The PRS McCarty Soapbar: When PRS Put P-90s on Its Most Vintage-Minded Guitar

The PRS McCarty Soapbar is what happens when you take the most Gibson-flavored guitar Paul Reed Smith was building in the late '90s and give it a pair of P-90-style single coils. PRS lists it as a 1998–2007 model with Seymour Duncan soapbar pickups. It never got the attention the humbucker McCarty did, and that's a big part of why it's worth knowing about now. If you like a big neck, a simple control layout and the snarl of a P-90 in a guitar that's still put together like a PRS, this is one of the better-kept secrets on the used market.

We have a 1999 example on the bench right now, so I'll use it to show what to look for. I've written this as a model guide first, though, so it should still be useful after this guitar has sold.

Why the McCarty existed in the first place

The McCarty model came out in 1994 and was named for Ted McCarty, who ran Gibson through the 1950s and early '60s (the era that produced the Les Paul Standard, the ES-335 and the Explorer) and later advised Paul Reed Smith. The guitar was PRS's nod to that tradition. On paper it's close to a Custom 22, but players and PRS-forum historians usually point to the same handful of differences:

• A slightly thicker mahogany back. Commonly quoted as about an eighth of an inch more than the standard PRS body.
• Vintage-style, non-locking tuners on a thinner headstock. This is why early McCartys can't just take a set of PRS locking tuners.
• The Wide Fat neck carve, 22 frets, and a stoptail instead of a tremolo.

Put all that together and you get a PRS that feels more like an old Gibson than a Custom 24 does: more neck in your hand, more wood behind the note, and less of the hot-rod gloss.

What the Soapbar version changed

In 1998 PRS took that McCarty platform and swapped the humbuckers for two soapbar single coils. PRS's own model history credits them to Seymour Duncan. The rest stayed simple: one volume, one tone, a three-way toggle, and PRS's one-piece stoptail, which is a compensated wraparound with no individual saddles. That control layout is pretty bare for a PRS of that period, and I think it was a deliberate choice.

Don't mix it up with the McCarty Soapbar Standard, which was a separate model with a carved solid mahogany body and no maple top. The Blue Book lists it as discontinued in late 2005. If a listing just says "McCarty Soapbar," check the top. Figured maple means you're looking at the maple-top model, and plain mahogany usually means it's the Standard. PRS also made an import cousin, the SE Soapbar II, in the mid-2000s, and more recently it has offered soapbar versions of the McCarty 594. The idea never went away completely.

How many were made? I couldn't find a production total I'd trust. PRS doesn't publish one for this model, so I'd be skeptical of any listing that quotes an exact number.

Why players still hunt them down

A P-90 sits between a Fender single coil and a humbucker. It has more midrange push and output than a Strat pickup, but a lot more clarity and bite than a PAF-style humbucker. (If you want the long version, we covered it in P-90 vs. humbucker.) In a mahogany-and-maple PRS with a 25" scale, that comes out as a guitar that cleans up well when you roll back the volume and gets mean when you dig in. People who own these on the PRS forums describe the stock Duncans as running fairly hot, and the same thread is full of people calling it their main writing guitar. I'd agree with that, and I think part of the reason is how little there is to fiddle with.

The honest trade-off is that soapbars are single coils, so they hum. That's how they work, not a fault. Some players accept it and some never get used to it, and you should know which one you are before you buy.

What to check when buying a used McCarty Soapbar

1. Are the original pickups in it, or at least in the case?

People swap pickups on these all the time. Lollars, Fralins and Duncan's own vintage-style P-90s turn up regularly. A swap isn't a problem as long as it was done cleanly, but having the originals with the guitar keeps your options open later and makes it easier to sell. Ask about it directly.

2. Date it by the serial, and match the specs to the year

On set-neck PRS guitars from this period, the first digit of the serial number is the last digit of the year. A 9 means 1999. Our full walkthrough is in How to Date a Used PRS by Serial Number. Make sure the year fits the 1998–2007 run and that the hardware fits the period too.

3. Look at the tuners and headstock for an old conversion

The vintage-style tuners are part of the McCarty's character, but any 25-year-old guitar may have had its tuners swapped at some point. Look around the tuner bushings for extra screw holes, filled holes or reamed posts. None of that ruins the guitar, but it should lower the price.

4. Check intonation with the strings you'll actually use

The stoptail has compensation built in, but you can't adjust each string. It's built around a typical set with a plain G, so if you go much heavier or switch to a wound G, the intonation can drift a few cents and there's nothing on the bridge to fix it. We go into the details in Can You Intonate a Wraparound Bridge? Check the 12th-fret harmonic against the fretted note on every string before you buy.

5. Make sure the neck suits your hand

The Wide Fat carve is a real handful. If you've only played modern Pattern Thin PRS necks, this will feel very different. Hold one before you commit, or ask the seller for depth measurements at the 1st and 12th frets.

How this 1999 example measures up

Our 1999 PRS McCarty Soapbar in McCarty Sunburst has a heavily figured maple top, moon inlays, and the McCarty-engraved truss rod cover. Here's what the bench notes recorded:

• Weight: 7.72 lbs on our scale.
• Neck depth: 21.8 mm at the 1st fret and 24.7 mm at the 12th. That's a full neck, as you'd expect, but it doesn't feel clubby.
• Playability: Low action, spot-on intonation, and frets and fretboard in excellent shape. The truss rod has room to adjust in both directions.
• Pickups: Lollar P-90s are installed, and the original factory soapbars are included.
• Cosmetics: Graded Very Good. There's one small ding on the front and a few small chips along one side, all photographed. There are no breaks, repairs or finish checking.
• Case: Original PRS hard case.

The main thing to know about this one is the pickups. If you want the stock Duncan sound, the originals are in the case. If you were going to swap them anyway, that job is already done. Either way it's an unusually clean McCarty Soapbar for its age. If it's gone by the time you read this, the rest of what's on the bench is in Guitars In Stock.

FAQ

What years was the PRS McCarty Soapbar made?

PRS lists it as a 1998–2007 model. The all-mahogany McCarty Soapbar Standard was a separate model and is generally listed as discontinued in late 2005.

Are the McCarty Soapbar's pickups P-90s?

They're soapbar single coils made by Seymour Duncan, the same format as a P-90 in a soapbar cover. You'll see them called P-90s, P-90-style or simply soapbars. They hum like any single coil.

Is a McCarty Soapbar worth more than a regular McCarty?

Not by any fixed rule. It's the less common version, but plenty of buyers specifically want humbuckers. Condition, originality and the top matter more than the pickup format. If you're thinking of selling one, our Cash Offer page is a quick way to get a real number.

Can you put humbuckers in a McCarty Soapbar?

Not without routing, and routing takes away the whole point of the model and its value with it. If you want humbuckers, buy a humbucker McCarty.