PRS players I have a question

[yngzaklynch]

If I wanted a McCarty 594 Single Cut but wanted hot puckups what PRS pickups should I order on it? Can i order a slimmer more shred friendly neck profile and larger frets?

 

[megaboogie]

The thinnest neck would be the pattern thin, not sure if MC594 will ever come with that profile tough.
Frets you can't choose unless you go private stock... which would also let you to choose the Pattern thin neck as well, but it's gonna cost you a lot more money for a couple little changes.
For hot pickups I personally like the old dragon II's in my CU22. As for the new, \m/ "metal" pickups are their high gain pickups but I haven't tried them.

 

[firegate]

I have the \m/'s in my Custom 24 Floyd and I love them. They're a hot pickup in the Dimarzio vein, thick bottom end and really drive an amp hard.

 

[mooncobra]

the DGT frets are awesome. I got a DGT recently, great guitar. Many people say the pickups are some of the best ever made. PRS doesn't sell them, they only come in the DGT. Once in a while someone takes them out and they sell them for 400 bucks, or sometimes more. Anyhow, check out the DGT also. I have had a handful of PRS, and this is the best playing/sounding/feeling I have played or come across. The pickups split VERY WELL! Check out ths demo, James Ivanyi, he starts out playing clean tones with the pickups split. It sounds great. And listen to the high gain stuff, really beefy yet keeps the definition and clarity. I was very surprised with this PRS. You should check these out also man. The neck is great on this guitar.

 

[rokket2005]

If you want a singlecut with a thinner neck and hot pickups, you might just want to go with a Tremonti, as I'm pretty sure you can get a pattern thin on it and the tremonti pickups are pretty hot. As far as other PRS hot pickups go, the 59/09s are like a hotter version of the 57/08s, both of which sound great. The HFS/Vintage bass set is well rounded and largely the sound of PRS guitars from the mid 90's until the mid 2000's. I like the 245 pickups quite a bit too, but I don't know that PRS still makes them, and the 59/09s are probably better suited to what you would want anyway.

 

[andross182]

The 594 models come with a Pattern Vintage neck cut that isn't changeable outside of Private Stock, and their pickups aren't changeable unless you go with an Artist Package.

If you want a more shred friendly neck, look at the PRS Tremonti, 25" scale pattern thin neck (thinnest neck they make) and the pickups are quite hot.

 

[thiswaythatway]

I'd say go Tremonti. The frets are pretty big and the neck is thin.

 

[thiswaythatway]

the DGT frets are awesome. I got a DGT recently, great guitar. Many people say the pickups are some of the best ever made. PRS doesn't sell them, they only come in the DGT. Once in a while someone takes them out and they sell them for 400 bucks, or sometimes more. Anyhow, check out the DGT also. I have had a handful of PRS, and this is the best playing/sounding/feeling I have played or come across. The pickups split VERY WELL! Check out ths demo, James Ivanyi, he starts out playing clean tones with the pickups split. It sounds great. And listen to the high gain stuff, really beefy yet keeps the definition and clarity. I was very surprised with this PRS. You should check these out also man. The neck is great on this guitar.

I owned a DGT for a few years. Very nice overall guitar. I would say that it's not meant for heavier tones, I found the pickups sound a little loose for metal tones compared to other guitars. It makes sense since Grissom wanted these pickups and guitar to sound like a Gibson 335 he owned. I'd lean it toward more vintage tones.

 

[Mr. Willy]

I'd say go Tremonti. The frets are pretty big and the neck is thin.

I second this.

Yngzakklynch, when you said you're looking for a PRS, the Tremonti was the first one that popped into my head based on your style and the other guitars you play. The pattern thin is not the same as the wide thin. The wide thin is more speedy, kinda D shaped, whereas the pattern thin is more C shaped. I'm not a Tremonti fan, but that guitar is pretty killer. You should try it out if you can.

