Paul Reed Smith Guitars McCarty Moon Inlay

Mine's a beautiful '96 dark cherry burst. You know all the features.

I've always had a love/hate relationship with this guitar. Looks fantastic, is lightweight, easy to play and sounds great distorted, but I could never get the clean sound I wanted. Also, the bridge pickup was never bright enough for me. I play in a cover band that plays mostly 60's thru 90's tunes. I finally put a pair of Gibson Burstbucker pickups in this thing and I can't believe the difference! I've tried several different pickups, but the BB's are the only ones that gave me that bright airy sound that I was looking for out of the bridge pickup.

Phenomenal!!!

I rarely ever break strings on this guitar. It is so well made...

Never called them...

Been playing since 1979. I have a Gibson 1960 Historic Reissue Les Paul (where I first learned about the BB's), a deluxe fender strat with a Duncan Lil '59 in the bridge (fantastic upgrade). Several amps: Marshall TSL 100, Fender Prosonic, Mesa F-50 and a Marshal JTM 30, (great bedroom amp that you can gig with). I still can't believe what a difference switching to the BB's made. Gibson hit a huge home run with those pickups-I can't put this guitar down, fantastic clean rhythm sounds and off the charts lead tones!

1994 USA
22 medium frets
Thick flamed maple top bm
1 v 1T 3way with dual pickup coil tap
H/H configuration
McCarty bass and treble pickups
passive electronis
1 piece Mahogany neck and back with beautiful rootbeer color flamed maple top
Love the way all PRS looks, this one is rootbear color, sometimes it looks burgundy, it doesn't have 10 written on but it really looks nice.
wraparound bridge (love it)
Vintage style non locking tuners, does stay in tune
25 inch scale, med frets with dark rosewood fretboard, moon inlays
PRS black case

I play gospel, jazz and blues with this guitar, this guitar is a head turner not just on looks but tone, just playing this guitar makes people look at you for both reasons tone and looks, Please read my other review on a PRS standard 22, this guitar is all of that until that guitar shows up, this guitar is a subtle sweet sounding guitar vs my other PRS an agressive good sounding guitar(2 different animals)

I bought the guitar used, but it had a excellent setup and still is very low with no string buzz.
Pickup adjustments are personal to taste
the top was not properly bookmatched but still looks beautiful.
no problem with bridge (wraparound tailpiece)
again I bought the guitar use wheas the previous owner did have some buckle rash on rear, other than that no problem.
all hardware on this guitar is perfect, comes with vintage style tuners.

Very durable guitar, just dont hit it against anything that woud dent the finish, the clear coats cracks like glass making the guitar look bad
Strap buttons, no need for straplocks these are very wide buttons and will not fall out of a good strap.
very dependable
no need for a backup, the guitar does what its supposed to do.

never had to call

20 years of playing but serious the last 3 years, I own a Fender Cybertwin amp wheas there is no need for another at this time, have own many Fender USA strats, Les Pauls (various)Epi's etc but this guitar sounds very close to my Les Classic, the Les Paul classic had a longer sustain but a slightly heavier tone, I'm really don't like comparing guitars but I chose guitars very carefully and they all have something unique to offer that maybe the other dont, this one is sweety and fruity, very alive but not as full as my standard or as rich as the standard 22. Now I would say that the Les Paul was sold because it only sounded as good as the PRS when I changed the pickups from seymour duncan 59/jb to prs dragon IIs now I do like les Paul but I had to change the pickups in order to be happy with the guitar , this McCarty can remain stock and sound good.

PRS McCarty with beautiful sunburst. The coil tap feature is very handy since I play cover tunes, a very versatile guitar. I don't really notice any intonation issues like othr reviewers, i think they are just unlucky.
One good thing about having a stop tail is if I break an E string, the guitar stays in tune. Try that with an adjustable bridge.
It's a lot lighter that a Les Paul, and I like the wide thin neck which is just perfect for my hands.
The nickel stop tail and the pickup covers seem to tarnish after a few weeks of playing. I tried a few metal polishes but they won't go away. To me, it's a minus. Otherwise the guitar is great.

