Paul Reed Smith Guitars McCarty Soapbar

First of all, I've waited a year to write this review. All too many people in the Honeymoon phase write about their new gear here.

I bought this guitar in June 2007. 'Twas born in April of 2006. It's a typical McCarty Soapbar, I won't bore you with another rundown of the features, already covered fully in the previous reviews. This example has a Maple top with moderate, unremarkable flame, in the McCarty Sunburst finish. The lack of a nice top, is offset by the stellar quality of the Mahogany back and neck. Straight and even grained with a nice match of body and neck. Dark Rosewood fingerboard with Moon inlays. Everything else is here and functions as it should.

Excellent woods. Very nice and glass like gloss finish, perfectly applied. Average Metal parts.

Five points for being an average example (of this guitar). On others it would rate higher.

I went to the music store in search of a Gibson guitar with P-90 pickups. I tried an SG, a VOS Les Paul Junior with a corny white transparent finish, and a beauty of an R56 Les Paul Gold Top. The Gold Top was real nice but a tad too pricey (read astronomical). The others didn't do much for me. I was ready to leave, when I look at thr PRS rack and saw The McCarty. I looked at the price and was ready to leave again, but something told me to plug 'er in. I played it through the same Fendery tubey type amp that I tried the Gibsons with. My oh, my, we have a winner, folks. The tone was spot on to what I was hoping for. The Seymour Duncan P-90's are powerful and centered sounding without being muddy, thuddy or dull. Enough high end bite without getting ice-picky like cheap P-90 type pickups. If anything a little low in the top end. The pickup noise was more than a humbucker, but certainly not objectionable. That's fine and dandy, but how would it sound with my rig? I guess I'd have to buy it to find out. So, I did.

Pretty darn good sound.

Another thing that drew me to this guitar was the fit and finish. I must have turned it over ten times in my hand and could not find a flaw or fault worth griping about. There was evidence of glue at the neck/body joint around the heel. It just looks like thicker clear coat. No biggie. The nut was a behemoth that was cut too high. Using 180, 240 and 1000 grit sandpaper, I sanded it down and cut it a little deeper (with nut files of course) and now it's fine and not so imposing. All other part are fitted tight and well. The tuners are so-so for such an expensive guitar, but they do the job.

This is my first experience with the PRS wraparound tailpiece. It took a bit of getting used to when palm muting, because the tailpiece is so deep and flat with the strings settling into grooves along the bridges plane. I'm more used to and comfortable with, the tune-o-matic bridge and the high peak of the saddles provide more feel and response when resting the palm over the strings. I have adapted my playing style to it with a little time and effort.

The frets were perfectly seated and crowned. The fret ends were too flat and the angle too soft and far into the fret as to cause some roll off when playing major chords in the first position. Some leadwork near the end of the fingerboard resulted in roll off too, at first. Again, I just adapted a little bit and now have no issues with that.

The overall finish quality and parts assembly is outstanding and PRS deserves to be an industry leader in this department.

Pretty darn good.

I cannot forsee anything going majorly wrong with this guitar. The workmanship, design and materials make this as solid and skookum as they come. Very simple and effective. For some reason the strap buttons are quite large and I found myself searching for a strap that would comfortably fit over them without using excessive force. I've used it live and in practice for a year with no problems.

No ploblemo.

Never dealt with them.

This is a very good, but all too pricey guitar. It lives up to it's company's reputation. Whatever that's worth. Even though it's a keeper, the price could have been a deal breaker.

I'm happy and broke.

KD anyone?

McCarty Soapbar Standard Black
Very basic features which is what I like the most about this guitar
My model is the Standard with no Maple cap
Kluson M/heads
Moons
nice and light
the features this guitar has that I love is one piece mahogany body one piece mahogany neck and bare basics in hardware and electronics I've given a high rating in this category on the fact less is more in my opinion

Great all rounder
Great clean
Great dirty
love the sound its not like my LP,Strat or Tele which is the reason I bought it.

best sounding soapbar guitar I've ever heard not too muddy or too harsh just nice and round sounding.

I've hunted around for years looking for a Les Paul soapbar that sounded like this but never found one that sounded any good. I'm surprised how good it sounds

Best playing guitar I own full stop

I'v got some great guitars but this one feels the best

solid as

really impressed with quality

most in tune sounding guitar I have

NA

been playing for 15 years have far too much gear but the PRS is the fave at the moment have not picked up anything else since I've owned it

really loving the soapbars

this guitar has the best features of a strat I like (double cutaway and longer scale than Gibo)
and best features of a Gibson I like (mahogany body and neck carved top)

It truly is a great guitar I'n in love with mine glad I got the soapbar I considered the h/buck McCarty but wanted something different. I was worried it would be too different to everything else I had and would rot away like some of my other guitars but it sits in the middle there somewhere between a strat and LP and I now play it more than either my strats tele or LP

other guitars I've got
SRV Strat
EC Strat
52 Tele
LP Custom
and many others but the PRS wins as far as playability goes

Mine was born in August of 1998 (initial year of production)and is a simply gorgeous Goldtop, with moons. Smooth, poly finish, maple top, thick mahogany back with natural stained grain, vintage stle tuners, stop bridge, Seymour Duncan designed pickups, volume and tone controls, three-way switch, 22 fret, and PRS' Wide-Fat neck shape. Came with original hardshell case. This guitar has ALL of the features I want and need. The only reason I didn't give it a 10 is that the standard McCarty (with humbuckers) has coil-splitting and some of the models have locking tuners (but for my needs, I give it a 10).

