Review: 2007 PRS McCarty Korina with Brazilian Rosewood fingerboard. McCarty PUs w/ coil tap. Black burst finish. After living with this guitar for roughly a year or so, I sold it today, but not without a fairly high degree of ambivalence. There is a special acquisition I want to make that necessitated letting go of something - the PRS was it. I wish to disclose these things up front so that you may have some insight into my perspective, and hopefully that produces a more honest, useful review. I never really warmed up to PRS guitars, though I have tried them out many times over the years. I believe it was first at Pyramid guitars Redford, when someone first put one of these new, much fussed-about guitars in my hands. On the positive side, they played great, and seemed very high quality construction; downside, they sounded flat and lifeless to me, and the over-the-top flame-y designs did not appeal to my sense of aesthetic. Each time I heard someone using one on stage, Crenshaw, Nugent, Santana, etc., they always sounded the same, very generic, and for some reason, always lost in the mix, as if key frequencies were not represented. My interpretation of the PRS sound should be seen in context with the 50s 60s and 70s music that I played in my bands. Years passed and I noticed that PRS was moving away from the dragon and 10+++++ top phase of design. I started taking a closer look again. I found the korina McCarty at Elderly Instruments, while shopping for a Gibson SG, and after being disappointed by all the SGs, I played the McCarty, and found that I really liked it. It not only sounded better than the SGs at the time, but I found the construction, intonation, everything about it was absolutely top quality. Plus, it had a fingerboard made of genuine Brazilian rosewood, which is my fave material, and a one piece korina body with a one-piece korina neck - another appealing feature. It had nicely done, tasteful abalone bird inlays, and a simply finish. Dual humbuckers with coil tap, and a wrap around bridge/tailpiece - a simple, elegant design. Elderly had about a dozen PRS models on the wall at the time, and I played every damn one of them, through an amp, before I decide this one was my favorite. So I bought it, and Im glad I did. Trying out a guitar at the music store, and living with a guitar for a year are two very different things, in terms of being able to evaluate and assess an instruments tonal characteristics. I played the PRS thru every amp I own, mostly vintage stuff, but the best tone I found was with my 53 Fender Deluxe. That combination was incredible, as the PRS could be teased into controlled feedback on nearly any note I played, and the Deluxe seemed to add some much needed midrange character to the sound. The more recent Fender designs do not seem (to me) to be as good a match for the PRS. At one point, I decided to swap in a set of custom-wound PAF style Lindy Fralin pickups, just to compare. The Fralins seemed to soften the hard edge of the PRS in a nice way, but after swapping the McCarty PUs back in recently, I feel they are fine and do not necessarily need to be replaced. The coil tap however, did not prove to be very useful, as the tone was a bit weak and thin to my ear, not like a true single coil pickup. The real tone was in the humbucking mode. I still feel that the sound of the guitar lacked the warmth and presence of my vintage guitars, and the sound does indeed tend to get lost in the mix, if possibly a bit less so than I remember from earlier models. I cannot really account for why that is, but I have some ideas. Regarding the construction of the PRS, I can honestly say that I probably have never owned a better built guitar, in terms of attention to detail, and just plain excellent quality control. Every screw fit snug and perfect, every piece was flawless. The wiring was tight, the cavity was shielded, no rough edges, no paint drips, etc. I cant begin to describe for you the many times Ive had to have bridges re-located, etc. on Gibson Guitars, and Fender - lets not even go there. There is nothing more I can say, than this PRS was an exceptional build, and made to last. How did it handle? Another high score on this account. To start with, this guitar was the perfect weight and balance - easily the most comfortable guitar Ive owned, when standing, playing with a strap. It was just under 7 lbs, probably due to the solid korina construction. The frets were perfect, no rough edges, and a nice size. The neck shape was what I would describe as slightly chunky, yet easy to grasp, and the taper was natural and smooth. The feel of the Brazilian rosewood was to die for - I just cant get over how much I like that material. Intonation and bridge placement was perfect, and it always sounded remarkably in tune, unlike some of my vintage pieces. Would I buy one again? Absolutely. In fact, if I ever have the chance to get this one back, I would think about it. But, in the end Im glad I gave the PRS a fair shot at showing me what it could do. I hope my comments might be useful to someone who is considering a PRS.
Posted on: Sat, 02 Aug 2014 20:42:45 +0000
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