You can't get the twang of a strat or the creamy sound of Les Paul, but it has a unique modern sound. I play a lot of new Santana covers and it is just perfect for my needs. I can get a full jazzy with the coil tap down or humbucking position or play rhythm with the coil tap in up position. I always like to play with the pickup selector in the middle position. I use it in most of the cover songs that we play.

The action was just right when it was set-up from the factory. There was like a static noise when toggling the pickup selector switch, but the guy at the store use some electronic spray and the noise disappeared. I had to re-adjust the height of the stop tail and the height of the pickups to my liking the first time I changed the strings. After that everything works fine.

The finish look a little lighter than the strats, they may not last like the Fenders, but I love its beautiful finish. I've used it on gigs without a backup, all I have to worry about is if I have spare strings. As with most guitars, if I don't put some kind of lubrication where the strings touch the bridge, then I would break a string, mostly the last one (E string).

Never dealt with them. Had no problems with the guitar.

I've been playin for 16 years. I have a Gibson Standard Les Paul, a couple Fender strats, a cople of acoustic/electrics, a jazz bass. I just wish that the hardware don't tarnish like they do, which ruins the over all look of the McCarty. If it were stolen or lost, I'll probably get the Custom 24 with the tremolo, but I will replace the pot with a coil-tapping one just like my McCarty. I picked this guitar because of it's versatility, being able to play different sound, close to a strat, close to a les paul. This is a bit too pricey for a guitar, in my opinion they should be retail around 1,000-1,200 brand new.

This is a 2001 black burst finish McCarty model. It has a mahogany body, maple top, mahogany set neck, wide/fat rosewood fretboard, vintage kluson tuners, PRS fixed wrap around stop tail bridge (might be worth to upgrade to the PRS intonable bridge since this may not work as well with lower tunings using heavy strings), stock McCarty pickups, push/pull tone knob for coil splitting, and PRS hard shell case. The only thing that stops me from giving a 10 is the lack of the ability to intonate the bridge.

Sounds great! I also have a 2003 Les Paul Standard and two Dean Evo guitars. It sounds very balanced and full, versatile and clear. I hear people claim the stock pickups are muddy but I don't find that at all. I find them very clear and full, dark, yet articulate. You can do anything with this guitar and the right amp. You won't get true strat tones in split mode but they are useful in the right scenario. I bought this guitat for the humbucker abilities and I would say the same thing if I had bought a PRS Custom 22 even thought that has some great split tones. I would rather have a strat for true single coil tones. Even in a live gig situation the average Joe won't notice if you are using split coils or not and I would rather keep it simple and use full humbucker mode. I love that my LP gives me that deep and warm tone LPs are known for, but the McCarty gives me a clearer and maybe more modern tone. The tone seems more mellow than the Custom 22 but not by much. The McCarty pickups want to rock, no doubt about it.......I can pull blues to modern hard rock with ease. I use a Line 6 Vetta half stack so I have quite a large number of tonal options. I can have this guitar sounding like a dark metal machin one minute to clean jazz the next. I find it a very versatile guitar and people should not give up on these pickups assuming your amp has enough oomph to do the work. These days I am enjoying using lower to medium output pickups and allowing the amp to do the hard work. Seems warmer and smoother that way. I would say the lows are tighter on my McCarty and more controlled than the more in-your-face lows of the Les Paul. The PRS also has very smooth and warm highs, where the LP is once again in-your-face but in a good way. The guitar plays well and feels pretty silky smooth with a good set up. I have to adjust a little going between my LP and this because the neck is wide and somewhat fat, but in a good way. The guitar is very comfortable to play.

Great. I wish they included an intonable bridge because I am hoping to go to heavier strings a half step down which could cause intonation issues. The tuners are the vintage kluson type and are very smooth and solid. No need to change anything on this guitar with the possible exception of the bridge.

