McCarty III pickups vs 58/15 LT, and 58/15 vs DMO pickups

[Revelation]

PRS has done it again, they changed the formula for their guitar pickups again.

This video of the McCarty III pickups sound make the McCarty 594 compared to the 58/15 LT's on my guitar sound a little warmer...a little closer to a Les Paul. The 58/15 LT are louder than Gibson Les Paul pickups and are brighter. The lead solos I play have a clearer tone and cut through really well while still having a good character. I agree with a comment that PRS should focus on sounding like PRS and not sounding closer to Gibson.

 

[JasonE]

To be fair, the pickups they were trying to get the 58/15 LT pickups to sound like were actually very bright sounding humbuckers. Most of us have never had the opportunity to play a 57 to 59 burst but I have read more than once that the PAF pickups in those guitars were very bright compared to what we have in our guitars today. They have been compared to old single coils in brightness.

 

[Johnny Rigs]

I really like the 58/15LTs in my 594. It was (and is still) the only time I just plain dug a set of PRS pickups without qualifiers. Bright, snappy, clear. So of course they change it, lol.

I can’t trust Paul or PRS demos, because it’s generally a Sonzera getting plugged into, and they favor a fuller or more vocal midrange than I care for. So I need to wait for other outside demos to really draw conclusions.

 

[Revelation]

I really like the 58/15LTs in my 594. It was (and is still) the only time I just plain dug a set of PRS pickups without qualifiers. Bright, snappy, clear. So of course they change it, lol.

I can’t trust Paul or PRS demos, because it’s generally a Sonzera getting plugged into, and they favor a fuller or more vocal midrange than I care for. So I need to wait for other outside demos to really draw conclusions.

I agree with you, my 594 cuts through better on solos than my Les Paul. I have not interest in swapping out thr pickups for warmer sounding ones. If I want the Les Paul sound, I will play my Les Paul.

 

[Matte82]

To be fair, the pickups they were trying to get the 58/15 LT pickups to sound like were actually very bright sounding humbuckers. Most of us have never had the opportunity to play a 57 to 59 burst but I have read more than once that the PAF pickups in those guitars were very bright compared to what we have in our guitars today. They have been compared to old single coils in brightness.

Exactly. I've never played a true burst LP either, but "tele on steroids" is probably the most common description of what most old PAF's sound like. And a tele is nothing if not bright.

 

[Alessandro]

Exactly. I've never played a true burst LP either, but "tele on steroids" is probably the most common description of what most old PAF's sound like. And a tele is nothing if not bright.

I always thought the tele on steroids comparison was meant for Les Paul’s with p90s not humbuckers

 

[FennRx]

I always thought the analogy was dumb.

But I’m a Les Paul guy

 

[andy474x]

I like the LT's a whole lot. The McCarty III's and DMO's sound slightly less mid forward, and while I'm sure they definitely sound good, I think the LT's are the sound for me.

 

[JasonE]

All their videos did was really pique my curiosity of both of these pickups. I will hopefully get to experience the DMO pickups later this year. I can't see me disliking them. I was looking at the specs on them compared to the 57/08 and the 59/09 and the DMO seems to sit right in between them with a bit of a flatter EQ. That could be a good thing. I originally had 59/09s in my spec. If the DMO gets me into that territory of the hotter 57/08 that I have in a couple of my guitars, it will be perfect for me.

 

[FJ4]

Has anyone else tried these McCarty III Pickups?

 

[intothevoid]

I like the LT's a whole lot. The McCarty III's and DMO's sound slightly less mid forward, and while I'm sure they definitely sound good, I think the LT's are the sound for me.

Honestly I feel PRS pickups peaked with the 57/08’s when it comes to humbuckers.

 

[JasonE]

Honestly I feel PRS pickups peaked with the 57/08’s when it comes to humbuckers.

I felt the same way. However, the 58/15 LT that is in my 2023 Studio has opened my mind a bit on that. It sounds really good and there seems to be something different about it from the ones that were in my 2016 594. I didn't like the lower volume I got out of those pickups but I was able to get the one in the Studio adjusted to where I like it and I can switch guitars and not notice a volume difference. They changed something with those pickups between 2016 and 2023 that made a difference. I thing the new pickups will still be in that 57/08 vein. They have been using the 57/08 as their starting point for the new pickups from what it looks like. I still love the 57/08s though. I have them in most of my PRS guitars.

 

[James Stephanidis]

Has anyone else tried these McCarty III Pickups?

Yes, I've been playing them in my dragon. They are warm and very well balanced. Very addicting to play. I find they add to my arsenal of pickups to choose from. Playing clean or in overdrive, both has a very nice, balanced tone to my ears. I think they compliment the pickups I use today which are 85/15, 85/15s, 58/15LT, 58/15s, AS01, NF3, /m\, Santana, mojotone tomahawks and LesPaul Trad ProV.

 

[grubeytuesday]

To be fair, the pickups they were trying to get the 58/15 LT pickups to sound like were actually very bright sounding humbuckers. Most of us have never had the opportunity to play a 57 to 59 burst but I have read more than once that the PAF pickups in those guitars were very bright compared to what we have in our guitars today. They have been compared to old single coils in brightness.

