PRS McCarty 58 Review

By: Dr. Matt Warnock

When I am invited to teach a clinic, or sit in with a band I’ve never played with before for a show, I really enjoy the looks I get from the audience and band members when, for a straight-ahead jazz gig, I pull out my PRS McCarty Korina. I often get a few blank stares and questions like, “where’s your jazz guitar, in the shop?” And there’s also a little bit of satisfaction I get when someone comes up to me after a class or show and says, “Wow, I never knew a solid-body could sound like that.”

Since I’ve been a McCarty player, and I should preface this article by saying that I am not in any way an endorsee or endorser of the guitar (though Paul, if you’re reading this give me a call, love to discuss it with you), I was really looking forward to getting some one-on-one time with the new McCarty 58 model at the 2010 Experience PRS event.

The main reason I play a McCarty Korina, and why I played a Tele before that, is that I really need an instrument that is highly versatile and easy to play. When I jump from a distorted funk-fusion tune to a bebop standard to a Bossa Nova groove, I don’t want to have to change guitars with every song, the McCarty I own allows me to do that.

I found that the McCarty 58 had that same level of versatility that I’ve come to expect from this model. It had a very clear, clean tone, with consistent tone production across the whole neck, sounding just as good with the volume cranked, crunching through a PRS “30” amp, as it did at low volume through a PRS Recording amp. This is one easy to play guitar, which is just as comfortable playing through “Stella by Starlight” as it is “Smoke on the Water.” There aren’t many guitars around who can make that claim.

The McCarty 58 features the brand new “Pattern” neck shape that PRS rolled out at the 2010 Experience PRS event. The company describes the neck as being:

“Perfected after years of prototyping, the “pattern” neck (a name derived from an old woodworking term) is an updated wide-fat PRS neck based on Paul’s pre-factory design. This neck design is also based on theories used to make instruments custom-made in the late ‘70s for Carlos Santana, Ted Nugent, Peter Frampton and Howard Leese.”

From a player’s standpoint, the neck is very comfortable to play. Though they describe it as “wide-fat,” I never felt like I was straining to play the instrument, it felt comfortable throughout the neck. Players who are used to thinner necks might find that it takes some time to adjust to the larger surface area, those of us who play, and prefer, larger necks will settle in very quickly with the McCarty 58 neck design, and enjoy the comfort and tone that the thicker neck provides.

Of all the guitars that I tried at the 2010 Experience PRS event, I had the hardest time putting down the McCarty 58. Maybe it’s because I have a McCarty at home, maybe it was that this model really spoke to me, but I felt an instant connection to the instrument. If PRS wasn’t a wholesaler and dealt directly to customers, much to my wife’s chagrin, I would have walked out of that room with a new guitar in my collection.

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Specs

Body

Artist Grade Figured Maple Top Wood

Mahogany Back

Natural Binding

V12 Finish

Neck

22 Frets

25” Scale Length

Mahogany Neck

Rosewood Fretboard

Pattern Neck Shape

ME II Birds with Mother of Pearl and Paua Heart Inlays

Hardware

PRS Stoptail Bridge

PRS Locking Tuners

“McCarty 58” Truss-Rod Cover

Hybrid/Gold Hardware Options

57/08 Treble Pickup

59/09 Bass Pickup

Volume and Push-Pull Tone Control with 3-Way Toggle

Click to Check Out GI’s Full Coverage of Experience PRS 2010

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Experience PRS Photo Gallery: McCarty 58

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PRS McCarty 58

PRS McCarty 58

PRS McCarty 58