Paul Reed Smith Guitars McCarty Rosewood

Carved maple top and mahogany body; 1-piece East Indian rosewood neck;
rosewood fretboard; pearl and abalone moon inlays; silver nickel McCarty pickups; Kluson tuners; 1 volume and 1 push/pull tone control;
3-way toggle switch; amber sunburst finish. Made in 2006. No fancy binding, no gold-plated hardware, no bird inlays, no locking tuners, no adjustable stoptail bridge: none of the usual expensive appointments -- but plenty of sticker shock!

How many guitars can be squeezed into a tiny PRS? Around 15? Paul Reed Smith is hooked on sonics. And the McCarty Rosewood sings like a shiny mockingbird. It's an impersonator of primarily Gibson and Fender sounds. The McCarty humbuckers can replicate archival Gibson tones, and the single coils can fool an unfamiliar ear into hearing Strat with the neck pickup, or a Telecaster toggled in the middle, or Rickenbacker jangle at the bridge. Even a Vox Phantom can be heard in there amongst its many voices -- the "vintage" sounds. The volume level even dips suddenly, in retro fashion, when tapping into single-coil mode -- an old nuisance.

This is the type of guitar that a gearhead can spend hours with, tweaking the pickups and push/pull coil tap, on an amp sim. The tone and volume knobs are so precise that the slightest turn from 6 to 8, let's say, truly does alter the sound color.

But does the PRS have its own signature sound? No. The 25" scale zeroes in on a gray zone for tone in between a Gibson and Fender. The rosewood neck simply adds a lush quality to all those imitative sounds. This little mockingbird of a guitar doesn't even come close to mimicking the 13 pounds of balls that a Gibson Custom, for example,
can produce. Its oily rosewood fingerboard also lags way behind in smoothness to the fast ebony speedway of the Gibson fretless wonder.
If you want real balls, then buy a Les Paul. If you want genuine brightness, then buy a Stratocaster. The alnico magnet of the McCarty Rosewood can't fake it, no matter how PRS re-winds the wires for those "60s sounds."

Beware of sales pitches. The "thick mahogany back" is thick compared to what? A pizza board? The rosewood neck certainly delivers
silky sensations but doesn't possess a "big comfortable profile," as advertised. The neck is a small, uncomfortable stick without the leverage offered by large rounded necks; slim tapered would be a much more accurate description. It causes soreness during prolonged playing, and becomes sticky in sweaty weather. The PRS classification of the neck as "wide fat" is also misleading since it refers mainly to the extra-long heel at the neck joint which sacrifices upper-fret access in order to strengthen the scrawny 1-piece neck. Extra flummery?

The action on the McCarty Rosewood works best with the factory 9s that ship with it, ready to play. A super-light gauge loads this guitar with overtones all over the board, and very expressive vibrato.
The action requires a musician with a gossamer touch, a talented spider. Press a pinky finger against the wispy strings and each note bends automatically. Too prissy for my taste. So I moved up to PRS 9.5s, and the strings still vibrated too flimsily, the bass notes still too wonky. Going up further to 10s reduced its lyrical range. And 11's? Wo! Forget it. They're out of reach without investing in a PR$ adjustable bridge. What a rip off!

The wraparound stoptail supposedly enhances "direct transmission of string vibration," and facilitates string changing with its here-we-go-loopy-loop setup. However, changing string gauges, action height and intonation become a bleepin' hassle with time-consuming studs and screws. PRS directions recommend to "use a quarter" to better adjust the non-adjustable. Really hi-tech stuff. Why prioritize swifter string changing by a few seconds, if much more important action height, gauge-specificity and accurate intonation become an endurance test? A Tune-o-matic bridge would have been much more user-friendly advanced technology.

The 9s also cause spongey chord voicings. The action on my Eastman T186MX, in contrast, uses 11-gauge strings that feel like 10s. The Eastman is my go-to guitar whenever I need to be sure of chord clarity. I put down the PRS, pick up the Eastman, and wonder of wonders! So that's what an Fmaj13 really sounds like! The maple top of the Eastman blazes with flaming abstract figurations that surpass in visual value the "10 top" tiger stripes of the PRS. Yet, the Eastman costs way less.

