History of the PRS McCarty?

Thanks for the Info. Maybe my question was not precise. The seller has said that his 1998 McCarty is all stock apart from the Santana PUs he sunk in replacing the original PUs. Other than that all is original on the guitar, I.e Vol/Tone and 3 way and no push/pull for coilsplit…my question: did 98 McCartys come without a coil split from the factory.
 
Nothing compares to the first generation McCarty. Before they started fiddling with the specs, the run from 1994 until 2015-ish was perfect.

https://prsguitars.com/blog/post/prs_mccarty_model_the_story_of_paul_reed_smith_and_ted_mccarty
I agree wholeheartedly with that, don't get me wrong the post 2015 are fantastic but the earlier ones are out of this world. My 2001 Faded Violin Burst in all her glory
50461641067_ff0d851fe7_o.jpg
 
Thanks for the opportunity to praise the McCarty
I have a 2006.
It looks fantastic, not a flashy top but people never fail to notice it and comment.
It sounds great, (I'll admit it's not as great as the 594 and maybe not as great as the DGT, but still great).
This is my favorite design because of the simplicity - 2 knobs instead of 4 and they are easy to reach, 1 toggle where it belongs - not up in LP territory. PU spilts.
 
Two points to clarify from an earlier comment. There are McCartys that were made in 93, despite the website claim of '94. Also, there are McCartys that predate the 100 that were signed by Ted.

True! I’m the proud owner of an unsigned McCarty, with birds, that pre-dates the first 100 signed. I’ve often wondered how many others there are out there like it.
 
I've recently picked up a 2008 McCarty 2, with the MVC. I don't hear or read much about these guitars, I gather they weren't too popular when released, but mine is outstanding, the neck is amazing.
 
Here's my 2006 McCarty Gold Top - I ordered it and waited 7 months for delivery to my local indie music store. It's now sporting a set of Naylor Hyper Vintage pickups wired in Series and Parallel w/a Push/Push pot @ Vol & Tone. It's a great guitar to play and the pickups are low output, they put out very percussive single line notes and they are articulate as all get out.
K2IgB9x.jpg
 
Here's my 2006 McCarty Gold Top - I ordered it and waited 7 months for delivery to my local indie music store. It's now sporting a set of Naylor Hyper Vintage pickups wired in Series and Parallel w/a Push/Push pot @ Vol & Tone. It's a great guitar to play and the pickups are low output, they put out very percussive single line notes and they are articulate as all get out.
K2IgB9x.jpg
Wow. Never seen pickups like those before!

Personally, I think that is the correct location for the pickup selector switch.

It's awkward to use and looks out of place when it's mounted on the upper horn.
 
I agree wholeheartedly with that, don't get me wrong the post 2015 are fantastic but the earlier ones are out of this world. My 2001 Faded Violin Burst in all her glory
50461641067_ff0d851fe7_o.jpg
Gorgeous guitar! So that's a McCarty? Without a stop tailpiece.

Reminds me of my Custom 22 but yours is even prettier.

I have a 3 way pickup selector in mine too.
 
Wow. Never seen pickups like those before!

Personally, I think that is the correct location for the pickup selector switch.

It's awkward to use and looks out of place when it's mounted on the upper horn.
The pickups are Joe Naylor's Railhammer pickups, this is the "Hyper Vintage" set - these are a trad. PAF lower output set. They have increasingly higher output sets to accommodate the drop-tune heavier styles of music - the advantage to Joe's design is that he's got Rails under the low 3 strings to keep the low-end tight and the Pole Pieces under the G-High E are oversized to avoid any magnetic field dropouts to accommodate big-bend solos during single note playing. The net result is extremely balanced, accurate string output across the width of the strings. The Hyper Vintage set gives me that old PAF percussive attack, that "almost Tele-like" response people like to ascribe to those beloved vintage PAF humbuckers - and he's succeeded. I've also wired them Series/Parallel with Push-Push pots so I can really take advantage of the "Tele-like" voice that the parallel mode can deliver and not loose the noise cancelling advantage of the 4-wire hum bucking designed pickups - in a live band mix they work very well for that voicing option.
 
