Paul Reed Smith Guitars McCarty Archtop I

This review is for a 2001 thinline hollowbody McCarty that I believe is an Archtop I.
I bought it used for $2K in August '07.
It has moon inlays on a 22 fret rosewood fingerboard, a non-adjustable wrap-around stoptail style bridge, and chrome small sealed tuners with ebony buttons and post style "locks," that screw in from above.
Gloss black with the PRS "non-binding."
It's a bit confusing because the top AND the back are clearly maple, vs a mahogany back. You can see the flame through the finish on the back (though it's not "transparent" or opaque black). and under the neck where the finish has been scraped off to give it a bound look it is clearly the same maple as is used in the top.

Two humbuckers, no piezo.
One vol pot; one tone pot; three way toggle below the lower F-hole.

The sound post inside is about 1/3 maple swept up from the back, then appears to change to a mahogany colored block above that to the top.

A simple, elegant design. Beautiful to me in its basic black and non-gold hardware, with scrape binding, though it's not the guitar porn many PRS guitars are.

I love the sound for a variety of styles I play including but not limited to: Pop; Showtunes; Jazz standards; Gospel; Blues; Rock; and Classic R&B.
It isn't muddy like many humbucking equipped guitars, but has some single coil character without all the gritty shrieking. Crisp, but punchy too.
The neck pu alone with some tone rolled off gets a decent so-called Jazz sound without too much "pingyness," and the bridge alone can get into Country sounds and some twang. Combined sounds much less muddy to me than say, a typical Gibson ES-335. Nice character with some snap. Funky even.

Very versatile. Won't exactly range from L5 to Tele territory, but somewhere inside those extremes. Lots of usable range for me.

Plenty of sustain for my purposes, and can get some nice harmonics when the gain and chime are blasting.

I use various amps, from small tweed tube to high gain tube (Boogie), and even sometimes through an acoustic guitar amp for ultra-clean, which this guitar can do nicely without sounding too dry or sterile. Like I said, it has its own character which I like: Clear and punchy.

No need to change guitars for different sets or moods within a set (which I have always had to do except for Old Standards jobs.

With this guitar, I can cover all the bases well from the guitar alone, without having to tweak the amp except for channel switching.

Bought used but immaculate.
Everything is perfect, even the intonation.
I use 11's (presently GHS Boomers).

Simple proven design.
Finish is great and deep looking.
Strap buttons are large. I just add bread wrapper closures for security. I don't jump around.

I use it on gigs without a backup. That's kinda the point of why I bought it. Out of town, well that's different. I bring spare everythings.

It's not a maple bolt-neck plank I'd throw around or want to drop. Otherwise I think it's stout enough for world tours. The case offers good support for its type. I wouldn't fly with it in only its case, but nobodie's asking me to.

Bought used.

I have no experience with Paul Reed Smith Guitars (the company).

I do all my own work on my instruments. It ain't rocket science.

I've played guitar nearing 50 years. All styles.
Blown through everything there is. This is my first PRS.
I love it and think it's a great and dandy lil' ol' guitar.
Suits my needs perfectly.
I like that the neck is unbound and unadorned.
The whole guitar is simple and focus and unconfusing.
It delivers GREAT basic eletric guitar sounds and the playability is fantastic. It can be sweet or rauchy depending on what the player is doing with his hands, the amp, proximity to the amp, etc.

I generally prefer tube amps of various sizes depending on the venue.
I have a Boogie Mark I reissue, Peavy Valve King 112, Fender (Chinese) Champ 600 RI, Acoustic (transistor) amp, etc.

I also have a seventies Gibson L5, and a partsocaster bolt-neck plank guitar (also with humbuckers, although sometimes I run single coils in it).

I have gotten decent results (for the kinds of music I do) with everything from Telecasters to archtops to Les Paul Studio. THIS PRS really covers a lot of ground for me and plays superbly.

