Paul Reed Smith Guitars McCarty Soapbar

Most are probably quite familiar with this guitar's features, but for those who aren't, they are as follows: one-piece mahogany body with maple top, one-piece mahogany wide/fat neck with rosewood fingerboard, stop tailpiece, klusson-style tuners, and two Seymour Duncan-designed P-90 pickups. The Soapbar doesn't have tons of features, as the rating of 10 might imply, but it has the right features.

The Soapbar is one of the best-sounding guitars that I have ever heard; the P-90s produce a sound that is more articulate that a humbucker yet thicker than a typical single coil. I play through a Mesa Rect-O-Verb combo. On the clean channel, I set the gain slightly past its half-way point for slight break up. On the lead channel, I use the vintage mode with the gain set at about 11 o'clock for a sound quite reminiscent of David Grissom. No matter how the toggle switch is set, the guitar sounds fantastic. One of this guitar's greatest attributes is its great low-end definition, absent from many humbucker-equiped guitars. Additionaly, when compared side-by-side with my other PRS, there doesn't seem to be any disparity in output-the P90s are plenty loud.

When I initially decided to buy another guitar (my 5th this year), I considered buying a Fender '62 reissue or a Custom Shop Strat; in my first PRS I had found the perfect humbucker-equiped guitar, and now I needed (wanted, really) an equally inspiring single coil guitar. However, after sitting down with my other PRS, I concluded that I would be unhappy with any other brand of guitar. The wide/fat neck feels so natural and the PRS build quality is so far superior to anything on the market; if I had purchased any other brand of guitar, I would have felt as though I had bought a defective, third-rate instrument.

My band plays nearly every weekend, and I've never had any problems with my PRS.

I've never had to deal with PRS. I live in Annapolis, Maryland, so if I do encounter any problems, hopefully I could have them attended to quickly. I do wish PRS guitars came with a longer warranty, though.

I've said enough above. PRS are the best.

22 frets, mahogany body with a maple top. Finished in an opaque color - no wood shows other than faux binding. Even though I aquired the guitar used, the finish was typical for PRS - flawless. Plus it looks very "cool" in this setup. The weight of the guitar was just right, not heavy, not light, estimate about 8.5 lbs.
Electronics: Two Seymour Duncan Special design soapbar pickups. Both pickups have one ceramic magnet and one Alnico magnet. Pickup output seems very high compared to a Gibson with soapbars. One Volume, one Tone control and a three position pickup selector switch. Very simple to operate.

I tend to play all original music, think Allman Brothers meets Badfinger. I was very impressed with the rich harmonic tones this guitar produced. It has a real raw edge. I would think it would make an excellent blues or rock guitar, I wish I had two, one set-up just for slide. The pickups are quiter than I expected, and much more dynamic.
The bridge and neck positions both have a fantastic rich sound, that I find very useable. The center position is OK, but seems like it's lacking some of the luster. I really can not put my finger on it yet, but I have only had the guitar a week. I do wish PRS had done more with the electronics, a push pull switch for phase control or center taps on the single coils to give it more sound variations

It's a PRS, I don't know what more to say - top notch

Same as above - it's a PRS - top notch.

This is one area that PRS takes a big hit. Because the guitar is used, it has no warranty. When UPS delivered the guitar, the bridge pickup was not working. I contated Indoor Storm - in an attempt to buy a replacment pickup. As always Eddie Berman was great and contacted PRS for me. But PRS will not sell a replacment pickup for this guitar. I am not sure what someone expected to do, buy an aftermarket pickup to replace it? I will also note that I have requested other info from PRS and never received it. They really need some attention here. Greg Pope, has been very helpful when I call him direct, but PRS as a company need to improve its customer support.
The end result of the above pickup problem: One of the pickup wires was shorted out against the bobbin mounting screw on the bottom plate of the pickup. Thanks to a post on the PRS Form, I was able to find this and make the repair.

I have been around PRS guitars for many years, and played guitar for almost 30. I have played/owned most soild body electrics. I currently have a few guitars from other manufactures, and a nice PRS collection to compare this one with. I would highly recommend this model, if you can only have one PRS - make it a McCarty Soapbar. If I were to order this guitar new, I would upgrade to the locking tuners, They are just so much easier, and work much better. I would also like to try the Custom 22 Soapbar (just a thought).

Made in 1998. 22 Frets. Mahogany body with flamed maple top. The body on the PRS McCarty is 1/4" thicker than on the Custom 22. Two Seymour Duncan designed P-90 cream colored "soapbar" pickups. 1 volume, 1 tone, 3-way toggle switch. A pretty flamed maple top which is designated "10" but is not heavily flamed. The "10" top was no extra charge (on purpose I imagine). The finish is McCary Sunburst which is not really a sunburst, but more of an amber tint. It's very nice. Tuners are the "green button" vintage Les Paul style. Bridge is the standard PRS wraparound stop tail. Neck is standard PRS profile "wide-fat", which feels great. Very dark Rosewood fingerboard with "moon" inlays. I don't think much about "features" but give it a 10 because of it's classic, vintage feel and sound combined with a modern design.

My style is jazz/blues/swing. What a great blues guitar! The middle or bridge positions give that great old 50's Freddie King sound and T-Bone Walker sound. I have played jazz on this guitar and it's wonderful. Obviously there are many other choices for a jazz guitar, but the tone of this instrument is superb. I often use the neck pickup, with the tone set to about 6 and the volume at about 8. The high e-string has a lovely warm, bell like amplified clean tone. Chords are clear and well defined, and can have a slight "acoustic" quality. I play through Tone King amplifiers (20watt Imperial, etc).

