Paul Reed Smith Guitars McCarty Brazilian Rosewood Limited

no different than a normal mccarty, except for a quilt (therefore westcoast) top and brazilian board

Blues/Jazz/70's rock style player. The sound is extremely smooth and always sounds good.. clean/dirty you name it... the only thing this guitar doesn't do is be raw! it is always a beautiful sound... which doesn't work of everybody... but I have a billion guitars... custom shop strat and tele... es-335... many prs guitars.... brazilian fretboard les paul standard... les paul jr.s ... you name it.. and this is at the top of the list as far as musical sounding guitars. dark but clear, fat and smooth with crazy over tones.

plays great

it is perfect if you want a smooth sound... not very punk... but wow is it musical.

This is a Rosewood neck McCARTY Brazilian Series with a brazilin rosewod fingerboard. Blue mateo quilt with birds 10 top. The birds are from Pink mother of pearl heart. 22 frets 10" radius. Mahogany back with a beautiful Blue ( looks like water)finish.
PRS Stop Tail piece (anodized)Vintage style tuners. 2 Brushed McCarty Pickups with 3-way switching/push pull

The tone is a very singing warm full rich tone. I really like it alot. I had tried a few before I commited to the delaers pre ordered list of guitars. The bridge has enough cut without being harsh and the neck pickup is full and rich with being muddy. I can see myself doing some leads stuff out of the neck pickup. in the coil tapped mody I get a really nice and usable single coil tone. Not as glassy sounding as a true single coil but a fatter type tone. very nice

Typical PRS Finish and attention to detail. Perfect finish and fit. I did have Jack at Magdon set up the guitar for 10 gauge strings as PRS sends them with 9's. I willnot give a 10 rating on this because I really feel that PRS should send guitars set up to customer spec. I will however say the this dealer has been outstanding about doing the set up sand helping me with any questions I have had about the playability

This my 3rd PRS, I am absoluty sure that this guitar will hold up just as well as my other 2

I have no trouble with PRS Customer service and have directed any and all questions to my dealer. This dealer gives a full lifetime warranty on all new PRS Guitars that he sells- As stated about this my 3rd PRS and have had no troubles at all with any of them

I know this is annoying, but I have to vent a little. I have my choice of a Les Paul and a McCarty, and I deeply prefer the Les Paul. It's meaner sounding because it has a pronounced midrange, and it cuts through the mix because of its biting top end. Besides all these things, a good Les Paul has a vibe that PRS's can't touch. Every time I play the PRS it feels like I'm playing a Les Paul mixed with an Ibanez. (as opposed to a Les Paul mixed with a Strat, like many claim it is)

If you can find a great Les Paul (which I did for $700 off of some cokehead asshole!) you won't want anything to do with a PRS. Note: Finding a great Les Paul is hard because Gibson has some consistency issues.

PRSs are set up great. Les Pauls....not so great. You'll need to pay a good guitar tech to set it up for you.

Les Pauls and PRSs are both quite reliable and durable provided you don't drop either of them on their necks.

Gibson....not so great
PRS....very good (They sent me a guitar for free!)

I'm sure this post will drum up a lot of negative responses. Seriously though, play a great Les Paul and compare it to a McCarty. You WON"T TOUCH the McCarty! By the way, if you want to tell me what an idiot you think I am, feel free to e-mail me.

This is a review of a 2003 PRS McCarty Brazilian Limited Edition in dark cherry sunburst. This guitar was bought new at Chuck Levin's Washington Music Center and features a bookmatched 2-piece flame maple (10) top, one piece mahogany body, Indian rosewood neck with Brazilian rosewood fingerboard and headstock veneer, vintage style tuners, pink abalone heart bird inlays, 22 medium jumbo frets, McCarty pickups, wrap-around combination bridge/tailpiece, 1 volume and 1 tone control w/ push-pull coil tap, 3-way pickup selector, and deluxe "hybrid" gold/nickle hardware. Comes with a deluxe PRS hardshell case and a few accesories.

This guitar sounds full, rich, and sweet. I play it through a couple of 50 Watt Marshall half-stacks. It has a nice tight bottom, warm mids, and sweet highs. With the coil tap engaged you can get sounds that resemble Gibson P-90's, but it doesn't sound at all like a single coil Strat. In humbucking mode, it sounds similar to a Les Paul but not quite as thick or "heavy". The guitar has a little less emphasis in the midrange as compared to a Les Paul, perhaps a little more balanced throughout the frequency range. The guitar just gushes with tone, rings like a bell, and has a focused attack similar to a piano. Overall the sound is very complex with tons of overtones, harmonics, and partials. It's simply amazing to hear. It has gobs of sustain and comes alive in the hands of a pro. Very organic and woody I would say.