The pickups are Joe Naylor's Railhammer pickups, this is the "Hyper Vintage" set - these are a trad. PAF lower output set. They have increasingly higher output sets to accommodate the drop-tune heavier styles of music - the advantage to Joe's design is that he's got Rails under the low 3 strings to keep the low-end tight and the Pole Pieces under the G-High E are oversized to avoid any magnetic field dropouts to accommodate big-bend solos during single note playing. The net result is extremely balanced, accurate string output across the width of the strings. The Hyper Vintage set gives me that old PAF percussive attack, that "almost Tele-like" response people like to ascribe to those beloved vintage PAF humbuckers - and he's succeeded. I've also wired them Series/Parallel with Push-Push pots so I can really take advantage of the "Tele-like" voice that the parallel mode can deliver and not loose the noise cancelling advantage of the 4-wire hum bucking designed pickups - in a live band mix they work very well for that voicing option.

I prefer having series/parallel as an option to splitting a humbucker into a single coil. The parallel sound is strong and remains hum-cancelling.

I didn't know Joe Naylor made pickups. If it's the same Joe Naylor, I remember his guitar speakers though. Used to have some.
 
I prefer having series/parallel as an option to splitting a humbucker into a single coil. The parallel sound is strong and remains hum-cancelling.

I didn't know Joe Naylor made pickups. If it's the same Joe Naylor, I remember his guitar speakers though. Used to have some.
It's the Joe Naylor from Detroit who created Reverend Guitars. He's been shipping these Railhammer pickups as standard factory pickups in all the Reverend guitars. Here - take a look around the Railhammer site:
 
It's the Joe Naylor from Detroit who created Reverend Guitars. He's been shipping these Railhammer pickups as standard factory pickups in all the Reverend guitars. Here - take a look around the Railhammer site:

Yep. I grew up in Detroit in the 50's and 60's.

Played all over Detroit and Ann Arbor.

Moved to Colorado in the late 1970's and have lived and played here ever since.
 
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Here's my 2006 McCarty Gold Top - I ordered it and waited 7 months for delivery to my local indie music store. It's now sporting a set of Naylor Hyper Vintage pickups wired in Series and Parallel w/a Push/Push pot @ Vol & Tone. It's a great guitar to play and the pickups are low output, they put out very percussive single line notes and they are articulate as all get out.
K2IgB9x.jpg
Yep. I grew up in Detroit in the 50's and 60's.

Played all over Detroit and Ann Arbor.

Moved to Colorado in the late 1970's and have lived and played here ever since.
!!!!Love all my PRS….Ssky 1st Ed, Cu 24 2013 30th Anniversary and my killer 2000 McCarty….
 
Yep. I grew up in Detroit in the 50's and 60's.

Played all over Detroit and Ann Arbor.

Moved to Colorado in the late 1970's and have lived and played here ever since.
Nice - I've got 2 younger brothers who lived in Aurora for 30 years. Now one's in Grand Rapids and the other has moved to Atlanta. I found work here first in local radio station (W4 for a while) then moved into producing car commercials and moved through all of the Big 3 for clients. So I found reasons to just stay here.
 
Nice - I've got 2 younger brothers who lived in Aurora for 30 years. Now one's in Grand Rapids and the other has moved to Atlanta. I found work here first in local radio station (W4 for a while) then moved into producing car commercials and moved through all of the Big 3 for clients. So I found reasons to just stay here.

I feel that way about Colorado. I've here longer than anywhere! Love the mountains. Love the canyons of western Colorado and Utah. Love being close to New Mexico.
 
At about 11:40 Paul and Greg start discussing the new McCarty. This is from 2020.

Paul mentions changes to the pickups and other elements of the McCarty design.

When would these changes have taken place? 2020? Or before?

I'd love to have one but I'd want a newer one that has had the improvements Paul alludes to.



 
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At about 11:40 Paul and Greg start discussing the new McCarty. This is from 2020.

Paul mentions changes to the pickups and other elements of the McCarty design.

When would these changes have taken place? 2020? Or before?

I'd love to have one but I'd want a newer one that has had the improvements Paul alludes to.




I know the bridge and tuners are different now compared to the earlier ones. Somewhere along the line the neck became bound but that might not have been super recent. When I see the newer ones, they look like a completely different model to me.

My completely stock 07 McRosie is an absolutely spectacular guitar so I really wonder how much better one of the new ones could be.
 
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