Crazy NGD: PRS S2 McCarty 594

[Jarick]

Last year I played one of these things and it kind of haunted me how good it was. Loved the chunkier neck, loved the PRS playability, and it sounded great too. I thought about selling a few things to fund it as it was like $1500 used but it sold super quick. It's like the Les Paul I wished my Gibson Tribute was.

When I picked up my $200 Kramer Baretta yesterday, I spotted this on the wall for a crazy low price, less than half of what they're selling for new. Figured there must be something wrong with it like a broken headstock so I checked it out...no issues, looks almost new.

Ordered it online so it didn't sell before I could stop back in, and when I picked it up turns out it had a hardshell case and all the case candy. Everything looks good and it plays well on first blush. Still need to plug it in and test the electronics as well as put new strings on it, but just a steal on a really good guitar.

If it sticks, I'll probably sell off my Gibson Tribute Les Paul and probably the Epiphone 335 as well. I have too many guitars that do the Gibson with PAF thing.

 

[norminal]

Nice score! S2’s are killer guitars.

 

[Warmart]

Sheesh, great score! Busy weekend lol!

I wonder if they got the pricing confused with SE?

Either way, I'm very happy for you and my weekend weeps in comparison (hours spent weed eating today and I'm still not done).

Congrats and may you love it long time!

 

[Jarick]

Alright I finally got a chance to play it a bit!

Strings on there are actually pretty fresh so haven't bothered to change yet. It plays really well. Neck shape is a little different compared to what I'm used to but not bad. It's a little bigger but not too chunky. I always wanted a Les Paul with a chunky neck.

The electronics aren't great. The pots feel kind of flimsy, three of the pots crackle and cut in and out, and the switch feels super stiff. I got nervous wondering if something shady was up, but the electronics are all factory and didn't feel like anyone ever touched a screw on the back of the guitar.

I get the sense that someone bought the guitar and basically didn't touch it for a few years, so the electronics probably need a good cleaning.

The bridge pickup sounds awesome but the neck is a bit hot. It has a nice bite to it but there's more lows than I like. Which is every guitar I've ever had. Middle position is a bit dark too.

I'll probably end up swapping out the pickups for something nicer, either the Friedman Classic set or Suhr Thornbuckers. Will probably swap out the switch and pots too. Going to put that off for a bit though.

 

[OrganicZed]

Happy belated NGD! PRS make fine instruments.

 

[spawnofthesith]

Congrats!!! S2 594s are amazing I love mine

Sweet color on that one!


I've found that the electronics used on the S2/SE are a bit prone to rapid oxidation? Deoxit has come in handy for me a few times. I agree the stock pickups are quite good sounding imo. I do have an SD scourge sitting around that I need to get into mine, but mostly just changing because I want a different vibe, nothing wrong with the stock pickups at all

 

[Jarick]

I did put fresh strings on last night and it's got more zing and clarity to it. Some of it fresh strings but I think the voice of the guitar is a little more articulate. Neck pickup is still a bit fat but I like the high end of it. Tried to measure them last night and it's about 8k for the neck and 8.5k for the bridge.

Unplugged compared to the LP, the McCarty has a little more zing where the Gibson has more prominent midrange. Again could be new strings but also guitar voicing too. Plugged in, the Gibson has a little more clarity but is also a bit more mellow, which is expected as it has Wolfetone unpotted PAF's.

For weight, I would guess the McCarty is about a pound lighter than my Gibson. I think my LP was just under 9 pounds and the McCarty is probably just under 8.

 

[V|J]

I did put fresh strings on last night and it's got more zing and clarity to it. Some of it fresh strings but I think the voice of the guitar is a little more articulate. Neck pickup is still a bit fat but I like the high end of it. Tried to measure them last night and it's about 8k for the neck and 8.5k for the bridge.

Unplugged compared to the LP, the McCarty has a little more zing where the Gibson has more prominent midrange. Again could be new strings but also guitar voicing too. Plugged in, the Gibson has a little more clarity but is also a bit more mellow, which is expected as it has Wolfetone unpotted PAF's.

For weight, I would guess the McCarty is about a pound lighter than my Gibson. I think my LP was just under 9 pounds and the McCarty is probably just under 8.

Interesting.
Unplugged I’d expect the PRS to be more snappy with the longer scale length.

But somehow with the wolfeyone PUs, the Gibson has more clarity yet mellow. Kind of the sweet spot.

To get my PRS SE neck PU in the clear but not harsh zone, I have to EQ quite a bit.
Guess PU upgrade is worth it after all!

