Help me pick some humbuckers for my CU24

JohnSykes

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Hey guys, I have a Core CU24 (2007) that's my main guitar and i wanna try some new pickups.

In an ideal world i'd buy some DGT pickups but those are nowhere to be found, so im tempted to buy a set of used Dragon I. Lollar Imperials are another alternative im considering.
 
Can you comment on whether you're looking for low, medium, or high output? Or all-around "versatility," as they say if you want to be able to "do everything." Musical style you're aiming for?

Dragon I are kind of hard to come by, and I would advise that I believe those were designed with the intention of going into 22-fret guitars (such as the Dragon series, Custom 22, and CE-22). Dragon II pickups were also in 22-fret guitars, and the DGT is 22 also.

That being said, I have "violated" my own newer Custom 24 by putting nickel-covered 57/08 pickups in it, and I LOVE it--but I do like lower-powered pickups for low-gain pop/rock stuff. These pickups are very much in the same ballpark as the Lollar Imperials, which I do have in a LP.

If you wanted to go hotter, you can also get the Vintage Bass (neck) and HFS (bridge) pickups. The VB is a vintage-style output, good for rhythm stuff; but the HFS is hot, good for lead/solo lines.

The world is your oyster when it comes to trying different pickups, but these are just my initial non-specific recommendations.
 
When you pick up your guitar, and strum it without plugging it in…what do you hear in your head? Modern, vintage, high output, super clean?
 
If DGT pickups are your thing you can get McCarty pickups also 57/08s sound killer.
Suhr Aldrich pickups are hotter but are plenty vintage sounding
I like the VB/HFS in my CU24
 
Great stuff here, thanks so much.

When you pick up your guitar, and strum it without plugging it in…what do you hear in your head? Modern, vintage, high output, super clean?

Lets see, definitely not super high output or super clean. Vintage-modern would be a good way of putting it. I might be changing the rotary switch to McCarty wiring as well.

I love Grissom's tone (like most guitar players lol), he can get that old vintage tone yet those leads scream when he digs in.

If DGT pickups are your thing you can get McCarty pickups also 57/08s sound killer.
Suhr Aldrich pickups are hotter but are plenty vintage sounding
I like the VB/HFS in my CU24

Yeah, i love the VB/HFS but i have that combination in an older Standard 24. My CU24 have been around and you could say its mainly for gigs.
 
59/09’s, 57/08 neck 59/09 bridge, Dragon 1’s, BKP Mules…

I have had A LOT of pickups in my Custom 24, and now I have a set of Bare Knuckle Polymaths in it. They are the best pickups that I have had in that guitar. Close second is 57/08 neck with 59/09 bridge.

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Quick question: any pickup similar to whatever Grissom used in the 80s/early 90s?
 
Not sure where you’re at with this, but I just put a set of Onemac Windery Top Shelf 59s in a Knaggs Honga and OHMYF&CKINGGODIVENEVERHADSUCHCREAMYROCKTONESINMYLIFEHOLYF@CKMAYBEITSTHELAGAVULIN16TALKINGIHAVENOIDEAIMSOBUZZEDHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA
 
Not sure where you’re at with this, but I just put a set of Onemac Windery Top Shelf 59s in a Knaggs Honga and OHMYF&CKINGGODIVENEVERHADSUCHCREAMYROCKTONESINMYLIFEHOLYF@CKMAYBEITSTHELAGAVULIN16TALKINGIHAVENOIDEAIMSOBUZZEDHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA

I’ve a set of Onamac Windery “Texas Specials” single coils in a MIJ Strat and yes they make a great pickup.
 
Not sure where you’re at with this, but I just put a set of Onemac Windery Top Shelf 59s in a Knaggs Honga and OHMYF&CKINGGODIVENEVERHADSUCHCREAMYROCKTONESINMYLIFEHOLYF@CKMAYBEITSTHELAGAVULIN16TALKINGIHAVENOIDEAIMSOBUZZEDHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA

Do they sell short legs humbuckers?
 
Hey guys, I have a Core CU24 (2007) that's my main guitar and i wanna try some new pickups.

In an ideal world i'd buy some DGT pickups but those are nowhere to be found, so im tempted to buy a set of used Dragon I. Lollar Imperials are another alternative im considering.
What kind of sound are you after that you aren’t getting with the stock pups?
 
Its more like adding a different flavor. I have my old standard 24 with the hfs/vb combo, and the rotary switch. Id like to go with mccarty switching and lower output humbuckers with the custom.
Sure, a couple thoughts:
You probably could find some used McCarty pickups on Reverb. I still really like the sound of them in my 07 McC, and have stayed with them since I bought it new. I also really like the Swamp Ash Specials in my 08 SAS. They are actually lower output than the McCarty pickups. I also like the Gibson Burstbuckers. They are similar output to the McCarty’s.
Of course there are many other options out there. The 58/15’s are great but they aren’t cheap. Lollar, Fralin, Duncan, etc also make some great options.
 
Hey guys, I have a Core CU24 (2007) that's my main guitar and i wanna try some new pickups.