I'm an average, medium, all-dressed kind of guy, standing and sitting 5'11" and weighing 156 pounds. My Eastman double cutaway fits like a real man-sized guitar. If I play the PRS right after the Eastman, then the PRS just feels so petite and oh so pretty -- dare I say, like a lady's guitar?

The McCarty Rosewood is mini but solid. It has survived two Canadian winters now. The Tolex case that comes with it doesn't offer much protection against scratches and ding marks, most noticeably at the bottom of the case. But it's the unreliability of the tuning system that can really turn this guitar into a vexation. The PRS website explains their inability to retrofit locking tuners onto this expensive model with an excuse that makes them look very inept: "mounting hardware and size of the hole through the headstock are different and will not accomodate locking tuners." Come on now! Go back and play with your Tinkertoys set. You mean to tell me that the size of a wee hole in thinner headstock has stymied the master craftsmen at PRS? Then why build and sell a flawed instrument? If strung properly, it will stay in tune for a regular length of time.
Otherwise, the McCarty Rosewood may give some guitar stranglers the blues.

PRS strings begin to die very quickly, after one week or so of usage.
Because their strings are not supplied everywhere -- (not in demand?)
-- I was given the runaround between customer support and local dealers who suggested using D'Addarios instead. But let's face it,
PRS strings sound best on a PRS guitar! D'Addarios sound less rich,
with a bit more pressure to the touch. So if you want to experiment with 9.5s, 10s, or 11s, as I did, then you'll have to order a boxed set of a dozen -- "at a specially-reduced price." Another rip-off.

PRS is mostly PR. In a YouTube factory tour, Paul Reed Smith himself refers to guitars as "utilitarian devices." His devices are over-priced and over-rated. Too much business, no visionary creativity. (The 2008 McCarty's "Mastering Voice Control," still slavishly recycles old voices with an additional switch this time to flip over.)
Remember, the big-name endorsers such as Carlos Santana or Al Dimeola established their sound, and reputations, by playing on Gibsons.

What saves the McCarty Rosewood from falling into another "versatile guitar" category is the woo-woo factor of a rosewood neck and fingerboard oscillating sympathetically with the strings. While all that reverby interplay is happening with the sound, as eye candy, the pearl and abalone moon inlays wink iridescently forming full and crescent moons. Plus, the (gold or alloy?) fret wire accentuates the rosewood with medium-jumbo crowns.

It's a beautiful guitar with a luscious sound. But it's not worth the cost in dollars and drawbacks. If it were lost, or stolen, or crushed in a mosh pit, I would swear like hell. But I wouldn't order another one. Whether you fall in love with the McCarty Rosewood, or not, depends on which instruments have graced your hands and ears. I've played a forest of guitars for close to 40 years. I'm not a collector, just a player of guitars with distinct personalities. They are the Gibson Custom "Black Beauty," the Eastman T186MX, and the Martin D28 acoustic. The McCarty Rosewood is small in size but big in stature like the man himself. This mockingbird is the perfect instrument for cover bands who do a good job imitating original creators.

My PRS McCarty Rosewood is a 1-off. It has PRS Dragon Pickups, the PRS 5-way rotary switch, Indian Rosewood neck, Bird Inlays, Scallopped bone nut (from the 513), adjustable bridge and a custom finish. The body is Mahagony with a thick Maple top.

I've played and owned McCarty's before and always thought they were kind of dark sounding. This guitar isn't. It sounds really even, I don't know if it's more because of the rosewood neck or because of the Dragon pick-ups. Anyway I can get some really great Allen Collins(Skynyrd)lead tones. He used to play a Gibson Firebird with mini-humbuckers, and had a raunchy tone that I love. I can get that sound out of this guitar, as well as tele-like single coils sounds.

The guitar was set-up extremely well, and the workmanship is flawless.

The Rosewood neck feels and plays great.

I play PRS guitars a lot, I have never had a problem withthem.

