Hello team, I've been a lurker here for years, but just finally made an account today. I've really appreciated learning from all your posts, and I'm hoping you can help me with this question. I recently got a big promotion at work and have been planning to celebrate with a purchase of my dream guitar, an HBII. Having said that, in watching videos about them, I ran across the McCarty 594 HBII, which I'd previusly discounted as I strongly prefer the HBII on aesthetic grounds (mostly down to finish options, though also the 594's toggle on the upper horn has always seemed a bit awkward to me). So here's the problem: in several videos, the 594 seemed to have a depth to it that the HBII lacked. I'm new so can't post links yet, but Nstuff Music did reviews of both, and the difference was striking to my ears. The HBII sounds good, but compared to the 594 HB, seems noticeably thinner in tone, both clean and distorted. The 594 has that "sound in my head" thing happening, very warm and vintage without being wooly and ill-defined. The HBII had definition, but seemed much less warm.
Given how similar in construction and pickups they are, I was surprised to hear any difference at all in a youtube demo, let alone one that compelling. So, my question would be, is that difference really there, and if so, is it that pronounced? They used the same amp for both demos, but perhaps different settings, or just how he played each day, made the difference. It's hard to imagine that .5 fewer inches of scale length, the two-piece bridge, and TCI versions of the same pickups are making that big a difference, but if they are, I'll gladly make my peace with the cosmetic differences, as the 594's are still beautiful guitars. I'm not worried about neck shape due to my positive experiences with various PRS necks, and the piezo vs coil tap question is basically a toss-up (I'd rather have both, but I'm not in PS territory with my price range). Still, if I could make an HBII sound like the 594 HB does in those demos by turning knobs on my amp or whatever, on balance I'd rather go that route. Somewhere between difficult to impossible to play both before buying, so: advice?
For reference, I own several PRSi across the Core, Bolt-on, and SE lines, all with different neck shapes, and really enjoy all of them. This would be my first fully new Core PRS, so I'm a bit in "just right" mode with it. Thanks in advance!
Given how similar in construction and pickups they are, I was surprised to hear any difference at all in a youtube demo, let alone one that compelling. So, my question would be, is that difference really there, and if so, is it that pronounced? They used the same amp for both demos, but perhaps different settings, or just how he played each day, made the difference. It's hard to imagine that .5 fewer inches of scale length, the two-piece bridge, and TCI versions of the same pickups are making that big a difference, but if they are, I'll gladly make my peace with the cosmetic differences, as the 594's are still beautiful guitars. I'm not worried about neck shape due to my positive experiences with various PRS necks, and the piezo vs coil tap question is basically a toss-up (I'd rather have both, but I'm not in PS territory with my price range). Still, if I could make an HBII sound like the 594 HB does in those demos by turning knobs on my amp or whatever, on balance I'd rather go that route. Somewhere between difficult to impossible to play both before buying, so: advice?
For reference, I own several PRSi across the Core, Bolt-on, and SE lines, all with different neck shapes, and really enjoy all of them. This would be my first fully new Core PRS, so I'm a bit in "just right" mode with it. Thanks in advance!
