This has been a grail guitar for me for years.
Back in 2013, I borrowed a PRS McCarty from a similar era for a couple of gigs. And I remember thinking—this is the one. This is what I want.
So when I found this 2010 USA-made PRS Core McCarty at a good price at the start of the year, I went for it. I’ve now been playing it for months—at home, in gigs, and in the studio.
Here’s my honest review.
The Specs (Briefly)
It’s a 2010 USA-made Core McCarty from the Stevensville factory in Maryland. Set-neck, double-cutaway. Mahogany body with a carved maple top. Wide Fat neck profile. Rosewood fingerboard with dot inlays. 22 frets, 25-inch scale.
PRS stoptail bridge, vintage-style tuners, covered McCarty humbuckers, volume and push/pull tone for coil tap, and a three-way toggle.
A note on the serial: the prefix “10” indicates 2010, though PRS’s tables are approximate—if anyone knows better, let me know in the comments.
What I Love
The neck. This is one of the best necks I’ve played. The Wide Fat profile is chunky, which I love. It’s almost as if it was carved specifically for my hand. It’s not quite as big as my Richie Kotzen Telecaster neck, but it’s still substantial. If you like a bit of meat on your neck, you’ll love this.
The dot inlays. I know PRS are famous for their birds, but I actually prefer the dots. It makes it feel more workmanlike. And here’s why that matters to me—I’m predominantly a Fender or Fender-style player. So the dots feel more familiar. It feels like home.
Playability. Fantastic. Easy to glide up and down the neck. And it’s versatile—I can play a lot of styles on this thing.
The pickups. Powerful. Hot. Full of sustain. And the coil tap works great—it cleans up beautifully. It’s like having two guitars in one.
The balance. This is a detail I really appreciate. It feels heavy when you pick it up. But when you strap it on and stand up to play, it feels really light. That balance is perfect for gigging.
It looks great. But then, most PRS guitars do.
What Irritates Me
These are minor—but they’re real.
It’s a little too hot for me. I play in a wedding band, and for that gig I need super clean tones. This doesn’t really do that—unless you coil tap it. And even then, it can still be very powerful. So I find myself reaching for my Ibanez 2204 more often for wedding band work.
The push/pull coil tap is fiddly. It works, but if I need to switch tones in the middle of a song, it’s awkward. I much prefer push/push.
It slides off my thigh when I sit down. It sits awkwardly when I’m playing sitting down. Which means I don’t always reach for it when I’m recording or teaching. And that’s a shame, because I love playing it.
The Verdict
Nine to nine and a half out of ten. I absolutely love this guitar.
It’s a great instrument. If you can find one for a good price, I highly recommend picking one up.
It’s not perfect—it’s a bit hot for clean work, and the sitting thing drives me mad. But when you’re standing up, playing a gig, and this thing is singing—it’s everything I wanted it to be.
Watch the full review here:
Do you own a PRS? Or are you thinking about buying one? Let me know in the comments!