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Old 08-31-2020, 07:41 AM
thegreatgumbino thegreatgumbino is offline
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Default McPherson Questions

I had the opportunity to play a McPherson Touring & Sable in addition to a CA Cargo this weekend. I've been wanting a smaller travel/couch guitar and not wanting to give up too much of the tone of a larger bodied instrument. My current guitars are Gibson J200 and J45 Vintage. I was anticipating picking up a used CA Cargo, but after asking some questions about them in the CF Forum, I felt like I needed to explore the McPherson's. Luckily, Danny D's Guitar Hacienda in League City, TX is about an hour away, and they have a Sable and Touring in stock. It was my first time visiting Danny D's, and I was impressed. Great selection and really nice folks working. Additionally, there was a used CA Cargo RAW ELE for sale locally just around the corner. I was expecting to come home with the Cargo, but left sold on the Touring.

CA Cargo: Loved the smaller body thickness and the contours. Very fun little guitar with surprising sound quality even with old strings. I prefer the CA matte finish versus the gloss of the McPherson. Love the look of the open gear Hipshots. Seems like it would be difficult to hold without a strap. Sound quality not as good as the Touring, but I can't say the Touring is two times the price better sound.

Generally speaking, the McPherson's are amazing instruments. I'm sold on them. Build quality is evident and much better than the CA. Amazing tone from both of them. If blindfolded, I would have been hard pressed to say they aren't wood. I was really surprised by that fact. I love the necks on them. They weren't ask skinny as I was expecting, which is a good thing. I especially loved the bare feel of the McPherson CF neck compared to the finish on the CA Cargo.

Touring: This is the one I was most interested in playing. Standard top with black button Hipshot tuners and the nickel/silver fret wire. Loved the look and feel. Surprising sound out of such a small guitar. I played several other small bodied travel guitars including GS Mini, Mini Jumbo Guild, and a couple others I can't recall. The Touring sounded much fuller and refined than all of them.

Sable: Honeycomb and gold package. Quite a bit heavier than the Touring. Not a very big guitar size wise. The tone is more full and refined than the Touring, but not by a lot. I was surprised how much I liked the aesthetics of the honeycomb and gold hardware (I'm not a fan of gold hardware).

It seems like there have been some revisions to the McPhersons over the last few years, which leaves me with some questions.

1) At what point did they switch to Schaller tuners from the Hipshot?

2) Is 2018 when they rebranded them as McPherson vs Kevin Michael?

3) When did they change to the black nut and saddle? I know the saddle is Tusq, is the nut as well?

4) When did they change to the current LR Baggs Element with only volume control? I see several used Tourings with a two button volume/tone control.

5) Is there any discount from list price ala Martin? The Touring was $2,400 with no wiggle room plus tax. Is there a preferred dealer?

6) Have they always included two saddles or is that a recent change?

7) Are the Gold EVO frets harder than the nickel/silver? Any perceivable difference in sound between the two?

8) Are there other upgrades McPherson has done of late that I need to be aware of when deciding between new & used?

9) Anyone using Martin Retro Monels on their Sable/Touring? I use them exclusively and would appreciate any feedback.

10) Anyone tune down on their Touring? I like my guitars setup for D Standard tuning. I tried the Touring out in this tuning as well as a half step down and it sounded better at a half step IMO. Obviously the shorter scale length will make it more difficult to tune down a full step without playing with string gauges. I don't know if the Touring I tried had the Elixir mediums or not, though.
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Old 08-31-2020, 03:26 PM
jdinco jdinco is offline
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Thanks for the reviews, nice write up, I am no help with your questions, you may want to contact McPherson with most of those, it may be hard to get answers here for all of them.
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Old 08-31-2020, 05:32 PM
Earl49 Earl49 is offline
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3) Black Tusq is chosen for its lubricity. No need for graphite in the nut slots.
5) They only make a few hundred CF guitars a year and the few dealers that do handle CF McPherson's seem to have trouble keeping them in stock. Don't expect much give on the selling price. I would go with the local shop and let them make a fair profit, since they stock the guitars.
6) Both saddles are included as far as I know, and that is a clever thing to do.
7) Gold EVO is harder than nickel silver, but not as hard as stainless steel. Both wear considerably better than nickel silver fret wire.
10) Each guitar is different. Some prefer D standard, some like E standard better, and some just seem to excel at certain alternate tunings. Experimentation is the only way to know.

When I tune to D standard, I use medium gauge strings to maintain reasonable playing tension.

