NGD: 2020 PRS McCarty 594 McCarty Tobacco Sunburst

RandallFlagg

After a disappointing experience with a PRS DGT that I never bonded with at all, I never thought I would own a PRS again...but here we are. PRS are not everyone's cup of tea for sure but first impressions are good here.

I sold my Gibson Custom Shop SG, it was a really nice sounding and looking guitar but I just couldn't bond with it to play, the pickups are too close together on an SG and I was forever clunking the neck pickup with my pick, Also the way the neck pickup is set back on an SG and little plastic infill added made the neck feel somehow disconnected from the body. 

I'm also selling my Strat, it plays lovely but I just can't get with the thin plinky Strat tone any longer. I will never own a Strat or an SG again. (he said...)

My CS Tele really bedded in quickly and I've played it constantly since I got it in June. But, I want a foil for the Tele, a dual humbucker guitar so was looking out for R9s at the weekend but ended up deciding to try a PRS McCarty 594 and it arrived earlier.

It instantly feels better than than the DGT, the body is thicker and its heavier (7lb 11oz) than the one I had and I cannot be doing with a trem on a guitar any more. The 594 instantly feels "Gibson like" but the build and quality is absolute perfection as you would expect from a PRS. I really like the brushed satin pick covers in place of shiny nickel ones. The finish feels warmer and less poly like than previous PRS I've owned, it's the new 2020 nitro top coat. The fretboard is a really lovely dark rosewood with lots of fine pore marks.

This wasn't my first choice 594 of the new ones I found available and the top wood grain figuring is not quite as handsome as I would have liked but I love the tobacco sunburst colour and from a few feet away it looks quite understated for a PRS. The first one I tried to buy was scratched quite badly so I took this one from Peach Guitars and it's delivered in pristine perfect condition.

Set up fit and finish, nut cut, relief, action all spot on. Played acoustically, it's the first PRS I've played that has that fat warm Les Paul sound on the top strings when you play up the neck, it's without doubt got the Les Paul vibe coursing through it, and plugged in has a warmer fatter sound than any PRS I've played previously and the neck pickup tone is plummy and really nice. The shorter scale length really helps capture that Gibson feel.

It'll do, here's some pics:

fretmeister

Very nice!

Can't beat a TOM bridge.

kentuckyklira

Very nice, congrats!

andy1839

Congrats, that's a stunner!

 I've got three 594s now, I absolutely love them. 

guitargeek62

fretmeister said:

Very nice!

Can't beat a TOM bridge.

You can if it's not technically a TOM! I've got the S2 version of it sat here on the 594 Singlecut, though this one's only here temporarily on trial. The bridge is a marked improvement over the original in feel for palm-muting etc, and it rings like a bell - I much prefer it already to the normal PRS wraparound too!

Congrats on the NGD @RandallFlag, I'm hoping to be joining you in the 594 boat soon once my Cu24 sells

Grampa

Beautiful.
I had a McCarty 594 for around 12 months, absolutely adored it, but my head was turned by a PRS MEQ and the 594 was sadly moved on to pastures new.
Enjoy, they are things of wonder.

RandallFlagg

andy1839 said:

Congrats, that's a stunner!

 I've got three 594s now, I absolutely love them. 

3? wow. I'd love to try one of the Soapbar 594s as well. 

Blueingreen

I have the SC Semi Hollow version of the 594.  Wonderful guitars.  I've owned a couple of DGTs, Suhrs, Andersons (plus numerous Gibsons) and the fit, finish and playability on the 594 tops any of them.

andy1839

RandallFlagg said:

andy1839 said:

Congrats, that's a stunner!

 I've got three 594s now, I absolutely love them. 

3? wow. I'd love to try one of the Soapbar 594s as well. 

Two doublecuts and a single cut.

Lovely things, don't have a P90 one yet, but will eventually!

richardhomer

Are these really thicker than a DGT or the ‘normal’ Stoptail McCarty?

RandallFlagg

richardhomer said:

Are these really thicker than a DGT or the ‘normal’ Stoptail McCarty?

