McCarty fans and lovers sell me on getting one :D

[neurosis]

Hello all.

After going through a lot of guitars over the years I have realized I have pretty much stuck to my PRS CE and a Les Paul Standard.
Now I am trying to sell or trade off a Mayones sevens string I have and was initially interested in getting a Custom 22 since I had one at one point and shouldn't have let it go. But yesterday a friend sent me a clip of a McCarty he just bought and that made me curious.

I listen to Metal a lot but whenever I get to playing I have realized the old guitar models, tried and true so to speak appeal to me much more than any modern guitar. i like chunky bodies with slick necks, warm pickups (really big fan of Gibson Burstbuckers, Duncan JB and Jazz here)...

My CE and Les paul both have mahogany bodies with maple tops and even though one has a maple neck and the other one is finished I don't really feel the different since I have them figured out and they are just my thing so to speak.

The neck on the McCarty looks wider than on the Customs or on my CE and I am not sure of the thickness, but I played classic for a long time and have an 8string guitar so that's not something that bothers me.

I have gotten seriously interested in the McCarty and would like to hear everybody's thoughts on this model and how it compares to the current lineup of PRS guitars in terms of tone and playability.

 

[ADD]

McCarty's have a chunky neck. Nice PHAT tones combined with the split coil tones make it a versatile guitar. - I have a Dallas Shootout with 57/08 pickups, this one is a bit more aggressive than my Les Paul.

 

[neurosis]

McCarty's have a chunky neck. Nice PHAT tones combined with the split coil tones make it a versatile guitar. - I have a Dallas Shootout with 57/08 pickups, this one is a bit more aggressive than my Les Paul.

When you say it is more aggressive than the Les Paul do you mean:
-the guitar sounds darker with low end and more chunk
-the guitar has a strongly defined mid boost with great attack

I just want to make sure which you mean ´cause I´ve found that´s sort of the two schools of tone reference I tend to encounter.

Thanks! And that looks stunning.

I saw this online. The person is willing to trade for my guitar. Do you think it´s legit? There is no serial code prefix on it, which I find strange.

https://reverb.com/item/385544-paul-reed-smith-prs-mccarty-2000-vintage-burst

 

[RedGuitars]

Although I currently don't own one, I think the McCarty (McTrem specifically) is one of the best models/platforms that ever came out of PRS. A McTrem with 57/08's would be a stellar guitar...

 

[swede71]

Try a DGT,basically a Mctrem with a special neck carve and great sounding pickups.Neck is like a chunky 50s teleneck.Pickups are vintage sounding with an edge.

 

[neurosis]

Although I currently don't own one, I think the McCarty (McTrem specifically) is one of the best models/platforms that ever came out of PRS. A McTrem with 57/08's would be a stellar guitar...

Right? I have heard a lot of people say that the McCarty is pretty much the blueprint from which the company developed all its current characteristics. I wonder why they decided to discontinue it.

 

[RedGuitars]

Try a DGT,basically a Mctrem with a special neck carve and great sounding pickups.Neck is like a chunky 50s teleneck.Pickups are vintage sounding with an edge.

Some of us don't get along with the dual (and backward) volume setup...

 

[John Beef]

Some of us don't get along with the dual (and backward) volume setup...

Gimme 5 minutes and a soldering iron.

 

[RedGuitars]

Gimme 5 minutes and a soldering iron.

With a McTrem, no need for that extra knob... simple but very versatile setup. I have a Custom 22 semi-hollow with 57/08's and McSwitching - technically not a McCarty, but very close and a wonderful instrument.

Have also owned these true McTrem's and ME brethren:

Yes, I did try the backward dual volume DGT:

Braz ME1 (currently for sale by GTRMAV):

McTrem (owned two different ones this color):

McTrem (owned this one twice):

Ltd Ted McCarty's:

Hollowbody McCarty PS#935:

 

[John Beef]

With a McTrem, no need for that extra knob... simple but very versatile setup.

Agreed, but McTrems are so rare. if something happened to my CU22 with DGT pickups, I would replace it with a DGT, and then rewire it for single volume, single tone right beneath the volume knob, and put a mini-toggle for splitting with a 2.2K resistor in the 3rd, now otherwise useless hole. Simple, versatile... just like a McTrem.

 

[swede71]

Actually some very good tones to get with 2 volume controls in the middle position so don't mind the old neurotic men Neurosis

 

[neurosis]

Wait. But the McCarty... the regular or whatever it is known as has a three way switch and two pots, volume and toggle tone for coil tap... doesn't it?

What do you guys mean with dual and backward?