As for the rest of your list, McPherson or some of our Sable fans (like tbeltrans) will be your best resources. Sable and Touring are two of the CF guitars that I have never owned, but I have tried briefly. Nothing against them, but I went in other directions when purchasing.

Last edited by Earl49; 08-31-2020 at 05:41 PM. Reason: added info
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Old 08-31-2020, 06:16 PM
jdinco jdinco is offline
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8) It was my understanding that the last updates happened when they went from the KM version to the McPherson version.

Like Earl says, support your local dealer. You won't see many come up used. I basically saved the tax on my Sable, and it was worth every penny.
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Old 08-31-2020, 07:59 PM
DavidE DavidE is offline
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I can answer one question, at least with regard to the color of the nut, a 2018 has the white nut and a 2019 has a black nut. They also have very different labels and serial number schemes. Here's the information I received from McPherson:

Hello!

There were some small changes here between those 2 guitars.

GCF### was 2018, and 10### was 2019.

For the most part they are the same, we chose a new nut and saddle composite, the black. The form functions the same.

Hope you are enjoying your Sables!

JUSTIN MCGRATH
McPherson Sales Representative

Cell 507.301.1954 Office 608.366.1407 ext.610
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Old 09-01-2020, 05:31 AM
Tøf Tøf is offline
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The change from Hipshot to Schaller M6 was in September 2019.
My mid-2019 Sable came with the black nut/saddle, a 1-wheel Element pickup and the Hipshot tuners. I replaced them with some Schaller M6 mini that I had (drop-in replacement), but they are as good as the Schallers.

The transition from Kevin Michael to McPherson wasn't only the logo but also some internal changes (like a more rigid neck, I don't remember the rest).
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Old 09-01-2020, 12:17 PM
thegreatgumbino thegreatgumbino is offline
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Thanks for the information, folks. I would have purchased from the dealer this weekend, but I am drawn to the honeycomb / gold package, which he doesn't have. Additionally, he said the Touring he had did not come with the gig bag.
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Old 09-01-2020, 11:15 PM
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nootis nootis is offline
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As many of you probably know, McPherson has been building wooden guitars in the same basic offset soundhole design for many years...

5) McPherson has a tight grip on their prices within their dealer network. This allows them to raise their prices over time. This is true with their wooden counterparts, for prices for wooden Mc's have gone up substantially in the past 5 years.

6) They have always provided 3 saddles for their wooden guitars due to the fact that there isn't a truss rod. Same goes for CF.
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Old 09-02-2020, 04:33 AM
Fixedgear60 Fixedgear60 is offline
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I have no local McPherson dealer locally so purchased from guitar center online. They had a store wide sale annually and was fortunate to have a touring available and purchased. The first one had to be sent back due to a neck issue but the second one received was perfect and a keeper. Saved about 10% after you calculate tax :-). Great guitar and would not hesitate to buy a second at full price. Good thing there is no local dealer to tempt me or I would have a second honey comb weave right now with evo fretts and silver tunners. :-)

I had owned a Kevin Michael before and sold...My understanding is there were changes to neck bolt on and the bracing for the top as well as the cosmetic changes that have been mentioned. I did not play them side by side but remember the MP version has a deeper sound from my memory. I would opt for the latest if possible as it is a more refined instrument, comes with all the goodies, and better sound IMHO. Mine came with the following:
* McPherson enbroided gig bag
* McPherson hardshell case ..with CF look (very cool)
* Two serialized bridges (hand made for guitar low & med..on guitar)
* McPherson cleaning cloth
* extra set of strings
* Custom sound buster
* Mcpherson 10 pack of picks (my fav)
* McPherson strap
* 10+ cds of Mcpherson artists

No regrets and want a second :-)

Last edited by Fixedgear60; 09-02-2020 at 04:53 AM.
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Old 09-02-2020, 05:56 AM
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mikealpine mikealpine is offline
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I bought a Sable recently. Had a great experience with Eddie's, salesman was Granville. If you call, please tell him Mike Appollo recommended him. He was able to come down a little, and I didn't pay sales tax and it was shipped 3-day for free. As others have said, there aren't many, they sell quickly and pricing isn't as flexible as with other brands. I wasn't aware the Touring comes in the honeycomb, but they currently have one Sable like that. Good luck!
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Old 09-02-2020, 07:42 AM
jdinco jdinco is offline
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Ted at LA Guitars is another dealer that will treat you right...
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