Santana or McCarty 594

[TheCraftsman]

So, in the interest of fuelling GAS, I’m considering adding to my collection, I live in a country without a PRS dealer and don’t have the option to try in store myself.

Interested in people’s takes / experiences with these two..

 

[doublescale1]

Cant speak to the Santana, though there's plenty of recordings of him with his sig. guitar to draw from, but the 594 DC I had was the absolute closest to a Les Paul I ever owned. I had a late 90's R9 to compare it to. In fact I ended up trading in the R9 on that 594, with no traders remorse what so ever. I ended up with a one-off Burgundy Firemist Metallic that my local dealer got from his rep out of the Maryland Factory, it was a special order that never got picked up. A very fine guitar, and I felt that it cut through a dense live band mix a lot better than the R9.
Here it is:

 

[bodia]

Santana, all day. I’ve had several of both, and prefer the Santana by a large margin.

 

[TheCraftsman]

Oh damn! Congratulations on that one, I am keen for a mellow sound cleans with a nice break up etc I’m not shredder or metal player

 

[TheCraftsman]

Santana, all day. I’ve had several of both, and prefer the Santana by a large margin.

Thanks man, main reasons for the preference? What mojo does the Santana have

 

[veinbuster]

I like the scale and the simplicity of the Santana.

 

[bodia]

Thanks man, main reasons for the preference? What mojo does the Santana have

I just think it’s more of a machine. Don’t get me wrong, nothing wrong about the 594. Great model. I found the Santana more comfortable to play, and like the bevy of tones more. Plus, I’m not really a 4 knob guy.

 

[bodia]

I like the scale and the simplicity of the Santana.

This too

 

[Uncle Salty]

Santana but I'm bias

 

[TheCraftsman]

I almost closed a deal on a Santana before picking up my CU24c still haunts me. Next question - Santana I,II,III, retro, 25th anniversary

What’s your favourite year

 

[TheCraftsman]

Current arsenal is:

SE Tremoti - 2008
SE Soapbar ( I think 2004)
SE 24-08 2021
Core Custom 24 10Top - 2011

 

[bodia]

I almost closed a deal on a Santana before picking up my CU24c still haunts me. Next question - Santana I,II,III, retro, 25th anniversary

What’s your favourite year

West St Ltd or KL-33 would be my first choice. Then I’d look for a Retro. You can find some good deals on the III because it’s a less “flashy” version. I’ve had a I, KL-33, Wood Library (maple neck and ebony board), Private Stock (black limba body, maple top, maple neck, maple board), and a Core 2017. Also a DC-22 which was a limited run of 22 fret versions of a Santana. I still have the West St and the DC-22. They are both cold dead hands guitars.

 

[TheCraftsman]

I had a guy on the ropes for a West Street but it was a consignment and the store couldn’t get the seller onboard, man that one hurt!

Thanks for the input and feedback guy

 

[Uncle Salty]

I almost closed a deal on a Santana before picking up my CU24c still haunts me. Next question - Santana I,II,III, retro, 25th anniversary

What’s your favourite year

Mine was made in 2015. I guess that's after the III and before the retro moniker. I bought it used. All
I can say as a Santana newbie is I wish I would have done it sooner.

 

[bodia]

Mine was made in 2015. I guess that's after the III and before the retro moniker. I bought it used. All
I can say as a Santana newbie is I wish I would have done it sooner.

That’s how everyone feels. I certainly did.

 

[TheCraftsman]

Now you got me thinking maybe I should sell my CU24 10Top and go for a Santana haha

 

[dmatthews]

This 594 semi hollow Artist is my number one by a long shot.
I will preface by saying I've not had the opportunity to try a Santana yet (bad dog Dave!).





There's LOTS of Santana love on this forum to be sure.
I'm not much of a trem guy though...

 

[Anachronism]

I'd go Santana. I've had two 594s, an S2 singlecut (upgraded to core pickups) and a doublecut core that replaced it. They were both fantastic guitars, but I have had zero regrets about selling the core after getting a Westie. If the core Santana's are anything like that, it's what I'd choose.

The only caveat is that a 594 is more versatile with its (good) coil splits.

 

[TheCraftsman]

That’s a beauty! Congrats

 

[dmatthews]

That’s a beauty! Congrats

Cheers!
There are Santana lovers here indeed. I'm a 594 nut with 4 of the dang things!