S2 Singlecut vs S2 McCarty 594 singlecut

[Mattldm]

I’ve been thinking of getting a single cut style guitar for awhile and I’m wondering if I should pull the trigger on the S2 singlecut before they are gone or wait for the new McCarty’s to come out.
the single cut has #7 pickups and locking tuners
The Mc has kulson tuners and 58/15
which one is a better match for playing classic rock hard rock and bluesish stuff?
Is the McCarty body thickness that much of a difference?
Is the shorter scale length that much difference? (I’m planning on keeping this guitar tuned to Eb)

 

[Ovibos]

Another difference is the Singlecut has a Pattern Regular neck vs. the McCarty's Pattern Vintage.

This pushed me over the edge to pick up an S2 Singlecut Standard Satin (used, but minty). I find the Vintage too chunky.

I found the #7s too dark in the all mahogany guitar, and put 59/09s in.

 

[MA Pete]

The S2 594s are Nitro, the Singlecuts are Poly, from what I understand. I believe that should make a difference in tone, and feel.

The shorter scale length and thicker body will likely make it sound more like that "Classic Singlecut" sort of tone, in my opinion.

Bryan Ewald was pretty complementary about the S2 594's 5815S pickups in the NAMM interviews, and I thought they sounded good in the demos. I would think they would be better for Rock and Blues.

My 2 cents...

FYI - The S2 594s are starting to trickle out - I have a Doublecut in Scarlet Red out for delivery today. It is my responsibility as Club President to get one and report my findings here!

 

[Mattldm]

I got a chance to play quite a few different PRS today, long drive to Hollywood guitar center, but it was worth it.
I played an SE 245, SE tremonti, and S2 satin standard, a CE24 (which I have at home) a Les Paul studio, and an S2 custom 24.

Several of these guitars were rough... setup was terrible, strings a mile from the fretboard, bad intonation. I don’t know what guitar center does to these poor things but wow.

anyway long story short, I didn’t really notice the difference in scale length from the 245 to the 25” guitars, the thicker S2 neck felt great, and The les Paul was meh. I was actually struck by how thick the body seemed to be on the se245 and the tremonti. Is the McCarty actually thicker than those because they are already pretty thick?

 

[Gtownblues]

Was the SE245 the 245 standard? How did it feel weight wise? I’m looking for one around 7 lbs but they seem to be all over the place. Thanks.

 

[Mattldm]

Was the SE245 the 245 standard? How did it feel weight wise? I’m looking for one around 7 lbs but they seem to be all over the place. Thanks.

Yes it was the standard and it felt surprisingly light for how thick it felt and looked. My CE24 is heavier than all the guitars I played yesterday which is surprising, I guess I got a dense piece of mahogany in mine.

 

[CandidPicker]

Another difference is the Singlecut has a Pattern Regular neck vs. the McCarty's Pattern Vintage.

This pushed me over the edge to pick up an S2 Singlecut Standard Satin (used, but minty). I find the Vintage too chunky.

I found the #7s too dark in the all mahogany guitar, and put 59/09s in.

Sorry to hear your #7s weren't doing it for you. My S2 SC Satin had the same issue, but all it took was a DIY intonation and set-up to factory specs as described on the PRS Support page. Simply checked the neck relief, bridge saddles, and pickup height. Results were much better.

Also discovered that some EQ tweaks at the effects/amp level played a large role in what my ears liked. Took a while, but was well worth the effort.

Hope others will consider doing the DIY intonation/set-up/EQ tweaks before considering swapping out pickups. You'll save a bunch more money this way.

 

[Mattldm]

So how does the McCarty single cut thickness compare to the CE? I currently have a CE and I’m thinking of getting a McCarty singlecut... but I’m trying to figure out just how much thicker the body is....
Here’s a couple pics. One is at guitar center, a custom 24 vs a tremonti. And the tremonti is THICC compared to the custom (both SE’s)
The second pic is a screen cap from Phil McKnight a vid on the McCarty vs the custom and you can see there is a difference in thickness but not near as thick as the tremonti....

So... where does the McCarty singlecut body thickness fall in this scale?