Seems quite durable, but always have a back up. Strong neck joint.

Good.

I have been through many guitars over the past few years including USA Hamers, Peavey, Deans, Gibson, and now this PRS. I always look for a guitar to have vibe and mojo along with great feel and tone. I usually tire of guitars that lack mojo and end up selling those to buy something else. I think this McCarty has mojo like my Les Paul. It is a great guitar and highly recommended.

This is a follow-up to a follow-up regarding the hard shell case
that came with my PRS McCarty causing problems. This has got to be the dumbest thing.

The case screws-up the guitar, causing problems with the $2000.00 instrument.

There is (in my case) case neck support up by the headstock, and down
at the body's end. The case support at the neck/body loaction does not reach the guitar. There is no support in this position.
When the case is closed it's lid presses very firmly on the face of the instrument. This causes a slight 'bend' at or near the unsupported point.

The proof of this problem was made as follows:

Before insertion of guitar into case, neck relief measured .010"
and guitar properly tuned.

After removal from case (stored overnight) neck relief measured .012"

After about 10 minuites the neck goes back to .010" relief.

In my 37 years of playing I've never come across a problem like this.
It took me quite a while to find this rediculous flaw.
They don't call these cases 'coffins' for nothing.

Emailed PRS asking for a replacement case recomendation.

What a bunch of losers. They emailed me back saying that a
case is a "personal choice". I emailed them back reminding them
that the guitar was designed by them, not me, and all I'm asking
is for some direction as to which cases will FIT - not for any freebies. Their response was: what's my serial#; where purchased...
I forwarded the info - and POOF they were gone.

Well, I ended up doing the research myself. Now I'm a friggin' expert on cases by TKL and SKB.

If anybody out there needs a replacement case for a PRS McCarty (hard tail), I bought a $70.00 SKB FS6 ("Freedom") case.

The guitar goes in with .010" relief and now comes out with .010" relief. Problem solved. In tune.

I'm one of the lucky ones in that I was able fo diagnose and correct
this stupid problem, that got past the case manufacturer, PRS QA,
and the "Authorized Dealer". Sometimes being an obsessive tinker has it's rewards...

In closing:
PRS provides no actual customer support - only an image.
They provided an OEM case that over time would damage my instrument.
I will never ever purchase any PRS product again.

Given the fact that only about 2% of the population plays an instrument, and that the guitar market is a subset of that 2%,
and that there are plenty of choices out there, I'd of thought
that it would be stupid for a company to alienate it's clients.

SingleCut's anyone?

This is a follow-up to my previous post, directly below,
regarding replacement of the PRS Fixed Intonation Tailpiece/Bridge
with a PRS Intonable Bridge/Tailpiece.

After my installation and setup of a PRS Intonable Bridge for my McCarty, I state without reservation that the INTONATION PROBLEMS,
noted in my previous post, ARE GONE.

Thats right Mr. P. R. Smith. I know you swear by your Fixed Bridge/Tailpiece. But the proof of the pudding is illustrated
by my ear and verified by a Peterson Strobe and intonation
mapping of the fixed vs. intonable bridge's intoned string lengths
(omitting the low and hi "E" strings, of course).

The intonation is now pleasing and no longer of concern.

It's a nice shiney very light nickel plated bridge.

Since installation, I've played it for about 10 hours.
Other than normal tuning requirements, THERE WERE NO INTONATION PROBLEMS. Even when normal re-tuning was needed, it still sounded pretty good.

I was unable to say any of this regarding the original fixed bridge.

Though I contacted PRS Cust Support several times,
their posture was that I set the guitar up incorrectly.

The fact of the matter is that the guitar was Factory set-up
with the INCORRECT BRIDGE.

But they should be happy since they got my money regardless
of their stuck-up Customer Service attitude.

Well, I'm pretty happy now. My PRS McCarty is finally
what it should be: An evolved Gibson SG Standard.