In an ideal world i'd buy some DGT pickups but those are nowhere to be found, so im tempted to buy a set of used Dragon I. Lollar Imperials are another alternative im considering.
I like the Dragons 1 pickups. I have them in two CE-22 guitars with the 5 position rotating selector switch for single coil as well as humbucker sounds.

The neck Dragon is an 8K pickup with an alnico 4 magnet. Kind of like a strong 1959 Gibson paf.

The bridge Dragon is 19 or 20K and has a ceramic magnet. It's an awesome rock pickup, especially if you have a great overdrive pedal like a Hot Cake or Dover Drive. It's not my favorite pickup for blues though.

My '95 CU-22 had Dragon I pickups too, but I switched them to Duncan Antiquitys which are a replica of the earliest incarnation of Gibson pafs. They have an alnico 2 magnet. I love them! Great for blues and bluesy rock.

I don't own a DGT, nor have I ever played one. But I've watched a lot of DGT video demos.

The DGT has alnico 2 pickups as well and to me, they sound more than a little like the Antiquitys. At least in the videos.

I'd have to say that the Dragon I and Duncan Antiquitys are my two favorite humbucker sets I've owned in a PRS guitar.

The Dragon I is great for rock. The Antiquitys are great for rock, blues and jazzy blues.
 
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The neck Dragon is...like a strong 1959 Gibson paf.
...
The bridge Dragon is...an awesome rock pickup.

THIS right here, based on my recent eye-opening experience, is what the Dragon I set boils down to. Granted, I wouldn't say that getting ahold of Dragon I's is all that easy anymore, but just in case anybody was wondering...
 
THIS right here, based on my recent eye-opening experience, is what the Dragon I set boils down to. Granted, I wouldn't say that getting ahold of Dragon I's is all that easy anymore, but just in case anybody was wondering...
Actually you can find them on eBay or Reverb fairly quickly for about $450 a set. You might not find them every day, but they come up fairly often. They're expensive though. And the bridge and neck pickups are out of phase with each other so you might need to flip the magnet in one if you're going to use a 3 way switch.

PRS ought to reissue that set. It's killer in a CE-22. I even find the 5 position rotary switch useful.

I'm not a 24 fret guy though. That moves the neck pickup an inch towards the bridge and I don't like that sound as much.

Doesn't seem to bother Santana and the guys who play 24 fret guitars, but I miss the deeper tone of a neck pickup on a 22 fret guitar.
 
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Doesn't seem to bother Santana and the guys who play 24 fret guitars, but I miss the deeper tone of a neck pickup on a 22 fret guitar.

That's not too much of an issue - you can use your Tone control to darken/deepen the Cu24 neck Pup to sound closer to a Cu22. Its a similar Principal to guitarists like Phil X who uses just a Single Bridge HB guitar and rolling the Tone off to get those darker/deeper tones - but I know many never touch their 'tone' pot and Volume is just there as a 'mute' switch...

It really does depend on the 'Musician' and how they use their instrument. Some may prefer extra frets and use the tone pot for example to get the 'tone' they want, others may just prefer to use the Pick-up selector, not touch tone/volume controls and therefore use 'different' instruments to get a tone they want. A lot of Professional players do use Volume/Tone controls on their instruments so maybe have those 'tones' available in their instruments too, but not as 'simple' as just selecting the neck Pup - its neck pup with tone rolled down...

Even where you pick/strum makes a difference in the way a Pickup sounds - pick near the bridge on a 22fret guitar set to 'neck' position and pick near the neck on the same guitar and you get a different sound/tone too so it really does come down to how you use your instrument as well so it can be a LOT more versatile, more range than you think...
 

That's not too much of an issue - you can use your Tone control to darken/deepen the Cu24 neck Pup to sound closer to a Cu22. Its a similar Principal to guitarists like Phil X who uses just a Single Bridge HB guitar and rolling the Tone off to get those darker/deeper tones - but I know many never touch their 'tone' pot and Volume is just there as a 'mute' switch...

It really does depend on the 'Musician' and how they use their instrument. Some may prefer extra frets and use the tone pot for example to get the 'tone' they want, others may just prefer to use the Pick-up selector, not touch tone/volume controls and therefore use 'different' instruments to get a tone they want. A lot of Professional players do use Volume/Tone controls on their instruments so maybe have those 'tones' available in their instruments too, but not as 'simple' as just selecting the neck Pup - its neck pup with tone rolled down...

Even where you pick/strum makes a difference in the way a Pickup sounds - pick near the bridge on a 22fret guitar set to 'neck' position and pick near the neck on the same guitar and you get a different sound/tone too so it really does come down to how you use your instrument as well so it can be a LOT more versatile, more range than you think...
Nah. Just not the same. A lot of great players don't like 24 fret guitars because the neck pickup doesn't sound like it does in a 22 fret guitar, and there's nothing you can do if that sound is lost because the pickup is not under the second octave harmonic anymore.

But clearly it doesn't bother everyone.
 
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