This guitar is just beautiful.I debated about paying to have it set up, but decided to see what the factory setup is like. It's just perfect. I am amazed at how well this guitar is made. I can't find a flaw anywhere on it.
It will be difficult for me to find an excuse to buy another guitar after this, but if I do it will likely be a PRS.

This Guitar was everything that we would've expected. Right out of the box who played really well couldn't be happier.

I had never owned a PRS. I became very interested in this model for a number of reasons... Scale length, ability to coil split and a neck profile I thought would fit me well. This one came home! So stoked!

After playing my SE 594 for some time now (check my reviews) I can confidently say that after installing locking tuners I have never played a more stable, versatile, and tonally superlative guitar in my career for under $. I play Smooth Jazz, R/B and occasionally Rock covers. This guitar does EVERYTHING! I use BOSS amplification (NexTone Artist Amp with an ME-90 Multi Effects unit) and tonal versatility is not an issue.

This guitar is a workhorse from beginner to pro! BUY IT!

I have had a few PRS SE guitars over the years. Some I bought used and some I bought new. They all played great and felt very good but the my ears NEVER liked the tone of the pickups. A few years back I bought a PRS SE Exotic Ash Custom 24. I loved the way it felt and looked. The pickups were pretty good but still not what I wanted. I swapped out the pickups and electronics and I love it. Fast forward a few years and here we are with the brand new 2025 PRS SE McCarty 594. Couldn't get it out of my head as I was looking for something new. I shipped for a few weeks and compared as many as I could. These guitars vary in weight and finish colors. It's the only inconsistency in PRS manufacturing. I wanted to be able to see the actual guitar and weight of what I was gonna get. NOTHING COMPARES TO SWEETWATERS WEBSITE!!!! My man, Patrick helped me out and was once again, AWESOME. This is the 3rd PRS I've got from SWEETWATER with the help of Patrick. Couldn't have gone better. I got a GORGEOUS Vintage Sunburst double cut that has a veneer flame top that would pass as a super flamed maple solid 10 top. The flame dances in the light and looks deep. It's the 3rd lightest guitar I've ever owned at 6lbs 12 oz only heavier than my Gibson Les Paul Junior double cut at 6 lbs 4 oz and my Fender 50s Baja Tele at a whopping 6 lbs 2 oz. The McCarty showed up 2 days after I ordered it well packed as usual from Sweetwater and right out of the fantastic PRS gigbag, played and felt like any higher end guitar I've ever played. Fit and finish are second to none. Frets are pretty smooth. Not the smoothest I've had on a PRS SE but not sharp at all. Plugged it in and was smiling ear to ear. These 58/15 LT s pickups are great. Low output and anywhere from clean to a vintage growl but yet pretty articulate. The split coil/ coil tap, whatever you want to call it, is actually usable but to me it's not a single coil sound. It's close but if you want single coil, get a single coil. I'm very confident that after the wiring and pots are swapped out, the tone of this 594 will be better. The tone and volume controls are an improvement over past SEs I've had but they are still getting replaced when I get around to it. I'm in no rush because they are more than usable. I LOVE THE PICKUPS. It plays and sounds like a guitar 3-4x its price. This one's a keeper. Highly recommend. ESPECIALLY from Sweetwater. Ask for Patrick.

This is my first PRS. All my current electric guitars and basses have single coil pickups, so I was looking for a LP style guitar that would give me a different tone. My sales engineer pointed me to PRS rather than the Yamaha Revstar I had in my cart.

The guitar was a demo so I saved some money, but it arrived in impeccable shape. I could barely see the scratches they had called out in the photos.

The fit and finish are as nice as any American made instrument I've previously purchased and beyond that it came perfectly setup. I didn't have to make ANY changes to saddle height, neck relief or intonation. That is a first for me. I've always had to setup guitars after purchase. I did change strings to a lighter gauge so that required tweaks but out of the box it was perfect. Big shout out to the PRS / Cor-Tek factory workers.

There are a couple things that keep me from giving it a 5 star review.

The "coil split" slightly brightens the tone and cuts bass but in no way sounds like a single coil pickup. I've read they were aiming to keep volume equivalent but I'd prefer an output drop if the pickup actually had a single coil vibe. It does not, so I can't use this guitar in place of my spanky Tele or clean and bright Strat.

Second, the lower bout cutout is so far forward that the instrument will not balance on my leg, it wants to tilt back and slide off my leg. I have to wear a strap to play it when seated. I spend more time sitting playing than standing at a gig or in rehearsal so that's a fairly big negative for me.