2002 Archtop I, 2-piece flame maple 10 top in whale blue w/scrape binding on a carved-out mahogany back/sides. 1 vol, 1 tone, Les Paul type pickup switch located below the f-hole. 2 covered humbuckers, Archtops by PRS. Hardware is gold, tuners have nice ebony buttons on them - adjustable bridge and I installed Tone Pro studs on it as well. Neck is mahogany w/rosewood board, paua bird inlays. Wide-fat neck carve - about as wide but a little fatter than the chunkier of the Les Paul necks. 25" scale. Fitted leather-covered hard case.

Pickup switch is poorly located and very difficult to get to easily or quickly. Obviously you get used to it. Pickups are top notch and needed no adjustments out of the box.

I play mainly rock, hard rock, alt rock - whatever. Not jazz or blues. Most people think a big, thick, hollow Archtop is only for jazz. Not so. It gives off a big, woody, thick sound with the neck & neck+bridge pickups; using just the bridge pickup gives a nice meaty sound that cuts very well (I play through a Rivera Fandango, only effects I use are an Octave box and a wah pedal). The volume knob rolls off the output very quickly - below 6 or so it may as well be off. Tone is, like with most humbucker guitars, fairly useless but can muddy up your sound fairly well if you're looking for that. Pickups are sweet & quiet.

Only dislike is that the pickups are slightly lower output than the other humbucker guitars I use - now, this is by design and I knew that going in - but if the pickups were just a tad hotter it'd be a 10.

Guitar came strung with 12's, including a wound G. I tuned it up and played it for 10 min to make sure the electronics worked, then restrung it. Once I put a normal set of strings on it, tuned, intonated, and set it up, well, it plays like butter. Frets are smooth & solidly mounted. Black paint - head, back of neck, sides & back - is deep, rich, and perfect.

Electronics are tightly wired and function perfectly.

Small complaints - the blue stain on the top is spotty in a couple places, mostly where the "scrape" binding is - it looks like they didn't quite tape off the binding properly but you really have to get close to notice. There are two (again, noticeable from close up) places on the top where there were obviously mineral deposits or stains on the maple and they show clearly through the finish. The top is very well bookmatched and the flame is consistent throughout the whole top (hence the "10" designation).

My only real complaint is that the latches on the case completely suck. They stick - both open & closed - as if the parts don't quite fit together correctly. See customer service section below.

Used live & in the studio within 2 weeks of receiving it and it measures up to both situations. I also use it occasionally to play my daughter to sleep - since it's hollow and super thick, it has a decent acoustic sound without being as loud as an acoustic guitar.

After 2 months of nearly daily playing, the gold on the hardware has not started to rub off yet, but I do clean the guitar if I sweat when I play (like live), so it seems to be OK so far.

Replaced the highly irritating PRS strap buttons with Schaller straplocks, which I have always relied on.

This is my #1 gig guitar now and though I always have a backup at a gig, if I could only take 1 guitar to a show, it would be this one (with fresh strings to help prevent breakage - old strings don't last long with me).

I contacted PRS CS via telephone and e-mail about the case. "The latches will break in over time" was their comment - about 10 days after my e-mail (which had been 3 days after my phone call). When I contacted my dealer, they reported back to me (1 day later) that PRS will not replace or repair cases once they leave the dealer's possession. Now, it's not a big deal I suppose, but for a $3K guitar, would it really be that big of a deal to replace the friggin' case? Due to their flip answer and lengthy delay in getting back to me, they rate bad in this category.

This is definitely my favorite guitar right now. I have 2 other PRS guitars, 2 Strats, a Les Paul, and a few others, and this is the one I reach for first. If it were stolen, I probably would not replace it simply because it cost so much and I have an Archtop II for a backup, but if I had the money sitting around doing nothing, I'd buy another AT1.

The neck is a dream, the pickups are sweet & creamy. I love the tone of the fat hollow body.

I wish the pickup switch was on the upper bout, but that's a personal preference. I do wish it was easier to get to than where it is, though. That's the only thing I would change.

