Paul Reed Smith Review: McCarty

History:

Purchase: I acquired this McCarty by purchasing it from a guitar store in Edmonton, Alberta Canada for $2,800(Canadian). I bought it because it was my favourite of all the guitars that I tried.

What I Like About This Paul Reed Smith McCarty: My McCarty is the coolest looking guitar that anyone could imagine. The Gold Top is very unique in that unlike many goldtop guitars it has a more glassy luster to it rather than a metallic one. Because of this combined with the wicked carved maple top it looks incredible in a different way no matter what direction, angle or distance you look at it from. However, not only does it look cool, it sounds coolest. Unlike many modern guitars(e.g. ESP, Ibanez, Jackson) the McCarty's sound is free of the annoying squeeks, scratches, buzzes and screeches that seem to swarm to guitars with ultra hi-gain pickups. The type of guitars which are more commonly used by Metal guitarists, which is what I am. I believe that the McCarty Model is the ultimate combination of Les Paul heavyness and sustain and Stratocaster precision and brightness. It has just enough highs and mids to let the higher notes ring through loud and clear but it also has a heaping pile of smooth, sustaining, yet crushing low end. The main thing that sets the McCarty far ahead of the screeching, squeeking buzzing pack of imports is its smooth yet clear tone which is very contradictory to the usual harsh open coil sound that the imports tend to deliver.

What I Do NOT Like About The Paul Reed Smith McCarty: My only real complaints about this amazing guitar are that 1)it's action is very difficult to get just right and 2)it doesn't have locking tuners for tuning stability after dropping down to the depths of metal tuning.

Paul Reed Smith McCarty Quality Rating: The construction and quality of the instrument were impecable, however there was one itsy bitsy flaw. When I removed the truss rod cover to perform some adkjustments I discoverd a small gob of wood shavings stuck together by some dried up headstock finisher. This catastrophe however, was solved with the flick of finger. Aside from that it was flawless.

Review Summary: Overall the PRS McCarty is well worth the fairly hefty price tag. It is the best guitar I have ever played thus far in my life, and I doubt it will be surpassed anytime soon.

Rating of this Paul Reed Smith product: 5

This Paul Reed Smith McCarty Electric Guitars Review Submitted By: Mr. Guitar Head

Review Date: 2001-07-23