I
first met Paul Reed Smith when I was giving a show for Mesa Boogie
amplifiers. During the course of the show the importer of PRS
guitars came up to me and said, "Hey, I told Paul you play
"Birdland" by Weather Report - he doesn't think it can
be done on one guitar". So that was my first meeting with
Paul - having to play the most difficult piece right there and
then! Then we got to talk about guitars, I told him I had been
looking for a really good vintage Les Paul for several years.
He instantly said, "I'll build you a guitar that will sound
just as good". I was a little sceptical, since the sound
of the Les Paul has a lot to do with the design and construction.
After some thought and a few faxes between us, I decided the best
thing was to see if Paul could build me an instrument which would
be the ultimate touring guitar. The result was this custom built
McCarty model. It basically sets out to get pretty close to the
Les Paul. Then with the inclusion of a centre single coil pickup
and a trem, it moves into Strat territory. For the APP sets this
is just perfect. I can get a great selection of "real"
and natural guitar sounds without having to stop and change guitars.
This is a big warm sounding guitar - just how I like 'em! I really
believe it to be the "Ultimate Touring Guitar". If you
want to learn more about the standard model of this guitar, check
it out at the PRS website!
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