SE McCarty 594 detailed review

markd21

markd21

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I'm going to be very direct about this guitar. My expectations were reasonably high after the reviews. In my opinion, the parts that matter are perfect.

* Woodwork - 10
* Fretwork - 10
* Fit/Finish - 10
* Awesomeness out of the box - 8.5

8.5 you say??? It got 10 in three categories!!

Let me explain....

The guitar was setup perfectly straight out of the shipping box. It needed tuning, which was breeze. Took a little while to stabilize traveling from WI to FL. Once stabilized it played killer and sounded great.

My only beef initially was the knobs and the pots. However, as I began to experiment with open tunings I noticed the tuning pegs slipped and had a lot of play before firming back up and grabbing the string. Honestly, that ticks me off. I had planned on chaning them anyway, but for the dude that can't swing an immediate upgrade? Major inconvenience.

The pickups sound great. The bridge single coil tones are pretty weak unless you really roll the tone down, or beef up the amp. I am used to splitting a PRS pickup and still having similar volume and girth. Modification needed there...

The pots are usable if you don't do a lot with them. On my 4 knob guitars I am constanly blending vol and tone in the middle position. Not real effective with the stock pits and wiring.

Thankfully I am doing significant modifications to this guitar. Parts are in the way.

Final verdict? Great guitar. Will please anyone who has not owned a Core. However, having owned a Core 594 upgrading the pots, wiring, and tuners will be crucial to getting the SE closer to the Core.
 
Oh yeah...amother weird thing is that the pickup rings are flat, like the PRS rings for trem guitars. Because of this the pickups are angled weirdly under the strings. To fit that I order PRS stoptail rings. Those should square the puckups with the strings. Hopefully that will help the weal single coil sounds.
 
Dang typing while having some four too oh time isn't the smartest thing a man can do!!!

Here's the parts list ordered to mod the 594:

* PRS drop in 594 harnes
* PRS switchcraft toggle
* Lampshades (though much to @sergiodeblanc 's dismay it will also receive a brown chickenhead knob for the bass pickup volume pot)
* Mannmade Vintage locking tuners - though those are the same already on the guitar. Except modded to be locking.

I want Phase 3 tuners on there. I'll have to buy one and see the work involved in using them....

I've been recording examples of each stock tone. The cleans are bone dry with no effects. The crunch tones are dry, too. The edge of breakup tones have yet to be done, but again will be dry. I'm doing it this way so the sound is as pure/true to what you can expect.

I'll record the same parts/tones after the upgrades, too.
 
Nice write up.

How do the SE pickups compare to those in your 594 Core?

I've always found the SE humbucking pickups to be weaker and not quite as toneful.

But I've only had the Korean SE humbuckers...not what's being used in an SE today.
 
Last edited:
markd21 said:
Dang typing while having some four too oh time isn't the smartest thing a man can do!!!

Here's the parts list ordered to mod the 594:

* PRS drop in 594 harnes
* PRS switchcraft toggle
* Lampshades (though much to @sergiodeblanc 's dismay it will also receive a brown chickenhead knob for the bass pickup volume pot)
* Mannmade Vintage locking tuners - though those are the same already on the guitar. Except modded to be locking.

I want Phase 3 tuners on there. I'll have to buy one and see the work involved in using them....

I've been recording examples of each stock tone. The cleans are bone dry with no effects. The crunch tones are dry, too. The edge of breakup tones have yet to be done, but again will be dry. I'm doing it this way so the sound is as pure/true to what you can expect.

I'll record the same parts/tones after the upgrades, too.
Click to expand...
Great write up, as usual. Looking forward to the videos! Happy to hear you're close to getting what you're looking for. Oh, as for that chickenhead knob, I fully support. I traded Hans for a '91 Standard. He had a chickenhead knob in place of the 5 way. I loved it.
 
markd21 said:
I'm going to be very direct about this guitar. My expectations were reasonably high after the reviews. In my opinion, the parts that matter are perfect.

* Woodwork - 10
* Fretwork - 10
* Fit/Finish - 10
* Awesomeness out of the box - 8.5

8.5 you say??? It got 10 in three categories!!

Let me explain....

The guitar was setup perfectly straight out of the shipping box. It needed tuning, which was breeze. Took a little while to stabilize traveling from WI to FL. Once stabilized it played killer and sounded great.

My only beef initially was the knobs and the pots. However, as I began to experiment with open tunings I noticed the tuning pegs slipped and had a lot of play before firming back up and grabbing the string. Honestly, that ticks me off. I had planned on chaning them anyway, but for the dude that can't swing an immediate upgrade? Major inconvenience.

The pickups sound great. The bridge single coil tones are pretty weak unless you really roll the tone down, or beef up the amp. I am used to splitting a PRS pickup and still having similar volume and girth. Modification needed there...

The pots are usable if you don't do a lot with them. On my 4 knob guitars I am constanly blending vol and tone in the middle position. Not real effective with the stock pits and wiring.

Thankfully I am doing significant modifications to this guitar. Parts are in the way.