This is my second PRS Guitar and my quickly becomingfavorite! Right out of the box it sounds amazing and I must say these pickups sound great. I have no plans to change the pups either. What surprised me even more though was the coil tapping! You can actually use it and adds more tone. This guitar is 100% win all the way. I might sometime switch to locking Kluson Tuners but,there's no rush. I had a set up done on it and had Ernie Ball Slinkys put on it. I waited almost two days before opening up the box just to be safe. I think the action might be set a little low but, no big deal there. My only other recommendation to Sweetwater is please send more candy. Two bags in being cheap. After all I have to bribe my wife with candy while I carry this new guitar to my studio. A shout out to Josh Trumm my Sales engineer. I already named it Lou Ann and she's great. Rocking my new PRS Thanks Sweetwater Sound and Josh.

These SE McCartys are awesome. Great attention to detail on the binding and fretwork. The pickups in these guitars are fantastic. Now, its no 59' Les Paul but these have to be at the top of the list for best bang for your buck. High quality guitar for $. Padded gig bag is ok but I went and got a gator hard case for it. Fits perfectly.

I have a lot of really quality guitars, like 30, the usual suspects, but this is my favorite. If I had to have just one, this would be it. The neck is perfect. The pickups are the most well rounded. Most guitars i have to fiddle with to get a sound I like. These i can have just about any setting and like the sound. I cant explain it. The only con is that I'm not a fan of the tuners. There's nothing wrong with them, I just don't much like that vintage LP tuner look. Even the cheap knobs look okay and I hate cheap knobs!

I first picked up an electric guitar my freshman year of college, fall of '90, via a new friend who let me manhandle his Jackson often enough for me to get into playing a wee bit. Eventually I scrounged up enough cash to buy a GW Lyon, Washburn's entry-level brand, and picked up the occasional tablature mag off the newsstand. I've salivated for a PRS since I saw them advertised in Guitar magazine back in 1991 or so. That full-page ad of someone on stage (maybe Santana?) playing this gorgeous guitar made an impression, and coincidentally 25 years ago I found myself living roughly an hour from their factory. Now fully 30+ years after that magazine ad- including a significant 15 year gap without owning/playing any guitar- I became aware of the SE line and finally pulled the trigger in late December '23.

Two full months in, I couldn't be more pleased. The feel, sound, intonation, finish, perceived build quality (because you never really know for a few years, right?), and (what started it all back in the early 90s) pulchritude of this axe are everything I could hope for. As countless others have also said in other reviews, it really was ready to go right out of the box. No, it's obviously not as sensual as the full violin-carve models, but it is lovely nonetheless. If I was to look at one thing that could've been better, it's arguably the action, but between having read that PRS' factory preference might be for slightly higher action and my own recognition that I downtune half a step often enough to play some late 80s metal, I'm not overly bothered and haven't made any adjustments myself yet. However the other PRS SEs I've tried that have thinner (Wide Thin) necks (CE, Custom 24, Swamp Ash special) do seem appreciably softer. I can't compare this to any of the more typical $ PRS offerings, as I've just noodled around on a couple in stores, but all things being equal it is difficult to imagine a better guitar (notwithstanding specific personal preferences, of course) being made by anyone in this $ range. If you know of one, let me know- that must be a special guitar.

In the past, I never would've even considered buying a guitar online, but the process and care via Sweetwater is impressive, and the combination of PRS' reputation for consistent quality and attention to detail along with Sweetwater's burgeoning rep allowed me to take the risk... which really wasn't.

This review is for the discontinued beautiful blue color. Mine was flawless. Love the pups. Sounds like a LP but guitar weight like an SG! Only adjustment mine needed was lowering the action. Plays and sounds terrific! I didn't need another guitar but I'm glad I couldn't say no to this one!

This is a thoroughly enjoyable instrument with great build quality. It should serve any application you have in mind.
Value - outstanding

Playability - good out of the box; outstanding after setup. Stays in tune. These tuners have taken some review hits, but mine are excellent. The neck looks huuuge but it feels great, and I'm a lifetime Strat-C player. It conforms to all my hand positions and I find that the asymmetric girth supports bends better than my C or thin-necked guitars. You should be prepared to do minor setup or take it to your local tech. Fret finish was very good, not perfect but totally playable out of the box. Nut cut was good but I am going to lower it a tad. Action was high which was covering for needed truss adjustment. Truss adjustment is very smooth - 1/8 of a turn was all it took to support lower action and slinky feel. And a great bonus - weight under 7lbs. I traded away an American Les Paul that I thought was light at 8lbs, but this is much more comfortable. This won't cause back strain at all. Light and balanced. This guitar should be a carefully considered Les Paul alternative IMHO.