My advice to anyone purchasing a new PRS with the Fixed StopTail Bridge: Condition your deal on the dealers replacement and setup of the intonable bridge. PRS calls it an "Option", but it's really quite
indespensable. If you buy one 'used' and you just can't tune it 'right', get the intonable bridge.

Intonable bridges come standard on most inexpensive guitars.
PRS's are not inexpensive.

The only good thing I can say about the Fixed StopTail is that
it's much better looking than the Intonable StopTail.
(Who gives a s**t!.)

1999 McCarty 10 Top, Moons, Stop Tail bridge.
You know the features...
If you dont, it's got a permanent press cycle and
Regis Philbin's "KellyRipper" pickups.

I give it a 7 because I hate the Stop Tail bridge,
and the pickups are way too hot and dark.

Nice for blues.
Sounds a little odd but adequate through my old MusicMan 210-65.
(Sounds best in it's low gain input.)
Sounds OK through a Blues JR, but headroom is sharply reduced.
Strangely enough, sounds fabulous through a Peavey Stusio 112.

Factory setup was for .09's. I use 10's which necessitated a full setup as well as nut work for $$. That stinks. The body/neck fit and finish is nearly flawless. There are a small number of finish discolorations where the finish touches the edge of the fretboard. Not a big deal. The controls could be of a better quality, basically not so loose.

There is, in my opinion, one big design flaw: The StopTail Bridge.
Yes it's non-adjustable. Yes it rings. Yes, when the intonation on
strings 1 and 6 is set the "G" and "B" strings are SHARP by about 4 to 5 cents. This is not acceptable. In addition, when the intonation is set, the bridge string guides are not parallel to the free string.
Nor are string guides perpendicular to the neck. Slight contact of the string to the mouth of the string guide occurs. This makes
tuning and staying in tune into a nightmare for a $2000 instrument.
There is a reason why no other manufacturer makes a bridge that
looks and acts like a nut. Intonation and tuning problems result.
You can tell if you've got the problem: Hook up to a good metered
guitar tuner. Tune string by string. If the needle is flopping
all over the place, like a vintage strat coil adjusted too close,
then you are the proud owner of a design flaw. (But out of artistic respect, I must say that the stop-tail bridge LOOKS great.)

It's a durable guitar, but strengthwise, it's no tele.
The hardware tarnishes easilly, and if you don't clean it frequently
it will tarnish irreversably. The electronic controls are nowhere near as high in quality as the carpentry.

I've emailed them several times. Their response (when there is one)
is "Take it to an authorized dealer", or "Probable user error".
They can do no wrong... They shut the PRS Guitar Forum. I can only guess that they are practicing some sort of Corporate Censorship.
There must have been a lot of posts that they wanted to hide.
PS> Their Adjustable version of the stop tail bridge is a $250.00
special order item. They obviously do not want to sell them.
There is a non-OEM StopTail on the market from a company called
TonePros, a unit called the AVT2. It's about 1/2 the PRS price
but do be aware that the PRS nack radius is 10" while the TonePros ATV2's radius is 12". I was informed by the TonePros folks that
a 10" radius version is in the works.

In general, PRS's nose is so far up in the air that Lunar Rovers
use it as a hangar.

Playing since 1966. Have a '76 Les Paul, 3 Warmouth home-mades,
a Kramer aluminum neck bass, a MusicMan 210-65, couple of Blues JR's,
a Peavey Studio 112 (tranny backup amp), and assorted stomp boxes.

I love the look and feel of the guitar. Best I've held.
Marvelous carpentry. Marvelous finish.
But there are too many playability issues that you wont encounter on
a MIM Telecaster.

So: Wake up PRS. Take a look at EBAY. There beautiful PRS instruments
out there with NO BIDS. Somebody that has the spitting image of
My $1999.00 PRS McCarty has got one on EBAY asking $1200.00 and
with 57 minuites to go the high bid is $800.00.