Final verdict? Great guitar. Will please anyone who has not owned a Core. However, having owned a Core 594 upgrading the pots, wiring, and tuners will be crucial to getting the SE closer to the Core.
Click to expand...
I would check the pickup height if you haven’t already. Mine was shipped with them way too low. Use the recommended height on the PRS website or the video. My bridge pickup is perfectly balanced with the neck pickup now.
I use the middle position on my Les Pauls a lot and I usually set the tone on them around 5. The 58/15’s in the 594 aren’t as “trebly” as Burstbuckers so I have the tone knobs up a bit. I do not like the taper of PRS volume and tone pots in general and I much prefer vintage wiring that I have in one of my Les Pauls. Having said that, I can get the sounds I want out of it. As for the tuners, I may replace them later, as long as they hold tune practicing or gigging I am good for now.
 
The SE pickups vs the Core pickups? From memory I'd say they are similar. My Core was pre-TCI. The pickups were darker and woody sounding. The SE pickups have that flavor. I was going to drop the 500 on the Core pickups until I noticed they are TCI. That little high note Paul put in there irritates my ears. One reason for me going to SE guitars from Core.

Regarding pickup height? That's a non issue. Output is equal across the switch positions. The humbucker tone is solid. It's the split that's weak. The wiring and doing the partial coil to ground should fix it. The weird part is the small flat rings instead of the angled rings.

The guitar came setup perfectly. All measurements meet PRS specs. There are just quirks there that don't exist on a Core. And, just to be clear....

I don't expect an SE to be a Core, though the gap is shrinking. I prefer these new SEs to the S2s, and I was LOVING them when first released.

This review and subsequent follow ups are for educational purposes. In a short period this guitar will be exactly what I want.
 
markd21 said:
The SE pickups vs the Core pickups? From memory I'd say they are similar. My Core was pre-TCI. The pickups were darker and woody sounding. The SE pickups have that flavor. I was going to drop the 500 on the Core pickups until I noticed they are TCI. That little high note Paul put in there irritates my ears. One reason for me going to SE guitars from Core.

Regarding pickup height? That's a non issue. Output is equal across the switch positions. The humbucker tone is solid. It's the split that's weak. The wiring and doing the partial coil to ground should fix it. The weird part is the small flat rings instead of the angled rings.

The guitar came setup perfectly. All measurements meet PRS specs. There are just quirks there that don't exist on a Core. And, just to be clear....

I don't expect an SE to be a Core, though the gap is shrinking. I prefer these new SEs to the S2s, and I was LOVING them when first released.

This review and subsequent follow ups are for educational purposes. In a short period this guitar will be exactly what I want.
Click to expand...
So is it safe to say that today's PRS SE humbuckers are much better than the Korean made SE humbuckers?

The SE Silver Sky single coils are terrific pickups. A little bright but very vintage.
 
Lewguitar said:
So is it safe to say that today's PRS SE humbuckers are much better than the Korean made SE humbuckers?

The SE Silver Sky single coils are terrific pickups. A little bright but very vintage.
Click to expand...
My impression as well as reviews of the SS SE pickups is that they are a little warmer than most Fender Strat pickups. The bridge pickup can be bright but I can knock it down a bit with the tone control if necessary.
 
Lewguitar said:
So is it safe to say that today's PRS SE humbuckers are much better than the Korean made SE humbuckers?

The SE Silver Sky single coils are terrific pickups. A little bright but very vintage.
Click to expand...

I'd say yes, but I never kept an SE long prior to the Cor-Tek guitars. WMI could make good instruments, but I was never impressed with their SEs. I thought the G&B pickups were trash, too.

Even still, the verdict is still out on the Indo pickups. I KNOW the HBII Piezo is getting 57/08s. The DGT rocks, so those pickups will stay unless my upgraded wiring brings out obvious deficiencies.
 
markd21 said:
I'd say yes, but I never kept an SE long prior to the Cor-Tek guitars. WMI could make good instruments, but I was never impressed with their SEs. I thought the G&B pickups were trash, too.

Even still, the verdict is still out on the Indo pickups. I KNOW the HBII Piezo is getting 57/08s. The DGT rocks, so those pickups will stay unless my upgraded wiring brings out obvious deficiencies.
Click to expand...
I expected to swap the pickups in my Indonesian ZM, but the 245’S’ is a nice hot PAF.
 
markd21 said:
I'd say yes, but I never kept an SE long prior to the Cor-Tek guitars. WMI could make good instruments, but I was never impressed with their SEs. I thought the G&B pickups were trash, too.

Even still, the verdict is still out on the Indo pickups. I KNOW the HBII Piezo is getting 57/08s. The DGT rocks, so those pickups will stay unless my upgraded wiring brings out obvious deficiencies.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the idea - just ordered a set of the 57/08's for my HBII Piezo I just received :). Along with the PRS locking tuners I installed I will be all set.
 
markd21 said:
Awesome. I'm doing lockers too. I'm also drilling the top for a second volume control.
Click to expand...
You're a brave man with some experience drilling holes in guitars apparently :). Where will you put the 2nd volume control? Not a lot of room there. The locking tuners are an amazing upgrade. Instant tone improvment IMHO and rock-solid tuning.. Ordered from SW and the tuners popped up on the page after I put the guitar in the cart. I LOVE this guitar. The Piezo sounds amazing.
 
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