99' spruce top

I use a polytone mini brute iv when its working or a jc 77. I alsohave a budda wha and a tube rotosphere. Mostly i play clen and the guitar sound is the best I've ever heard.

The guitar was set up with 10's. Lite for a jazz guitar I only use 11's, but I had to have it adjusted.

This is why I'm writing this review. I gig 20 times a month at the least. The frets need work constantly. A PRS fault? Maybe. I play alot off the gig as well, so maybe not. Also the dirt that gets in the f holes gives me trouble. Not a PRS fault but worth mentioning. I bring a back up (ibanez artist)that I only use to finish a set if I break a string.

I e-mailed PRS and they got right back to me. Magdon Music gave me outstanding service. A new bridge and pick up select mec. both which developed problems.

the best guitar this side of $5000, no doubt. An 8.5

As mentioned in the McCarty Archtop I review -- we're talking about the same model --the McCarty Hollowbody is a real hollowbody version of the McCarty. The back is a carved piece of mahogany for the back and sides. The top is either spruce or bookmatched flamed maple. While I'm sure the spruce would provide great sound, the satin finish and plain top was too counter-PRS-culture for my taste. I've seen many unbelievable PRS Ten Tops, but this non-Ten Top of dark cherry (double stained) is far above what other production-based guitar makers are offering. The body shape and size is the same PRS uses on its other models (except the Santana with the addition of a pair of F-holes. The thickness at the edge of the body is 1-3/4 inches and is 3 inches at the bridge. Mine does not have the maple non-binding edges usually found on PRS guitars. This guitar looks better without it, in my estimation. There are two MCCarty pickups. The bridge on mine has adjustable saddles. The controls -- one tone, one volume, one three way switch. There's no coil tap.
It has a set neck -- wide, fat, solid mahogany neck, 22 frets and the famous bird position markers. The headstock is stained to match the cherry sunburst finish of the body. The tuning machines are low mass with ebony buttons.
The guitar came with a leather, guitar-shaped case. And, when I first picked it up, I swore there was nothing in it. That's how light the guitar is!

I've been playing guitar for 36 years and cover a wide range of music -- from Led Zeppelin to Richard Thompson, The Ventures to Buddy Guy. My equipment tastes have changed, but the need for one do-it-all instrument hasn't. My first PRS -- a 24 fret custom -- was the first guitar I ever owned to address that need. Better yet, it was eminently more playable and more beautiful than anything else produced by the major manufacturers.
The Hollowbody carries on in that tradition, while also establishing a new benchmark for electric semi-hollows and archtops. Plywood-topped semi-hollows pale in comparison when it comes to tone versatility and looks.
Two more amazing things about this guitar: minimal feedback with tons of sustain and tone versatility that I never expected from a hollowbody -- sweet to distorted, fat to thin, from 335 to Tele (as another reviewer mentioned).

This guitar came from PRS ready to go to work. That's true of every PRS I've purchased-- perfect finish, intonation, fret work, everything.

Too new to determine, but if history of hard usage with my other PRS guitars holds true, the McCarty Hollowbody should be fine. I use Dunlop straplocks. This guitar is too important to take a chance. I'll bring a second PRS as a back up for versatility, not because it's necessary. Any PRS I own will cover the full spectrum of needs.

No experience with PRS itself. However, the factory fixed a bad switch in a day for my dealer, Garrett Park Guitars. I'd give the 10 to Garrett Park.

I still own a '74 Tele, a '75 ES-355, a Les Paul Jimmy Page, a Les Paul Historic '56 and Custom Shop '58 Reissue Strat. They're all great guitars. They're also all packed away since I discovered the virtues of the PRS. The McCarty Hollowbody gives me more reason to retire the others on a permanent basis. I don't even need an excuse like having the guitar stolen to buy another PRS. Finally, don't think I missed the instructions for filling out this form, namely, "be objective and say what you hate as well as love." I hate the fact that the tremendous amount of praise I've heaped upon the McCarty Hollowbody makes it sound too good. It is that good! If you disbelieve, go try it. Compare it to the well-known competition. My guess is that a great percentage of those who try it, will buy it and add their own positive reviews right here.

