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New Member
- Joined
- May 4, 2023
- Messages
- 4
I bought a McCarty 594 Thinline in which the previous owner had installed Dragon 1s ... great live when pushing a more old school amp and using an overdrive. I liked them into my California tweed where the pickups could do a lot of the push - if the whole rig was dialled to those pickups, it could be great at stage volume, especially for leads. My other guitar is an s2 standard 24 that had DiMarzio 36th anniversaries in it from pretty much the get go because I was under the impression that the "upgrade" was to ditch the G&B stock pickups (presumed to be 58/15s). Had a buddy do it and didn't look at those pickups for years. After lots of time amp tweaking between guitars and not enough time playing, decided the drastic difference of the Dragon 1s was the issue. Especially playing hotter amps (have a mesa studio 22 and a recto-verb 25). With the cheapest option to try being the old stock G&B import pickups from my standard 24, I got those installed in the 594 thinline and figured I could sell the D1 and with that cash get whatever I wanted eventually. Turns out the import pickups solved everything I was fighting the D1s with, they were responsive, in the right frequency ranges, had the right amount of compression...etc. Eventually took them out and put them back in the standard they came stock in (first pickup swap of my own doing and LOL the back says G&B 85/15. So not only were these the import that everyone bashes, they were the more "modern" pickup that everyone bashes even more and says is thin. This was such a good lesson in using your ears and not your eyes/bank account. The import 85/15s were fantastic to me in both guitars and I am now looking for some used 85/15 potentially, or something similar. They are apparently perfect for my playing! I have my D1s on reverb but I'd trade them straight for USA 85/15s to get it done haha.
My theory on these is a lot of people play at home volume and at home volume you want every thing in the chain to give a big image at a low volume. This is almost always bad at a high volume and worse in a band mix. I host open jams and through a 1x12 amp that is at bar stage volume and has some juice going, I was hearing leads through the import 85/15 pickups clear as day, over drums, from inside the bathroom with the door closed. They are voiced really well and they let you do a lot at the amp and in the chain. These let me have a thick drive sound and they maintain definition. The neck is just huge sounding but with some slice, and the bridge is "narrower" but right in that snarl range. With the bridge set a little higher than the neck, you can flip and just get a shift in focus without a drop in output.
Please chime in on experience with the 85/15s or similar!
My theory on these is a lot of people play at home volume and at home volume you want every thing in the chain to give a big image at a low volume. This is almost always bad at a high volume and worse in a band mix. I host open jams and through a 1x12 amp that is at bar stage volume and has some juice going, I was hearing leads through the import 85/15 pickups clear as day, over drums, from inside the bathroom with the door closed. They are voiced really well and they let you do a lot at the amp and in the chain. These let me have a thick drive sound and they maintain definition. The neck is just huge sounding but with some slice, and the bridge is "narrower" but right in that snarl range. With the bridge set a little higher than the neck, you can flip and just get a shift in focus without a drop in output.
Please chime in on experience with the 85/15s or similar!
White label, covered. Or straight trade for a set of any of the newer pickups. Apologies for playing into the outrageous price game. Cost of living is stupid and I am not in the collector income bracket/already payed out heavy for the s2 that had these in it thinking it would be worth it but not my thing!
