Crazy NGD: PRS S2 McCarty 594

[Jarick]

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

Cool guitar though!!

I’m really enjoying the 85/15 again! They have a nice vintage hot output and a good bite to the tone while still having that warmth. They split super well too. The McCarty split tones are completely forgettable.

I did get new CTS 525k pots and have an extra Switchcraft switch laying around. May swap those in too. The stock tone pots are super noisy.

 

[spawnofthesith]

I’m really enjoying the 85/15 again! They have a nice vintage hot output and a good bite to the tone while still having that warmth. They split super well too. The McCarty split tones are completely forgettable.

I did get new CTS 525k pots and have an extra Switchcraft switch laying around. May swap those in too. The stock tone pots are super noisy.

I LOVE 85/15s. good spanky cleans (especially when split) and the bridge has a really nice bite for brutal high gain stuff

 

[Jarick]

Okay one more pickup swap. I put in a set of Wolfetone pickups, Dr Vintage neck and Marshallhead bridge. For these I put in alnico 2 polished magnets and added PAF spec nickel silver covers.

Sounds fantastic now! The Marshallhead with A2 is definitely thicker than the Thornbucker Plus and can do heavy stuff with gain. The Dr Vintage doesn't have the overwhelming bass of the stock neck pickup but has more bite than the Thornbucker. They're warm but clear. And the middle position has a lot more cluck than stock.

Honestly if the stock neck pickup was 7.5k instead of 8.0k they would be fantastic.

 

[Jarick]

Couple more hours and just loving this guitar with the Wolfetone pickups. Great tone and clarity.

Some cool things about the McCarty 594 compared to my Gibson:

• Lighter weight and more comfortable to play with the bevel top
• Pattern vintage neck shape is more comfortable than the slim taper
• Headstock doesn't have the severe angle; less susceptible to breaks
• Strings behind the nut are straighter and tuning should be much more stable
• Hardware feels higher quality
• Neck angle is less severe so bridge and tailpiece can be kept close to the body
• Tone is more balanced and lively

Things I don't love about the S2:

• Neck pickup is too hot; too much bass
• Stock pots are cheap and noisy
• Stock switch is super stiff
• Stock tuners are not locking like other S2 guitars
• Stoptail has these openings that are really useful for removing strings, but when putting on new strings the ends will constantly slip out. This is where locking tuners would be extremely helpful as you can pull snug, tighten, then tune up.

All in all, very happy with this guitar and pretty sure I can move on from my Les Paul and 335!

 

[Los-D]

move on from my Les Paul and 335

How’s the bevel top compared to SE or Core?

 

[Jarick]

View attachment 26653

How’s the bevel top compared to SE or Core?

SE - shallower bevel, plain maple top with flame veneer, and exposed natural binding

S2 - deeper and more pronounced bevel, full thickness maple top with light figuring, no binding

Core - carved top (like a Gibson), full thickness maple top with strong/quality figuring, exposed natural binding

 

[Warmart]

One thing is for damn sure, @Jarick - you're my pickup swapping hero!

I've had pickups sitting here staring at me for almost a week. They are going in my RG (replacing Fishmans).

And you've replaced pickups like 7 times since then

I made a wiring diagram this morning, lol. Looking at the Fishman wiring does nothing but confound me, so I just need to desolder, yank everything but the 3-way switch, and go from there. Only real question is what to do with the 2-position mini-toggle that was used to change "voices". Guess I can make it split, but prob won't ever use it lol.

 

[Jarick]

One thing is for damn sure, @Jarick - you're my pickup swapping hero!

I've had pickups sitting here staring at me for almost a week. They are going in my RG (replacing Fishmans).

And you've replaced pickups like 7 times since then

I made a wiring diagram this morning, lol. Looking at the Fishman wiring does nothing but confound me, so I just need to desolder, yank everything but the 3-way switch, and go from there. Only real question is what to do with the 2-position mini-toggle that was used to change "voices". Guess I can make it split, but prob won't ever use it lol.

Let me think how many I swapped…

Pulled Wilfetones out of my Les Paul and put in Duncan’s then swapped for Friedmans

Swapped stock PRS for Suhrs then Wolfetones

Last week pulled Suhrs from my CE24 then swapped in stock USA pickups…

 

[norminal]

Let me think how many I swapped…

Pulled Wilfetones out of my Les Paul and put in Duncan’s then swapped for Friedmans

Swapped stock PRS for Suhrs then Wolfetones

Last week pulled Suhrs from my CE24 then swapped in stock USA pickups…

 

[la szum]

I have done enough PU Swaps to know that I loathe them at this point in life,
and convince myself that they are mostly unnecessary, while I continue to
search for and buy more Pickups.

 

[Jarick]

Took the plunge today, ripped out all the electronics, and working to install high quality Switchcraft and CTS parts. The pickup selector is stiff and bridge pickup is cutting in and out, and even after cleaning both tone pots are crackling and cutting in and out as well.

Only real downside is I had to ream out the tone pots as they were slightly smaller, but luckily I had a reamer tool for this exact purpose and it worked quite well.

 

[Jarick]

Oh man, installing some high quality electronics feels like coming HOME. Now it truly feels like a premium instrument! The pots have a good resistance to them and taper very smoothly, not the flimsy fast cheap feel of the stock ones. And the switch is a satisfying buttery smooth toggle like a real guitar.

