Is my all-mahogany, McCarty P90 trem a 'mistake'?

Molly

New Member
Joined
Jun 22, 2013
Messages
101
Hi. I've asked about this guitar in the past but haven't come away with anything definitive. It's a '98 McCarty that I bought 'new' just eight years or so ago. It'd been in storage along with a second, fixed-bridge P90 McCarty at a large chain-store in New Zealand, and is now residing here with me in the Isle of Man. Anyway, I can't find anything to say it was ever an official model and there was a suggestion that just a few were made 'in error'. If anybody has any knowledge of this I'd love to hear about it. Thanks.

Sorry, just figuring-out how to load a couple of pictures. Hope this works:

 
PRS doesn't do anything in error. They make one off guitars all the time. I think they do it to test the market to see if people have a positive reaction to it. You can email PRS customer support with the serial number and they can tell you more about it. They usually called the all mahogany versions of their models "standards." They have also had P90 versions of some of their models and the McCarty is one that has had them a few times.
 
Hi. I've asked about this guitar in the past but haven't come away with anything definitive. It's a '98 McCarty that I bought 'new' just eight years or so ago. It'd been in storage along with a second, fixed-bridge P90 McCarty at a large chain-store in New Zealand, and is now residing here with me in the Isle of Man. Anyway, I can't find anything to say it was ever an official model and there was a suggestion that just a few were made 'in error'. If anybody has any knowledge of this I'd love to hear about it. Thanks.

Sorry, just figuring-out how to load a couple of pictures. Hope this works:

As JasonE said.

I have a cedar top on mahogany CU22. This wasn't a regular production model; one of 20 world-wide.
 
Hi. I've asked about this guitar in the past but haven't come away with anything definitive. It's a '98 McCarty that I bought 'new' just eight years or so ago. It'd been in storage along with a second, fixed-bridge P90 McCarty at a large chain-store in New Zealand, and is now residing here with me in the Isle of Man. Anyway, I can't find anything to say it was ever an official model and there was a suggestion that just a few were made 'in error'. If anybody has any knowledge of this I'd love to hear about it. Thanks.

Sorry, just figuring-out how to load a couple of pictures. Hope this works:

That’s got to be the prettiest mistake I ever saw. Most makers couldn’t do that on purpose.

I don’t know anything about the model, but it’s a sweet looking guitar!
 









Just for info, if you use the BB code, your images appear like this.

Beautiful. Looks like a McCarty Standard, with p90s. Trem bar doesn’t look like a PRS one, they normally have a plastic tip, unless someone removed it.

Edit: also it looks the wrong shape. Normally they rise out of the trem a bit more, before the bend (I believe, could be wrong, have been so many times before).

Hope you get answers.
 
Last edited:
P-90 Standard McCarty was a model.
The locking Phase I tuners (and not the usual vintage style type that were standard on all McCartys) along with the trem make this one unique.
The headstock thickness front to back on this one must be different than a regular McCarty to have those tuners.
 
According to The PRS Guitar Book by Dave Burrluck (3rd edition 2007) the McCarty Soapbar began production in 1998. In the late-1998 PRS price list, the base model came with a mahogany body (maple top option cost extra) and one option was for a tremolo and locking tuners. Those options were available until 2000.

Check out this link to the PRS site from Oct 1999. It shows the model specs and options:

So, this is probably not an error, but it sounds like not too many were ordered with those options in the short time they were available.
 
It's a '98 McCarty that I bought 'new' just eight years or so ago. It'd been in storage along with a second, fixed-bridge P90 McCarty at a large chain-store in New Zealand, and is now residing here with me in the Isle of Man.

Welcome to the PRS Forum, Molly! I believe the guitar ID has been made. It's lovely.

Now I'd love to hear the back story on how this wonderful guitar was made in Maryland USA, resided in NZ, and how it got to you in the IOM.

Used to live in Blighty, I did,

Kiwi
 
Hi guys.

Well, thank you so much for all the replies and information. That's really very much appreciated. I haven't heard back from Customer Service yet but will be sure to pass on what they say if it adds anything.

I bought this from the 'Rockshop' chain in Christchurch, New Zealand. Must've been about eight / nine years ago. It was 'brand new' and, for whatever reason, had just been in storage. For the record it was $2,000 NZ (I think that was about $1,500 US at the time). The trem arm is the one it came with so I have to assume it's correct.

I actually have a nice 'tuxedo' P90 McCarty from this era too. I'll try to find a pic. That one has Bare Knuckle pickups in it. I'll try to do a better job of uploading pictures in future. Had an issue with the bb thing, sorry.

 
Back
Top