I play blues, classic rock, and alternative. The P-90 soapbars are fantastic. Sure, they hum a little when run separately, but nothing I can't live with, and, of course, there is no hum when both pickups are run together. Think of single coils with ATTITUDE, almost to the point of humbuckers, but with more clarity. The sound is perfectly round and gritty for blues, classic rock, and pefect for jazz chords (just turn down the tone and use the bridge), and even bright enough for some lite twang/lead work (tone all the way up, with bridge pickup). Currently running the guitar through a Victoria 518, Dr. Z Mini-Z, Roland Micro Cube, and Vox DA5. The low end is a little too much for the Vicky (that's a good thing for the guitar, bad for the amp). Best tones out of the Mini in comparison to my other guitars. Sounds great through the solid state amps, particularly on the British amp settings, with gain, and a touch of reverb. The guitar shines with clean settings, excels with crunch, and gets down right rude with gain. Much ballsier than a Strat (and I love Strats), rounder/warmer sound than Teles (and I love Teles), and crisper and more airy than say a Les Paul. You can't get the Strat quack or true Tele twang, but the McSoapy has its own excellent range of totally usable tones. This is not a one-trick pony.

Although mine was 9 years old when I got her, she was in immaculate condition. The finish is stunning, and the grain (on the back and headstock) is gorgeous. The fret work is top notch for a production guitar. Mine was set up for 10s, though it came with 9s out of the factory. It arrived with action too low to play. Made a 1/4 inch adjustment to the truss rod and now it's perfect. Very low, but no buzz. She has the fastest neck of any of my guitars. The lighter neck scale (compared to Fenders) makes it super easy to play, particularly with bending. Did I mention she stays in tune too! The pickups, as described above, are fantastic. The controls work as designed, don't stick (like my Gibsons), and the three-way switch is tight. As far as I can tell, there are absolutely no flaws. This is the prettiest, most classy guitar I have ever owned. If you prefer the feel of tight-tensioned Fender, the PRS's feel may take some getting used to, but for me, it's what I have have kind of been waiting for. Oh, mine is light too, around 7.5 pounds.

Solid, sturdy design. I play mine at home, not out, but I think this one would withstand serious playing. Just don't drop it or put too much pressure on the tilted headstock (not as an intense of an angle as my SG, but obviously more than a Fender). The strap locks are better than any of my production strap locks. I usually use Dunlop strap-locks, but don't need them here. The finish is smooth, clear, and super fast. I usually favor nitro finishes of poly finishes, but this one is just light enough for my taste. Nothing at all to indicate it's unreliable.

No experience at all. Picked mine up used from Fat Sound Guitars in N.C., where I have enjoyed unsurpassed customer service for many years.

Been playing for 10 years. I have a '52 RI Tele (refretted with higher fret wire, for bending), an Eric Johnson Stratocaster, Gibson SG, Les Paul Custom Classic with P-90s, and Taylor acoustic. My amps are listed above. I've gone through a lot of gear over the years, finding exactly what I want -- what works and works well. I lean towards vintage/classic gear, and this one fits in my stable. I bought this one sight unseen, and I haven't looked back. Previously owned a Custom 22 PRS, but never took to its tone -- I think the Customs favor a higher gain, less classic sound, as opopsed to the thicker, fuller-sounding McCartys (I can play mine unplugged in bed, next to the wife). Picked mine up for like $500-600 under MSRP, and I doubt I would ever find a finer replacement. If something happened to it, I think I would have to seriously consider picking up another one, even though they are really expensive guitars. The only negative here is the high price of PRS guitars, so I give this category a 9 (The used price is a 10 in my book). Excellent quality, made in the USA, but with a hefty price tag for a brand new one. I must say that I am liking this one so much, I think I might have to try the Johnny Hiland model next.

Beautiful, light, tobacco sunburst mahogany body, a meaty, glued in mahogany neck,( wide-fat) thick rosewood fretboard, 22 medium frets, 2 p-90's, amber volume and tone knobs from more expensive prs guitars. In my opinion this guitar is a better gibson les paul jr, for a fraction of the cost. Literally weighs 6 pounds, as opposed to 10-11 pound jr, and the workmanship is so clean and happening, it's perhaps the best deal in guitars today. Paid $450 Canadian at the 12th fret, toronto, canada. They installed the nicer amber volume and tone knobs and really works with the sunburst body better than standard black knobs.

I play many styles of music, and this blood simple guitar excells at any style you want to play, and has that inherent beautiful tone found in the best all mahogany guitars. It's tone should age very well with passing years too. I play a new 5-25 mesa boggie express, with a couple overdrives to drive the front end, and a digitech ex-7 expression pedal. The guitar was such a great deal, I thought I'd immediately put seymour duncan replacement p-90's in, but the the stock pick-ups are really good!!!and have yet no reason to change them. Perhaps they're missing 1-2% of openess in the midrange from being a great p-90, but they sound killer regardless of their origins. This guitar easily matches a friend's les paul jr. in overall sound quality, and feels to weigh half as much. Age should allow this guitar to surpass the jr., as brand new, and really missing nothing.

Perfect set up, 11-52, spot on intonation, easy to play. Finish everywhere is flawless and clean.

This guitar feels and looks absolutely bullet proof. Should age beautifully and last forever and even the polyester finish is thin in a good way.

None required.

I play through a new mesa boogie express 5-25, and I sound like I'm playing on the best vinyl records with this guitar. Beautiful deep clean neck tone, broad and round open in-between setting, sparkling girth and even some twang on the bridge...then add some overdrive or distortion and shazam!!.. CRUNCHES!!! Wicked power chords just flow out of this baby and really really moves in the midrange well, and still manages articulation and depth when overdriven/distorted. Lead notes feel like they can sustain till tomorrow, and each note is enveloped in that glorious mahogany voice that reeks of substance, and simply, it inspires you to play better. Have a friend with a 60's l.p jr. and really nothing special compared to this guitar!!!This little prs does the jr. thing really really well and has an inherent midrange sweetness that makes jaws drop, clean or dirty. Incredible guitar for the money. Gibson Jr's are overweight, overpriced monsters compared to this beautiful piece of mahogany guitar high art. $3000 prs's feel and sound no better.

