594 GAS/tuners

Mozzi said:
...I would have to replace those buttons as they do look cheap...
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Glancing at the ones from my old 335, they are cheap looking because the insert molding technology of the 60s was not very advanced. The molding seams aren’t clean and the color is...umm...dirty. :D The new ones have better seams. That’s it. And the buttons aren’t replaceable either.
 
I don't know what the "new" vintage tuners are like but I DO like the Phase III's a lot. I have 3 with phase II's and would swap them all if they were a direct replacement.
 
Shawn@PRS said:
The new vintage tuners does something to the midrange response which makes the guitar sound more open. You can achieve the same effect by removing the locking thumb screws on your Phase III tuners. If you don't like the vintage tuners, Phase III tuners are a direct replacement.
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Yeah, but did he try wings? o_O
 
I was under the impression is was simply an aesthetic change, a way of bringing the McCarty model back to it's "roots" where the original McCarty's had the vintage style tuners.

I could be wrong, though...PRS is constantly thinking of ways to improve or simply change tonal dynamics in their guitars, so it's very possible this is a decision they made with those aspects in mind.
 
I pulled the vintage tuners off my 08 Starla because with the Bigsby I'm tuning a fair amount. To me they felt cheap and didn't respond that intuitively. Graphtech Ratio Lockers are sweet to work with. Love the Hybrid lockers on the 594. They look and operate beautifully in my experience. But over all between the heft and finish, the 594's tone is all about the pickups and I'm a fan. The new nitro finish guitars may transfer more wood tone. I'd bet the finish makes more of a difference than the tuners tonally speaking. Just my guess.
 
88prs said:
I don't understand why locking tuners are needed on a non-tremolo guitar so I dig the retro look, IMHO
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I can personally give you one extremely relevant answer because I'm disabled and hands full of arthritis. For people like me who need some help restringing a guitar. There's nothing wrong with making things easier and more convenient. I for one totally appreciate locking tuners and no one on the planet can convince me that a person can hear the difference between machine heads in their guitar tone. That's beyond absurd.
 
I just put a set of the Kluson locking tuners from John Mann on my 2009 McCarty. Direct, drop-in replacements. I've only plugged it in and played it once since doing so but my ears didn't notice a difference in tone. Of course I was playing the red channel of my TC50 and I firmly believe that the more gain you use the less the guitars physical components come through in the tone. also, my ears aren't the best. Thank you Jon Lord!

I made the swap solely for ease of restringing. I wear out strings at a very quick pace so the locking tuners make restringing so much easier and quicker. I also never had an issue with tuning stability with the original non-locking tuners.

I am seriously considering putting locking tuners on the rest of my "gigging" guitars to make restringing easier and quicker. As a point of reference I need to replace strings after about 2 gigs worth of playing time. I can stretch it to three gigs but that is pushing my luck and anything longer than that and I am asking for string related problems. I'm trying to let up on the death grip I have on the neck while playing, but 40 hears of bad habit is hard to break.
 
GADonis said:
I just put a set of the Kluson locking tuners from John Mann on my 2009 McCarty. Direct, drop-in replacements. I've only plugged it in and played it once since doing so but my ears didn't notice a difference in tone. Of course I was playing the red channel of my TC50 and I firmly believe that the more gain you use the less the guitars physical components come through in the tone. also, my ears aren't the best. Thank you Jon Lord!

I made the swap solely for ease of restringing. I wear out strings at a very quick pace so the locking tuners make restringing so much easier and quicker. I also never had an issue with tuning stability with the original non-locking tuners.

I am seriously considering putting locking tuners on the rest of my "gigging" guitars to make restringing easier and quicker. As a point of reference I need to replace strings after about 2 gigs worth of playing time. I can stretch it to three gigs but that is pushing my luck and anything longer than that and I am asking for string related problems. I'm trying to let up on the death grip I have on the neck while playing, but 40 hears of bad habit is hard to break.
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I personally believe PRS are full of **** with their better tone explanation. On an acoustic, maybe. Through an electric amp, its nonsense. This decision to put Lego plastic on the tips of .50 cent tuners in place of those locking tuners they used is for one reason only. Profit. Its shameful and insulting to treat people like morons by claiming its for tone purposes. To put $2 tuners on a $4500 guitar is ridiculous and with my being disabled with horrid arthritis and severe back issues, I have to spend a further $200 so I can restring my own guitar rather than having to take it to a guitar shop.
 