Congrats on the S2!
It’s a nice finish. I love playing S2s when I’m at the store.

 

[la szum]

Interesting.
Unplugged I’d expect the PRS to be more snappy with the longer scale length.

But somehow with the wolfeyone PUs, the Gibson has more clarity yet mellow. Kind of the sweet spot.

To get my PRS SE neck PU in the clear but not harsh zone, I have to EQ quite a bit.
Guess PU upgrade is worth it after all!

Congrats on the S2!
It’s a nice finish. I love playing S2s when I’m at the store.

Doesn't the 594 have a shorter scale length than a Les Paul. 24.594 versus 24.75.

 

[ᛗᛜᛜᚺDᛜᎶ Ꮤᛨᚳᚴ]

Nice score! Congrats!!

 

[ᛗᛜᛜᚺDᛜᎶ Ꮤᛨᚳᚴ]

. . . (hours spent weed eating today and I'm still not done).

I don't think you are doing it right! Try smoking it!! If you want to eat it, you need to cook it in a fashion that allows the THC to get into a form that can be ingested into your system!!!














Joking but I had to go there ;~))

 

[TubeStack]

Sweet PRS! Enjoy!

 

[Jarick]

Yeah I think the scale length is pretty close between the PRS and Gibson. Something about the construction, dunno. Most PRS guitars are more balanced to my ears.

I swapped the 85/15 USA pickups back into my CE24 and I like how these two are for now. That guitar is a little more mellow and can use the extra output.

I may do a little pickup carousel and put my Suhr SSV set into the McCarty at some point, then Thornbucker set into my S2 Standard 24. Feels like the McCarty could use a 7.5k/8.5k paf set.

 

[V|J]

Doesn't the 594 have a shorter scale length than a Les Paul. 24.594 versus 24.75.

Ah that’s true. I did play a McCarty thinline once.

 

[Jarick]

Think I may try swapping pickups today. The bridge sounds awesome but the neck is just really fat. It's not bad but I'd rather get more clarity. I tried adjusting heights and it's not going to get enough.

Here's the pickup options I have on hand:

Suhr Thornbuckers (7k neck / 8.7k bridge) - leaning towards these right now as I think it would clean up the neck quite a bit and keep the bridge close to what it is now. Only concerns are that the bridge spacing would be a little off (not that big a deal), and sometimes these can be a bit mellow. But this guitar seems pretty lively.

Friedman Classics (7.4 neck / 8.3k bridge) - second choice, probably a little hotter than the Suhrs especially the neck, but might work out really well. I swapped in rough alnico 5 magnets which may take off a little bit of the edge.e

Duncan Alnico 2 Pros (7.3k neck / 8k bridge) - going back and forth on these, they would be a little lower output and I could swap magnets to A4 to get a little more output and clarity.

Suhr SSVs (7.5k neck / 8.9k bridge) - currently in my Standard 24, would have to pull them out of there. I could swap the Thorns in here which would work with the tremolo, and the standard spacing would work with the McCarty.

Wolfetone Dr Vintage/Markshallhead (7.4k neck / 8.8k bridge) - currently in my LP, would have to pull those out. I feel like the bridge is a little hot and bright so I would probably put A2's in both to take the edge off the bridge spot.

 

[norminal]

but the neck is just really fat.

I struggled with a similar issue with my PRS and a 57/08, as well as Duncan ‘59. Way too fat and boomy. Threw the stock Vintage Bass back in and all is well. It’s a medium output A2.

I’d try the brightest pickup you have on hand and see how that fairs.

 

[Jarick]

I struggled with a similar issue with my PRS and a 57/08, as well as Duncan ‘59. Way too fat and boomy. Threw the stock Vintage Bass back in and all is well. It’s a medium output A2.

I’d try the brightest pickup you have on hand and see how that fairs.

Stock pickups measured about 8.05k in the neck and 8.45k in the bridge. If they are like the USA pickups, they'd have alnico 2, and 8k A2 neck pickup definitely would be too fat.

 

[EOengineer]

I’ve yet to touch a PRS with pickups I could even remotely tolerate.

Cool guitar though!!

 

[FuzzyAce]

Congrats on the new axe! Love the color.

 

[Jarick]

Thornbuckers are in and not digging in as much. Neck pickup did get cleaner but still a bit fat and missing something. Bridge pickup is too stringy and I lost that thick bridge tone.

I’m going to swap in my Wolfetones with A2 magnets next. I think I really like alnico 2 PAFs lately. Compared to the stock pickups the neck is lower output and bridge is a bit hotter so hopefully just improves on that stock tone.