This guitar has Gold top finish and maple top. Moon fret inlays.

Used for classic rock,blues, and country. Gig with Mesa Nomad 45 and Mesa Tremoverb through various cabinets.
P-90 single coil pickups can be noisy, but with both pu's on, quiet.
Sound is as good as you could ask for on a P-90 guitar. Enough clarity to play country (impossible with humbucker gibson), killer crunch on rear pickup, rich clean on middle setting, neck pu warm with clarity.
PRS uses a capacitor on the volume control which retains clarity as you turn it down. Not quite enough for my taste but still acceptable.

Bought used on Ebay. 8 years old and is in new condition except for one ding on lower rim.
This guitar (as all PRS products) has no flaws. Superb quality control. Gibson, are you listening?!?
I am traditional Fender/Gibson man. PRS McCarty model is the only one that has appealed to me.

The guitar is rock solid. Gold top finish is stunning.
Nothing should go "wrong" with this guitar as it is simple and effective.
Large strap buttons work fine for me.
I have gigged with it with no backup.

I have played for for 40 years, so I can fairly judge a guitar. Also have PRS SE Santana,Hendrix Voodoo Strat,3 bolt Squier Strat,'59 LP Jr. Mesa 4-10 alnico cab, JBL D-130 cab, '70 Marshall 4-12 G30H bottom cab.
The McCarty Soapbar suits me because:
Volume control is where I need it for swells, etc.
The acoustic resonance is incredible. I agree with the tonal concepts of the one piece bridge and vintage tuners. Amplifed, powerful tone with clarity.
The weight is a comfortable 8.4 lbs.
All frets play clean. (Gibson do you hear me?)

Definitely a no frills-guitar. But the guys at PRS did a truly SPECTACULAR job designing this guitar. Nothing is wasted and everything is very well thought out on this guitar. Comes with a case, tuners function properly and the knobs make it almost impossible to screw this guitar up. For myself I would give this a "10" because I was looking for a very spartan guitar that sounded great. But if you like fancy stuff like tremolo's or 5 way PU switching you will be missing it from this guitar.

There is no doubt about this. This is a "10". The tone of this guitar is memorable and unique. It can cover most of the bases for you, and it produces almost no hum in any PU position. The neck pick up is just ridiculous. I lose track of the time when I am playing in that position. The bridge pick up is very, very good. I was surprised at how well it handled really distorted tones (I use pedals only, no amp distortion). I owned a CE22 for a while, but from the get go that guitar never really lived up to my expectations. I sold it quickly after trying it out for a few gigs.

PRS is very consistent in this category. Even though I didn't love the tone in my CE22, it would earn a "10" in this category as well. The McCarty had a wider neck that took very little getting used to (my previous guitars have all had much narrower necks). Also the guitar felt a bit different than I was expecting. It felt a bit like playing a semi-hollowbody to me. I suppose that this must have something to do with the P-90's. The body just vibrates a bit differently than other guitars I have played, and I love that! I can't explain it any better, I hope this makes sense. The action was excellent. Bravo to PRS (or Guitar Center where I purchased this from) for not dropping the action as low as possible. It is still easy to play, but there is some room to get underneath the strings and really get some nice rake/bend combos in. Intonation=perfect.

I never gig without a back up. PRS makes some quality instruments and this is no exception. I don't expect any problems.

No experiences.

Although PRS makes many, many more expensive models, this isn't an inexpensive guitar. Still, I'd really have to say that it is worth every penny, and that the fact that PRS has such high standards when it comes to their instruments, it is deserved on their part. There is nothing I would rather have done with the money I just dropped on this axe.

Beautiful maple top cherry burst. Fit and finish perfect. It has two SD P90's

I have mostly played Fender and Gibson high end guitars and this PRS is right up there. Great shimmer when played clean but what a creamy sound overdriven

The guitar is perfect. I deal with a pro shop so everything is inspected and set up before you buy the piece

This PRS is a tank. Only need for a backup would be broken strings.

No repair history but the shop is top rate so no worries

I have been playing for over 40 years. I have several custom shop relics, a 61 reissue SG, a Les Paul, and a PRS hollowbody. I have to cover a lot of different styles. The Soap bar does great for straight up rock and blues. I rolled back the tone on the neck pu and great jazz sound as well. If it was stolen I would definately get another.

a simple set up.. perfect... get right to the playing and not the switching knobs.

like a cross between a great strat and a Gibson style P90 and one of the the greatest sounds I've ever heard from any guitar. period. Juicy and filled with life, I have played owened everything and THIS IS ONE OF THE GREAT DESIGNS IN THE HISTORY OF GUITAR... you will not be dissapointed. I the only choice is it with Brazlian rosewood (and pay that upcharge) or not... I have both guitars and on this model... both are fantastic... (on humbucker version find the one with brazilian and you will always be happy).

Great and faultless.

like a rock... i've had the guitar for 6 years and still going strong... I highly recommend getting a light one...

great.

I can't say enough about how great this guitar is.

Probablly the most basic of all PRS guitars. Flame, but not a 10. 2 single coils, so no tapping. And none of those silly "birds". Mccarty Burst finish. Made in 2001.

Plays more like a Fender to me than a Gibson, but I'm a Gibson guy and the Fender in it is more apparent to me.

Straight into a Dr. Z prescription; the original model. Sometimes a Keeley modded tubescreamer. The neck pickup sounds like a strat neck, but slightly darker. If you set the pickup real low, it sounds more strat-like. With both pickups on, it sounds real bright and could be mistaken for a Gretsch. In the bridge only position it sounds like AC/DC meets Johnny Winter. It's actually thick sounding. Slightly noisy at high volumes, but has hum cancelling in the center position. More drive than a Strat, similar output to humbuckers. Great Rock/Blues sound.