Sorry... I am such a noob :call:

 

[Tag]

Although I currently don't own one, I think the McCarty (McTrem specifically) is one of the best models/platforms that ever came out of PRS. A McTrem with 57/08's would be a stellar guitar...

Great guitars! Especially a McTrem with a RW neck! :rock:

 

[CatStrangler]

Actually some very good tones to get with 2 volume controls in the middle position so don't mind the old neurotic men Neurosis

+1!

 

[RedGuitars]

Wait. But the McCarty... the regular or whatever it is known as has a three way switch and two pots, volume and toggle tone for coil tap... doesn't it?

What do you guys mean with dual and backward?

Sorry... I am such a noob :call:

The orange guitar in my pics is a DGT, not a McCarty. Those have two volume knobs, but the front/towards neck volume runs the bridge pickup & vice versa. So, to me at least, they're backward.

Yes, the McCarty had a simple 3 way toggle, one volume, one tone. Tone knob is push/pull for coil tap.

 

[neurosis]

The orange guitar in my pics is a DGT, not a McCarty. Those have two volume knobs, but the front/towards neck volume runs the bridge pickup & vice versa. So, to me at least, they're backward.

Yes, the McCarty had a simple 3 way toggle, one volume, one tone. Tone knob is push/pull for coil tap.

That's quiet the revelation for me actually. A person was offering a DGT in a trade and I would have never asked about something like that. Must be a thing that they incorporated on order for Dave Grissom, since it's his sig... but I would have a lot of trouble with that since all my guitars are wired as usual.

I have received an offer on a McCarty Whale Blue from 2007. Guitar looks sweet. Would you guys consider an offer like that? I have no idea how the more recent McCarty's compare to the older ones.

 

[David Eaton]

That's quiet the revelation for me actually. A person was offering a DGT in a trade and I would have never asked about something like that. Must be a thing that they incorporated on order for Dave Grissom, since it's his sig... but I would have a lot of trouble with that since all my guitars are wired as usual.

I have received an offer on a McCarty Whale Blue from 2007. Guitar looks sweet. Would you guys consider an offer like that? I have no idea how the more recent McCarty's compare to the older ones.

It is, he wanted to be able to blend the two pickups a la Jimmy Page. As was already said, there are a lot of usable tones in that middle position when you can blend the pickups.

At one of the experience events someone mentioned the "backwards" thing to Grissom and he pointed to the bridge pickup and said, "this is the business end of the guitar," as he explained why he liked easy accsss to that volume knob...since he played on that pickup about 90% of the time.

Personally, I've got several DGTs, a couple of four knob singlecuts, a couple of piezo guitars, one with a blade, one with a toggle, and I really don't have any trouble finding the knob/toggle/5-way/rotary/volume that I need. It's really become a second nature type of thing for me.

 

[solacematt]

If I were you neurosis and wanted a McCarty, I would go for one of the old school one's, not one of the newer one's. You are after all looking for the classic McCarty sound right?

 

[neurosis]

If I were you neurosis and wanted a McCarty, I would go for one of the old school one's, not one of the newer one's. You are after all looking for the classic McCarty sound right?

You know... the only guitars I won't trade away are my 94 LP Standard and an old PRS CE I have. I regret selling other guitars in the past, but they had to go in order to invite others. I am not a hoarder or collector. I prefer to have two mainstays and the rest is just in rotation so I can try things without losing more money than I would allow myself to.

The McCarty has caught my eye again since my friend has teased me with it. None of it would have happened if I hadn't decided to sell or trade my Mayones Setius GTM7 in order to go back to a guitar that's on par with construction with two big exceptions: set neck, scale and pickups.

If you look at that model it's built with the same specs as the CE I love so much, but the mahogany neck on it makes it have the closer beef of the Les Paul.

Looking closely a Custom22 would actually be my preferred option. Also because I have played them before and had one at one time. But the McCarty originated that model so I thought why not go back to the roots?

I am also considering the McCarty because I was going to trade for a P22 first but the deal fell through, so now other people have offered their McCarty.

The one I am speaking of in particular, which is not the one on the listing I linked above has the McCarty pickups in it. Why do you recommend to go with the old ones? I understand the bigger changes were introduced later in the 2000s before the model was actually discontinued. I will take any advice from you guys. I have been too on and off the PRS mojo to really know what years are best for each model. In pictures at least this whale blue hems offering locks stunning.

 

[swede71]

What actually originated the custom 22 and McCarty models was the Dragon guitar.The CU22 is basically a factory made Dragon and McCarty is a Dragon with thicker body and thinner headstock.David Grissom had a lot to do with the McCarty model......yes I have the PRS guitar book