Help with new CE-22 pickup?

[richrobguitar]

Good day all! One of my favorite guitars is my 1994 CE-22 with Dragon pickups. I need a change of pace for a while. I want to remove the Dragon 1 bridge pickup and use something less hot and compressed. The Dragon bridge is 19K and ceramic. I also have the 5 way rotary. I am thinking of trying another PRS pickup that works with the 5 way rotary like the HFS, Tremonti or 59/09. I prefer something unique to PRS and thought the Tremonti may be a nice change and a direct drop in!? Any experience with this pickup and the Dragon bridge? My plan B was to replace the 5 way with a McCarty configuration using push/pull coil split pots and a toggle and then I can easily try any pickup I want. So, any suggestions? Thanks in advance!

 

[John Beef]

It says the Tremonti can be used with the 5 way rotary (which was news to me):

http://www.prsaccessories.com/collections/pickups/products/tremonti-bass-pickup

So, it should be a drop in. I would say if you want less compression and hotness, the 59/09 might be the better choice - the Tremonti and HFS are both very hot too. Your Dragon treble pickup is wound with 44 gauge wire, which is why the resistance is so high. the thinner wire can be wrapped more times on the bobbins, and the longer the wire between the start of the coil and the finish, the higher the resistance. I believe the Tremonti and HFS are both 43 gauge wire so despite their lower resistance, the output might be similar.

 

[TFC]

If you don't want to limit your options to PRS pickups and aren't afraid to do a little pickup surgery, you can flip the magnet in a non-PRS pickup to change its polarity. This will enable it to work with the 5-way switch. Instructions can be found here:

http://www.stewmac.com/tsarchive/ts0069.html

I've done this with DiMarzio 36th Anniversary pickups, which are lower output and less compressed than your Dragon I.

 

[richrobguitar]

I really can't stand the thought of changing anything on a guitar. I am so burned out on swapping pickups and pots for 30 years. I may just live with each guitar the way it is, lowering the Dragon bridge pickup works well to lose some heat, plus I have to admit, the D1 does have a beautiful tone. I have no desire at all to ever flip a magnet! LOL.

 

[richrobguitar]

I really can't stand the thought of changing anything on a guitar. I am so burned out on swapping pickups and pots for 30 years. I may just live with each guitar the way it is, lowering the Dragon bridge pickup works well to lose some heat, plus I have to admit, the D1 does have a beautiful tone. I have no desire at all to ever flip a magnet! LOL. I must admit though, I could see myself replacing both pickups with Rio Grandes and a standard split pot and toggle configuration. The 5 way rotary seems pointless.

 

[Shawn@PRS]

Get a 59/09 treble pickup. They have great tone, will wire up to your 5 way switch and it would be a nice change of pace from your current Dragon I.

 

[richrobguitar]

Get a 59/09 treble pickup. They have great tone, will wire up to your 5 way switch and it would be a nice change of pace from your current Dragon I.

Thanks, I am thinking of trying that as well. I can always reinstall the Dragon if I want. What about changing to a toggle and split pot rather than my 5 way rotary? Preference? Looks like PRS is stopping production of the 5 way rotary. No? My fear over the 59/09 is that I once tried the Dragon IIs and they were thin and trebly!