The 73-minute doco honours the late guitar industry legend who served as Paul Reed Smith's mentor and shaped the company's foundation.
PRS Guitars has released a documentary exploring the life and lasting impact of Theodore “Ted” McCarty, the late guitar industry legend who served as mentor and friend to company founder Paul Reed Smith. The 73-minute film is now available on PRS’ YouTube channel as the company closes out its 40th anniversary year.
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McCarty’s influence on the guitar world can’t be overstated. As vice president and later president of Gibson Guitar Corporation from 1949 to 1966, he was responsible for some of the most iconic instruments and innovations in music history. The Les Paul, Tune-O-Matic bridge, humbucking pickup (developed with engineer Seth Lover), Explorer, Flying V, SG, ES-335, and Firebird all came to life under his leadership. After leaving Gibson in the mid-1960s, McCarty became co-owner of Bigsby.
Paul Reed Smith first discovered McCarty’s name in the US Patent Office during the early 1980s and later enlisted him as a manufacturing and business consultant. Their relationship evolved far beyond business.
“Ted McCarty was a legend. Incredibly smart. Really exceptional,” said Paul Reed Smith. “He was a champion, an industry icon, a leader, a mentor, a friend. In the end, he was family.”
The documentary features archival interview footage of McCarty himself, as well as interviews with Paul Reed Smith, McCarty’s daughter Sue Davis, PRS signature artist David Grissom, and several PRS employees. It’s a touching portrait of a man whose contributions continue to ripple through the guitar industry nearly 25 years after his death in 2001 at age 91.
PRS introduced the first McCarty model in 1994, and the McCarty family of guitars now spans from the SE Series to Core instruments, representing the more vintage-appointed side of the PRS catalogue.
“There is no better time to reflect on our history than as we close our 40th anniversary,” said PRS Guitars COO Jack Higginbotham. “Ted is a part of our foundation. He’s central to who we are.”
McCarty’s daughter, Sue Davis, was involved in the documentary project and expressed her gratitude for how PRS honoured her father’s memory. “When Paul asked my dad to put his name on a guitar, dad wasn’t so sure anyone would want to buy it,” she recalled. “Paul and PRS have made sure that the name Ted McCarty—and the man that he was—will be remembered for a long time to come.”
Even PRS employees who never met McCarty say they feel his influence through factory visits, stories passed down through the team, and a large photo of him in the PRS factory lobby. His legacy of teaching and mentorship continues through Paul Reed Smith’s own approach to sharing knowledge.
“If you ask anyone who’s an expert over the age of 50, ‘Can you teach me,’ they say ‘Okay, I’ll teach,’ because they don’t want to die and have their gems of knowledge not be passed on,” Smith explained. “Ted was a prime example of that.”