This has to be one of the simplest guitars out there. I laugh when I hear people refer to PRS guitars as "furniture." This thing has a lot less candy than a Gibson. There is no binding anywhere. It has a wraparound bridge. Sure the top is nice and the finish is awesome, but it's pretty basic; it's pretty hard to screw up. Frets are perfect. Nut is on. Intonation is great. I don't know what the hub-bub is about the neck heel, it's truly less obtrusive than a Gibson, and that's coming from a Gibson guy.

Well built and clearly reliable.

No experience, but they have a decent web site.

I sold a really nice Les Paul to get this guitar. When it arrived I thought to myself "Dear God, what have I done?" I hated it. I played it for an hour and then put it down and picked up my other Gibson. I listed it for sale the very next day on Harmony Central. I decided to give it a fair shake. I experimented with pickup height settings. I adjusted the neck. Put on new strings. Set the height and intonation. And then, just played it for a day straight. I cranked it through the Dr. Z until my ears were ringing. Finally I got it. My impression of PRS guitars has always been some 17 year old noodle with his thin MESA/Boogie tone. I love it. I'm still keeping my other Gibson though.

This is one of the most basic guitars that PRS makes.Mine is the
soapbar standard which is all mahogany,22 frets,3 way switch,2
Duncan soapbar pickups, rosewood board, stoptail bridge, Kluson
lightweight tuners, wide fat neck , case and finished in trans
turquoise (just like page 95 of the PRS book) It has all the
features it says it has plus the added feature of rwrp pickups
which give you hum cancelling performance when using both pickups
at the same time. Nice touch.

I like to think of a P90 equipped guitar as a staple sound for
electric guitarists. along with a strat or tele and a humbucker
guitar (in my case PRS standard 22) you can get most sounds that
may be required for sessions or sideman work. It sounds fat and
smooth clean and it really can cut through with a drive pedal.
It reminds me of a Les Paul special, but Bigger sounding overall(more bass and treble content).I use a Rivera Jake amp and Carl
Martin compressor, along with a Top hat wonderboy drive pedal and
Fulltone Distortion pro. It sounds great

Perfect. I had it set up for 10's. Perfect.

Yes i think the workmanship at PRS speaks for itself.

Limited lifetime warranty.Good people.

Been playing 20 years.I would get another if it were lost or stolen.
It is a well built tone machine. Not cheap, but you won't be looking
for another guitar anytime soon after one of these.

- 2004 model made in the PRS plant in Maryland.
- 22 fret set neck made of mahogany with a rosewood fret board. Other than the two most outer points of the headstock, the neck appears to be made from one piece of mahogany. Wide-fat neck with 10" radius and medium jumbo frets.
- 3/4" carved flame maple top with a one piece mahogany back.
- 2 P-90 pickups (designed by Seymour Duncan) wired into a 3 way switch.
- McCarty Sunburst finish.
- PRS wrap-around bridge.
- Kluson vintage style tuners.
- Came with top-notch case and a couple of allen wrenches.

Overall, the guitar features are solid. I prefer a "no frills" guitar and this guitars fits the bill. I took 2 points off for the PRS wrap-around bridge (impossible to intonate every string) and the Kluson-style tuners (I'd rather have the standard PRS tuners as the Klusons aren't as accurate when tuning up).

The sound is unbelievable. It's like having the best of a Strat and a Les Paul in one guitar. Usually I prefer EMG active pickups because the volume and tone controls actually impact the sound. The P-90s in this guitar are the first passive pickups I've played in a long time where the volume and tone controls actually made a meaningful difference in dialing in a particular sound. Turn the tone way up, get the "bell-like" Strat sound. Turn the tone down and you'd swear they were humbuckers.

The bridge pickup is insanely hot -- I usually keep the volume and tone around 7 and keep the distortion on my amp turned down to 7 or else it can get very fuzzy, very fast.

Because the P-90s are single-coil pickups, there is some 60-cycle hum, but not as bad as on a Strat. The control cavity is painted with shielding paint which probably helps. Surprisingly, the down-side of the control cavity cover is NOT shielded. (My $400 Dillion PRS copy was fully shielded, including the control cavity cover.)

The guitar was set-up with medium action. That's fine with me -- I prefer the action to be a little higher so I can get my fingers under the middle strings when doing extreme bends. The nut was cut well.

Most other guitars that I own have 16" radius necks, so I thought that this 10" radius neck would take some getting used to -- I was wrong. The strings bend like butter and the playing is near effortless. I had always read that smaller radius necks were better for chording and large radius necks (16") were better for soloing. This 10" radius neck has made me wish that all my other guitars had a small radius neck.

Like all PRS's since '95, the neck heel is a bit on the large side. However, I do not have any problems accessing the 22nd fret.

The top was bookmatched well. My guitar has a "standard" top instead of a "top 10" which is also fine with me. I think the dead spots in the figured maple give the guitar character. The one-piece mahogany body and the rosewood fretboard and both stunning.

The poly finish is glass-like without appearing to be overly thick.

Other than the Kluson-style tuners, all hardware appears to be first rate.

The only flaws I could find on the guitar were:
- You can see glue under the finish where the neck meets the body.
- The control cavity cover had some light scratches on it.
- The control cavity cover appeared to be ill-fitting; however it turned out that it was just screwed down to tightly. I loosened the screws, reset the cavity and retightened gently -- now it sits perfectly flat.

This guitar is built like a tank. The strap buttons are huge -- so much that I had to make the slit in my strap a little bigger in order to get the strap on. Once on the strap the guitar is perfectly balanced -- I don't think I've ever slung a guitar on my shoulder that seemed to contour this well to my body. The guitar is heavy without being overly heavy like a Les Paul. The weight definitely adds to the guitar's sustain.

Here's the only issue -- do you really want to take out a $2,000 guitar and risk some moron bumping into it?