Right out of the box the guitar was set up perfectly. I didn't have to do anything to it. Even the strings were nice and fresh and ready to go(PRS 9-42's). The nut is precisely cut with perfect string notches, spacing, and height. I believe the nut is made from "Delrin", a black synthetic material which is self lubricating. The strings never hang up and it stays in tune like no other guitar I've ever played. It is constructed with the precision and care of a fine Rolex watch. It is absolutely flawless. The materials are first class and primo wood was obviously used in its construction. It puts to shame everyting I have seen out of the Gibson Custom/Historic Shop or Gibson USA(I have an '00 Historic LPR-9, a '98 LP Junior '57 Historic Reissue, and a '02 Gibson USA LP Std Plus). All three of my Gibsons required at least 1-2 hours with a guitar repairman/tech before they would play right or even work at all. The PRS factory IS a custom shop in every sense of the word. These guys put their heart and soul into making the finest guitars in the world.

It's still new so only time will tell, but judging from the fantastic build quality, I would say this guitar will outlast its owner easily. Again, it's built like a Rolex watch. The finish and hardware or first class.

Haven't contacted them yet. No need to.

I have been playing guitar since 1980. I have owned several Gibson Les Pauls, Strats, Martins, a Guild, and Fender Strats. The PRS Brazilian McCarty is by far the best in terms of sound and quality(my Martin D-28 is a close second though). I really like the sleek and relatively lightweight contured body. I chose it over 8-10 Gibson Historic Les Pauls at Washington Music Center. PRS Brazilian outclassed them all. This one's a keeper.

2003 # 29 of 500. McCarty with a Rose Wood Neck. One Peice Top, Dark Cherry Burst Quilt. Sick Quilt~! Two high out-Put humbuckers, with the push pull tone knob for a single or humbucking tone.

The sound is a little getting use to. I can't help but want to play it , the look and feel are GREAT! I play a Fender Strat USA Plus, and an ES 135. I'm running these guys thru a mesa Recto verb head over a marshall 1960 vintage 412 cab. The sound that I'm getting is very throwty...and aggesive out of the humbuckers. Great for a metal or heavy rock tune. The single pick up option is nice, Means I don't have to put on my strat when a change in tune comes up. The Single coil posion is a little weak, however I have a boost pedal that make this problem go away very fast.

The Action is by far the best that I've incountered from the factory. I set-up all my own guitars. I did not even have to re string this one. the pick-ups were allset and the guitar needed a little quick tuning and I was ready to play.! The one peice top!!! Very Pretty!

A giging guitar, Yes. But can't drink to much , wouldn't want to scuff it up!

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I've been playing for 15year, I just recently began collecting guitars and this one will be a part of the family for a long time.

brazilian rosewood with p-90

it took me a longtime to understand this guitar. the guitar is missing a lot of the mids that make a guitar sound "classic". Which make it invisible in the mix as a general rule.it's very pretty and feels great. It is very dark but with a snappy acoustic quality in the high-end. Standout over tone and sustain. But once you let the note breathe a little, it really sing...sounding great, but unique. I would recomend the regular McCarty as I have one and it is amazing....everything and a bag of chips. The rosewood guitar is such a specific sound...that it has to be the one your looking for...in otherwords just cause it's the upgrade don't make it better...but to be honest I now love the way it sounds, but on it own terms. It sound real high class...don't know how that fits in the blue collar world of rock.

if you can use the sound in your style than it will give you everything you want

Smaller sized double cutaway. Two buckers. Like an LP in electronic configuration. See other descriptions.

It was thin sounding.

This guitar was set up to text book standards. The wood was vey nice. There were no obvious flaws to be found.
But, it was a crappy sounding and relatively weak playing guitar, as are most PRS guitars.

I am sure it would last forever. No highly skilled professional would ever want to play it. Some guitars are meant for playing, but these PRS guitars are meant for people who only pretend to play guitar. Apparently Santana has the only good one ever built.

I've been trying to find a good PRS since 1986, but none have ever been up to the quality any good player would accept. I've been playing since VanHalen 1 came out. If it was stolen, I'd make good use of the insurance money and buy a cheap car and a Gibson Les Paul, which is a guitar made for people who actually play the guitar for a living. For the money I wish it would mow the lawn, do my dishes, wash my cloths. It certainly doesn't work for playing so it must have some other use than a high cost wall hanging.

Manufactured in the United States Dec 15, 1999. #137 of 250. 22 Fret double cutaway with Wide/Fat Neck. Solid Mahogany back with solid quilted maple top. One piece Brazillian rosewood neck. Volume and tone controls (passive). 3 position pickup switch. Tone control features push/pull pot to split humbuckers for "psuedo" single coil sound. Two McCarty humbucker pickups. Adjustable "stoptail" bridge. Vintage Kluson Tuners. Gold Hardware. Vintage Cherry color body with dark cherry sunburst top. Rare one-piece top.

