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PRS McCarty 594

PRS Guitars introduce the McCarty 594, a core production version of the February guitar of the month Private Stock 594.

PRS McCarty 594

The McCarty 594 gets its name from its distinct scale length of 24.594″, a departure from the usual 25″ and 24.5″ scale necks that they use on many of their popular guitar models.

PRS describes the new McCarty 594 as vintage inspired, and this is justified with the the guitar’s cosmetics, attention to details and its four knob configuration. And this classic style control configuration, along with the coil split capable circuit and the use of a shorter scale length makes this guitar distinct from other PRS models.

They also describe the McCarty 594 as having modern playability, and this can be attributed to the two 58/15 LT pickups that are wired to push/pull coil taps on the tone control. This means that you can enjoy both humbucker and single-coil sounds, without the inherent hum and noise found on regular single-coil pickups. The dedicated volume and tone knobs also allow for more control over the sound of each pickup, and allow for interesting blends. The resulting tone is described as having a warmer more open sound.

The specs of the short scale 22-fret neck and its bound rosewood fingerboard (which is intonated on its entire length) also helped with the overall vintage feel. It is described as having a Pattern Vintage neck carve, which follows after the same width measurements as PRS’s Pattern neck but is slightly thicker front to back, with an asymmetrical carve. It has less chunk on the treble side and a little more fatter on the bass side of the neck.

The body of the PRS McCarty 594 is crafted from mahogany, while the elegant top is carved from figured maple. It follows the elegantly arched double cut-away McCarty shape that is distinctly PRS.

The press release had John Mayer speak his mind about the guitar, and I quote: “The 594 is the best new guitar I’ve played in years. It has a vintage heart and soul but without the technical limitations that usually come along with an old instrument. What good is an old guitar if you can’t get all that feel out of the upper frets, or the intonation is off? To hear that old PAF sound but be able to articulate the notes in a way that only modern manufacturing could allow is so exciting.”

Other features include the Tweaked Phase III tuners (with an added screw so you can pull the tuner’s shaft, gear, and worm for better string to guitar vibration transfer), 2-piece stoptail bridge, and a standard 3-way toggle pickup switch selector installed on the upper bout.

Check out the official video demo of the PRS McCarty 594:

Jimmy Herring of Widespread Panic had this to say, “It’s engineered beautifully and really lives up to the idea of getting the best attributes of an old instrument, I love the two volume/two tone layout, while still keeping the overall feel of a PRS. The pickups sound great and really have the vibe of old PAF’s that aren’t wound too hot.”

For more information on the PRS McCarty 594, visit PRS Guitars.

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