I have been lucky enough to play quite a few PAF equipped guitars including a couple bursts and the reality is...they were ALL different. Of the 7 or so guitars I've played, the one commonality between them is that yes they are generally brighter, but a warm bright and not a brittle bright. I don't usually like subjective terms like "round" or "chewy" to describe tones, but they certainly fit the bill. Sounded like really great single coils with more midrange heft. Really nice compression/sag feel to them even playing bone dry clean. (yes i know sag is most commonly used to describe the rectifier/output stage of a tube amp but it's the best word i've got at the moment)

I still try to understand what pickup makers like to describe as "bloom". That term has eluded me, I could very well have experienced it but nothing much to write home about from my pov anyway, other than that they were all great pickups but nothing over the top magical that great modern repros (like Virgil Arlo, TS Bloombuckers, etc) can't replicate fairly easily and inexpensively (compared to vintage anyway). Neck pickups I think are where vintage PAFs really stand out in comparison, they are so much clearer than any modern pickup I've ever played, even the top dollar replicas.

 

[Ballistic]

I stopped caring after the 57/08. I don't like any of the humbucker pickups PRS has made in the past 10 years, they just get more bland and boring with each revision. I have a McCarty 594 and 594 HBII in the shop, both with 58/15 LTs, and if they were my guitars they would have new pickups in them. I played them last night along side a Les Paul (BB1, BB2), 335 (T-Tops), and my Custom 22 with Suhr Thornbuckers. Both 594s sounded so anemic, like there's such a thing as too clear. I can't understand where PRS is going with their pickups these days. Bring back the rock n roll Paul!

 

[grubeytuesday]

I stopped caring after the 57/08. I don't like any of the humbucker pickups PRS has made in the past 10 years, they just get more bland and boring with each revision. I have a McCarty 594 and 594 HBII in the shop, both with 58/15 LTs, and if they were my guitars they would have new pickups in them. I played them last night along side a Les Paul (BB1, BB2), 335 (T-Tops), and my Custom 22 with Suhr Thornbuckers. Both 594s sounded so anemic, like there's such a thing as too clear. I can't understand where PRS is going with their pickups these days. Bring back the rock n roll Paul!

You might be the only person I've ever heard that prefers the sound of burstbuckers over 58/15 LTs. BB2 I've had sounding decent in the neck of an LP standard, but I've tried every single one and they're all so muddy, string separation is non-existent. There is such a thing as TOO compressed, but I've never heard anyone complain about too clear. Gibson would be better off sticking 57 classics into every USA production model than making tiny adjustments to burstbuckers that all sound equally lifeless, and trying to squeeze them into different models. From a brand perspective, most guys I work with have no clue where to start with Gibson pickups because there are so many different iterations of the same thing, and very little clarity on specs and differences, so they aren't even giving people a shot at discovering which of their pickups are best for them. Gibson certainly doesn't help that out by tweaking them ever so slightly every year either.

I agree with ya that 57/08s suck, and many others will also agree with that, but Gibson hasn't made a humbucker worth purchasing (57 classics are great stock pickups) since the Tim Shaw PAFs, and for the price of custombuckers, there are infinitely better options. Can't argue with ya on T-Tops though, those are my favorite humbuckers by a mile, Tim Shaws close behind that.

 

[gush]

I like the LT's a whole lot. The McCarty III's and DMO's sound slightly less mid forward, and while I'm sure they definitely sound good, I think the LT's are the sound for me.

Do you have any audio of your LTs through HDRX20?

 

[bodia]

I stopped caring after the 57/08. I don't like any of the humbucker pickups PRS has made in the past 10 years, they just get more bland and boring with each revision. I have a McCarty 594 and 594 HBII in the shop, both with 58/15 LTs, and if they were my guitars they would have new pickups in them. I played them last night along side a Les Paul (BB1, BB2), 335 (T-Tops), and my Custom 22 with Suhr Thornbuckers. Both 594s sounded so anemic, like there's such a thing as too clear. I can't understand where PRS is going with their pickups these days. Bring back the rock n roll Paul!

You might be the only person I've ever heard that prefers the sound of burstbuckers over 58/15 LTs. BB2 I've had sounding decent in the neck of an LP standard, but I've tried every single one and they're all so muddy, string separation is non-existent. There is such a thing as TOO compressed, but I've never heard anyone complain about too clear. Gibson would be better off sticking 57 classics into every USA production model than making tiny adjustments to burstbuckers that all sound equally lifeless, and trying to squeeze them into different models. From a brand perspective, most guys I work with have no clue where to start with Gibson pickups because there are so many different iterations of the same thing, and very little clarity on specs and differences, so they aren't even giving people a shot at discovering which of their pickups are best for them. Gibson certainly doesn't help that out by tweaking them ever so slightly every year either.

I agree with ya that 57/08s suck, and many others will also agree with that, but Gibson hasn't made a humbucker worth purchasing (57 classics are great stock pickups) since the Tim Shaw PAFs, and for the price of custombuckers, there are infinitely better options. Can't argue with ya on T-Tops though, those are my favorite humbuckers by a mile, Tim Shaws close behind that.

I dunno, these two seem to be pretty happy with PRS pickups........

 

[Ballistic]

I dunno, these two seem to be pretty happy with PRS pickups........

It doesn't change my experience.

 

[FJ4]

Yes, I've been playing them in my dragon. They are warm and very well balanced. Very addicting to play. I find they add to my arsenal of pickups to choose from. Playing clean or in overdrive, both has a very nice, balanced tone to my ears. I think they compliment the pickups I use today which are 85/15, 85/15s, 58/15LT, 58/15s, AS01, NF3, /m\, Santana, mojotone tomahawks and LesPaul Trad ProV.

How do the Split Coil Tones sound in these PRS McCarty III pickups sound?