My old aluminum neck Kramer Bass held it's value better than that.

If it were lost or stolen I would not replace it with a PRS product.

I'd have said none of this if the guitar was just "right",
especially at this price.

There was nothing wrong with the money I paid:
There should be nothing wrong with the product. (yeah, right...)

2002 Model
Same as the others below w/ little mods.
Pickups:
(bridge)Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB Model
(neck) Seymour Duncan SH-2 Jazz Model

It's a beauty.

Feels great but, I did have a problem with the stop tailpiece until I saw the reviewer below about the tonePros AVT2 wrap around Bridge (It comes complete with TonePros? patented locking studs, and features extended intonatation range for those hard to intonate guitars.)

Changed the stock McCarty pickups not that they didn't sound great but I fell in love with S/D JB Model and Jazz Model with guitars that have great tone wood and it fits my style I also did this to my 2002 PRS SingleCut.

I must say PRS guitars are much more than just well crafted.

I run into a ton of stomp boxes into a Peavy 5150 head (the first ones that came out). The guy I bought it from had modified the head which made my mouth drop. I couldn't believe the sound I was hearing. The crunch is great the range on this is sweet and the clean channel was cleaner than the marshall I was using. It gives me the high-end of a marshall jcm900 with better Mid-end and low-end and it has taken the place of my marshall JCM2000 TSL100 and JCM900. I still can't belive what I'm playing out of.

I got the guitar used from a guy who broke his hand 2 months after he bought it and said his hand continued to hurt afterwards so I got a great deal on it. The guitar was set up well but I raised the action a-bit and threw on new strings .10s and it rocked.
I found no flaws on the guitar it looked beautiful and I couldn't see why this wasn't a 10-top anyway I had to get it. I love the 3-way toggle switch which is what I prefer on all my guitars.

Very duarable I have had some accidents with this guitar and it still plays great. The finish is a little lite but, if you take care of it I don't see a problem (Just remember $$$$). I use this guitar for all my practices and my second guitar for my shows.
Very Dependable as I mentioned before well crafted.
I hear a lot negative comments about the strap buttons but I like them they hold my leather strap well being oversized.
I would always carry a backup for the reason of busting a string on stage (hasn't happen yet but, you never know).

Great communication. Replied back the same day. To get some info about the serial number.

I've been playing for 12 years and counting.
I also own a 2002 PRS Singlecut.
Noting to ask just play one and see if it suits you.
If this guitar was stolen I would buy another one maybe not the same model but another PRS.

PRS McCarty moon inlay carved flame maple top mahogany back rosewood neck 22 frts I have had this axe for 2 yrs the stop bridge started to get groves in it and the intonation went out sence this is a fixed brige the only way to get the intonation right is by the alen head screws inside the bridge when this is done and the fixed bridge pulls away from the sloted/threaded stud you loose tone and sustain. I was going to sell this PRS untill I came across the Tone-Pro bridge
Here it is! The fully intonatable wraparound bridge you've all been waiting for to fit your PRS? guitar that uses the McCarty? bridge which only has preset bridge saddles. This bridge is fully adjustable for intonation and height, allowing you to use any gauge strings and always be perfectly in tune. It comes complete with our locking studs for that superior tone and sustain that TonePros has become famous for in such a short time. I had this installed and Buzz Feiten tuning system done here in Nashville,TN by my tech Joe Glasier. The PRS now stays in tune better tone is killer!! I highly recomend doing this to all prs that has a fixed brige. The finish on the PRS is thiner than most and chips very easy I know why this is done to keep the tone of the woods but would be cool if prs used a harder finsh. The PRS is a keeper do to the changes it really sounds that good! The PRS McCarty are killer guitars and Paul should do away with the Fixed Bridge and got to the tone pro's I'm giving this a low rating do to the Bridge an axe that cost 2000 + should have an adjustable bridge!
http://www.buzzfeiten.com/
http://wdmusicproducts.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=WMPI&Category_Code=TPWA
http://www.prsguitars.com/showcase/current/lg_mc.html

