McCarty

This is a 17-year old guitar. When PRS came into the limelight, the McCarty was making headlines in addition to the Custom 22s & 24s. It was supposedly a stripped down interpretation of PRS' guitar philosophy paying tribute, of all people, to an individual from its rival camp, Gibson. If you are rooted in all things guitar then history matters. We cannot simply ignore what Ted McCarty brought into the industry in terms of both revival & invention prospect. So back in 2002, the McCarty was still in its introductory phase & I was quite obsessed with it.

Obsession was unfortunately coupled with an exhausted bank account. That's right, 2002 was also my wedding year, all funds were channeled to this big day in one's life so getting a McCarty was definitely out of any considerations. The wife then asked what I would like as wedding gifts because early acquisition was necessary so that items could be well prepared & displayed on the big day itself. Traditionally, the Malay custom dictates a set of necessaries to be exchanged between the bride & groom; clothing, footwear & other accessories were the norm. I made it clear that these were strictly traditional & I have no use for an overpriced set of belt, shoes & whatever else were for the taking. I am a non-conformist at large, being shackled by customs & tradition are definitely not my thing. So the McCarty consideration came into the picture & it was a simple decision on my part. Done. The catch was, because the guitar was sort of a custom-finished option, it wouldn't be ready on the wedding day & that's absolutely fine with me. My wedding was a very small affair, far removed from the elaborate take that others observe. 

I seldom feature this guitar in my entries because it's a personal affair. It's a plain PRS, no fancy 10-top to show, I'm not one for elaborate finishes. It does get played but not as frequent as others; it's simply my precious & it gets more looking into & maintained than anything else. The McCarty pickups there simply hold their own in terms of tone & I won't have anything else as replacements. So it got a fresh set of strings a few days ago & it had always been a set of PRS since day one. 😁