I talked to the factory before I bought this guitar, they were very friendly and helpful.

I've been playing a long time 20+ years and have gone through a lot of equipment.

I find with PRS guitars, sometimes the seem a little sterile. This one is surprizingly good (warm), but I also have a really good PRS Swamp Ash and Single Cut, so you just have to play them and see if your feeling it or not.

McCarty with solid East Indian Rosewood neck, bird inlays, Push-pull coil/ humbucker switch. Violin Amber Burst finish. Aluminum tailpiece. Custom fitted case. Mahogany body with carved maple top.

A guitar at this price should have locking tuners, but it doesn't and apparently isn't available.

Great rich, full sound with lots of tonal variety available. Love the unfinished rosewood neck, and the coil/ humbucker selector.

Setup was great from the dealer. Workmanship, fit and finish are amazing.

Great finish, huge, solid strap buttons. Feels solid.

At this price, should have locking tuners. Difficult to say fantastic value, but this is one fine guitar.

Features SOLID INDIAN ROSEWOOD smooth as silk, McCarty 3-way push pull electronics,Paul Reed Smith consistent quality absolutely amazing.

Sounds like a wet dream come true...lol But seriously I'm extremely happy! I always put in Seymour Duncan pickups in all my guitars I may do the same with this one. I have 4 other PRS's but I must say this is by far my best playing & sounding guitar. Extremely Versatile I play in a semi potential band performing top 40 covers mostly modern rock. My Rig consists of Mesa Boogie equipment.

It's a Paul Reed Smith plays like a true dream Finish the best in the business.

It's a Paul Reed Smith!!!!

extremely helpful every time I've ever needed him in the past.

I don't ever remember being so excited about a Guitar I've been playing for over 20 years now. I make decent money playing on the road I own 18 electric Guitars. Gibson,Finder,forTom Anderson,ESP,Jackson and of course PRS's my main guitar is my PRS McCarty Rosewood!!!

2005 MCCARTY ROSEWOOD
gray/black "10" top, bird inlays, solid rosewood neck
adjustable stop tail piece
push/pull coil tap on tone control

I play in a band that plays fast, technical melodic thrash metal. I'm not into "shredder" guitars and was looking for a unique guitar to help me break away from the same old same old..........this axe did just that! A good analogy of this guitars sound would be," a sledge hammer wrapped in velvet." It has the most sustain of any guitar i've heard or played and has great resonant properties. Compared to another common hardwood used for guitar necks, maple, the rosewood neck gives notes a similar punchy quality......but whereas maple accentuates the "highs" and makes the tone bright, the rosewood has a larger and more even harmonic response and a warmer, smoother tone.......very musical and desirable! I feel the combination of the large amounts of mahogany (back of body),maple (cap of body), and rosewood do indeed give the mccarty an awesome sound all its own. My only beef is the pickups.....a little too vintage for me. Anyone have any good replacement suggestions?

everything was great..........the top was sexy, inlays were great, setup was great out of box, frets were nice and smooth. The only problem was when i went to change out the strings the first day i had it the nut fell off!!! Apparently the graphite will soak up glue. No big deal but it shouldn't happen on a brand new guitar of this caliber

again, besides the nut.....the guitar is built extremely solid; just as solid as my custom shop les paul!

I've coresponded w/ prs via e-mail twice and both times i had a reply, with my question answered in great detail, within 2 days.

i've been playing seriously for about 6 years. I also own a couple les pauls and play through a VHT pittbull UL amp. I'm truly sold on this guitar.....the rosewood neck does it. It plays great and sounds great! The next axe i get will definitely be a prs......probaly a 513 or modern eagle

o.k. this is it. My search for the perfect sound is over. Thanks to this PRS Rosewood Neck (in combination with a Mesa Boogie, Mark IV Head and a 2x12 Cabinet - see my review there) Made 2002, got it via E-bay in Europe. Yes I was worried to pay 2500 Euro for a piece of wood with strings and some eletronics. But PRS keeps its promises. This guitar has tone, sustain, warmth. That you can already feel, when played without amp.

