Pickup Help with McCarty PLEASE!!!!!!

[Jeff Carrabine]

I just got a PRS McCarty. I have it on trial basis. I love the quality and the way it plays, but the tone is not that great. I have 7 days to try it out. If I don't like it I can return it and get a refund. Im really upset to be considering a pickup change on a $2300 guitar, but I guess that I'm thinking that this could be one awesome guitar. I'm 35 and I've owned almost every major manufactured guitar in my years of playing. I've gotten rid of everything I had and kept my Super Reverb, and some stomp boxes. I said to myself that I wanted ONE good LAST guitar to noodle on.


In my past I had a LP Classic that the tone was real cool. The thing I liked about it was that if I put some drive through it and hit a light first position G, the sound after I strummed the cord would swell. It was like the guitar was about to go into feedback, but the volume was too low for that. The problem with the LP was it was built very bad and I sold it because I couldn't bare to look at it.


The problem with the PRS is that the neck pickup is too bassy and seem to compress during leads to the point that a few strings sound as though they are going flat tone wise if I hold the note. This happens with a good amount of overdrive. The bridge pup to me tone wise sounds generic like any run of the mill humbucking based Jap guitar.


Here is what I am looking for in tone. I might need some older people here. For a bridge tone I would like it to have the overtones that Gary Richrath had on REO's "Roll with the Changes". For the neck I would like the tone to sound more like the Allman Bros. Those are probably the best real world tone explanations I can give for what I want. I'm sure some would say for me to just send the PRS back and get an LP, but the quality issues are something I don't really want to deal with, but if the PRS won't do what I want then I will have to do that. I would also like the combo of pickups to produce a resonable single coil sound.

ANY help would be great!!

Thanks Jeff

 

[SOLO GUITAR STEWIE]

Re: Pickup Help with McCarty PLEASE!!!!!!

I Would Suggest A C-5 Bridge / Seth Or Antiquity Neck
Those Are The Pups I Automaticly Associate With The Bands You Listed.
Hope This Helps...expert Advice Will Come Soon....

My .02 Cents
Stewie

 

[mrfjones]

Re: Pickup Help with McCarty PLEASE!!!!!!

i thought of the seth or antiquity neck, i am really not sure for the bridge cause i don't listen to enough reo.

the seth is like an brand new paf from the 50's unpotted, the antiquity is also like a paf from the 50's but, played for 50 years. very good tones out of each but i am a little biased towards the antiquities since i have a couple of different sets and they both sound amazing. Good luck and welcome to the board

 

[TattooedCarrot]

Re: Pickup Help with McCarty PLEASE!!!!!!

SH-5 custom bridge and either a Pearly Gates or Seth neck.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Pickup Help with McCarty PLEASE!!!!!!

Custom 5 bridge/Jazz neck in nickelcovered or zebra. Both w/4 lead hookup.
I have C-5/59 in most LP's and McCarty, which I love, but I think you would be more than happy with C-5/Jazz. Strong output vintage tone bridge with a smooth and non-bassy Alnico 5 neck. I think this is a great replacement for the McCarty Treb & Bass.
I notice a stepup in tone going from my stock McCarty to my C-5/59 loaded one.

 

[Jeff Carrabine]

Re: Pickup Help with McCarty PLEASE!!!!!!

OK I started off with the Jazz neck...I love it, but I F@#%ed up and got a DiMarzio Tone Zone in the bridge and it sucks. I can't find a C5. Maybe I'll hold out and order one, or try a couple other things. I hate to wait :evil:


Thanks

 

[papersoul]

Re: Pickup Help with McCarty PLEASE!!!!!!

I have a McCarty and initially though I would change out the pickups but ended up spending a lot of time tweaking the stock pickups. I think the stock pickups are fairly rich and full....nice string to string articulation. I adjusted the bridge pickups to about 2/32" from the strings and radiused the pole pieces to the arc or radius of the fretboard. What a difference! Radiusing the screw pieces on the McCarty bridge is KEY! Much punchier, brighter, clearer, sounds more balanced, focused. This made a larger difference than radiusing on my Les Paul. Now, it sounds incredible. I wouldn't have given up on those pickups, especially the bridge.