Tone - outstanding. These lo-wind pickups are keepers and that is rare for import models. They are very articulate and nuanced, lovely cleans, expressive blues, and organic drive and distortion tones. Both HB and split tones are really great, as are all the possible combinations. Some have complained of volume drop when split, but I haven't found it to be a problem or really any more noticeable than other splits I have, Duncan P-Rails aare my benchmark. The body and neck use a lot of pieces of wood and I was wondering if it would impair tone - nope. I am only speculating, but I think the chunkier neck may contribute to the guitar's resonance- I've found this to be true in other PRS I've tried.

Cosmetics - first-rate.

Accessories - the gig bag is high-quality. FWIW I like the PRS style of truss wrench better than a plain allen wrench.

I don't think you can go wrong with this model, it rivals the better American-made guitars I have/had. The neck carve might not suit everyone, but I would encourage you not to judge it without trying it. I am pleasantly surprised.

GREAT JOB PRS and SWEETWATER!

I have recently started learning guitar and wanted a better one to learn on than the one I was using. Someone recommended this guitar to me and they were spot on. This guitar feels and sounds great. I also had it Pleked and also had the nut upgraded and it was worth the extra money. The action is so low and easy now an infant could fret a chord on this thing. I highly recommend this guitar (and Plek service as well). Special thanks to Mike Arango for going the extra mile to make sure I got exactly what I wanted. Sweetwater rules.

Guitar tone is subjective. My definition of great tone is probably different from yours. But for me, this PRS SE McCarty 594 hit my tone nail on the head. Earlier this year I played a friend's Gibson Custom Shop 1957 Les Paul Goldtop Reissue with the Custombucker pickups. It played and sounded really sweet. But I could not justify the $+ price tag. I have my 40 year old Fender Strat for chime, my Fender Johnny Marr Jaguar for the Jag's percussive, round growl, and my Charvel DK24 Pro Mod gives me crunch when needed. But there is something about that early, low-output PAF sound, whether smooth and creamy on the neck pickup, or the harmonically-rich overdriven sounds from the bridge pickup. So I ordered a Gibson LP Standard '50s...and was disappointed by the muddiness of the sound, and some playability issues. Shipped it back. Then I saw an ad for the PRS SE McCarty 594. Granted, I was skeptical that a $ guitar could provide the PAF-like tones I was looking for, but after watching a handful of reviews - all of which were very positive - I reached out to my Sweetwater Sales Engineer, Clint, and asked him his opinion. A few days later, I had the McCarty in my hands. And all I can say is I am EXTREMELY impressed by the build quality, the set-up (no fret buzz, and intonation was perfect right out of the box), the playability, and yes, the sound. I'm not saying it sounds identical to a Gibson Custom Shop LP, but for my tone search, it sounds amazing...and at less than 1/5th of the price of the LP. I had never played a PRS before, and my Strat and Charvel have thin-profile necks. The McCarty neck is chunky by comparison, but I find it very comfortable to play, a testament to the build quality of this guitar. The sustain (even when played acoustically) is really impressive, and when overdriven into my amp, those harmonic distorted tones slowly, slowly fade out. The wood, the neck binding, the hardware, all nearly perfect. The last few frets 20 thru 22 at the neck/body had the slightest - and I mean slight - bit of fret sprout, but that very well could be due to humidity changes. Other than that, the fit and finish are amazing. The quality and value of this guitar can not be overstated. After playing the guitar for a month, the only thing I would like to see is more resistance on the volume and tone pots. They roll too easily for my tastes. I like some resistance when I'm adjusting knobs, and since I prefer neck volume at @ 8.5 and both pickups at a tone setting of @ 5, I would appreciate more resistance from the pots when rolling it back. But that's my subjective preference, and a very minor quibble with such a fine guitar. I've played new guitars costing thousands more than this that have had many more issues right out of the shipping box. For me, PRS nailed this one, tone-wise and everthing-else wise!

Playability, tone, weight, pickups, tuning. all great! At the reduced price your only question should be which top? I even like the coil split tones. Plays great right outta the box,no setup needed. Thinner body feels more like an SG but the LP tone and sustain are still there.
Don't drive yourself crazy second guessing yourself, it's worth it.

