The Addict's (Slight) Return...

The institution which my family was founded on saw a near terminal conclusion, recently. I was seldom home & had no internet access so updating this blog was impossible. As guitar was my primary distraction, I did not want it to cloud my judgment during turbulent times so this blog took a back seat but I guess that melancholy is now a former episode of my life's journey so- I'm back...

On the night of my imminent announcement to terminate my legal attachment with my partner, I took my PRS McCarty out & decided to part ways with it so giving it a last look was a natural thing to do, it was her wedding gift to me. I'm the type who would want to sever all reminders of my bitter past, I have no qualms turning something I so dearly love into a hateful token in dire need of disposal, I guess there exists inside of me this associative dissent- I hate you so I hate everything associated with you...

I have not showcased this guitar extensively in any guitar forums because I believe doing so is a snob practice. But I consider it a revered tone generator in terms of tone. I have grown accustomed to my Ibanez guitars, this McCarty proved to be a challenge in terms of playability. The guitar has stock parts because I'm happy with the display model I tried but I requested a non-flame top, one which is preferably quasi-put off in terms of looks because I don't believe in visual attraction. So there you have it, an absolutely boring gold-top McCarty...

If you can see here, the serial number was hand-written at the factory. As PRS himself is a fan of Gibson, the neck-headstock portion does not feature a rear volute.

The PRS faux-binding (body) gets my approval because it's a reflection of a genius production technique; getting that bound look with no binding strip added.

The body rear is flat & features a sole electronic cavity (sticker added on much later). There is a heated debate pertaining to that massive neck-body heel. Some say this effectively hindered upper fret access so it's no better than the Les Paul but if you actually get a chance to play a PRS, you'd know this isn't true; upper fret reaches is still superior to an average single-cut design body.

If there's anything I dislike about this guitar is the nickel-plated pickup cover; I stopped polishing it (note the contrast between the covers & the hard tail bridge) because the tarnish would be there regardless of how much polishing is done. Anyway, manufacturers who include nickel-based plating in its hardware formula have intentions for this component to manifest a 'vintage' vibe over time- which I'm not into... However, the tone produced by this pair is absolutely praise-worthy, covering vintage-type output to blistering black metal assault; quite unbelievable but that's what to expect if you have no idea what a McCarty could do.

to be continued...