Will the real McCarty please stand up| Ted McCarty DC245 Willcutt Limited run Review

[goof1073]

I clearly greatly preferred the DC over the SC in the 245's, and I clearly preferred the SC over the DC in the 594's. And for the life of me I have no idea whatsoever why that is! I don't even have a theory. I will have to think about that one.

I wonder Pete, if it's as simple as the bridge being the difference (Stoptail -vs- 2 Piece)???

 

[JasonE]

FYI, here is the Ted Thread I started here way back when this Forum started:

Ted Thread

This was started part way through my Ted adventure, and lots of contributions from others. There was a much more extensive Ted Thread on Vintage Rocker, it was 111 pages and 1105 posts! (I have a copy of all 111 pages for my records.)

We lost a lot of really good history from BAM and VR. Those forums were great communities. I miss those days.

 

[MA Pete]

I wonder Pete, if it's as simple as the bridge being the difference (Stoptail -vs- 2 Piece)???

There might be something to that, in the Doublecut. The way the bridge matches up with the dynamics of the Wood in the smaller Doublecut shape, thinner body and different neck/body joint.

To me the Singlecut definitely progressed in tone from the SC 245 Ted to the 2014 McCarty Singlecut Private Stock to the SC 594. I will give Paul and the PRS team a lot of credit in that there is a lot of Black Magic they do to constantly tinker and improve tone. For some reason the experience I had was that I liked my SC 245 Ted's more than the my 3 SC 58's, but then when the McCarty Singlecut came out in 2014, that blew away any previous SC 245. That I believe had a slightly thicker body and no Belly Carve. That had the two piece bridge and still sounded amazing.

I know they did slightly modify that two piece bridge over time, many subtle changes over the years, both in 2016-2017 and again going into 2020. (I had a prototype 2020 that had a slightly different approach than the production 2020's, for the saddle parts.)

So to me my opinion and preference is the Stoptail for the Doublecut and the Two Piece for a Singlecut.

I have commented before many times, what led me down the path of going to the 25 inch McCarty was this great video from Tim Pierce and Howard Leese, as I got excited about the Nitro over CAB finish for the Core guitars, which to me tied back to the Nitro finish of the 2009 Ted McCarty Run and the 3 Willcutt Guitars Wood Library Ted runs.

I thought the SC 594 sounded amazing in the video, but I thought the 25" McCarty sounded just as good! I bought a couple, and that was validated.

In rebuilding my PRS collection here in 2024, I really view my amazing new 25 inch McCarty as an extension of the DC 245 Ted love that I had. To me, it looks like a Ted, plays like a Ted, sounds like a Ted, and emotionally connects me back to my many years of Ted love and worship.

To me these two guitars are the very best of the PRS Guitars available closest to those classic Singlecut tones.

I am still curious to try the 2024 Santana with the 594 scale, and see how that fits into the mix!

Also if I do build a Private Stock later this year, it would probably be a DC 594 or McCarty with a Trem, or an SC 594 with a Trem. I guess I really am back! LOL...

 

[sergiodeblanc]

out on the 'Verb .. . and the flame headstock is tastier than the solid black IMO

That guitar seems to be perpetually for sale.

I mean, I’m sure there’s more than one of these but…

 

[Ironwolf]

I have a 2009 Ted McCarty double cut Limited edition as well. Which I absolutely love.
I bought it in approximately 2016 picked it up off of reverb for $1800.
It comes in at 7.2 pounds, one of the main reasons it is so spectacular is that lightweight.
Look at that beautiful red mahogany grain, dreamy.
And yet the huge tones that come out of it are crazy good.
I took the covers off the 5708's to give me slightly more string attack.

And the secret sauce is putting the PRS adjustable stop tail on, with the big fat brass saddles really makes the note to note clarity improve as well as nice crisp string attack, and the thunderous power chords.

All the David Gilmore string bending is a slow syrupy dream such a fantastic guitar to play.

The quality of the wood is very remarkable I guess that is why it is a limited run, lightweight and full of tone.
I occasionally say it should I sell it and I instantly dismiss the idea.

So yeah I think you should keep it, put on the adjustable stop tail and you might not put it down.

 

[JasonE]

I always wanted to try a double cut Ted next to my single cut version. My single cut is a fantastic guitar. It just has something about it that my other single cuts don't have in the sound category. It isn't as pretty as some of my others but when it comes to playability and tone, it is above them.