I didn't rate this category because I've had no contact with PRS Customer Support. From what I've seen on their website, it doesn't look like PRS ever wants you to contact them. It seems that their standard response is "refer all questions to your authorized PRS dealer".

The one thing I really hate is their prohibition against dealers displaying the prices of PRS guitars on websites. I did a lot of research before I bought this guitar. The difference in prices that dealers try to charge for the same guitar is unbelievable ($300-$400 differences). If you're thinking of buying a PRS, make sure you do plenty of price shopping before you buy.

The customer support at Sweetwater was very good. Their website is cool because you can see pictures of the ACTUAL guitar you are purchasing. The guitar also goes through a 40 point inspection/set-up before they send it to you. The guitar I received was in perfect condition.

Before I called Sweetwater, I stopped in the local Guitar Center to try out the PRS's. I could not believe the amount of scratches they had on guitars costing over $2,000. When searching for a PRS dealer, make sure they don't let any head-banger wanna-be touch the guitar. I got a good laugh out of one website that said "we could never figure out guitar stores that put the expensive guitars out for you to try, but they keep the guitar strings behind the counter!"

Overall, I love this guitar. I've been playing for nearly 20 years and I've owned lots of guitars, including custom made models. The McCarty Soapbar is quickly becoming my favorite. I think the price of this particular model is definitely too high; however, I really enjoy the versatility of this guitar and its pure tone which makes it priceless. My only complaint is that I now want to go buy a PRS with a tremolo to round out my collection.

If you've got the money to burn, it's a great guitar.

No maple top, just mahogany. Wide Fat Neck. Kluson Tuners. Double cutaway. 2002 model. 3 pickup positions, like a Tele. Very simple, but I give it a 10 because one of the features is simplicity.

Its powerful, deep, bright, and quiet all at the same time. My only concern is that the Soapbars, though singlecoil, sound a bit too much like humbuckers. They sound great, but I want the singlecoil sound. Overall however, they sound better than most singlecoils

I got it off ebay, and action is fine. No dead spots, great sustain. Plays very easily. Its vintage cherry.

I've only had it for a month, but its build very strong. My only complaint is that the soapbars are an ugly white. They would look better black, and I've seen black ones with CE models. Oh well, time to get out the paint.

Played for 25 years, including semi pro, church worship bands, jazz, blues, rock, and classical. I looked at all high end tele style guitars and this was the best by far. It has two cutaways, but the pu config is like a tele. More companies should use soapbars!

Per the hang tag this one was born on 8/31/01. It has 22 frets. There is a three-way toggle for pickup selection, a tone and a volume pot. The finish is Creme to match the soapbar covers, neck and headstock. It has a wrap around stop tail piece/bridge. Non-locking tuners and came with a case. If you need more than this, it isn't the guitar that's the problem.

Through a Tweed amp it has grit and growl in Spades. It's noisier than my Limited Edition w/ Humbuckers, but not so noisy that its a problem. I like it set on the bridge pickup with max treble best. It probably does other tricks but I don't really care because this is so good. It does Niel Young better than he does.

I bought this used and liked the setup. Other than a miniscule finish nick, it is in perfect condition.

PRS guitars are pretty much bullet proof. I'd gig with a backup in the event I broke a string, but the guitar can take anything I'd put it through.

Limited Lifetime warranty to the original purchaser is offered but probably not needed. They're pretty cool guys. I emailed a question and received a response in under 24 hours.

I've been playing for 30 years. I own 18 other guitars of this caliber manufactured by the usual suspects. I also own a dozen different Tweed and Blackface amps and this guitar sounds great through all of them. I'd recommend this over any Les Paul because it plays chords much truer than that hideous 24.5" short scale Gibson uses. I bought it for the chording and the general playability, which is excellent. A side benefit was that it looks as stunningly beautiful as John Lennon's white Epiphone Casino. I like the locking tuners better than the Klusons it came with and it would have been a grand slam with an ebony fretboard rather than the rosewood, but rosewood works just fine. In my humble opinion, PRS guitars will eventually appreciate in value in a manner similar to the valuations pre-CBS Fenders enjoy today. Buy 'em while they're cheap!

I purchased this 2001 model PRS McCarty Soapbar Std. from the original owner. One piece lightwight mahogany body and mahogany neck with rosewood fretboard. The guitar is the lightest PRS I've yet owned (around 7 1/2 lbs). 2 Seymour Duncan Vintage Soapbar pickups, non-locking vintage style tuners, 3 way toggle, stop tailpiece. Finished in Vintage Cherry.
Bells and whistles are not this guitar's forte.
Good functional design lets you get down to playing.
In the case of this guitar, simple is better.

Sound is exceptional. I've owned PRS that cost much more but this one nails the tone for me. I play original Comtemporary Christian music with a classic rock influence. I am plugging straight into a 1974 DeLuxe Reverb with a Monster cable. Nothing else needed here.
The soapbar pickups sound fat but guitar rings out a great chime.
I searched out an all mahogany body McCarty because I did not want too much snap from the usual PRS maple top. Today I played through a Marshall stack. Lord Have Mercy what a sound. The guitar sings.
Front and rear pickups both sound very full and with good harmonics.
The middle position toggle with both pickups engaged has a good telecaster type twang if you work on the pickup height adjustments. This is about as good a rhythm sound as there is IMO.
I have likes and dislikes about Fender style single coil as well as Gibson style humbucking lickups. I belive the best sounding pickups (for me) are soapbars. They can be noisy but I feel they best capture the full dymanics of an electric solidbody guitar.
I rate this guitar soundwise a 9 because I don't believe a 10 has been achieved except by Duane Eddy and his sound was much more than a guitar.