The McCarty Hollowbody is truly a Hollowbody guitar. Unlike a Gibson 355 or other semi-hollowbody guitars that have a plank of wood that runs the entire length of the body, the PRS Hollowbody is constructed by carving (or hollowing) out a solid piece of mahogany for the back and sides and a solid piece of spruce or like in my guitar, a piece of carved bookmatched flamed maple for the top. This makes the inside of the guitar completely hollow except for a 1"x4"x3", sound post which supports the bridge and connects the top to the back. The body shape and size is exactly like other PRS guitars with the exception of a pair of F-holes. The thickness at the edge of the body is 13/4 inches and is 3 inches at the bridge. It has specially voiced McCarty Archtop covered Humbucking pickups that really resist feedback. The bridge is a standard McCarty stop tailpiece. (non-adjustable but the intonation was dead on from the factory) My favorite guitar tech and luthier Gary Cooper (builder of Oasis guitars and basses) says that non-adjustable stop tailpieces are not a tuning problem until you use a wound third or go over an .018 plain for a G string.
The controls are kept simple one tone, one volume, one three way switch. That's it clean and simple.
The wide, fat, solid mahogany neck is set on the body and has 22 frets and moon inlay position markers. The headstock has a slight angle set to it and is stained to match the cherry sunburst finish of the body. The tuning machines are very low mass with vintage style holes for the strings instead of standard PRS locking tuners. The tuner buttons are made of ebony to keep the weight down.
The guitar comes with a first class case that is shaped like a guitar instead of a rectangular case like other PRS guitars. The guitar fits snugly and appears to be really well protected.

I've been playing guitar for 39 years and have been giging for 35. I 've played through the Pete Seager, Kingston trio, Peter Paul and Mary, Bob Dylan, Chuck Berry, Motown, Beatles, Stones, R & B, Frank Zappa, Led Zeppelin, Cream, Clapton, The BAND, Allman Bros., Howlin' Wolf, Etta James, Buddy Guy, Albert Collins, BB King, Little Feat, Van Morrison, Big Band Jazz styles and or musical periods. It has always seemed to me that for each of my musical stages I've added either a new guitar or amp or both to fit the style of music I was playing at the time. My problem has been that I haven't been able to part with any of the guitars and many of the amps that I have acquired. In fact the only guitar I've ever sold was a Les Paul custom that gave me the current case of Les Paul Shoulder that keeps me up at night. I first heard about the PRS Hollowbody and Archtop guitars on the internet and then found a few articles in the guitar mags that I subscribe to. I found it interesting but didn't pay to much attention because I had already acquired a PRS Custom 24 during my Allman Bros. period and I assumed that it would be very similar. Besides for years I've been looking for a really outstanding Gibson 335 to cover my blues/jazz interests. What a unique idea, one guitar to cover more than one interest. So when I first saw a PRS Hollowbody hanging from the wall of Skip's Music with a $3,700 list price I just said "What great looking little guitar" and went looking for any new 335's that might have come in since my last trip to the store. The next time I came into the store I started talking to Gary Cooper, the store's guitar tech about hollowbody guitars and the fact that I haven't been able to find a 335 that suited me. He asked me if I had tried the PRS Hollowbody, I said no that I might be interested in trying a PRS Archtop but the Hollowbody seemed to much like a PRS solidbody for my purposes. He told me that after examining and playing it, that he would stack it up against any hollowbody, semi-hollowbody or archtop in the store for both tone and workmanship. I sat down and played it without an amp and was blown away by the articulate way the notes seemed to flow from the neck, the way the entire instrument seemed to vibrate together and the acoustic sound of this little guitar. But I was looking for a 335 or a big fat Gibson. I left the store and returned a couple of days later to see if it was just a fluke or if that guitar really felt and played as nice as I had remembered. It was better than I remembered in fact it was the best guitar neck I'd ever played. I figured it must just be a G.A.S. attack (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) and again left the store without plugging it into an amp. About a week later I went back to buy some Hi 8 tape for my 8 track (RIGHT) and immediately grabbed the PRS and plugged it into a Fender Vibro King like the one I usually gig with these days. I was in a little 8 x 8 room with the amp cranked and this dog gone guitar didn't feed back. It's was almost like PRS had taken the feedback characteristics of Hollowbody guitars and turned them into sustain. Besides this it sounded like a million bucks. It's tones ran everywhere from sweet to gnarly, from FAT to thin, from 335 to Tele. Sustain? Forever! Clean, distorted, muted, lead, rhythm you name it, it was there. It had the most unbelievable spectrum of tone of any guitar I've ever played, and I had played Hundreds. I did the smart thing (Sure thing Einstine) and bought it deciding to suffer the wrath of wife later.

