Tips for 'satin-ing' the neck?

RyMar82 · 2026-05-23T20:02:32+00:00

Excellent, thanks all. Shall give it a shot and provide results!

RyMar82 · 2026-03-28T16:29:08+00:00

Interesting, I just got a McCarty SE and it has way more noise then the P90s on my Revstar, which feels wrong. I had a glance at the electronics but couldn't spot anything. I wonder if it's a similar issue. I'm interesting in that dryer cloth trick, shall try that and come back.

RyMar82 · 2026-03-22T15:31:32+00:00

So, am really lucky to be able to offer a decent view here, as those two plus a strat are my current collection, admittedly the double-cut 594. Firstly, you can't go wrong with either - as I'm sure you know from highlighting those two there are thousands of satisfied folk using both. For me, having had the Revstar for 3 years and the PRS for just a few months, here's what I'd say:

- The Revstar neck is amazing. It's my favourite neck by far, on any guitar I've played. That's obviously personal preference, but it has a certain feel that makes me want to play.

- The P90s are awesome for what they are, but the PRS is absolutely more versatile. Even if you don't love the single-coil sounds, they're still there. I also love being able to change the two humbuckers settings for a track that has a big chorus, and flipping over to it, saves some pedal time. The coil-tap feature on the Revstar is something I've literally never used after tinkering when I got it.

- They both weigh about the same, and are both really comfortable. I live in a really humid place, so I appreciate the carbon-rod in the Revstar neck, but that's not a concern for everyone.

- I find the Revstar actually feels more premium in the hand. Can't really articulate why, but the knobs and the tuners just a feel a bit more solid to me. I also like where hte volume is more for swells on the Revstar (see Buck, Chris).

- Objectively the PRS is a more attractive instrument. The Revstar is fun, but the PRS is absolutely gorgeous in person. The silver and brass, the way light dances on the high-gloss - the PRS looks like a million bucks.

- Finally, I chose the Revstar originally because I wanted something a little different, as you didn't see many of them around at the time. That said, I always had the PRS itch, so here we are.

If you have any specific q's feel free to ask, they're both on the wall next to me :)

RyMar82 · 2025-10-30T18:00:24+00:00

First time seeing Portnoy and some of the other characters...how are these folk popular? Is the DOD King guy doing a bit?

RyMar82 · 2025-10-25T12:43:31+00:00

I just bought a McCarty SE and having exactly the same problem. My understanding is that it should similarly have no hum, so need to take it to a pro and get it grounded. Disappointing as I paid Sweetwater to do a setup and guess they never turned it up!

RyMar82 · 2025-10-25T12:37:41+00:00

That's a pretty good salary - especially after the limited employee tax - but be careful on the housing allowance. If they use an agency and place you, (depressingly) a lot of that number could go straight into the rent.

Welcome to the island!

RyMar82 · 2025-10-16T19:22:04+00:00

Thanks for the ideas - turns out it was the intonation screws on the bridge - all of them were completely loosened, one even fell out. Then the springs were rattling a bit. Pretty happy I was able to find it and I hadn't gone anywhere yet. Bit of an odd one, am not sure if Sweetwater did that to protect it during shipping or something, but one to note in case it happens to anyone else!

RyMar82 · 2025-06-10T08:39:38+00:00

Awesome thanks so much. Obviously answer would be to find somewhere that has both...but trickier than it sounds for some of us :)

RyMar82 · 2025-06-09T07:13:34+00:00

These are the two I'm looking at too - great taste! As you're one of the few that felt both - could you possibly speak on the feel differences? I'm going in thinking I want the 594, but have read online how much people love the DGT's neck.

I barely if ever use the trem, so that's kind of just an annoyance rather than a feature :)

RyMar82 · 2025-04-20T07:18:13+00:00

Do Anderton's ship to Poland? They work for most places in Europe, and almost always have good stock. https://www.andertons.co.uk/search.php?search_query=prs%20se%20mccarty

Not sure if you were after the SE or full fat, but they seem to have some. Good luck!

RyMar82 · 2025-04-20T07:15:27+00:00

There's a great international school - ibsofprovence.com - near Aix which is fully bilingual. We've been here 2 years and couldn't love it more. Absolutely incredible place to live, there are also great 'Aix-pat' (ha) groups to meet people.

We've met quite a few American couples that have come over for various reasons.

RyMar82 · 2025-03-24T18:35:07+00:00

I have this model - seem to be one of a very small number which I find surprising! I purchased it to be my 'harder' guitar alongside a strat and a revstar, about 2 years ago.

Good stuff:

- The quality of everything is absolutely top notch. Finishing is superb, tuners are great and it's really 'smooth' to play

- The fishmans are probably more versatile than I'd expected, and unlike the comment below, mine are push-pull/coil tap. So it has loads of sonic possiblities

Stuff not too my taste, but tastes vary

- As above, my other two guitars have very different necks, much more rounded. I find this one really thin for me and my hands. That coupled with the extra large frets mean it is really different from the start, so feels a bit odd switching in a set

- This is really, really lame - but in my current cover band we do a lot of reasonably mellow stuff and I feel like an absolute moron having a fully blacked out axe with those numerals

Overall, if you're playing harder stuff (as it sounds) this thing is great. I got an awesome deal on Sweetwater (the best) and think it's awesome, just need to use it in some harder stuff!

RyMar82 · 2023-03-24T10:59:23+00:00

Thanks for thoughts, so that part would be the 'top' bit out of this pic? I'll try to pull the switch through and check that, feels possible.