Sound - it simply blows you away. Every note counts on this guitar. I play Blues, Rock and Jazz in two different bands. I had people asking me for the secret of my tone (dispite that fact that I am an average player)It the guitar in combination with the mesa amp. This guitar covers everything. Warm, deep, honest tone. BUT if you are into Funk - you still need a Strat - the clean single coil mode does not reach the funky side of life. Since I have the PRS my Gibson Les Paul Gary Moore Model sits in the corner. Sorry Gary. Sound i would give it a 11 (exept if you want to play clean Funk!!)

10 on Action, 10 on Finish, 10 on Fit. You take the guitar and it becomes part of your body. Just like a strat, it has a great body shape. The rosewood neck is so smooth, that I keep touching it, even after I stoped playing. Try one at your dealer. Then take a Gibson. Now what do you think?!

Yes you can depend on that guitar a 100%. I use it at home, in the practice room and for gigs. It seems to me that the finish is very thin. Good for the sound. But you have to take care for dings and dongs. During gigs I am always afraid that someone will take it.

Never used it. Usually they send you to the dealer. Fine with me!

Fantastic. For me, this is the guitar of my life. I truely believe that the fine tone of this guitars makes me a better player. I care more about every single note now. I always was a tone purist. I love tube amps, with its deep distortion. And I like Fender Twin Amps for the clean sound. I hardly use any effect. I hate fuzz sound. But hey, try the PRS rosewood neck without any amp or effects first. You will be overwhealmed. It sound soooo good. And if you play Funk Music too, than buy a Strat as well. Your Gibson you can kiss goodby. Would I buy this PRS again?! Oh yes - I do not want to live without it any more...

2003 model made in the USA
22 medium jumbo frets
mahogony body w/ mpale top with some flame (not a '10 top'
McCarty sunburst finish
SOLID ROSEWOOD neck that feels like silk
Stop tail, non-adjust bridge
Kluson vintge tuners
Tap coil toggle allows for 6 different tones (3 Humbucking & 3 single
coil)
Great fitted case is tolex covered and fits well

Just excellent all the way around...with great tonal variety
I did replace the "tone pot" ...too much drop off.
Play thru a Carr Rambler with 1 X 12" Great blues and jazz tones. Sounds great in high gain effects as well.
Rich and full tones for sure...even in the single coil mode
Sustain is very apparent
Not noisy at all in the Humbucking mode. Single coil has a slight hum
I dislike nothing on this guitar!

Flawless finish and action all around
As mentioned earlier...not a '10 rop' but has a beautiful burst finish
I am not that big on flame finishes just my personal preference
I would have preferred a 'push' control to go from Humbucker to single coil sound. I may replace that item as pulling the control knob seems non-ergonomic

Seems solid after one year of play

Not had any reason to contact PRS, but I hear they are very good about communicating

Been playing as a hobby player for thirty years
'Push' control knob instead of 'pull'. Also a wider range of tone pot would be an improvement. It goes from nice treble to 'mud' with a slight roll off.
I reluctalntly traded in my ES-335 "Custom Shop" for this one and have had few regrets.
Plays like a dream the solid rosewood neck should be on more guitars.
IMHO, this PRS is much more playable than a Les Paul or any Gibson
If you haven't guessed yet, I REALLY like the neck, action, & natural wood finish
I would give this guitar a 9.5, but you can't...it's really that close to perfect!

2000 Paul Reed Smith McCarty with Indian Rosewood Neck. Not a 10 Top, but a gorgeously flamed cherry burst book matched maple top nonetheless. I'd say that it is one of the most gorgeous maple caps I've ever seen -- and interesting too, the figuring is tiger striped, but with neat variations. Maybe it's not perfect, but it is to my way of thinking more interesting than perfect. The mahogany back is lovely, with some cool variations in the grain as well. Cherry finish on the mahogany. The solid chunk of rosewood which makes up the neck is lightly finished so that you see the richness of the grain, but it feels almost unfinished to the touch. Fat frets, and stunning abalone bird inlays. Nickel plated pickups and stop/tailpiece. Volume and tone with p'up selector. Coil tap on push/pull tone pot. Kluson vintage style tuners, and black composite nut.

