Dragon 1s vs \m/ pickups

So now I'm curious as to why everyone considers the 57/08s the holy grail of pickups. Haha from what it seems they're kinda meh

The 57/08s are freakin' fantastic pickups if you play vintage-style amps like an old dimed Marshall or Fender that's getting its grind from the power tubes, i.e. non-master volume amps and their modern emulations. If you're playing an amp with a really gainy preamp (Boogies, Rectos, 5150/6505, Uberschall, Diezel, etc), the pre-2008 pickups were designed for that kind of amp and suit them really well. Paul loved his preamp gain back in the day.

But before the 57/08s came out, people would routinely replace the pickups in their brand new PRSi. After they came out, that pretty much just stopped!

TL;DR: Run the master high? Use 57/08, 59/09, or 53/10. Run the preamp gain high? Stick with existing Dragons or HFS. I couldn't say about Tremontis or \m/'s.
 
Dragon 1's don't float my boat mostly because they are in my 95 CE22 bolt on. They sound stratty and do not sound high output. They are brighter than warm. Fairly generic. Although I never had a dimed rig with it so maybe it's perfect for that. I should get all 6 of my OD pedals and daisy chain them into my Tone King's channel 2 and then report.

My 2014 CU22 has the goods : 58/07's. Although I am playing way less gain music than you are.
 
For that big fat saturated heavy metal/hard rock sound, you can't go wrong with the D1's in my opinion. Tonewise think Adam Jones/Tool or Jerry Cantrell/Alice In Chains.
The \m/ pickups are a fantastic set but I don't think you'll be found wanting with your Dragons.
I have a set of them in my '96 Custom 22 stop tail and I put a set of covers from an old pair of Modern Eagle RP's on them to give the guitar a more vintage McCarty look. I did it for purely aesthetic reasons but oh man did it open up a whole new world tonally. The character of the Dragons is still there but they now give me a more focused bass and midrange response and the treble seems to be, well, tamed, if you will.
Guess I'm just another Dragon 1 fanboy. I believe they are the king of high output PRS pups...with the \m/ pups coming in at a close second.
 
Well I have a second se cu24 awaiting new pots (original owner had active EMGs in it) so I suppose I could try the 57/08s in that one when I get new pots
 
Well I have a second se cu24 awaiting new pots (original owner had active EMGs in it��) so I suppose I could try the 57/08s in that one when I get new pots

I see you have contracted the disease!
 
I'm surprised you refer to dragon 1s as stratty. I have a ce22 with them and they are very high output and about the furthest thing from a strat

I put ph2 tuners on it and changed the pickup rings but those are the only mods I've cared to do to it. It's a take to the grave guitar.
 
I'm surprised you refer to dragon 1s as stratty. I have a ce22 with them and they are very high output and about the furthest thing from a strat

I put ph2 tuners on it and changed the pickup rings but those are the only mods I've cared to do to it. It's a take to the grave guitar.
My Dragons are hot and thick as a muthatrucka. They spilt real nice, but I don't hear stratty.
 
You may need to have your wiring looked at. I've never heard anyone say Dragons sound stratty.


Dragon 1's don't float my boat mostly because they are in my 95 CE22 bolt on. They sound stratty and do not sound high output. They are brighter than warm. Fairly generic. Although I never had a dimed rig with it so maybe it's perfect for that. I should get all 6 of my OD pedals and daisy chain them into my Tone King's channel 2 and then report.

My 2014 CU22 has the goods : 58/07's. Although I am playing way less gain music than you are.
 
Hey guys I'm new to the forums and I was just wondering if I could get some insight from more veteran players. I recently just got a set of Dragon 1 pickups for my se cu24 but after thinking about it I want to try the \m/ pickups seeing as I play mostly metal and hard rock (high gain stuff). The only problem is the price. If they are worth it then I don't mind shelling out the cash for it. But I have this feeling that they sound similar to the dragons at which point I wouldn't bother. So my question is would it be worth swapping out the dragons for the \m/'s or just keep it the way it is. I've found some demos on YouTube for the \m/ but I can't seem to get a real gauge of their sound.

The Dragon Is are fantastic pickups. I've used them for years and they are the best PRS pickups for hard rock/metal, in my opinion. I will say that the \m/etal pickups are fantastic as well. The best part about the \m/etal pickups are the cleans. I never would have thought a neck pickup with a ceramic magnet would sound so good but they really do. I think you'd be happy with either pickup set. Also, the Tremonti/SC 250 pickups are great as well. From what I've heard, the SC 250 and the Tremonti pickup sets are the same except the Tremonti neck is covered. Both sets have a ceramic magnet in the bridge and alnico magnet in the neck. I'm not sure what's going on with Tip's '95 CE 22 but a non-split Dragon I Treble sounds the exact opposite of "Stratty". It's smooth, fat, and compressed as opposed to thin, brittle, and shrill. They're not even the same sport much less in the same ballpark. As for 57/08s, they're great pickups (as are the 59/09s, 53/10s, and 85/15s) but they're a PAF type pickup, as everyone else has stated. The ceramic magnet pickups (Dragon I, \m/etal, Tremonti, SC 250) are not styled in the vein of a PAF clone. Personally, I think you're fine with the Dragon Is...but I do think you should buy another guitar and put some \m/etals in it. Having both will lead you to true sonic nirvana. \m/
 
Dragon 1's don't float my boat mostly because they are in my 95 CE22 bolt on. They sound stratty and do not sound high output. They are brighter than warm. Fairly generic.

You, my friend, have a bad pickup or a wiring problem.
Dragon 1's sound pretty much opposite of how you just described them.
I have D1's in a CE24 and a CE22 (used to have a Singlecut with them also) and they are not remotely 'Stratty" or thin.
 
I think I'll pick up a set of \m/s as well. I find my dragons aren't the greatest for cleans and I really duo like the look of the covered \m/s
 
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