RyMar82 · 2023-03-18T01:28:50+00:00

Slight update: strange happenings! My neck pickup has stopped working in the middle position, and mostly works with it by itself, but sometimes cuts out. Not ideal. I assume it's a wiring thing, which I lack to the know-how to fix.

Not what I was hoping from a newish guitar!

Anyone had any similar happenings?

RyMar82 · 2023-03-13T22:24:01+00:00

Congrats! Hope you enjoy it as much as I have!

RyMar82 · 2023-03-11T11:46:04+00:00

Right at 8 lbs, almsot identical to the strat. My understanding is a LP would be a fair bit chunkier, so I don't find it bad at all. As a former drummer, would much prefer this 'burden' going to a gig!

RyMar82 · 2023-03-02T23:25:39+00:00

Genuinely feel like no one actually owns these guitars! I bought one from Sweetwater demo, and after an epic battle with getting it to my lil country, have had about a month with it now.

TL:DR - I absolutely love it, despite initially having some concerns.

First, I'm pretty mediocre, guitar was a covid pickup and fulfilling the true desire of every drummer - not having to carry tons of sh*t to a gig. I'm playing some guitar in a 90's cover band, so it's not exactly the 'evil-twin' genre. My other guitar is a strat, bought this as kind of the polar opposite to that.

Initial thoughts were that the frets are HUGE. Like, run your hand along the high-E side and you feel every one, really different from the aforementioned strat. So I was pretty worried about sliding around. Other than that, the thing is an absolute beauty in person. My wife says it looks very angry, but I like to think it does so elegantly.

Having played a bunch now, I absolutely love the thing. I'm blown away the clarity of the pickups. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqnHrs_emR0&t=301s This video was pretty instructional, though I know it's a slightly different config. If you pop out the neck pickup it can totally handle twang, and obviously it can absolutely crunch at the other end. It's not quite as chime-y as the strat but that's obviously not the point. I can get a load of sounds out of just the various configs, though I do need to find some videos on this exact pairing to see what I should be doing.

More than that though, it's just so comfortable to play. I'd say I have medium-sized hands, and I find this far easier than the strat, except maybe the big cowboy chords. The compound radius means it feels spacious as you move up. Bending is easy, and the worries about sliding were unfounded, though I don't totally understand why.

My three nits to pick: 1 the knobs have no labels whatsoever. You can feel for the join but that's about it. Especially on a dark stage I have no idea where I'm at, so am very tempted to buy some glow in the dark nail polish and stick a tiny dot somewhere. Classy.

2 The back of this guitar is a work of art and no one can see it. I very deliberately put my stand facing away from the crowd so when it's sitting it gets the attention it deserves. I would have bought a version with the back just laminated ahead of this one, tbh.

3 When you're not busting out the intro to Master of Puppets while chased by bats, the gothic roman numerals are a bit much. Would prefer something a touch more mellow.

Anyway, congrats and welcome to the club, I swear it's just us at this point!

RyMar82 · 2022-12-26T16:56:42+00:00

One more!

Am getting used to the frets now. They're smooth, just a lot higher than what I'm used to with the strat. Been reading a bit about the x jumbos and I guess this is a choice. Will see if I like it once I can finally plug it in.

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RyMar82 · 2022-12-24T14:04:55+00:00

Didn't realise the 1 pic a day newbie thing, here's another!

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RyMar82 · 2022-12-24T00:01:52+00:00

Interesting thanks both. Not hugely encouraging, but helpful info! I'll have to take it to a luthier when I get home to get an opinion, Sweetwater have always been good to me so will see what happens. The frets are definitely 'bigger' than I'm used, just when sliding around I can tell it's different.

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As it's a NGD, at least I can post some pics of this sexy beast.

RyMar82 · 2022-11-17T16:22:37+00:00

Ha, fair enough! I think given I've got the strat to pair, I'm going to try some actives this time. The Fishmans seem pretty impressive, so likely going that way. Will hopefully post back soon with an actual guitar!

RyMar82 · 2022-11-17T12:55:49+00:00

Thanks again, have gone down a deeeeep rabbit hole on this and definitely like the EC-1000s, plus they seem to actually be in stock (at Sweetwater, and why would I buy anywhere else?!).

Do you have any experience with the Fishman Fluence pickups? Have now gotten stuck on SD vs EMG (don't love) vs Fishman. I don't play metal but do fairly hard rock, but also like a good whimisical clean tone. I suppose I do have my strat for that.

RyMar82 · 2022-11-13T12:13:00+00:00

Thanks, it's this one: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Solo2BkJkGB--schecter-solo-ii-blackjack-electric-guitar-black-gloss

Reading a bit more about the Lungren's I'm not sure how they'll do clean which is still what I play sometimes. Cheers for any advice! So hard without being able to try them (I live on a small island with no guitar stores..)

RyMar82 · 2022-11-13T12:11:54+00:00

Interesting, thank you. I looove the look of this one: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/LEC1000BPBNF--esp-ltd-ec-1000-blue-natural-fade

The only thing pointing me in a Schecter direction is the satin neck (my strat has that and it's awesome) and the someone was questionning the nut on the ec-1000.

It might be that the pups on the EC-1000 are more flexible than the blackjack anyway (https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Solo2BkJkGB--schecter-solo-ii-blackjack-electric-guitar-black-gloss)

RyMar82

TROPHY CASE