It also seems to have more high end bite too, which makes sense as all the pots measured around 535k. But I'll need to let the neck settle and probably tweak the truss rod and action. It's too low so it's a bit buzzy which makes it sound brighter. Need to get the strings off the frets to open up the tone.

Lots of people say the knobs don't fit CTS pots. No worries, just take a screwdriver and LIGHTLY widen the tip. Took about a minute to fix and now they are rock solid. Worked for me on every other PRS I've done as well.

Side note, I do not understand why PRS is charging $140 for their 3-way toggle switch. A standard short Switchcraft works and fits perfectly and it costs about $30. Luckily I already had one with all the wiring ready to go.

So total investment so far:

$1000 for the PRS S2 McCarty
$0 for the Wolfetone pickups that I already had
$0 for the PAF nickel covers I already had
$0 for the Switchcraft switch I already had
$0 for the Switchcraft jack I already had (although stock was fine)
$30 for the CTS 525k pots
$8 for the Orange Drop caps

 

[Jarick]

Raised the action way up and now it's money. Not sure why but the bridge was lowered all the way to the body of the guitar. Maybe a kid snuck in while I had the guitar apart? Anyways it plays and sounds absolutely killer now.

Gibson Les Paul and Epiphone 335 will be listed for sale!

 

[SillyOctpuss]

Side note, I do not understand why PRS is charging $140 for their 3-way toggle switch. A standard short Switchcraft works and fits perfectly and it costs about $30. Luckily I already had one with all the wiring ready to go.

Anyone who buys a switch from prs needs to have their wallet taken away and put into some sort of conservatorship so a sensible non insane person can manage their finances.

Or they just need a slap. Either works.

 

[Jarick]

Little more of an update, spent several days NOT playing the PRS McCarty, then came back to it today...I'm not sure I've ever bonded as quickly with a guitar before. It honestly feels like a guitar I've had for decades. It reminds me so much of the Gibson Les Paul Studio that was my #1 guitar for years as a teen. The neck is just extraordinarily comfortable.

Really it just seems to fix a lot of the things I don't like as much with the Les Paul...it's lighter, better balance, more comfortable neck, more balanced tonally, more stable tuning. It actually has more of a woody tone because it doesn't have as much boomy bass or harshness in the bridge. And that's with the same pickups I had just pulled out of the LP to boot.

 

[spawnofthesith]

Little more of an update, spent several days NOT playing the PRS McCarty, then came back to it today...I'm not sure I've ever bonded as quickly with a guitar before. It honestly feels like a guitar I've had for decades. It reminds me so much of the Gibson Les Paul Studio that was my #1 guitar for years as a teen. The neck is just extraordinarily comfortable.

Really it just seems to fix a lot of the things I don't like as much with the Les Paul...it's lighter, better balance, more comfortable neck, more balanced tonally, more stable tuning. It actually has more of a woody tone because it doesn't have as much boomy bass or harshness in the bridge. And that's with the same pickups I had just pulled out of the LP to boot.

Glad your loving it! I basically didn't touch any of my other guitars for like 3 or 4 months after getting mine

 

[Jarick]

Glad your loving it! I basically didn't touch any of my other guitars for like 3 or 4 months after getting mine

PRS guitars really are fantastic. My CE-24 has been one of the best instruments I ever owned. The S2 McCarty I played last year kind of haunted me for a while and I was hoping this other one would be as good, and it sure is. Yeah I had to gut the electronics on it but I do that with everything.

 

[spawnofthesith]

PRS guitars really are fantastic. My CE-24 has been one of the best instruments I ever owned. The S2 McCarty I played last year kind of haunted me for a while and I was hoping this other one would be as good, and it sure is. Yeah I had to gut the electronics on it but I do that with everything.

Yeah its kinda funny I got my semihollow CE-24 like only a week before I ended up snagging the mccarty as well, and I had much more of an immediate enamoration with the 594 so it kinda didn't get proper playtime. But at this current moment in time its pretty much all I'm grabbing. I love the thin neck 24 frets and the 85/15s seriously rip. Love them for clean and high gain

I have an SD scourge for my 594 that I still need to get in the bridge... my friend was gonna do that for me but we've been having trouble getting our schedules aligned. Probably just time for me to stop being a baby and go get a soldering iron and learn to do it myself lol

 

[Jarick]

Yeah its kinda funny I got my semihollow CE-24 like only a week before I ended up snagging the mccarty as well, and I had much more of an immediate enamoration with the 594 so it kinda didn't get proper playtime. But at this current moment in time its pretty much all I'm grabbing. I love the thin neck 24 frets and the 85/15s seriously rip. Love them for clean and high gain

I have an SD scourge for my 594 that I still need to get in the bridge... my friend was gonna do that for me but we've been having trouble getting our schedules aligned. Probably just time for me to stop being a baby and go get a soldering iron and learn to do it myself lol

I always saw my CE-24 as more of a hot rodded humbucker guitar. For a long time I had Thornbuckers in it trying to do the PAF thing but it's a little too polite. So putting the stock pickups back in which are a little hotter, and then running it in Eb tuning for things like Alice in Chains is really cool.

Then the 594 is more like Les Paul, so having PAF style pickups makes sense. Perfect world a 58/15 bridge and 58/15 LT neck would have been really cool if they sold those pickups individually.