I set up the guitar soon as it arrived. I lowered the strings to approx. 3/64 at high E and slightly higher at the bass E. I then adjusted the pickups a little farther away than 1/16" under the strings, slightly raising the D and G pickup poles to better reflect the neck radius. This adjustment tends to give the pickups a less mid rangy sound. With the one piece bridge adjusting the action was a snap. I put on 10's instead of th 9's that came on the guitar.
Finish was as usual for PRS, flawless. The parts fit the way they should and everything lines up. The neck was dead straight and I got no buzzes or fretting out when lowering the strings. This is my first expewrience with a stoptail PRS. The action seems slightly stiffer than the trem models but no big difference. It still easily outplays any other brand I know of.

Parts are all good quality. The glassy finish of a PRS instrument is beautiful but difficult to keep pristine unless it never leaves its case or your living room. The bridges tend to tarnish as well. However, this guitar will easily outlive me (I'm 50) and without a major accident will never need more than an occasional neck adjustment.
I definitely like the simplicity of this instrument. Less moving parts, less to go wrong. The flame top, tremelo and locking tuners of usual PRS guitars are cool but this simple design has its advantages.

I've always bought used so this is not applicable to me.
Jim Cullen, the PRS customer service rep has always been very responsive to my questions.
PRS offers with it's USA guitars a limited lifetime warranty to the original owner. I don't know about the SE (import) line.

I've been playing guitar for 35 years. I own several guitars and a couple of amps. If this guitar were lost or stolen I would definitely replace it with another just like it. I love the weight, the color, the ringing tone, the great harmonics, the sensitivity to the touch. I can't think of much I don't like but for $1200 it had better be an outstanding instrument or I am a fool who has just been parted with my money.
God bless, RevCapps

All I want to say is that the good reviews are NOT a lie, this guitar is wonderful; it's not a strat and it's not a Gibson, it's a PRS so naturally it is a guitar that is a little different, it doesn't really sound like any of the other Paul Reed Smith's as it has the Soapbars and to reiterate it certainly does not sound like a Fender or a Gibson this is why I bought a McCarty Soapbar - I wanted a new sound that was different from the others on my guitar palette.

Voila, problem solved, I would say I use this guitar once in every five sessions; I am using it with a tube amp and I am not experiencing any "lack of highs", I also did not abandon any other guitar I own for it but I use this one where and when I need it and to be honest I will keep this guitar in my rig forever as it fills the niche.

Check the web for specs
nice McCarty burst
she is easy on the eyes
wish I could have saved a few $$$ and been able to find one without
the bird inlays I like them better on some one elses guitar
I am a less is more kind of guy

Okay all the reviewers who want to sound like SRV or want to compare my baby to a strat. Forget it okay if you want to sound like SRV...sell your soul. It was the man not the gear okay (by the way he is holding a japanesse strat knock off by Tokai on 83's Texas flood). For those of you that want to compare her to a strat, just go buy a Strat. Tone Tone Tone is what she has got. I am mostly an acoustic player, but who doesn't want to strap on a little wattage once and awhile!!! Okay she can be smooth and creamy or raunchy, ballsy,and bluesy. Do you need more from a guitat great clean or dirty. I said before that I love my acoustics, but my santa cruz is pretty jealous.
I have a trio and we do a little of everything. Mostly hyper-bluesy garage rock. I pretty much play like son house on meth, and electric era bob dylan on crack. I love my old blues and the old and new era garage rock. I know the "real" musicians think garage means no skill just distortion, but it is about passion and soul, isn't that why we all wanted to pick an axe up in the first place. I love this guitar. My set up is simple my soapbar, a mesa F-100 ( a killer amp by the way) a vox wah, a vintage big muff and that is it, the guitar and amp give me what I need most the time. The guitar is just great. Not a strat or a les paul. A nice mix of both.

prs it doesn't get much better.
this guitars ju-ju is in its soul

this thing could survive kieth richards!!!

I love and respect guitars in general.. I play all types of music to honor the spirit of the guitar. This guitar was ment for me. If you want a paul sound buy one,if you want a strat buy one. If you want a fresh alternative get a McCarty soapbar. I use to think PRS was a little to modern. I always was more of a vintage guy, but I have woke up. Prs are well made, ultra playable, and have a sound all their own.
My advice is play everything you can get your hands on from boutique to pawnshop. Find a guitar that speaks to you. That is what music is about. You shouldn't even be reading this. you (well all of us) should be playing

2002 model with 10 top, tortoiseshell finish, rosewood neck and fingerboard, adjustable tailpiece (worth the extra bread), and about 30 miles of mojo included at no extra charge.

The PRS trem is not offered on this model. Unfortunate--this was my first choice. I swapped out my pickup covers for black ones to give the guitar more of a violin-ish look. I wanted this guitar to look and feel like it belongs in a room full of $10,000 Italian violins. It does, without a doubt.

I deduct one point because the trem was not offered. If it were, this would be a 10 without question. Some of the other reviewers gave it a rating in the 5-8 range for being a simple guitar--what exactly are you looking for on this guitar?

I use this guitar through my Trace Elliot Trident and my Fender Blues Jr. most often. I will occasionally run effects, most commonly a TubeScreamer and a chorus of some sort (Trace or Visual Sound usually). I play many styles, but I tend towards a jazz fusion kind of thing. This guitar suits that sort of sound well, and it's extremely versatile. For a P-90 guitar, this one is the yang to my 1955 ES-225. The 225 is warm and buttery and sustains unlike any other guitar. The PRS is brighter, punchier, and more agressive, yet never brittle. Thanks Seymour. Run through a Polytone-type solid state amp, this thing gets warmer. The clarity is unmatched.

I have no complaints. This guitar is a beautiful color on my tonal pallete.

I swapped out the strings for .011 Elixirs and intonated accordingly. Amazingly, the rosewood neck didn't budge one bit after going up two gauges. The action remained exactly the same! Chalk it up to PRS to build something that carries that degree of stability. Look out! I've never touched the pickups, save to swap out those covers. The top was bookmatched extremely well. Had it been a one-piece (I've only seen two on non-private stock guitars), I would have been as happy as a pig in...something or another. Regardless, I have no complaints. The finish is flawless and beautiful. Repeat: flawless. I don't know any other company that can claim this.