The guitar, like every PRS I have played, was set up perfectly the day I received and has never needed a set up. Strings are .10 which is fine for this guitar. (25" scale).11 are o.k. but are harder to bend than a LesPaul with it's shorter scale. The only real flaw that I found was that the nut had very sharp angular edges which I had beveled down on the high E string side. No big deal. The finish is flawless as expected from PRS.

It's durable and very solidly built. You can feel it when you pick the instrument up and play. The strap buttons are very large for some reason. Will definitely gig with this guitar.

They don't answer e-mail, and hope that I never have to have it repaired. That isn't a put-down, but the guitar is obviously well made and shouldn't need any service.

I've been playing 24 years and own/have owned several archtops, and solid body guitars. I had one other PRS before this and sold it knowing at the time that it was a great guitar. I was happy to get this one and love the P-90's. This guitar would be comparable to a 56' or 54' LesPaul (or reissue!). It's every bit as good, and I even played it next to a '54 goldtop ( a real one!). There were differences and the '54 sounded great, but there wasn't much between them in my opinion. Being a traditional player, I didn't want to give PRS a try because they looked strange to me. I always played traditional Gibson guitars. But after I tried the PRS guitars, I had to be honest with myself. They are fun to play and sound great! The price is almost identical to the guitar it was modelled after (54'/'56 LEs Paul reissue) and is well worth the price.

Same as the McCarty model, three way switch, volume and tone knobs, vintage style tuners, wrap around aluminum bridge, two soapbar(single coil) pickups, wide fat neck with 22 frets, 25inch scale, and a 10 radius. My particular guitar is finished in vintage cherry, with an all mahogany body instead of the maple cap. The guitar is a very simple design which is why I gave it a 7 for features.

The sound is great. I play rock, and blues and this guitar covers those facits extremely well. I play through a TopHat King Royale 35TB, which is a killer amp. I then go to a Danelectro Danecho(does the echoplex thing pretty well) a VooDoo Labs Microvibe, a Hughs & Kettner Tube factor, a VooDoo Labs Proctavia and a RMC Real McCoy Wah. I use all George L cable. I have primarally been a stratocaster player, but this guitar is the best of both worlds. You still get a single coil vibe but with more richness, like a humbucker! The treble PU. is not shrill at all, which is my biggest gripe with single coils, this thing sings.

PRS has to be one of the most consistent guitars on the market. Every one I have played has been perfect. It came set up with 9s which I changed to 10s and just had to tweak the truss rod a tad. However, the setup was perfect. The frets are dressed nicely, no high spots any where, the nut is a graphite nut which seems to be cut to accomidate 9s or 10s because I haven't experienced any tuning problems since I changed the strings. The moon inlays are seated well and the finish is flawless. It also shows off the mahogany grain quite nicely.

I've owned one other PRS in the past and it was a pretty solid guitar. This one seems like it could take alot of abuse and still play great. I also think that the quality of the PRS's has improved since the last one I owned, and that says alot for a company that could just rest on their laurels. Instead they keep trying to push the envelope in the ever changing guitar industry.

Never had to deal with them. However, the store I bought the guitar at,(FAT SOUND GUITARS) is one of the best I have ever delt with. The owner knows more about eqiupment than anyone I have ever talked to, and he dosn't make you feel like an idiot like some bigger named music stores.

I have been playing guitar for 25 years, I have owned many Gibsons and Fenders, and all though each guitar has it's own voice I would definitly buy another PRS, especially if this one was lost or stolen. The guitar is definitly worth the high price tag. It is built beautifully, and has a great sound that is both versitile, and unique.

Features: Same as other McCarty's mahogany back, maple top with two P-90s; authentic 50's Chevy Impala teal that's opaque and high-gloss; maple pseudo-binding adds a touch of class to the retro look; 3-way switch, Volume, Tone; Stop tailpiece; Non-locking vintage tuners; Neck/Scale (Wide/Fat neck/25 in. scale)

I play blues, rock, folk-rock and prefer the P-90 sound for its rich clarity (compared to a clear, thin Strat single-coil). I use it with either a Dr. Z Maz 18 (great amp!) or '64 Super Reverb with Mesa Twin V. Both amps accentuate the clean sound, and with distortion, the articulation is exceptional. Until now, I used a Historic re-issue '56 Les Paul, and never thought its P-90 tone could be matched, let alone surpassed. The McCarty Soapbar will allow me to put the Gibson into retirement. The tone is a tad less bright, but it's actually more dimensional. Between the 3-way and the tone pot, I also have greater tone versatility than with the LP.

Outstanding! It's a PRS afterall! The guitar was perfect right out of the box. No flaws, no deficiencies of any kind. Again, the color and high-gloss finish make the guitar eye-catching.

This is new, but based on my other PRS guitars -- dating back to '87. I've never had a problem with any of them. They are all rock solid, and I've never needed a back-up. However, I bring a second PRS for the sake of variety. I put Dunlop locking buttons on all my guitars.

No problem with this new guitar. In fact, I've only had one problem with any PRS over the years, a faulty three-way switch. I contacted the PRS dealer, Garrett Park Guitars, who had PRS repair it right away. But, I'd have to give the 10 to Garrett Park.

I've played guitar for 36 years. I've owned just about every major guitar brand and just about every model, searching for the guitar that offered the utmost tonal versatility and playability. PRS delivers on both counts, plus it is the best built and most beautiful production guitar available today. I'd buy another PRS if this got lost or stolen, but then again, I've bought another and another without such provocation. Like other PRS guitars, the MCarty Soapbar wins best in class.