I know a guy who swears by the McCarty bridge and Duncan 59 neck so that could be another good combination. The Mc neck can be bassy, so the 59 or Jazz is a good replacement and it sounds like you already have the Jazz.

I have to admit, I still plan on trying the C-5/59, but I do think PRS guitars seem to favor pickups with a decent midrange like the PRS Dragon IIs which are also killer in PRS models. They have thicker midrange than the C-5, which can give the impression of a warmer and richer tone. I hear this in the stock CU22. TC mentioned the Custom which is another good choose, but I do prefer the more open and warm character of the C-5 and the better cleans. The Custom can sound hard IMO. Then again.....I've had jam sessions where I loved it. Go figure.

My only complaint is the Custom and C-5 can be a little thin on leads or single note lines. The JB and Rio Grande BBQ sound a lot fatter for this.

Nice thing about the C-5 is that it will handle ANY style. I had it in my LP and had no problem with Jazzy runs to classic rock to metal meltdown! :dance:

Some set to consider:
C-5/59 or Jazz
Custom/59 or Jazz
Dragon II set
Rio BBQ/Texas

 

[J.LaGrassa]

Re: Pickup Help with McCarty PLEASE!!!!!!

I've tried a few different pups now in my McCarty and just Reinstalled the C5/59N, I have rotated different pickup brands in this guitar several times. To my ears the C5 sounds like the McCarty treble but with more output and a fatter lead tone. The 59N takes away the muddy tone that the McCarty bass pup most people recognize in the McCarty, The Jazz n is a nice pup but the 59N I think has a better tone.

I also use a 180pF capacitor on the guitars volume knob it reacts well with the C5/59 for when you lower your guitars volume and keeping some clarity to your signal!

I think the C5 Splits very nicely in the single coil mode!

 

[papersoul]

Re: Pickup Help with McCarty PLEASE!!!!!!

Okay John, you convinced me along with Gearjoneser to try this combo in my McCarty. If it doesn't work, it's back to my Rio Grande BBQ/Texas set.

The McCarty allows the guitar's tone to come through as does the C-5 and that is probably why you find them similar although fatter with the C-5. I am kind of surprised you find the C-5 to have the fatter lead since it has less mids. No?

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Pickup Help with McCarty PLEASE!!!!!!

Don't make the mistake of going to a guitar store and grabbing whatever Duncan they have in their display. Just contact forum members Lew or Blackrose, and they'll get you a good price on a nickel Custom 5/59 4 lead. In retrospect, I think LeGrassa is right, the 59N does have a richer tone than the Jazz. I only suggested the Jazz because of your complaint of boomy bass. Go with C-5/59 in nickel or zebra!

On my McCarties, I connect my bridge as a two lead, while connecting the neck as a 4 lead. This way, I lose my split bridge tone, but I can use my 3 way to go between either a hum neck and hum bridge, or split neck and hum bridge. No more messing with the pullup tone when going back to my bridge pickup. Just an idea.
Also, the C-5 has great cleans, so it'll sound better on your Super Reverb than most of the other Duncan pickups with dense mids.

 

[papersoul]

Re: Pickup Help with McCarty PLEASE!!!!!!

Something to consider is that I find open coil pickups to sound deeper with more dynamics. I kind of find something gets lost with covers. Just a thought.

Also, one of my favorite positions is split when using both pickups! something to consider. Gearjoneser has a great point in that with his configuration you don't have to use the push/pull pot but you also lose the ability to use both pickups split which is a great tone.

 

[J.LaGrassa]

Re: Pickup Help with McCarty PLEASE!!!!!!

Okay John, you convinced me along with Gearjoneser to try this combo in my McCarty. If it doesn't work, it's back to my Rio Grande BBQ/Texas set.

The McCarty allows the guitar's tone to come through as does the C-5 and that is probably why you find them similar although fatter with the C-5. I am kind of surprised you find the C-5 to have the fatter lead since it has less mids. No?

Maybe the extra Bass helps fill the void with the lower mids for lead tones, Its definitely fatter than the McCarty Treble pup. Also the Tonebone Classic I use for distortion has lots of control over the Frequency's I use to get the sound I want so that helps quite a bit.