Here's the best part: that rosewood neck is amazing! I don't like picking up my other guitars nearly as much now. I'm spoiled. I want all of my guitars to have rosewood necks. The playability is much better than even a mahogany necked PRS. Now compare it to a Les Paul...wait, you can't! I like LP's, but they aren't in the same ballpark. They're across town playing AAA with Fender and Gretsch.

Can I rate this an 11? I'd really like to.

No complaints at all here. This guitar is flawless and it's built like a tank.

I voice only one objection to the company--they finished my guitar too soon. I work for one of the bigger PRS dealers (www.wichitaband.com), and I wasn't at all suprised to hear them tell me it would be a 10 to 12 month wait. I was, however, very suprised when it came in two months instead! I had to really work to scrape together the money that quick. As for customer support after the sale, I haven't had any problems with my guitar. However, from dealing with customers of mine who have had problems (there's been two of them), PRS is great. They're easy to work with, mostly because they want the job done right. That's a philosophy we should all strive to live by.

This guitar is the endpiece to my electric collection, which probably won't grow a whole lot over the next year or two. Right now it includes these guitars: Les Paul Standard, Les Paul Deluxe, Les Paul Studio, American Strat w/Tom Anderson pickups, the abovementioned ES-225, D'Aquisto archtop, and five or six cheapies I keep around for fun. I'll eventually add a Heritage 535, an Ernie Ball Axis, a Gretsch 6119, a Les Paul w/P-90's, and another couple of PRS's.

If this guitar ever gets stolen, I would mercilessly beat the thief (most likely with the Les Paul Studio). This guitar is very special to me. I consider it almost irreplaceable.

If you want pics of this guitar, email me! I love showing it off.

My McCarty Soapbar was made in 1998 in Stevensville, MD, USA. It has a 22 fret mahogany neck (wide/fat neck carve) with rosewood fingerboard and a thick mahogany body with flame maple top. Control layout it pretty simple- volume, tone, and 3 way toggle for the bridge and neck p90 pickups. The passive single coil p90 pickups are designed by Seymour Duncan and PRS. The top is finished in McCarty burst with a cherry stained back and neck.

Body style is the regular double cutaway PRS shape and the stoptail is the one piece self-intonating style with vintage non-locking tuners. The intonation is set by two small screws set into the rear of the tail piece behind the height adjustment studs. You simply adjust the bass and treble side until the low E and high E strings are intonated and the other strings are automatically set. Works very well.

Scale length is 25 inches right between the typical gibson and fender measurements and the neck radius is 10". Accessories included a very nice heavy duty case, neck and tailpiece adjustment tools, PRS sticker, etc.

While the guitar is quite versatile in sound and playability it's pretty average on features.

Here is where the guitar shines. I play a variety of music but center around funk, rock, jazz, and a little country and fingerstyle. I've played it through a variety of amps and setups but my own setup is a Marshall DSL and Jenkins Sound Shop 2x12 (killer cabinents! http://jenkinssoundshop.com/ ) usually with no effects but occasionally a little wah and delay.

It gets fantastic clean sounds, very chimey and and full in bridge or neck positions. When the volume is rolled back you can get a very Telecaster-like sound and with the tone rolled off a little on the neck pickup it gives a great jazz clean. The in-between settings are just incredible, very full with lots of bite. Also the pickups are very high output single coils, in fact I'd say as much or a little higher output than the McCarty humbuckers, but without any shrillness. Very much like vintage Les Paul w/p90s type tone (which is exactly what I was looking for when I bought the guitar). You really hear the tone of the wood and strings with this guitar and it's a joy to record with. Sits great in a mix of other intruments live or recorded and has a very musical midrange growl. The tone of the guitar is also great unplugged, very loud (enough to be heard easily from two separate rooms) and chimey.

Through some gain the guitar still delivers the goods. In fact it handles fairly high gain a lot better than I thought it would. The low end gets very creamy but the highs stay defined. The volume and tone controls are very responsive and actually useful on this guitar and excel at going from almost clean to high gain lead without having to switch channels on the amp and without losing definition and body. It's like rolling off the gain control on the amp itself. I especially love the neck and neck + bridge settings for long sustaining lead work. In fact the in-between pickup setting is great for rhythm or lead, clean or high gain, very chimey and dimensional and expressive.

While the guitar is fantastic at more classic and vintage tones it does very well with more modern sounds. The only real downside is that the price for the great p90 tone is the single coil noise on higher gain settings (cleans are fine). When you're playing it's not an issue but when you stop you'll definitely want to roll off the volume or go to the in-between pickup setting.

Action and Setup from the factory was very good but I don't expect it to be to my personal specs. However as it was I could have taken it out that night to gig with. The pickup height was well adjusted but I adjusted the individual polepieces to follow the radius of the strings/neck myself.

The top was very well matched and very nice looking. The finish is fantastic and as I've seen in the years since I bought it, very durable. Wood quality overall is excellent. The maple is very nicely flamed and the mahogany body and neck has a nice uniform grain to it. The rosewood fretboard has a great satin feel to it as well.

The fretwork is among the best I've ever seen. Just outstanding, and really facilitates my playing. Same with all the hardware, well done all around. Again the volume and tone controls are fantastic and very smooth. The wide/fat neck is great, very playable without getting fatigued with excellent access to the uppermost frets. Also more unusual chord positions and inversions are very comfortable on this guitar versus many other high end guitars that I've played. Tapping is also very comforatble. However this was my first PRS and I now also own a Custom 24 with wide/thin neck carve and I have to say as much as I love the WF, the WT carve is my absolute favorite neck on the planet bar none!

The only thing that could be improved is that the vintage style tuners could be a little bit smoother in adjustment. They aren't bad at all and hold tune *really* well but sometimes I'll overshoot the target when tuning.

