Pickups for 2000 Singlecut

Kevin Earl

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Dec 24, 2018
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i recently picked up a 2000 Singlecut that is awesome. It has Seymour Duncan’s in it that I don’t really care for though. I want to put some PRS pickups in it. I love the Dragon 1s in my 94 CE-22.

Has anyone tried McCarty pickups in a Singlecut? I’m leaning towards them but I’m wondering if it would sound muddy with the thick body.
 
If you like McCarty's they will go well in an SC. The #7's that were original to that particular beast would be my choice. If you can't find any, the 58/15's would be a likely marriage made in heaven.
 
Interestingly, the 59/09 is one that I had ruled out. It seems to have more high end bite and sizzle than I like. I prefer the warm smooth flavor of McCarty and Dragon neck pickups. The 53/10 and 57/08 look intriguing but are so expensive when they pop up for sale. #7s seem to be hit or miss so I’m not sure about them
 
... #7s seem to be hit or miss so I’m not sure about them
Do you mean they are not consistent or that some folks like them and some don't? I'm in the "love them" category. But that may be because of the guitar more than the pickups. I have two SC's. One is magical and the other is just very good. If my only experience with them was the latter I'd probably suspect the pickups as well.
 
If you do like the McCarty pickups, they should go fine in a Singlecut of that era. The wood and construction were basically the same as the McCarty guitars at the time (aside from the obvious difference in shape). It was introduced as the "McCarty Singlecut" after all.
 
Do you mean they are not consistent or that some folks like them and some don't? I'm in the "love them" category. But that may be because of the guitar more than the pickups. I have two SC's. One is magical and the other is just very good. If my only experience with them was the latter I'd probably suspect the pickups as well.

It seems that a lot of people replace them based on feedback I’ve received. I don’t recall ever playing a set but in recordings that I listen to they don’t seem to have the fat, thick, vocal treble response that I love in the McCarty and dragon pickups. I mostly play on the neck pickup clean through a deluxe reverb or 5e3 clone.
 
If you do like the McCarty pickups, they should go fine in a Singlecut of that era. The wood and construction were basically the same as the McCarty guitars at the time (aside from the obvious difference in shape). It was introduced as the "McCarty Singlecut" after all.

The body on this thing just seems a lot thicker than a McCarty. I’ve not owned a McCarty but have played many. I could be wrong about the thickness as my CE-22 is very thin and that one is my baseline.
 
Can't go wrong with a 57/08 or 59/09 set, IMO. You said the 59/09 might be too bright - I don't think they're definitively bright pickups overall, just designed to be a little brighter in contrast to the 57/08.

This might throw a wrench in the works, and note that I'm talking about the S2 version of the 7's, but I swapped a 59/09 in place of a #7 in one of my S2's specifically to tame the treble response, and it worked wonders. The big question is, how do the S2 #7's compare to the USA version, that I don't know, my assumption is they're at least similar, hopefully someone else can comment on that.

If you're thinking McCarty pickups, those were made with a nod to the Ted McCarty era stuff at Gibson, which would be PAF humbuckers, I think the 57/08, 59/09's are the evolution of that thought, not going in a more modern direction, but in a more "faithful recreation" way.
 
I bought a set of McCarty pickups today, excited to try them out in this guitar when they arrive. Thank you for all of the input.
 
It had JB and Jazz. The jazz lacked character and while it didn’t sound bad it didn’t have the warmth and clarity that I’m used to with Dragon 1 neck pickup in my CE22. The JB’s eq worked well but was rather uninspiring.

After getting the McCarty pickups dialed it, this guitar really came to life and I’m very happy with it
 
It had JB and Jazz. The jazz lacked character and while it didn’t sound bad it didn’t have the warmth and clarity that I’m used to with Dragon 1 neck pickup in my CE22. The JB’s eq worked well but was rather uninspiring.

After getting the McCarty pickups dialed it, this guitar really came to life and I’m very happy with it
Somebody correct me if I'm wrong but isn't a dragon 1 neck nothing more than an uncovered McCarty neck ?
 
Somebody correct me if I'm wrong but isn't a dragon 1 neck nothing more than an uncovered McCarty neck ?

Close. The early McCartys were both Dragon Bass with no cover.
I think they evolved a bit later on to their own thing.

They're good pickups. JB/Jazz are great, just gotta be what you're after.

I still wish you could get the old Artist Pickups. Really loved those. Sold my last set figuring I could get em again.
Whoops.

LOL
 
Close. The early McCartys were both Dragon Bass with no cover.
I think they evolved a bit later on to their own thing.

They're good pickups. JB/Jazz are great, just gotta be what you're after.

I still wish you could get the old Artist Pickups. Really loved those. Sold my last set figuring I could get em again.
Whoops.

LOL
Ah......I picked up a set of reissue square bobbin T and B pickups a couple years ago and now I'm seeing some reissue round bobbins for sale on reverb.

I thought is was odd.
 
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