bought from Europe. Sold it to Alan after I got my personally spec'ed one in:

My third one, personally spec'ed, the best sounding guitar I have owned, and also next to its DC 245 sibling in the same finish:

I believe that the secret sauce from what they discovered with the MSC is being rolled into the 594, plus new stuff.

So (again, for me at least) the 594 is the combination of many years of DC 245 Ted love, plus the MSC! MSC magic, in the packaging of the Doublecut 245 I love so much!!

P.S. Les - I confirmed with PRS that the 20th Anniversary PS you have has the 24.594" scale. They rounded to 24.6" in the writeup. Makes sense, each CNC program they write is a lot of work, they wouldn't do two for .006" difference in length. BTW, I can definitely feel the difference between the 24.5" and 24.594" scale. Close, but different. I would bet I could tell the difference blindfolded, after 7 years of the DC 245 being my main model!

You sir have some stunning examples of PRS's fine craftsmanship

 

[MA Pete]

Someone has a dark sense of humor!

 

[Remi]

Sighting # 3. Brian's Guitars.
http://briansguitars.com/product/paul-reed-smith-private-stock-guitar-of-the-month-mccarty-594

 

[Bill SAS 513]

B
Hey all,been crazy busy at work...these are gorgeous and I love the location of the toggle!! Another neat idea, Mr Smith!!

 

[MA Pete]

NGD!

Mind officially blown. Best guitar ever. Just crushes with regards to tone. Made me a little teary-eyed.

Initial thoughts:

• Looks even better in real life! The finish is amazing, totally vintage.
• Best neck tone ever, that pickup is particularly amazing.
• This body is thicker than McCarty thickness.
• I love the scale length. Noticeably longer than the 245 scale, for me.
• The neck carve is AWESOME, very beefy, more so than Pattern.
• The switch position is great. Already used to it, love it up there, both functionally and visually.

This is the third major event for me in 7 years of short scale PRS love and devotion. First there was the DC 245 Ted in 2009, and the many evolutions of that for me, which I highlighted earlier in this thread. And then there was the McCarty Singlecut a couple of years ago. And now this...

More to follow as I get more time with it!

 

[László]

That is just fantastic. Off the charts in every way. And you love the feel and tone? Sounds like my kinda guitar-fiddle right there.

Beautiful, beautiful color and top, too.

 

[ViperDoc]

58/15 LT FTW. I BET THAT GUITAR HAS AMAZEBALLS TONE. TONE CLIP???

 

[FJ4]

That is a STUNNING guitar, congrats Pete! I can´t wait for your splendid tone report.

 

[Mike Duncan]

Holy cow!

That's one of the flames I've on a guitar! It's perfect. I love the switch position!

 

[justmund]

Bangin!

 

[strat63]

Now that these are showing up, I'm starting to regret passing on the one from my local dealer. I have a questions for those that have them in hand already. Do you have any idea about the weight? None of them I've seen posted at dealers have had a weight listed and because of some neck issues it's very important for me.

 

[MA Pete]

Do you have any idea about the weight?

Mine is reportedly 7 pounds 7 ounces. I haven't weighed it myself yet, but it feels like it is about that.

These are lightweight Mahogany bodies, which would normally create a guitar in the low 7.x range, but these appear to have bodies thicker than McCarty thickness, so I would bet most of them are in the 7.5 range give or take.

I too have issues with heavier guitars (a bad back in my case), my main gigging guitar for the past several years has been on of two Obeche bodied DC 245's, the Aquamarine one was about 6 pounds, and the Citrus Glow one is 6.5.

I have a gig getting scheduled in the May timeframe, I may gig this one to really check it out, but for gigging for me it is a bit on the heavy side relative to my other choice of my 6.5 pound Obeche DC 245. That one pound difference is huge for me in the context of a gig night. But I will likely tough it out to have the opportunity to check this guitar out at the next gig!

 

[MA Pete]

Thanks everyone, for the kind comments!

That is just fantastic. Off the charts in every way. And you love the feel and tone? Sounds like my kinda guitar-fiddle right there.

Beautiful, beautiful color and top, too.

Thanks, Les! Yes, I think you would like this. Tone-wise, it is likely in between your MSC and your McCarty, as you would expect. It is closer to the MSC tone-wise in my opinion, than to a 25" McCarty, even than a DC 245. Feel-wise, it has its own thing going on, different than the MSC. And of course the pickups split.