I received this guitar about two weeks ago and wanted to play it a bit before writing a review. I'm very familiar with PRS guitars. I own a Core McCarty Hollowbody 594 (double cut) and a Core DGt, and have owned a number of Core and SE guitars in the past. All have been excellent guitars, and this one is at least as good as those. It came very well set set up, and I haven't had to adjust anything. I haven't even changed the strings! I took it to a band rehearsal and it sounded glorious. In full humbucking mode, it sounded great for our style of blues rock, but the real surprise was how well the split single coil tones covered for my Tele. Not an exact match, but very useable. The sunburst finish is beautiful, and the flamed maple veneer looks like a ten top. The neck feels pretty chunky, which I like a lot.

I have a tendency to make multiple reviews but I will make this brief. I have been playing with a Boss Js-10 eband for 4 hours from Rock to Smooth Jazz. The SE McCarty 594 more than met the tones for every genre. If I ever go back to full time professional playing it won't be with a Gibson.

I've been playing guitar since the 70s. After a 6-year stint in the Army Bands I quit playing for almost 10 years and raised a family. Now that I am retired and playing again, I wanted a "mature" guitar, so I bought an LGB30. I ranted and raved about it as the best guitar I own. HOWEVER, I soon realized that my love for archtops had gone. In comes the PRS McCarty SE 594. Feel, Tone, Build, and cool factor are all excellent. I love this guitar (I love my Tele also)! Nick Nevens took good care of me and sent me a great guitar. This is my first PRS and I encourage readers to look into the brand, this is a great guitar.

Truly blown away by this guitar. I legit can't stop playing it. I own about 15 or so guitars, including a Gibson Les Paul Custom and a 10 top Core 594, 2 core custom 24s, as well as several customs from various brands. I won't make any hyperbolic statements and say this is better than them, but it compares VERY favorably. I actually love the stock pickups. I usually replace all PRS pickups, including USA core. But these are super clear, articulate, tons of mid range and bite and just enough low end. I actually think I might prefer the sound to my core, pre pickup swap(I put bareknuckles in it). I actually much prefer the tone to my custom 24's with 85/15s. The neck is thick, which I like. That's the only thing I would say might turn off certain players, but it's a bonus for me. Also, mine is 7.2lbs, which is incredibly comfortable. Buy one NOW…with the current sale, you won't beat it. I just ordered a single cut as well!

This is the best PRS SE I have played or owned! My preference for my guitars is to have a hardtail and a nice rounded neck. The feel of the neck is very similar to Gibson or Heritage guitars. The pickups are the best I have heard from any SE or S2 guitars outside of the PRS core line pickups. It is very resonant and has plenty of sustain. The lighter weight of this guitar compared to a Les Paul makes it easy to play for long periods of time! I found a great top on mine. Sweetwater is the best!

I like everything about this guitar, the play ability, the color and finish, the weight and design of this guitar.

Seriously, my favorite electric guitar I own. This was my first PRS and it completely exceeded my expectations. I own several Gibson's and Fenders that cost 3 times as much as this guitar and this one hangs right with them. If you're thinking about getting one of these, pull the trigger. You'll be glad you did it

Great purchase, great service, great Sales Person. Alan did what he always does....
He took good care of me. Very satisfied!

6.6 lbs. Super resonant. Big gorgeous voice. Better than the single cut equivalent I tried. Fantastic value. And gorgeous tops. Only niggle is that the nut out of factory is significantly high but otherwise, tremendous instrument.

6.6 lbs. Super resonant. Big gorgeous voice. Better than the single cut equivalent I tried. Fantastic value. And gorgeous tops.

Geoff hooked me up with one of these last week. Full disclosure, I had a bad experience with a custom 24 SE (not from Sweetwater), but I wanted to give the line another shot. The McCarty caught my eye because of its vintage inspired aesthetics with light weight modern playability. Geoff assured me that these were solid guitars, and he was absolutely right. This guitar solved every issue (mostly weight) that I had with my Gibson LP (also was a great guitar). I've already sold my Les Paul, because this thing just fits me so much better. If you're thinking about one of these, don't pass it up!

I love this guitar! Everyone warned me the neck will be a lot thicker than my SE standard 22 but I wouldn't consider this neck to be thick. Its definitely thicker than my SE standard 22, but I've had no problems playing it. I LOVE the tone, its so versatile. Thanks Riley for hooking me up!

I can't believe how good this guitar is! The only flaw it has is that under careful scrutiny it is not as pretty as a core model and the components may be slightly cheaper in appearance, but it is just as well made as any American made prs. The bird inlays are actually nicer and prettier than my US Silver Sky