This guitar has definitely withstood live playing and it's fair share of getting knocked around and has held up very well. The finish still looks great (indeed almost looks new). I haven't had any problems with the hardware and the electronics and switches are operating just like new (I got it in '98) and still looks great.

I think a lot of people don't get how the strap buttons are supposed to work. They eliminate the need for straplocks by being oversized so that you have to remove the buttons to put the strap on the guitar because the strap will not fit over the buttons otherwise. The strap is now permanently attached unless you remove the buttons again.

I have used it several times in a band situation without a backup and wouldn't hesitate to do so again. I never break strings on this guitar (despite wide bends and spending most of my rhythm and lead time on the three highest strings) which I think is due to the great bridge design.

I haven't needed any customer support however I have toured the factory to see how the instruments are made and had a great time there. Check out the online tour here http://www.wmcworld.com/prs.asp to see all the actual handwork that goes into crafting these guitars; it's really impressive.

I believe the warranty is only two years but have known of folks getting the guitars repaired out of warranty or replacement parts with no hassles so I don't think it's anything to worry about.

Still, since I haven't needed any actual customer support I won't rate this category.

I've been playing guitar for several years and have owned a few other nice instruments. Also I've played this guitar (and others) through all types of amps such as Bogner, Mesa, Soldano, Fender, Top Hat, Rivera, and so on and this guitar sings through all of them. Great tone and playablity. It compares favorably to other guitars in it's price range with similar features (woods, pickups, etc) by other high end guitar makers.

What I love about the guitar is the tone and playablity. The sounds it's capable of is just fantastic and the feel is great. The workmansip is outstanding as well, some of the best there is. The only thing I don't care for is the somewhat stiff feel of the vintage tuners. Other than that, the McCarty Soapbar is one of the best vintage/p90 styled axes you could hope for!

98 mccarty soapbar. 1 volume, 1 tone, 3 way selector, p90's, and a stoptail. No ten top or birds here, because I actually want to play my guitar not just look at it. Not a fully loaded guitar, but that isn't what I wanted. I need something clean and simple. If you want a ten on features look somewhere else.

I play Blues/Rock. I give this a nine because It doesn't make me sound like some wierd mix of SRV, Hendrix, and Scofield that I want, but then again that probably isn't the guitars fault. This guitar is good for pretty much any style of music except maybe metal/punk but who could honestly care about that kind of music.

clarity -- sounds great clean. No muddiness w/ any pickup setting unless you dial it in w/ the tone knob.

balance -- When I am soloing I keep thinking that the highs are to high then I move to the top of the neck and the bass is to loud. The truth is that every string is very loud and well balanced I am just not used to a guitar that actually reacts to picking dynamics. Unlike my strat that just when I start digging into those highs just really leaves me banging the hell out of it to try and get some volume and tone out of it. This thing drips tone without all the muscle work.

sustain -- I only mention sustain at all because I have never really cared about sustain until I got this guitar. Every other guitar I've had (mostly Fender's) never had sustain so I really didn't know what real sustain was all about. The only thing that I can say is listen to taboo from santana III(1971) at one point carlos sustains a single note for just over ten seconds without any vibrato or anything else. With the right amp settings this guitar can do exactly that.

Tone: The most important category in my opinion. I must admit I am a fan of P90's in general, but like countless other people I always wanted THe SRV Sound. After years of playing I've finally realised that you can I could play SRV's exact setup and I would just never quite be there. So I finially decided to get my own sound. This guitar is perfect it isn't quite a strat and it isn't quite a les paul. It is a mccarty. It has a unique sound but it still has that fat rich warm tone that a bluesman like myself just absoletley loves. I can sit across the room from my amp and just feel the tone surround me.To put it simply My amp gets all pissed off when I plug anything else into it.

It's a PRS. Enough said. Absolutley top notch, and keep in mind I bought this from a guy who bought it four years ago and kept in his closet and it was still good. If you look at the condition of this thing you wouldn't believe it had ever been out of the case. No major manufacturer even compares to PRS in this category.

It's four years old and is as good as the new ones in the stores. I don't gig much, but when I do I always have a backup. Never had to worry about using it though.

I have never dealt with them. The guy's at my local PRS dealer are complete jerks.

I've been playing 10 years. Enough to know what a good guitar is. I own mostly fender stuff i.e. a few strats and a tele for amps a vibroverb and a hot rod deville. I also have Two ovation acoustics( they both stink) a martin d16(amazing guitar), ts808, univibe, and a crybaby wah. I love everything about this guitar. Compared to just about any fender including custom shop stuff this thing makes them sound and look like crap. Gibsons are over priced, gretsch/rickenbacker don't have the tone for blues music. Never played a guitar by a foriegn maker that I liked including the PRS santana se. Nothing I've ever played compares to this guitar. Wouldn't sell it trade it or let it get stolen ever. I pretty much stole this guitar for 930 bucks. I would buy one again at this price, but for the $2400 my local dealer wants for a new one I'd probably die before I saved that kind of money. If your looking for a guitar in this price range you will be sorry for not checking one out.

1999 model, gold top, maple on mahogany, mahog neck, rosewood board, 2 Seymour pickups, one vol and one tone. Kluson type tuners.

I love P90 pickup guitars. Unfortunately, to my ears this isnt one. compared with older Gibsons, it has no sparkle, no top-end bite and like other PRS's, simply no real character of its own. That overwound part ceramic bridge pickup is a particular turkey. I fitted a pair of traditional P90's which improved it slightly, but its still not happening. And no treble bleed cap means it loses to much top end when running a tube amp from the guitar volume control. I recently played it side by side with an early 60's SG Junior. Sadly the PRS was left truly in the shade. Pity....

Immaculate in materials and construction

We all understand the quality, its pretty much as good as anything else out there