guitar (gu)rube
Inspiration, move me brightly…
I recently purchased a ‘00 McCarty Goldtop, and honestly, I believe it’s the happiest I’ve EVER been with a guitar. It checks all my OCD boxes haha! It plays and sounds incredibly well, it’s in excellent plus condition (one very minor dent on the back of the neck, around the 7th fret), it’s all original, and it has all of the original paperwork! So it feels like getting a brand new, 22 yr old guitar. I love it!!! So that’s the guitar itself.
Now a little backstory for anyone who cares. During one of my first visits to Willcutt Guitars in Lexington in the early ‘00’s, I fell in love… partially, with a PRS Standard 24 or 22?! At that time, I wasn’t familiar with all of the models, but I know for certain it was a Standard. All mahogany, moons, trem, and it was a natural, or vintage natural, gloss finished guitar. It was a medium brown, gloss finish. Not satin, not orange, or dark brown like similar ones I’ve seen since. It was brand new, and I’m pretty sure the price $1600. Side note: if anyone here knows more info on this model, I’d love to see one, or hear more about it!
Partially fell in love… that guitar had moon inlays. I that time, I thought those birds were just the coolest! So I passed. I now know that was silly to pass on that guitar over inlays. Lesson learned! I even told my friend about the guitar. A dear friend that has now since passed away. He had a high pitched voice, that would get increasingly higher when he was excited haha! I told him how much I loved that guitar, but wouldn’t buy it because it didn’t have the bird inlays. His response, in his excitable high pitched voice “the birds don’t make it play any f$&%ing better”! Haha!!! He was right, and he wish he were still around for me to tell him so. I did go back a couple weeks later to buy that guitar, but it was gone. And that… sparked a near 20 yr search.
After years of playing, and obsessing over PRS, I realized I’m a McCarty guy. I like the stoptail, because I never use the trem. I like the wide fat neck that most of them have/had. I like plain tops, fancy tops, birds, and I even began to appreciate those moons haha! I’ve owned a couple core models that were great! A newer ‘18 McCarty in Trampas Green, and Mid ‘00’s McCarty Korina. Sadly, I had to trade those to get more gear (I usually have to trade gear to get gear. Kiddos, other responsibilities, some of y’all know the gig). But for sentimental reasons, I kept searching for a plain-ish McCarty model that would check all of my boxes, and prove to my dear friend that he was right all along. Now I have it, and couldn’t be happier!!!
You were right, Stephen, the birds don’t make it play any better!
Now a little backstory for anyone who cares. During one of my first visits to Willcutt Guitars in Lexington in the early ‘00’s, I fell in love… partially, with a PRS Standard 24 or 22?! At that time, I wasn’t familiar with all of the models, but I know for certain it was a Standard. All mahogany, moons, trem, and it was a natural, or vintage natural, gloss finished guitar. It was a medium brown, gloss finish. Not satin, not orange, or dark brown like similar ones I’ve seen since. It was brand new, and I’m pretty sure the price $1600. Side note: if anyone here knows more info on this model, I’d love to see one, or hear more about it!
Partially fell in love… that guitar had moon inlays. I that time, I thought those birds were just the coolest! So I passed. I now know that was silly to pass on that guitar over inlays. Lesson learned! I even told my friend about the guitar. A dear friend that has now since passed away. He had a high pitched voice, that would get increasingly higher when he was excited haha! I told him how much I loved that guitar, but wouldn’t buy it because it didn’t have the bird inlays. His response, in his excitable high pitched voice “the birds don’t make it play any f$&%ing better”! Haha!!! He was right, and he wish he were still around for me to tell him so. I did go back a couple weeks later to buy that guitar, but it was gone. And that… sparked a near 20 yr search.
After years of playing, and obsessing over PRS, I realized I’m a McCarty guy. I like the stoptail, because I never use the trem. I like the wide fat neck that most of them have/had. I like plain tops, fancy tops, birds, and I even began to appreciate those moons haha! I’ve owned a couple core models that were great! A newer ‘18 McCarty in Trampas Green, and Mid ‘00’s McCarty Korina. Sadly, I had to trade those to get more gear (I usually have to trade gear to get gear. Kiddos, other responsibilities, some of y’all know the gig). But for sentimental reasons, I kept searching for a plain-ish McCarty model that would check all of my boxes, and prove to my dear friend that he was right all along. Now I have it, and couldn’t be happier!!!
You were right, Stephen, the birds don’t make it play any better!