I play mostly bluesy rock and jazzy blues. I'm not that fleet fingered, but I can express myself. I am not the chord specialist, more of lead, melodic player. The sound of this guitar is essentially fantastic. It is rich, resonant and sustaining. The thing vibrates so much as a whole that it's natural acoustic sound is clearly where the tone is coming from. I gather that the pickups are designed to be as transparent as possible so that the natural resonance of the instrument is amplified not modified. Obviously, the humbuckers add a fantastic degree of mid-range and bass -- but the high-end clarity and overtones are there. The coil-taps obviously brighten things up, and yet the silky sustaining resonant tone is still there. I want to say it is woody, but is also bell-like. This guitar is on the warm side -- whether in neck or bridge, single or double coils engaged. That's why I like it.

I was going to buy a 2004 Les Paul Standard. I have had many Pauls, and I wanted a nice flame-top with a fat 50's neck. But when I compared the two guitars -- I realized that the PRS McCarty Rosewood is an OBVIOUSLY better-made, finer quality piece of work. It also sounds richer, fuller and more sustaining. Hard to believe but true. Compared to this PRS, the Paul, which I thought was my dream guitar, sounded a little fartier -- midrangier -- and less magical. Worst of all, the Gibson had at least three visible flaws in the finish and workmanship. The inlay job was downright poor -- far worse than Korean Epiphones -- the frets were still not well dressed -- and the damn binding had finish bleed stains. The Gibson sounded good, and it was what I always wanted -- and I know what a Les Paul should sound like -- but the PRS simply beat it on all fronts. It ain't a Les Paul, for sure, but it is a better instrument. And it does a VERY good job filling the "Les Paul" slot in terms of sound. I have a fantastic G&L strat clone, and a nice Yamaha SG2000, which also does a Les Paul thing -- this PRS covers alot of bases, but ultimately is its own thing. And it is a sweet, sweet thing indeed.

I am not a gainiac, I only play through highly modified Hot Rod Deluxe. With Celestion Vintage 30 speaker, THD YellowJackets and El84 power tubes, and the reverb circuit modified -- that amp sounds mighty tasty. Gobs of harmonic overtones and warmth. And loud too. The Paul Reed Smith sounds friggin perfect in a decent clean tube amp -- I'm sure the distortion people would approve too. But I don't know.

Perfect set-up.

Perfect finish, no visible flaws of any kind, anywhere.

Controls feel solid, and super high quality. The control cavity is neat and tidy, painted with shielding paint. Wiring and pots are all nicely hooked-up, and everything looks done well.

The finish on the body is absolutely friggin perfect. Smooth as glass, and the stain job beneath it is so nicely applied. The "binding" is actually just an unfinished line around the front, and it looks good. No mistakes. (Unlike the $2,000 Gibson which had several mistakes.)

Looks good, though it is too nice probably to actually leave the house.

Gorgeous guitar. Is it a value? No. Is it sweet, oh yes.

I won't waste space listing all the features everyone else here has already specified. It came with a nice leather hardshell case and stuff.

The one thing that sets it apart from other McCarty Rosewoods is that it has a 1-piece 10-top in natural flamed maple. The top is GORGEOUS. No dead spots, and it has a really cool cross-grain under the flames that starts between the pickups and radiates outward to the edges of the guitar. I'm really surprised that PRS's private stock department didn't snatch this piece of wood. I just don't think they had the heart to cut it in half.

This guitar sounds better than yours. (Unless you own a McCarty Rosewood.)

I'm playing through a fender twin, a Mesa Dual Rec, and a POD. The pedals I use vary greatly so I won't list em.

The output from both pickups is pretty hot, but not noisy at all, even with the coils tapped.