I was hesitant on going after the 2020's myself due to the vintage style tuners, because I just love the locking ones. It's been a few years since I sold my original 594 (profile pic) but when I saw the 2020's had been TCI tuned, I figured I'd give it a shot since the 58/15LT sounded pretty good prior and I love the JM pups and the TCI "S"'s. Got a good deal on a single cut back in March and I'm happy I have a 594 again. Not sure if it's the singlecut v doublecut, the vintage tuners, the upgraded pups, all of that combined, or just my memory, but I enjoy the tone of this one a lot more than my original. So far the tuners have been great too. I may throw the mann made vintage ones in there some day.
 
Michael Egan said:
I personally believe PRS are full of **** with their better tone explanation. On an acoustic, maybe. Through an electric amp, its nonsense. This decision to put Lego plastic on the tips of .50 cent tuners in place of those locking tuners they used is for one reason only. Profit. Its shameful and insulting to treat people like morons by claiming its for tone purposes. To put $2 tuners on a $4500 guitar is ridiculous and with my being disabled with horrid arthritis and severe back issues, I have to spend a further $200 so I can restring my own guitar rather than having to take it to a guitar shop.
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C'mon, how do you really feel??? :rolleyes:

For the record, there is a half an ounce difference in weight. Yeah, I weighed them.
 
bodia said:
C'mon, how do you really feel??? :rolleyes:

For the record, there is a half an ounce difference in weight. Yeah, I weighed them.
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There is a discernible weight difference in the ebony tuner buttons and the metal ones from my SE, however I would challenge anyone who said they could tell a weight difference when in the guitar.

However tonally, they’ve warmed the response up a wee bit!;)
 
I'm very torn. I bought an S2 McCarty 594 Thinline and I love it. LOVE it. It's probaly the lightest guitar I own, even lighter than the CE24 Semi-Hollow I normally play. Tuning stability is excellent as it is, and I don't exactly overwind the string or anything. It's like PRS made an SG with its thin body, the toggle with the knobs, and the incredibly light weight, but without any of the SG's drawbacks like neck dive and tuning issues.

I love locking tuners, so I've been tempted. I LOVE the bright white tuner buttons and brass winding posts on the stock ones, so the only way to go to locking tuners and keep that look is to buy PRS-branded ones for $220. Gotoh's normal vintage style have aged buttons and a single metal coating (nickel, gold, etc). So I've decided that changing strings once in a while is not a big deal. LOL

Interesting to note, though, that I got a replacement thumbscrew with it even though there are no locking tuners. That's a little weird, right?
 
derFunk said:
Interesting to note, though, that I got a replacement thumbscrew with it even though there are no locking tuners. That's a little weird, right?
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It's like a crack dealer giving you a sample just to get you hooked. Beware!!!!

Check w/John Mann - he may either have PRS lockers that will fit, or he may be able to convert the S2s. I know he can for the SEs - not sure about the S2s.
 
alantig said:
It's like a crack dealer giving you a sample just to get you hooked. Beware!!!!

Check w/John Mann - he may either have PRS lockers that will fit, or he may be able to convert the S2s. I know he can for the SEs - not sure about the S2s.
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I did that...actually called him back in November to see what he suggested. He asked me to measure the post width, which I did with a caliper. It's 6 mm on the dot, not the 6.35mm that translates to a quarter inch.

John said the same tuners that fit the Zach Myers will work with all S2 McCarty 594s. He can mod mine, but then I'd have to give them up for a while. The mod service is like $60, so it's actually pretty reasonable, but I'd have to buy some other tuners first. LOL

I guess $40 for a set of Gotoh vintage style non-locking tuners to use temporarily while they mod the originals is the cheapest option. Comes out to be $100 + whatever shipping and tax, I guess.
 
I have both a 2019 594 with the locking III tuners and a 2020 594 with the non-locking tuners and I don't see any difference in terms of tuning stability between the two. I'd say the non-locking may actually be more stable, but if it is, its a tiny difference.

In terms of looks, I prefer the white tuners on the 2020 vs. the chrome ones on the 2019.

143492412_121727593151773_2910680740800272915_n.jpg
 
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