 

[prsplayer86]

If you want a singlecut with a thinner neck and hot pickups, you might just want to go with a Tremonti, as I'm pretty sure you can get a pattern thin on it and the tremonti pickups are pretty hot. As far as other PRS hot pickups go, the 59/09s are like a hotter version of the 57/08s, both of which sound great. The HFS/Vintage bass set is well rounded and largely the sound of PRS guitars from the mid 90's until the mid 2000's. I like the 245 pickups quite a bit too, but I don't know that PRS still makes them, and the 59/09s are probably better suited to what you would want anyway.

This. I've played some thicker neck termonti's but most I've picked up have been thinner than my PRS singlecuts. I use SC250 pickups. Love them. They're basically warmer/not as hot of a version of tremonti's pickups. I'd honestly just call PRS, and ask them directly what their thoughts are. Even if your buying used, they'll steer you right.

 

[RockyStar]

If the Tremonti has a fixed bridge and his name on the 12th fret then it is a wide fat neck. If the guitar has a trem and no name on the 12th fret then it is a wide thin or pattern thin depending on year it was made. No neck carve is like the 594 except the 594. The Tremonti pickups are hotter and not bad but I think you can do better pickup wise with something else. The Tremonti has more naturally in alignment with what you want than anything else. Private stock is a whole different ballgame but so is the price. Bang for the buck, tough to beat a Tremonti.

 

[Mr. Willy]

I really wish PRS offered more options with fretboard radius and fret size. I'd love a wide thin neck with a 12"-14" radius with extra jumbo sized frets.

 

[yngzaklynch]

Thanks everyone. I may persue a PRS but it's going to take a pretty sweet one. I love my Suhrs. Would like something different but if i doubt I'll play it much...

 

[Viper]

I would get a SC250, they are like the Tremontis but better pickups with a hardtail.

 

[RockyStar]

I really wish PRS offered more options with fretboard radius and fret size. I'd love a wide thin neck with a 12"-14" radius with extra jumbo sized frets.

They do, it is called Private Stock.

 

[CaseyCor]

I spent 3 hours with a double cut McCarty 594 last week and loved everything about it except for the pickups. I played it through a new Fender Silverface Vibroverb and a Boss Katana for higher gain stuff. Not a lot available amp wise. The neck is great for me personally. I wouldn't call it big by any means. It felt very comfortable. I could shred on it with ease. It's not an Ibanez wizard neck, but it's not an early Les Paul baseball bat either.

The pickups just didn't do it for me at higher gain. The clean and low gain sounds were great, especially in the middle position. There's some real magic going on with the tone controls on that guitar. Put the toggle in the middle and dial out some treble on both pickups and you'll find something very special. I rarely ever find a use for tone control settings under 5 on the dial, but on this guitar the whole range was useful. Dial it back for darker jazzier sounds without losing any body or character, crank it up again to cut through. It was great. Split coils sounded good too, and I noticed very little volume loss. I can't remember any volume loss at all, now that I think about it.

I do wish those pickups had held together under high gain a bit more. I don't want to give up the other benefits in order to get better metal sounds. They're classic PAF style pickups, so it's not like I'm surprised here. I don't really like super high output pickups, but it seems I need a bit more juice than these. Who knows...perhaps running the 594 into a rig that's more my speed will prove different. I should reserve judgment until then.


I will say they had an S2 Mira in stock that plays great and weighs like 4 pounds. It was just under a grand, and the 594 is $3500. The 594 was great and all..but so was the Mira, and it's $2500 cheaper. I don't see the point really. Sacrifice the sunburst color and flame top for a huge cash savings.

 

[Mr. Willy]

I really wish PRS offered more options with fretboard radius and fret size. I'd love a wide thin neck with a 12"-14" radius with extra jumbo sized frets.

They do, it is called Private Stock.

Ok, let me put it another way. I wish PRS offered those options in the regular line. Private Stock costs an arm and a leg.