PRS McCarty opinions please.

DefaultM · August 2013

Recently got my PRS CE22 with trem which is awesome for lead stuff and cleans, but tuned to drop D for distorted chords etc it's a bit underwhelming really. It could be to do with the 9 gauge strings so I'll be moving to 10s, but would a McCarty excel in this style or am I looking in the wrong place?
This will be an additional purchase, not replacement.

photek · August 2013

I love both the McCarty and the CE22's. I don't think there is enough difference between the 2 to be worth the money. 10's will make a big difference as will changing pickups. I never really liked the stock pickups in the CE's plus if you have a 5 way rotary it seems to rob quite a bit of tone, swap to a 3 way plus coil tap!

octatonic · August 2013

McCarty's are vintage voiced- think of it as a double-cut Les Paul.

It isn't my first choice for drop D- although I use a Les Paul in drop D quite a lot.

I've had a couple of McCarty's- they are great guitars but they don't nail the LP thing quite as well as they could.

[Deleted User] · August 2013

The McCarty is my favourite PRS - a really musical, vintage voiced guitar. Probably not the ideal choice for down-tuning, though the thicker body and mahogany set-neck will give it more low end than a CE. The (now discontinued) Single-cut 250 was the guitar PRS developed for the whole dropped tuning/metal thing. Second hand prices are through the floor low on this kind of thing. If you can deal with the radically different feel, one of these may well be the way to go.

Whatever the guitar, 9 s are too light to give any weight to your tone in a dropped tuning.

crunchman · August 2013

Agree singlecut would be better than McCarty for this. Because of string tension you would want Singlecut 250 (25"scale) not the 245 (24.5" scale), or one of the early ones when it was just the Singlecut without the number - these have the 25" scale as well.

DefaultM · August 2013

Ah damn I was set on the McCarty but then I heard about the les paul tone thing and I worried. Would there be no point getting one and changing to some more suited pickups because I could do the same with the CE22 and get similar results?

I'd love a single cut, but I already have an epiphone les Paul which I love but wanted to replace because of the whole neck dive when sitting down thing. Do the PRS single cuts do exactly the same thing?
Playing a les paul sat down seriously hurts my back.

ICBM · August 2013

Put 11s on it and feel the power

.

I actually think the trem models are more resonant than the stoptails, so I wouldn't go from a CE to a McCarty if you want more chunk. Also Standards are more so than either CEs, Customs or McCartys. I would go for a Standard 22 with trem, if you can find one. (And no mine is not for sale!)

I would also think about replacing the stock pickups though, the PRS ones are compressed and midrangy. I have Duncans ('59 and Custom Custom) in my Standard, and the difference in low-end thump was very noticeable.

[Deleted User] · August 2013

DefaultM;22661" said:
Playing a les paul sat down seriously hurts my back.

If find Les Pauls really uncomfortable; the amount of neck pitch (the amount by which it is angled back from the body) is a significant factor in this for me. Also, the position of the bridge places my picking had further to the right and my gut makes get up the dusty end somewhat difficult... I don't like where the control lie either.

The geometry of the Single-cut is more to my liking; less neck pitch and easier top-end access, more ergonomic control layout, etc. That said, I find double-cut PRS guitars much better still.

You need to give one a try.

Jalapeno · August 2013

I found that the McCartys I've tried felt more lively, less clinical than the Custom 22s. Still kicking myself at letting the Honey Blonde one I had my eye on slip past me - but then I'd probably never have got my Tom Anderson, os karma and all that ......

guitarfishbay · August 2013

What amp / cab / pedals are you using, and what previous guitar were you using before switching to the CE22?

RE: PRSs, I have two: a stock Singlecut with #7s, and a CU22 hardtail with HFS/VB. Amp wise I use either a Mesa Roadster or a Laney Ironheart into 2x12/4x12 V30 cabs, boosted as and when necessary by some kind of TS variant (Boss GT 8 sim / Visual Sound 808/ SD1)

I play drop D high gain rock and I find I get a thicker sound from the Singlecut despite the lower output pickups. I feel like low output pickups snarl whereas high output pickups tend to sound smoother and more compressed under high gain, which can sound nice in isolation but I prefer something a bit grittier with a band. Ironically I think the HFS is a fairly dull sounding pickup, it is hot and arguably fatter than some high output pickups (but still compressed) but I definitely feel I get more scream from my Singlecut with #7s.

Edit: I should add that I think the construction has something to do with the tone and it isn't all the pickups. I find the chunkiest high gain tones often come from thick bodied guitars on the heavier side. I think heavier (or at least denser) bodies lead to a harder, more immediate attack to notes which can help get a chunky sound for low notes and palm mutes. Sometimes lighter (or less dense) guitars get a bit spongy with a heavy pick attack and they don't sound as punchy. A real YMMV though.