I didn't buy it to sound like a Les Paul or a Strat. I bought it because it sounds like a PRS. A really, really GOOD SOUNDING PRS. The bridge p-up is full-ranged, warm and throaty in humbucking mode. SC mode has the same tonal range, but is a little brighter and hollow-sounding. The neck p-up is VERY warm and round-sounding, and higher notes sound like they're coming down from heaven through the clouds. Again the SC sound is the same, but a little hollower and glassy-sounding.

High-gain, clean, OD, it handles it all with class. This guitar was built for TONE. Tone oozes out of it.

The guitar was set-up I assume by the dealer, since it came with D'Addario 9's instead of PRS strings. Either way, the intonation is perfect and the action is LOW. In fact, the only other guitar I've ever played with comparably low action is my dad's '75 lawsuit Ibanez Les Paul (which has a custom maple "mandolin-style" neck).

The flamed maple 10-top is NOT bookmatched, as it is a one-piece top. The routing is PRS-quality work which is to say, perfect.

The Rosewood neck is proof that there is a higher power, because it feels frickin' heavenly. (Sorry.) Seriously, I walked into the store looking for a nice Custom-22. I played all the Cu22s they had in stock and finally asked to see the Rosewood. After 5 second of play I gave all the Cu's back to the dealer and said "I don't need these anymore." The whole guitar VIBRATES when played, like a tuning fork. When standing up with it, you can feel a STRONG vibration even through the strap, and the neck could cure arthritis.

There are no flaws in this guitar. The vintage-style kahler tuners are tight and precise, there is no oxidization anywhere, the finish and fretwork are flawless, etc. I'm trying to be critical but I would have to forceable break something on it to have any flaws.

The guitar feels very solid. I bought it yesterday so I haven't gigged with it yet, but I have no doubts that it will withstand the rigors of the road. I doubt I'll even put straplocks on it due to the HUGE strap buttons. (I had to enlarge the holes in my strap just to get it over them.)

I wouldn't gig without a back-up, but that doesn't reflect on the guitar - I learned that lesson years ago.

I've never dealt with PRS directly, but my dealer is the owner of a mom'n'pop kind of guitar store so I know who to hunt down if anything goes wrong.

This guitar has all the versatility you could need. If you want a strat buy a strat. If you want a Les Paul by a Les Paul. If you want the flexibility of both on one guitar....buy this PRS. Again...the humbuckers do not sound like a Les Paul...they sound different....better in my opinion. The single coils do not sound like a strat....they sound different....also better in my opinion.

I play a blend of modern rock, alternative, and classic british rock..(i.e. Pink Floyd, late Beatles.) I have a two amp set-up that includes a 1969 Fender dual showman reverb through a JCM 900 1960 lead Marshall 4X12 cab, and a Bogner Ecstacy 101b through a 1960 vintage Marshall 4x12. This guitar does an amazing job at pulling off all the various sounds that I need. I use it through the Fender with the coils tapped for the icy clean sounds that I desire. Through the 3-channel Bogner I use all humbucking sounds for clean breakup\overdrive on channel 1, overdrive\distortion on channel 2, and heavy distortion on channel 3. This guitar is capable of any type of musical style. I love how clear the low end is with the rosewood neck. I'm not sure how well this guitar will handle very ow tunings because of it's 24.75 scale, but with the right thickness of strings to add tension it may workout just fine. I personally use it tuned to standard down a half step. It sounds amazing, clear, rich, warm, full, and powerful. It is an amazing guitar worth every penny of its price tag.

Awesome! I have absolutely nothing negative to report in this area...and I am usually one picky bastard.

I ahve no doubt that this guitar will last me for a very long time. It's very well made.

Never dealt with PRS directly. Their reputation is good, but I can not say from experience so I will leave this area as a no comment for now.

I have been playing guitar just a shade over a decade. In that time I have been privileged enough to own virtually every guitar on the market. This PRS is one of my all-time favorites. It's a little pricey, but I think this particular one is totally worth it. I am very happy with my sound for the first time in quite a while, and although this guitar is not a Les Paul and Strat in one, I don't care. I like its sounds better. It sounds fresher, different, not like every other guitar out there. Check one out. I love it!!