Dragon pickups Vs. McCarty pickups

[NDogg]

i currently have Dragon 1 neck and Dragon ii treble in my Gibson. I like the tone but the output is very low (or they are thin sounding as I'm comparing them to Seth Lovers). I got my hands on some MCCarty pickups. Anyone know how they compare? Warmer, fatter, more output? I'm looking for the fattest, warmest tone but like the color of the PRS Dragons. Thank you

 

[gush]

I like the McCarty neck really well, sounds good with vol pot rolled back too. The McCarty bridge is kind of blah to me. The dragon 2 you have in the bridge reminds me of a 57 classic throught my 5150 cab but doesn't sound as good through my celestion loaded cab. Now if you put a dragon 1 in the bridge you will get a very full tone that feels compressed to me. Kind of reminds me of old Bad Company (Shooting Star, Can't Get Enough of your Love).

Hope that helps.

 

[NDogg]

Yes, thanks but do you know specifically which pickups are warmer and which have more output?

 

[gush]

Dragon 1 Bridge very high output but warm. HFS very high output a lot of people like it but I don't. Too harsh on top. M pickups are very hot too. I have some but dont have them installed.

 

[AP515]

McCarty set = think PAF

Dragon1 set = think PAF on steroids

The best tone I own is a CE22 with Dragon 1's. The bridge may be high output, but it tames well. Bring the tone pot down a little and it warms right up and it stays clear.

 

[NDogg]

McCarty set = think PAF

Dragon1 set = think PAF on steroids

The best tone I own is a CE22 with Dragon 1's. The bridge may be high output, but it tames well. Bring the tone pot down a little and it warms right up and it stays clear.

Thanks... I have Seth Lovers, the original PAFs, in my strat and the output is MUCH more than my dragons/gibson. The sound is much bigger with the PAFs and I have to turn the amp down when compared to the Dragons... This not sound right?

Anyway, if I'm looking for a bigger, warmer, more output version of the dragons, then replacing them with McCarty pickups is not the way to go?

 

[AP515]

Thanks... I have Seth Lovers, the original PAFs, in my strat and the output is MUCH more than my dragons/gibson. The sound is much bigger with the PAFs and I have to turn the amp down when compared to the Dragons... This not sound right?

Anyway, if I'm looking for a bigger, warmer, more output version of the dragons, then replacing them with McCarty pickups is not the way to go?

I don't think your equipment is a fair comparison. Seth's in a Strat is very different than in a LP/PRS. You also have a Dragon 2 in the bridge, not a Dragon 1. They are very different and I think in general, the Dragon 1's are preferred (I know they are for me).

Again, in general, you would be correct, the Dragons will have more output than the McCarty's. But if you put a Dragon 1 in the bridge you might be surprised at the difference. There is also the possibility that you nave something limiting in the wiring of the Gibby. Maybe a cold solder joint, or a cap that's the wrong value. It doesn't sound normal to have a Strat be louder than the Gibson And Seth's make it even more questionable.

 

[Hopeful Sinner]

I could be wrong but it's my understanding the Dragon 1 Bass pickup is just a relabeled McCarty Bass pickup.
So, no real difference at the neck position but you will get much more output in the Dragon 1 bridge position.
Also, it's worth noting the Dragon Treble is ceramic mag and the McCarty is an alnico mag...

 

[NDogg]

Thanks guys.. Any idea how the mccartys compare to the Santana's? I have 1 guitar with Santana's and one with dragons. I was under the impression that Santana's and dragons are very similar

 

[Brad737]

NDogg,
It's apparent to me that somebody wired the Dragons incorrectly. Those are some FAT, warm pickups...should have MUCH higher output than Seth Lovers. Be sure to check the pickup heights.

 

[Brad737]

Dragon 1s = Fat, Warm, High Output
Dragon IIs = Bland, yet still muddy
McCarty = Warm PAF

Yes, thanks but do you know specifically which pickups are warmer and which have more output?

 

[gush]

NDogg,
It's apparent to me that somebody wired the Dragons incorrectly. Those are some FAT, warm pickups...should have MUCH higher output than Seth Lovers. Be sure to check the pickup heights.

Looks like he has dragon2 in bridge dragon1in neck maybe that is the problem.

 

[NDogg]

thanks guy...

I had the mccartys put in my santana model and they were very big sounding. Much more so than the Dragons in my les paul. I then put the mccartys in my les paul and they are not nearly as big sounding as in the prs (same bigness basically as dragons were). The guitar tech says that if they were wired incorrectly i would hear bad tone. He also put the mccartys in my les paul, so he would have had to have wired those incorrectly as well which would be a big coincidence right? Is there a capacitor in the guitar that could be bad?

My guess is that the les Paul has much thicker mahagony and probably compresses the tone whereas a PRS is much brighter.

Overall I like the pickups better in my les Paul because they are much richer harmonically than in the PRS... The dragons sounding richer and more colorful than the mccartys

 

[ADP]

I think the Dragon Bass, Dragon II Bass and McCarty Bass are all essentially the same pickup. And the newest version of the Santana Treble is the same as the Dragon II Treble, albeit with a tweak or two. PRS tend to rename pickups to form treble and bass sets. They also change names depending on whether they're covered or uncovered and also if they have different splitting options.

 

[NDogg]

Well I can tell you that the dragon bass has slightly more output than the mccarty bass... Has more harmonics and isn't quite as smooth.

I don't know how the santana bass compares as I haven't played it in my les Paul.