I've got a heavy pick attack though when I'm playing chunky stuff, most people who try out my rig don't think I dial in enough gain. The first time our other guitarist got put through my Rectifier at a recording session we had to increase the gain, despite the fact his guitar had hotter pickups and thicker strings.

DefaultM · August 2013

The single cuts do look awesome and I'd love one, it's just if I can play it sat down or not. I play through an axe fx 2 and Adam a7x monitors at home, but live I use the axe and power amp and cab.

My original plan was to get one with a trem for lead stuff, and a nice chunky sounding fixed bridge one. If the single cut is going to be better than a McCarty then I might have to change my mind on them.

I was looking at the standard 22 with trem cos I can pick one up for £900, but thought it might be too similar to the CE22?

guitarfishbay · August 2013

If you live near any PRS dealers you might be able to try a Tremonti. It is just a Singlecut with a trem, wide thin profile only, and hot signature pickups. They're fantastic rock guitars actually, if I wanted a trem and hot pickups it would be on my list. I think some of the early ones had the stoptail but they also had a massive 'Mark Tremonti' inlay at the 12th fret which has been removed from recent models.

There are two singlecut models, the Singlecut which has #7 pickups (PAF-ish) and a non adjustable stoptail, and the SC250 which had hotter pickups and an adjustable stoptail. IIRC they're dicontinued but both are worth a look, as is the Tremonti which is still in production if you don't mind a signature model.

IMO the mahogany set neck PRSs sound smoother than the maple bolt on CEs. The CEs sound closer to a Superstrat than a Gibson type IME.

ICBM · August 2013

DefaultM said:
I was looking at the standard 22 with trem cos I can pick one up for £900, but thought it might be too similar to the CE22?

No, very different - the maple cap and bolt-on maple neck make the CE much brighter and snappier. The all-mahogany Standard is much deeper and bigger-sounding, with a 'slow' attack and softer sustain.

£900 is a good price for one too. They're relatively rare, they're something of the 'sleeper' model in the PRS range because they look very plain, even compared to a CE, but were nearly the price of a Custom new.

Adam_MD · August 2013

From memory when I bought my ce 22 I think the custom was £300 more than the ce and the standard was £150 or £200 more than the ce. That was back in '99

ICBM · August 2013

Yes. When I bought my Standard in 2002 it was £100 less than a Custom. (Well, mine was a lot cheaper than that because someone unknown did me the great favour of dinging it rather noticeably in the shop!)

geepers0677 · August 2013

Are you set on a PRS for drop tuning? ESP Eclipse is a good choice IMO...

Adam_MD · August 2013

ICBM;23251" said:
Yes. When I bought my Standard in 2002 it was £100 less than a Custom. (Well, mine was a lot cheaper than that because someone unknown did me the great favour of dinging it rather noticeably in the shop!)

I got mine cheaper too as it came direct from the factory, undinged though.

dindude · August 2013

Not sure a McCarty would be my first choice for what you described. I don't do dropped D but on a general note, I owned one last year and whilst an undoubtedly good guitar, I just couldn't bond with it. It neither sounded Full and fat enough like a good Gibbo, or articulate and powerful enough on the other hand, just occupied a meh inbetween. I think it was me wanting it to be a one guitar does all my humbucker duties type affair, so not the guitars fault. For the same money I now have two guitars, a Midtown for more vintage voiced Gibbo tones and a Charvel pro mod for razor sharp, much happier.

fretfinder · August 2013

I love the feel, neck, weight etc of my McCarty but I never really liked the sound, until I changed the pickups for BKP Mules - it now sounds fabulous and is a great, versatile guitar. No idea what it would sound like in dropped tuning as that's not my bag but you'd have to use 10s or 11s strings for that I'm sure. And in my experience, nothing sounds quite like a Les Paul except, yep you guessed it... Gibbo's finest!

DefaultM · August 2013

Its only one string down a tone, but I'm going to heed the advice and go with something different. I'd obviously got the wrong idea on the type of guitar it was. I thought it was just a custom 22 with different wiring and a thicker body.

[Deleted User] · August 2013

DefaultM;23751" said:
I'd obviously got the wrong idea on the type of guitar it was. I thought it was just a custom 22 with different wiring and a thicker body.

On essence it is; output is lower - a 'sweeter' sounding guitar. They just don't have the 'thump' you get from a Les Paul or a PRS Singlecut. As I said earlier, I love them but my style and tonal requirements are very different from yours.

DefaultM · September 2013

Unrelated question, but the bar keeps coming out of the trem when I vibrato. I read online and it says there's a grub screw I can tighten, but when I look on the back of the guitar its just a solid block with no screws in sight?

