Why does PRS still manufacture and sell Dragon II pickups but not Dragon I pickups?

[Lewguitar]

If you go to the PRS Accessory Store you can find brand new Dragon II pickups.

Why no Dragon I pickups? That's the set players want.

Does Paul have some kind of grudge against the Dragon I?

I mean it might not be the most versatile or might not be especially good at getting country or jazz or pop tones!

But neither is a JB or Super Distortion.

What the Dragon I bridge pickup is, is one of the best rock pickups ever created.

Why does Paul seem to want to forget about it?

 

[veinbuster]

Paul has always been very clear: if people don’t buy it, they stop making it.

 

[Lewguitar]

Paul has always been very clear: if people don’t buy it, they stop making it.

So more people want to use the Dragon II than want to use the Dragon I?

That's the opposite of what get's posted here.

Seems like the Dragon I is what people are searching for.

 

[Senor Verde]

Paul has always been very clear: if people don’t buy it, they stop making it.

I don't remember them ever selling the Dragon I aftermarket.

 

[ViperDoc]

Peoples’ wallets choose what stays in the shop.

 

[Moondog Wily]

I believe it is similar to Nigel Tufnel's logic from "This Is Spinal Tap":

Dragon II's are ONE MORE! So they are one better!!

 

[Lewguitar]

Peoples’ wallets choose what stays in the shop.

Absolutely. That's just good business.

But from what I read on the forum the Dragon I is the one people say they want...not the Dragon II.

Seems to me that the two PRS pickup sets that get most of the love here are the Dragon I and the 57/08.

But a man sees what he wants to see and disregards the rest. Those two do happen to be my own personal favorites.

One for rock...one for everything else.

Different ends of the spectrum for sure!

 

[DISTORT6]

Those Dragon II’s in the store are probably nos (new old stock) that have been sitting around for decades.

 

[Lewguitar]

Those Dragon II’s in the store are probably nos (new old stock) that have been sitting around for decades.

Hmmm....maybe so!

 

[László]

Those Dragon II’s in the store are probably nos (new old stock) that have been sitting around for decades.

If so, they're Unobtainium, NOS, and are therefore potentially worth One Million Dollars each!

Seems to me that a smart collector should buy every set in the store, corner the market, go into suspended animation for 200 years to max out their value, and be set for life.

Though maybe it'd be similar to that Twilight Zone episode...

"Wake up! It's 2223! Those pickups are worth millions now! I'm going to go into town to sell them!"

[a couple of hours pass]

"I'm back."

"Why the sad expression? Did you get the money?"

"No one was interested. People kept asking me, 'What's a guitar?'"

"They probably only use AI for music now."

"Actually, they got rid of the whole AI thing. They're back to making their own music."

"Then I don't get it. These things should've set us up for life. What happened?"

"Accordions made a comeback."

 

[WEDGE]

I don't remember them ever selling the Dragon I aftermarket.

I don’t know about main stream availability, but they did have a sale on a bunch of old stock pick ups a handful of years ago and I bought a pair of new in the box dragons, the original ones. Killer pick ups if you’re into the high gain stuff.

 

[Malloc]

I’d speculate the bias for Dragon I inquiries on this corner of the interwebs is precisely *because* the Dragon II are still offered for sale. No scarcity bias or need to clog up forums if you can just go click buy. That leaves the vocal minority who are searching for the non available models stuck amplifying the perception of demand.

 

[RC Mike]

Those Dragon II’s in the store are probably nos (new old stock) that have been sitting around for decades.

Yup. And there are under 40 of them in stock.

 

[Lewguitar]

I’d speculate the bias for Dragon I inquiries on this corner of the interwebs is precisely *because* the Dragon II are still offered for sale. No scarcity bias or need to clog up forums if you can just go click buy. That leaves the vocal minority who are searching for the non available models stuck amplifying the perception of demand.

Everyone should have at least one guitar with a Dragon I bridge pickup just so they KNOW what all the fuzz is about.

Oops...I mean fuss.

 

[Mark Ray]

I am a Dragon1 SuperFan, as many of you may have figured. I had a custom build guitar with Dragon II's. WAY different beast than the 1's! Like night and day different. Not a fan.

 

[gush]

If so, they're Unobtainium, NOS, and are therefore potentially worth One Million Dollars each!

Seems to me that a smart collector should buy every set in the store, corner the market, go into suspended animation for 200 years to max out their value, and be set for life.

Though maybe it'd be similar to that Twilight Zone episode...

"Wake up! It's 2223! Those pickups are worth millions now! I'm going to go into town to sell them!"

[a couple of hours pass]

"I'm back."

"Why the sad expression? Did you get the money?"

"No one was interested. People kept asking me, 'What's a guitar?'"

"They probably only use AI for music now."

"Actually, they got rid of the whole AI thing. They're back to making their own music."

"Then I don't get it. These things should've set us up for life. What happened?"

"Accordions made a comeback."

Gosh......if D2s will be worth 1 million then my D1s should be worth 2 million......................any takers?????

 

[László]

Pickup preference is dependent on the style of the player's music and individual taste. It's not that any given pickup is somehow universally better or worse.

I'm not a fan of the Dragon series because I don't play the styles of music they're best at. So I've liked the more recent offerings.

 

[Going Modal]

I must be in the slim minority in that I actively like BOTH the Dragon and Dragon II pickup sets.* But yes, I'm also in the camp who assumes that the II's are probably still for sale thanks to an "excessive inventory availability" of them. The original Dragons were probably long gone years ago. (Although, if anybody cares, I think that the current 59/09 set--which you can currently buy in the PRS store--would be the modern-day surrogate for Dragon 1's.)

*My Dragon 1's are in a stoptail-bridge CU22 but my II's are in a tremolo Custom 22--evidence seems to indicate that these are the bridge setups initially paired (and intended?) by PRS with these two pickup generations.

 

[Lewguitar]

I must be in the slim minority in that I actively like BOTH the Dragon and Dragon II pickup sets.* But yes, I'm also in the camp who assumes that the II's are probably still for sale thanks to an "excessive inventory availability" of them. The original Dragons were probably long gone years ago. (Although, if anybody cares, I think that the current 59/09 set--which you can currently buy in the PRS store--would be the modern-day surrogate for Dragon 1's.)

*My Dragon 1's are in a stoptail-bridge CU22 but my II's are in a tremolo Custom 22--evidence seems to indicate that these are the bridge setups initially paired (and intended?) by PRS with these two pickup generations.

59/09 treble pickup:

• Magnet: Alnico 2
• DC Res: 9.3k

Dragon I treble pickup:

• Magnet: Ceramic
• DC Res: 19k

Quite different!

 

[shinksma]

I think that the current 59/09 set--which you can currently buy in the PRS store--would be the modern-day surrogate for Dragon 1's.

59/09 treble pickup:

• Magnet: Alnico 2
• DC Res: 9.3k

Dragon I treble pickup:

• Magnet: Ceramic
• DC Res: 19k

Quite different!

While I appreciate the technical differences in how they are made, I don't hear pickups via knowing the magnet type or DC resistance. I hear them by playing in a guitar.

How do they sound once installed? Anyone have any actual experience doing an A-B comparison?