The PRS McCarty very cool for Les Paul maried with strat tones. The tones I use it for are Robben Ford,Larry Carlton, Blues and Jazz tones. I did not like the stock PRS pickups not that they are bad but there where to dark for my style of playing I changed the with Duncan Pearly Gates Neck & Bridge pickups. and use D'adario 10-42

I use a studio set up: I have a custom Paul Rivera Rake 100W head with Groove tube 6L6-GE killer tubes! The Rake head is voiced: Clean ch fender twin/Dumble,Clean Boost/Dumble, OD/Dumble, Lead Boost Marshall/Jcm 800. Tthe tones I play are Michael Landau,Larry Carlton,Rooben Ford, Jay Graydon,Creed,Hendrix,Steve Lukather I need an amp that would give me all these tones Paul Rivera did a killer job get them all! I use a Bob Bradshaw Rack: Furman PL8 Pwr Supply,Carvin DCM150 and DCM 1000 Power amp for effects only These are killer power amps for this. Bradshaw mini mixer,TC electronics D-Two, Tc Electronics G-Force, Rack drawer of pedals: Analog Man Jucier is it exactly like the Dan armstrong Orange Sqeezer killer! Keeley compressor, Voodoo Lab Micro-Vibe, Arion Chorus, Frantone peach fuzz,
Bob Bradshaw Interface,Bradshaw 2X4, Bradshaw RS-10,(2) Boss 3000 stereo Vol Pedals,Boss 1000 Gtr Vol Peadal no longer made,Boss TU-2 tuner ped. Vox Wah moded CAE/Bob Bradshaw. Cabs are: 2X12 loaded w/weber Chicago 60W speakers,2X12 vincenzo loaded w/Weber thame and V30, Marshall 4X12 loaded w/(2)Weber Chicago 60W and (2) Weber Thame 60W speakers.
http://www.webervst.com/hps.html
http://www.customaudioelectronics.com/
http://www.carvin.com/pro_sound/poweramps/index.html
http://www.analogman.com/rossmod.htm
http://www.robertkeeley.com/home.php

The PRS was ok from factory most all gtrs have to be set up by a tech all players have diff hands,tone,strings etc. pickups adustment very good,wood work and routing killer!

The PRS will with stand live playing. The hardware is cool the Fixed Bridge is very lame and Paul should go to Tone-Pro adjustable bridge on all PRS with fixed bridge these gtrs are worth the money but I belive a guitar in a 2000 range should have a adjustable bridge! The finish is thin chip easly need to be very careful not to bump it I would recomend a flight case if doing heavy road work. I would use the prs without a back up it really is a well thought out axe. I belive that Paul Should do these up dates and it would be that much better. I give this a low rating not because the guitar is not killer but the fixed bridge is lame!

I have dealt with Paul at the Namm show in Nashville a very cool dude.
Paul is set in his ways on making his guitars which is cool! It marketing.

I've been playing at the age of 12 now 39 teching for 10yrs The gear I listed is all I use. If it were stolen I would not buy another there are better guitars out there with more that work better and have better hardwear. What I love about the PRS McCarty is that the Craftmanship is very good for a prodution guitar way better than Gibson. The tone is very nice stock. I hate the fixed bridge! I have A Tom Anderson Drop top killer axe use it 80% of the time!http://www.andersonguitars.com/
Baker guitars killer sold out to Erine Ball/Music Man line should be out 2005 and Gene Baker is making them in the E.B. factory should be killer I would buy the Baker's over the Prs guitars worth the wait! Robben Ford is using the org. bakers Robben always has a killer tone!
I play all styles rock,Blues,metal,Jazz,Fusion,country The PRS is very cool for rock,blues,Jazz.
http://hometown.aol.com/fordnotes/RF-Gear.html
http://hometown.aol.com/fordnotes/NewBakers.html