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!