58/15 vs 58/15 LT aka McCarty vs McCarty 594

[Matte82]

Okay so a couple of years ago I bought an amazing 2017 594 wood library. Double cut, mash green on quilt with satin nitro finish. I absolutely loved it. But life happens and I sold it. I’ve regretted selling it ever since. And swore to replace it. Well for full disclosure I kind of have with a SC594 soapbar artist with an irw neck that I got for an absolute steal.

However as great as it is, I still miss the humbuckers in the previous one I had. And I’m getting to the point I have saved up enough money to seriously start looking for another. Although new is probably out of the budget still.

As I’ve been looking at used ones, I realized the newer McCarty’s also have 58/15lt pickups in them. I have a McCarty soapbar that I also love. So that opens up more options. But then I also had a “duh” moment and realized 2015 and later McCarty’s had the original 58/15tm pickups. I mean they had to start somewhere.

So I guess my question is, how do the tm compare to the lt? Also the one thing I would have changed about the original 594 is, I wanted just a tad more out of the bridge pickup. I realize 2020 and newer models have tci tuned pickups. And may have solved that issue. Also the sc models have the lt+ version. Are they better balanced?

Basically should I just try to find a 2020 or newer 594 so I know it will have tci pickups and be better balanced? Also how close are the 2015 and later McCarty’s with 58/15tm’s? And where does a McCarty with 58/15lt’s fit in the picture? Or do I just need to get a sc594 pretty much and year and be done with it?

Anyone with experience with any combo of these guitars let me know your thoughts. And if anyone has seen a deal on any of those guitars, also please let me know.

And very lastly, if anyone knows how to get a set of 58/15lt’s, let me know. I’d be willing to pay a fair price. Then I would buy an s2 594 and put them in it. Because I played one of those recently and actually really liked the bevel. But the pickups just didn’t seem to have the magic I remember. And it may be all in my head. But the only way to fix that is to put the “real deal” in there. Thanks.

 

[Broseph]

go with the latter S2 route and install whatever you like. I have one with fralin pure PAF. Sounds so nice and crisp even when splits. I too have a spare 58/15 LT but I liked the fralin's so much that I kept them in.

 

[Broseph]

as for your question. From what I understand if you get a SC 594 you want the 58/15 LT+ to increase the brightness. I believe. Somebody can correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Matte82]

go with the latter S2 route and install whatever you like. I have one with fralin pure PAF. Sounds so nice and crisp even when splits. I too have a spare 58/15 LT but I liked the fralin's so much that I kept them in.

Yeah I considered doing that. But knowing I was going to sell the first 594, I decided to mod my old LP Studio a bit. So it would be closer to the 594. I put some thornbuckers in it. I was shocked how close they sounded to each other. But it still wasn’t the same. And I’m a bit ocd and weird. I’ll probably be happy with any 58/15 variant. But I think it I chose anything else, I would still want something with 58/15’s. Even if they sounded practically identical. I would probably subconsciously convince myself they were different. And not be happy. But I do keep looking at s2’s. And would have bought one by now if I felt I had a chance at some 58/15’s. I’m just not paying $800-1000.

 

[andy474x]

I have a the TCI LT's in my 594, and the regular 58/15's in my SSH (actually, they're the MT "Multi Tap" version, but I think the humbucker mode output is the same as the regular 58/15's). I don't notice a huge difference in output between those guitars. The 594 uses basically the same pickup in the bridge and neck positions, so it's really a game of adjusting the pickup heights for output. The regular McCarty, I'm not sure if those pickups are like that. But, I would go for a 594 if that's the platform you want, and then if the pickups still don't jive, look for a regular 58/15 to put in the bridge, or you could even go for a 57/08 or 59/09.

 

[Going Modal]

In my mind & opinion, I don't really care one bit about TCI vs. non-TCI treatment in the pickups. We've had non-TCI tuned pickups for generations now, and many of them sound pretty amazing, don't they? Yeah. Now, as far as LT vs. non-LT and then LT+, I would expect to hear a difference there, from a power/output perspective.

And yes, andy474x makes a good point above that the 594 guitars essentially have the same pickup in Neck & Bridge positions. (Howard Leese might have even talked about this in his interview/video with Tim Pierce--check that one out.) So, that could be the reason that you were wanting a stronger bridge-pickup in your original 594 guitar. [In essence, there is no such thing as a specific 58/15LT bridge pickup vs. 58/15LT neck pickup--they would be the same thing.]

The non-LT 58/15 pickups didn't seem to be this way--there were different-strength neck & bridge pickups. I have them in a McCarty Vine and as much as I like 57/08 pickups, I think the non-LT 58/15 might be just as good (and they split much better).