Very verstatile machine. push/pull pot allows for more tone options than humbuckers alone but kind of a sore excuse for a true single coild sound. I play mostly blues and classic rock through a Soldano Astroverb 16, Fender Pro Jr., and Mesa Subway Rocket. I play mostly without effects but when I so desire, hook up to a POD through stereo or PA. The overall sound of this guitar is pretty dark. The bridge pick-up and combination setting are very sweet and provide plenty of bite. The neck pickup alone is another story. Waaaay to dark and muted for my taste. Excellent for blues/rock lead and rock rythm but very difficult to get the shimmering clarity of a Strat for other rythm styles. Tone starts to break up around 5 on the volume setting. Also, the highs fall off dramatically when the volume is rolled off even slightly from 10. Will probably swith to a Pearly Gates for the neck at some point but I'm waiting for it to settle in as many say the RW models do change over time. All-in-all, an incredibly sweet sounding guitar with amazing bell like tones and sustain for days.

There's not much to say other than this is one of the most beautiful guitars I have ever seen let alone owned. The build quality, stain work, binding, finish, and set-up are are simply flawless. The feel of the unfinished rosewood neck is just something you have to feel to appreciate. I did have a small problem innitially with breakage on the high E due to a bur in the saddle but it was easily cleared.

This guitar will take just about anything you can throw at it. It's a museum piece so I don't gig with it but I thrash on it daily at home. Stays in tune better than some of my more stable accoustics. Comes with very large diameter strap buttons for safety but there is no way I would hang this one from my neck without straplocks. I would not use any guitar at a gig without a back-up but I certainly would not worry about reliability. I would, however, recommend avoiding the gold hardware. I don't think this is unique to PRS as I have seen the problem with many other models but the plating is already starting to wear off of the bridge pickup cover after only one year. Oh yeah, one other minor problem. The electronics cover on the back is signed by Paul and numbered. The number designation is wearing like iron, but Paul's signature seems to have been done with a different pen as it is fading badly. I have order a spare blank to preserve what's left.

PRS has been supportive when contacted via email with pickup height questions and accessory information. They may take a few days to get back to you but they seem pretty good.

Been playing guitar for only 2 years and still have a lot to learn but appreciate good hardware. Also own a couple of Taylor accoustics and purchased and sold an LP Standard and a Custom Shop Tele before settling on the Braz. I love this guitar and would never sell it. It would be very hard to replace if lost or stolen and it would be hard to shell out that kind of cash again but it's a very hard question to ask when you have such a rare piece. I will be buying a Strat to round out my tonal options (maybe just a bad case of GAS).

1999 PRS McCarty Brazilian rosewood one piece neck and Braz. rw fingerboard, birds, vintage Kluson-style tuners, tortoise shell finish bookmatched flamed maple cap on mahogany body, 22 frets, wide fat neck, nickel hardware, PRS stoptail, two McCarty p/u's with tone and pull coil split on tone, 3 way toggle, volume, signed and numbered by PRS #126/250, harshell case

This guitar sounds very good and very different than a regular McCarty, Custom 22, or Les Paul. The rosewood neck adds alot of high end 'zing' and harmonic richness with even and long sustain beginning at the pluck of a note when in humbucking mode. I think there are less low mids and a depth of tone with less of a bloom to notes than the mahogany neck guitars mentioned above. The tone control is perfect: it rolls off the right amount of high end and sounds sweet and without being dull or muddy.

The single coil sounds are OK but lacking. While they have single coil character, they don't sound as good as those on the PRS Custom 22 or Custom 24 and certainly not as good as a decent Strat or Tele. The single coil sounds are noisy and not humcancelling.

I use a Soldano X99 preamp and SLO-100 run into a Soldano 4x12 w/ Soldano Eminence power speakers and Daedelus 2x10 cab w/ EVs.

Phenomenal fit, finish and set up, especially for what is now becoming a mass produced guitar. It played beautifully!!!!!!! The maple cap, while not a designated 10 top, was very flamey for a McCarty model and was perfectly bookmatched. The rosewood feels very good and smooth in your palm as you fret the neck and much better than the regular PRS laquered (or whatever it is on the) necks.

Reliable and could be used as the only guitar at a gig. The lack of a tremelo means you can probably get through a song if you break a string. The guitar never went out of tune despite it not having locking tuners. The finish and all else on my 1989 PRS Custom is holding up well so I ass/u/me this one should too.

Never called. I forget how long the warranty is.

Very good guitar with a unique tone. However, I sold it because I prefer the tone, blooming sustain, and fuller or '3D' sound on my Custom 24 tremelo with Standard pickups and Custom 22 stoptail with Dragon I uncovered pickups. Still, this is one person's opinion. I sold mine to a person who sold their Brazilian rw McCarty and really missed it alot. The single coil tones are only OK. I think they sound better on the PRS Custom 22 and 24. For the money I would get a Custom 22 or save money and get a McCarty.