Considering swapping out Dragon II’s for 57/08. Opinions?

[watelessness]

57/08s will be more gritty as compared D2s. swapping out pickups is a fun experience.

 

[Coral Sky Music]

Dragon II's For The Win
I love the Dragon II's in my 2000 CU22
Are they darker yes maybe a little but to my ears the covered \m/ pickups in my CU24 are much darker
I roll down the volume pot a hair on my Custom 22 when in the neck position and it might be the greatest sounding neck pickup I have ever heard..
Although years ago when PRS used to make Covered 59/09 pickups exclusively for my store I was always intrigued to see what a covered 59/09 bridge and Dragon II neck combo would sound like but never had the chance to find out

 

[gush]

I am not a fan of the rotary switch or the 57/08 pickups. The 57/08's do everything ok but IMO do nothing great. To be fair, I play on the heavier style of things so I don't play much blues or classic rock, jazz, clean type stuff too often. I find the 57/08's to be bland overall. YMMV

I do have the Dragon II's in a Private Stock Customm 22 and the guitar sounds great. I have considered changing the pickups out on that guitar for something a little more tighter and not because I dislike the sound. If I wanted a jack of all trades pickup and played non heavy music I would like the 57/08's more. They are a versatile pickup. I have a fixed bridge Grissom that has a 59/09 Bridge and Grissom neck that I like. I do prefer the 59/09 bridge over the 57/08. A combo of a 59/09 in the Bridge and a 57/08 in the neck may be a nice fit for you. There are a lot of great choices available. Good luck on your search and I hope you get it right the first time!

I never bonded with 5708 bridge pickup. It just didn't excite me but the 5708 neck is a close 2nd to 8515 neck which is my favorite

 

[Lewguitar]

Dragon II's For The Win
I love the Dragon II's in my 2000 CU22
Are they darker yes maybe a little but to my ears the covered \m/ pickups in my CU24 are much darker
I roll down the volume pot a hair on my Custom 22 when in the neck position and it might be the greatest sounding neck pickup I have ever heard..
Although years ago when PRS used to make Covered 59/09 pickups exclusively for my store I was always intrigued to see what a covered 59/09 bridge and Dragon II neck combo would sound like but never had the chance to find out

Ever take the covers off of a set of Dragon II's and try them?

I have a set with very worn, pitted and tarnished covers I've been thinking about doing that too.

https://imgur.com/6kkONs6

I was thinking of using the neck Dragon II with the cover removed as the neck pickup in my CE22 with the Duncan JB bridge pickup. It's supposed to be the same pickup as the Dragon I neck pickup, only with a cover.

Right now, that guitar has a Duncan 59N and JB bridge pickup. The previous owner had removed the original PRS pickups and sold them.

I bought the guitar cheap as a guitar to swap pickups in. But it turned out to be a great guitar!

https://imgur.com/qZHE72k