The 5708's in the MSC's are "special" 5708's used just in the MSC's (verified with Paul Miles this week at the Private Stock Vault), and these 58/15LT's are in the same vein, but different.

I think you would like it!

TONE CLIP???

Sorry guys, there won't be any tone clips from me, unless I get a video recording from an upcoming gig. I am not set up at home to record easily. That is a goal for me later this year, so maybe down the road a bit.

But hey, there are 25 of these besides mine, maybe someone else can do some clips...

 

[kes7u]

That COLOR is off the charts. Seems slightly different, and darker than Les' McCarty Singlecut Prototype. Just different enough. Very vintage looking and beautiful. GREAT flame as well. That new bridge material completes the package.

Very interesting regarding the body thickness. I was assuming typical McCarty body thickness. I'm pleased that it is a bit thicker. Can't wait to get my hands on one of those necks. I wonder if this neck has a path to the core series?

Enjoy, Pete!!!

Kevin

 

[MA Pete]

This is great info, Pete, I really appreciate it! I wondered about that, because the neck does feel just a little different to me from the McSC, and my other 24.5s. Not much, just a titch, here and there.

Not that I could tell blindfolded probably...especially with this hand being so screwy. But..it is a great feeling neck and a wonderful sounding guitar.

I wonder if it's also the same carve...?

Les:

I played a 20th. Definitely a "standard" Pattern Carve, and that's what it says on the specs. So 24.594" scale length, but Pattern Carve, versus this new "Pattern Vintage" Carve on the 594.

Great model, but the combination of the smaller standard Medium Jumbo frets and the trem made it not a fit for me, in context of the total makeup of that guitar formula. I dug the pickup config, which inspired me to get a used Brent Mason PS, which in my collection fit better with the 25.25" scale, and Maple Neck and Board for more Fendery tones with a similar pickup configuration. (Which ironically also has standard frets and a trem.)

Can't wait to get my hands on one of those necks.

I must say, the neck carve was a surprise for me. Not in a good or bad way, just different from what I expected. I have been a connoisseur of Wide Fat and Pattern necks for a long time, and I still have both in the collection. In direct comparison, this feels a lot more like WF to me than Pattern. Meaning BEEFY! Beefier than Pattern, as beefy as WF, but asymmetric with the beefiness shifted to the top half of the neck, versus the middle. Super comfy, but while not yet being used to it, it currently "slows me down" versus the Pattern Carve.

From the PRS Blog post, they describe it as:

"This neck carve shares the same width measurements as our Pattern neck, but is slightly thicker front to back and features an asymmetrical carve with a little less meat on the treble side, a little more on the bass side of the neck."​

An accurate description, I guess! Feels "vintagey", and I suspect the beefiness is also intended to contribute to the killer tone of this model.

(More on the body thickness later...)

 

[MA Pete]

A comment on the Headstock shape - as the President of the DC Ted club for many years , I have had most of my DC 245's with Santana Headstocks (original PRS run, Willcutt's Wood Library Runs, my own Private Stocks), with the exception of my 408-equipped Aquamarine one, which I did with J-Birds and the PRS headstock in tribute to the Signature 408 guitar. (And later sort of regretted that, more so re the J-Birds.)

On this one, I thought I would be bummed about it not being "like a Ted" with the Santana Headstock. But now that I have it, not so, not at all! I really like it with the PRS headstock.

I think psychologically for me it has a lot to do with going to the Factory this week, and talking to Paul about the 594. This model for me for me captures everything great about the DC Ted, and takes it to the next level in that regard. The DC Ted in 2009 was cool with Santana Headstock in tipping the hat to the past (complete with a Grey-Black finish), but this new model does so even more so in other ways, that it doesn't need the Santana Headstock to be what it is. I dig that my Ted's and my MSC have the Santana Headstock, but I embrace this 594 openly with the "traditional" PRS headstock!

 

[CatStrangler]

this thread is for me, renewing some long suppressed dc22 GAS.

 

[fred11]

Mine is reportedly 7 pounds 7 ounces. I haven't weighed it myself yet, but it feels like it is about that.

Just weighed mine and it's 3.4kg or 7pounds 8ounces.

Congrats on your guitar Pete, it looks amazing! Sounds like you're as happy as I am with mine, which says a lot