This 594 feels more substantial but the DGT I had was very, very light which didn't help. This 594 is 40mm thick which may be a few mm thicker than the DGT??, I can't remember.

Jalapeno

My 594 SC is a chunky lad too.

Philly_Q

I really like the look and specs of the 594 models but can't help balking at the price.

However, fantastic looking guitar!  I'd never noticed before that the face of the headstock had a rosewood veneer, do they all have that?

I don't know how many PRS guitars you've owned in the past, but - if you can comment - does the Pattern Vintage neck feel significantly bigger than/different from the Pattern/Wide Fat?

(Slightly surprised you sold that SG!)

thegummy

Stunning guitar!

What more can I say?

RandallFlagg

Jalapeno said:

My 594 SC is a chunky lad too.

The SC 594 has and even thicker body.

RandallFlagg

Philly_Q said:

I really like the look and specs of the 594 models but can't help balking at the price.

However, fantastic looking guitar!  I'd never noticed before that the face of the headstock had a rosewood veneer, do they all have that?

I don't know how many PRS guitars you've owned in the past, but - if you can comment - does the Pattern Vintage neck feel significantly bigger than/different from the Pattern/Wide Fat?

(Slightly surprised you sold that SG!)

I think the rosewood veneer has been on most PRS for a few years now. 

I can't really comment on the 594 neck profile vs Pattern wide/fat as I've never owned a PRS with that carve.

Philly_Q

RandallFlagg said:

Philly_Q said:

I really like the look and specs of the 594 models but can't help balking at the price.

However, fantastic looking guitar!  I'd never noticed before that the face of the headstock had a rosewood veneer, do they all have that?

I don't know how many PRS guitars you've owned in the past, but - if you can comment - does the Pattern Vintage neck feel significantly bigger than/different from the Pattern/Wide Fat?

(Slightly surprised you sold that SG!)

I think the rosewood veneer has been on most PRS for a few years now. 

I can't really comment on the 594 neck profile vs Pattern wide/fat as I've never owned a PRS with that carve.

Just looked on the Peach site and you're right!  Strange how that had passed me by, I've owned a lot of PRS guitars but they're all older.  And I see the PRS logo is inlaid rather than stuck on the top as before.

And there I was thinking I had a good eye for detail.

guitars4you

RandallFlagg said:

Philly_Q said:

I really like the look and specs of the 594 models but can't help balking at the price.

However, fantastic looking guitar!  I'd never noticed before that the face of the headstock had a rosewood veneer, do they all have that?

I don't know how many PRS guitars you've owned in the past, but - if you can comment - does the Pattern Vintage neck feel significantly bigger than/different from the Pattern/Wide Fat?

(Slightly surprised you sold that SG!)

I think the rosewood veneer has been on most PRS for a few years now. 

I can't really comment on the 594 neck profile vs Pattern wide/fat as I've never owned a PRS with that carve.

I believe the 594 is slightly deeper/larger than the wide/fat pattern profile that has been a bench mark of many PRS Guitars - Not chunky to the extent of fat, but an extra oz of meat on it nonetheless - Comfortable and easy to handle IMO and I don't have large hands - I recently sold a used SC594 and IMO a very nice guitar  

wesker123

Stunning guitars - HNGD 

Blueingreen

I'm better qualified to judge the 594 carve v the DGT than the wide/fat or pattern, but I'd say it's noticeably chunkier than the DGT which I think is itself a little chunkier than the pattern.  That was my main reservation about the 594 to be honest as I've tended in the past to at least *think* I prefer medium or even slightly slimmer necks.  Turns out I'm actually fine with the chunkier neck.  But in the end whether the extra chunkiness v the pattern detracts from the guitar is going to be very personal.

richardhomer

RandallFlagg said:

richardhomer said:

Are these really thicker than a DGT or the ‘normal’ Stoptail McCarty?

This 594 feels more substantial but the DGT I had was very, very light which didn't help. This 594 is 40mm thick which may be a few mm thicker than the DGT??, I can't remember.

Just measured mine - it’s 35mm.

I suppose 5mm is significant when it comes to thickness.....