[Deleted User] · September 2013

It is on the rear of the bridge plate/housing, next to the screws which adjust intonation/string length, immediately behind where the trem arm enters the bridge.

It is a long time since I owned a PRS with a trem but IIRC it is adjusted with a small hex key. Don't bodge it with anything else or use the wrong size key and don't over tighten it - PRS screws are usually made of brass and are therefore very easy to damage.

DefaultM · September 2013

Thats perfect thanks. This guitar is pretty great. I went from 9s to 10s, it took about 5 minutes to stretch the strings in and I didn't need to make any adjustments.

photek · September 2013

photek said:

I love both the McCarty and the CE22's. I don't think there is enough difference between the 2 to be worth the money. 10's will make a big difference as will changing pickups. I never really liked the stock pickups in the CE's plus if you have a 5 way rotary it seems to rob quite a bit of tone, swap to a 3 way plus coil tap!

Oooh, got my first facepalm for the above comment, exciting. I would love to know why though anyone care to explain?

DefaultM · September 2013

10s improved the tone substantially. I was thinking of putting the mccarty wiring in because the rotary is a pain in the arse. The dials are too slippy and it's an awkward place for a switch in the first place.

dindude · September 2013

Oooh, got my first facepalm for the above comment, exciting. I would love to know why though anyone care to explain?

The first one's hard to take, it gets a lot easier from here. Trust me, I have experiene in this field.

Adam_MD · September 2013

I'm doing that very thing tonight. Some new pickups arrived from Oily Towers this morning to go with the new 3 way and push/push pot. I opened up the switch hole a little to fit the new 3 way and wired up the pots yesterday just the new pickups to fit tonight and I'm good to go. The only reason I'm switching to the 3 way is to see what it's like as I'm fitting new pickups anyway. I actually liked the 5 way when I got used to it, positions 2 and 4 are excellent.

DefaultM;25737" said:
10s improved the tone substantially. I was thinking of putting the mccarty wiring in because the rotary is a pain in the arse. The dials are too slippy and it's an awkward place for a switch in the first place.

ICBM · September 2013

DefaultM said:

10s improved the tone substantially. I was thinking of putting the mccarty wiring in because the rotary is a pain in the arse. The dials are too slippy and it's an awkward place for a switch in the first place.

I found 11s even better - you can really hear and feel the whole guitar resonate much more than with the lighter strings. With the sightly shorter scale PRSs are so easy to play you don't really feel the extra tension, they don't feel any heavier than 10s on a Fender.

If your guitar has the new 'lampshade' knobs I really dislike those - too slippery and they look awful. No idea why they felt the need to redesign something that wasn't broken in the first place. (And if you do break one, it's much harder to get a replacement! Since they're exclusive to PRS and no doubt cost as much as cheap overdrive pedal...) At least it's easy enough to put the old 'speed' knobs on.

The toggle switch is a huge upgrade. I actually find it the best place for one, on any guitar - it doesn't look like it should be at first, but it's about the only place where you can never hit it by accident and yet always flip it with the side of your hand between beats.

If you want you could still get both the 7 and 9 positions from the rotary too - use two push-push pots, one to split the pickups and the other to select which pair of coils. That gives nine sounds in total as well.

Adam_MD · September 2013

ICBM;25766" said:
DefaultM said:

10s improved the tone substantially. I was thinking of putting the mccarty wiring in because the rotary is a pain in the arse. The dials are too slippy and it's an awkward place for a switch in the first place.

I found 11s even better - you can really hear and feel the whole guitar resonate much more than with the lighter strings. With the sightly shorter scale PRSs are so easy to play you don't really feel the extra tension, they don't feel any heavier than 10s on a Fender.

If your guitar has the new 'lampshade' knobs I really dislike those - too slippery and they look awful. No idea why they felt the need to redesign something that wasn't broken in the first place. (And if you do break one, it's much harder to get a replacement! Since they're exclusive to PRS and no doubt cost as much as cheap overdrive pedal...) At least it's easy enough to put the old 'speed' knobs on.

The toggle switch is a huge upgrade. I actually find it the best place for one, on any guitar - it doesn't look like it should be at first, but it's about the only place where you can never hit it by accident and yet always flip it with the side of your hand between beats.

If you want you could still get both the 7 and 9 positions from the rotary too - use two push-push pots, one to split the pickups and the other to select which pair of coils. That gives nine sounds in total as well.

Interesting I thought I would have to lose the in between settings getting rid of the rotary. Ill have to investigate this if I find I miss them too much.

ICBM · September 2013

Adam_MD said:
Interesting I thought I would have to lose the in between settings getting rid of the rotary. Ill have to investigate this if I find I miss them too much.

If you only want one of them and not both, the standard McCarty wiring uses a push-pull tone control to split the humbuckers.

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