This guitar came from the factory set up perfect without a flaw in the finish, intonation, fret work or anything else for that matter. (Hey, and I'm Picky too)

I've been playing this guitar for almost two months and have been waiting for the honeymoon to end but it hasn't. I've played 11 gigs with it and have alas put my first little ding in it (It always happens) but save breaking a couple strings have had no trouble or indication of future problems. In fact I've always used a backup guitar but for the last couple of gigs didn't take one.

The only attempt I've ever tried to get in touch with PRS is through e-mail of which I got no reply. I wanted some background on serial numbers on my two PRS guitars.

Like I said before, I've been playing for 39, years and have accumulated, 3 Strats, 2 Gretches, a 63 SG, a Tele, a G &L ASAT Classic, a PRS Custom 24, an Anderson Classic, 2 Home built Guitars, a Harmony sovereign, a Guild D-35 and a Taylor Dan Creary Model. The only guitar I've ever sold was a Les Paul but after buying this guitar I'm ready to sell 2 of my Strats, my Tele and a Tweed Blues DeVille amp as a sacrificial offering to my bass playing wife who owns one Tobias Bass and says one instrument is all anyone needs. That's a real change for me. (Good thing G.A.S. isn't contagious or we'd really be broke)
This guitar is actually inspirational it makes me look forward to practicing even those tedious things that I usually put off. It sounds great no matter what amp I play it through and that includes my Vibro King, Boogie 22 Cal., Fender Deluxe Reverb reissue, 1956 Fender Bassman, Yamaha G50-112 II and my son's Boogie Dual Recto.
It's different than any other guitar I've played in that when you roll of the volume and tone and hit it hard it responds and sounds like an acoustic guitar without that boingy sixth string sound you get when using a .042 or .044 on the bottom, but if you hit it a bit lighter it feels, plays and sounds like a real slinky electric. The tone control's taper is so gradual that you can use it to dial in tones that range from twang to smooth jazz and everything in between, not like most tone controls that are almost like an on off switch.
Another thing that I love about this guitar is its weight. This is the lightest guitar I've ever played. I've played other light guitars but they always lacked sustain, tone and seemed to be out of balance. Not this baby, it is so light that after a four hour gig my Les Paul shoulder doesn't even bother me. Usually after playing a four gig using my Custom 24, Strat or even my SG for that matter, I'm looking at a 4 Motrin night in order to sleep.
I know that glowing reports are not what some people like to read but I can't help it. If I were evaluating any of my other guitars I would be able to find a number of things to gripe about. But my other guitars have never captivated me the way this one has. In fact I wouldn't even take the time to write an evaluation of my other guitars even the two that I built. I closing I would like to say that you owe it to yourself to try one of these out, if you can find one. I've only seen one and it hooked me and reeled me in like a big ol' fish.
Steve Taylor Elk Grove, CA staylor@ns.net