 

[Matte82]

In my mind & opinion, I don't really care one bit about TCI vs. non-TCI treatment in the pickups. We've had non-TCI tuned pickups for generations now, and many of them sound pretty amazing, don't they? Yeah. Now, as far as LT vs. non-LT and then LT+, I would expect to hear a difference there, from a power/output perspective.

And yes, andy474x makes a good point above that the 594 guitars essentially have the same pickup in Neck & Bridge positions. (Howard Leese might have even talked about this in his interview/video with Tim Pierce--check that one out.) So, that could be the reason that you were wanting a stronger bridge-pickup in your original 594 guitar. [In essence, there is no such thing as a specific 58/15LT bridge pickup vs. 58/15LT neck pickup--they would be the same thing.]

The non-LT 58/15 pickups didn't seem to be this way--there were different-strength neck & bridge pickups. I have them in a McCarty Vine and as much as I like 57/08 pickups, I think the non-LT 58/15 might be just as good (and they split much better).

Good to hear. I knew that originally all 58/15lt’s were the same neck and bridge. But I thought I had read that the tci tuned versions balanced better due to the tci tuning. And don’t get me wrong I loved the original 594 I had. But if I dialed in the amp for the neck pickup the bridge was just a tad thin. Or if I dialed it in for the bridge the neck was just a bit too big sounding. And I tweaked and tweaked pickup heights. I even played around with the pot wiring. Vintage vs modern wiring and such. But couldn’t quite get exactly where I wanted. It never hindered me. Not on the least. But have always wanted to try the tci version, just to see if how they balanced.

And good to hear about the 58/15 vs 57/08. I have strongly considered getting 57/08’s and trying in my LP studio. I’ve even heard the 59/09 in the bridge with a 57/08 neck is a solid combo. But something in me says I won’t be happy with anything but 58/15’s. Once I have those. Then maybe I’ll find try out the others. Heck I probably just need 4 more guitars. So I can have 57/08’s, 59/09’s, 58/15tm, and 58/15lts. But then I guess I also need a sc so I can have the 58/15l+’s. Haha.

 

[Broseph]

Don’t forget to thinline too! 58/15 LT in it turns it into an absolute midrange tone monster. Insanely good tones and crazy light

 

[Matte82]

Okay. Well.... I did a thing. I had seen a 2021 artist package sc 594 on the bay a couple of weeks ago. Really good price. Almost too good to be true kind of thing. Couldn't make out the 58/15LT on the pickups in any of the pics. Not uncommon. So I messaged the seller to make sure it was stock, and ask if it had the hang tags. He replied it was indeed all stock, but no hang tags. Hmm, so I was thinking about it. Didn't really have quite that amount of funds, but could swing it with some ramen noodle eating for a little while. Then suddenly he dropped the price to basically too good to be true. At this point I'm really excited, and almost pull the trigger, but notice it still has the "best offer" option. So I'm like, what would it hurt, he's already dropped the price. So I sent an offer that would be an outrageously good deal, but honestly not too far of from his asking price. Insta decline. So I upped it between that offer and his asking price. This time it went through, but I had to wait on his response. About 30 mins later..... He accepted. I was excited, but almost scared it might be a scam. But he had also replied to my questions a week or so ago, so that helped me feel better about it. So what the heck, I paid. And waited. It showed up today. It was totally legit, had the hangtags in the case, and I honestly can't believe it. I'm at work so pics will have to wait, but I will post them and start a new "NGD" thread. And update on the status of my "collection". I've had a few other NGDs and not posted them. But they weren't quite as exciting as this one.

 

[bodia]

Okay. Well.... I did a thing. I had seen a 2021 artist package sc 594 on the bay a couple of weeks ago. Really good price. Almost too good to be true kind of thing. Couldn't make out the 58/15LT on the pickups in any of the pics. Not uncommon. So I messaged the seller to make sure it was stock, and ask if it had the hang tags. He replied it was indeed all stock, but no hang tags. Hmm, so I was thinking about it. Didn't really have quite that amount of funds, but could swing it with some ramen noodle eating for a little while. Then suddenly he dropped the price to basically too good to be true. At this point I'm really excited, and almost pull the trigger, but notice it still has the "best offer" option. So I'm like, what would it hurt, he's already dropped the price. So I sent an offer that would be an outrageously good deal, but honestly not too far of from his asking price. Insta decline. So I upped it between that offer and his asking price. This time it went through, but I had to wait on his response. About 30 mins later..... He accepted. I was excited, but almost scared it might be a scam. But he had also replied to my questions a week or so ago, so that helped me feel better about it. So what the heck, I paid. And waited. It showed up today. It was totally legit, had the hangtags in the case, and I honestly can't believe it. I'm at work so pics will have to wait, but I will post them and start a new "NGD" thread. And update on the status of my "collection". I've had a few other NGDs and not posted them. But they weren't quite as exciting as this one.

I love when this happens! Congrats