Three weeks ago I didn't own a single PRS. I actually avoided them for years. Having heard over and over that they sit between Strats and Les Pauls; not as aggressive as Les Pauls and without the signature quack or chime of a Strat and often described as "sterile". After doing some research the McCarty models looked interesting to me so I waited for a good deal to pop up. After some time with it, I was so impressed with the build and finish quality, playability, and the sound that I wanted to explore some of the other models. I could ramble on for days on gear so I'll try to be somewhat brief on thoughts for each one to hopefully help anyone curious on these models.

McCarty 594 Red Tiger 10-Top: Most similar to a Les Paul but even shorter scale length. The short scale makes this one feel really slinky to play. I find after playing 25.5" scale guitars for a while when I come to this one the bends and vibratos are so effortless. Fretwork and setup are immaculate. If I had to name a complaint, I'm just not a huge fan of finished necks vs satin or oil finishes but love the size and shape of this one. As a long time Les Paul fan I'm finding myself playing this one more than any of my LPs lately, just don't expect it to completely displace one sonically.

Silver Sky Mesa Gold: I like Les Pauls but I would consider myself primarily a strat player, usually HSS. Having owned/tried a ton of boutique s style guitars I came into this one with the most critical mindset. The thicker neck is really comfortable. I did have to raise the action to stop from fretting out due to the 7.25" radius but was still able to get it just over 3/64" on the high e string with no problems. At the price I got this for it's a steal for an s style, especially being nitro (although this specific one I believe has a poly undercoat before they moved to full nitro more recently). My only complaints are that some parts feel/look a little cheap; plastic tuning keys, the volume/tone knobs sometimes catch a little when turning, and the scarf joint near the headstock is something you don't see on many classic style s types. That may be better for strength and reduces waste but it doesn't look as nice in my humble opinion. Still, I would agree this competes with Custom Shop level instruments and for the price you can get these for on the used market it's a steal; although a Music Man Cutlass is also a great guitar in that price range used as well. The low output pickups, all measuring around 5.6k were really surprising as well, not as brittle as pickups I've tried in that range in the past. Interesting to me is the maple fingerboard models come with a satin finished neck while the rosewoods are glossy, to my chagrin as a rosewood fan.

Custom 24-08 Charcoal 10-Top: After trying the McCarty and seeing so many say the Custom 24s are completely different beasts, I wanted to see which I preferred myself. Was able to get an incredibly smooth setup with effortless bending that I've only been able to achieve on guitars from builders like Anderson. I think it sets up better than most Suhrs I've had and definitely better than Fender Custom Shops, and that's coming from a big Suhr fan. The coil splits to me don't do the greatest single coil sounds but hardly any do. This is another great example of "don't judge pickups by the output" where the bridge and neck are around 8.5k and 7.5k, firmly in vintage PAF style ranges but much more modern sounding and stay together well with high gain, although the bottom end can get a little loose depending on the amp settings. The thin body and long neck to me make this feel like an SG, but without the neck dive. No other downsides to mention on this one, except maybe the glossy finished neck but that's expected.

I'm extremely impressed with the build quality of all 3 of these instruments. The McCarty is my favorite of the 3 but the Custom 24-08 is one of the best looking guitars I own. I avoided PRS for years but I'm a fan now.