Monsta-Tone
New member
I have a 1994 PRS CE22. It has the original Dragon 1 pickups in it.
I ran a thread a year ago about this guitar but then traded the guitar to a friend. I recently traded back for the guitar (vicious circle.......).
I love the bridge pickup, it's high output, very dark, but has tons of sustain and harmonics. It sounds like a very angry neck pickup, just the way I want my bridge pup to sound!
Rather than re-hash the old thread, I thought I would start a new one. I found a PRS pickup chart from 1995 that should help with the necessary information about the pickup.
The neck pickup though is too dark, or rather, maybe it doesn't have enough highs.
It has an A4 magnet. It is fairly high output, but when backed down a bit, becomes muddy and lacks dynamics.
Here is what I have done (based on the older thread and great advice from guys here):
Turned pickup around 180 degrees so that the screws are facing the bridge
Lowered the bass side of the pickup
Raised the bass side screw poles a little
This really helped, but I still think the neck pup is just way too dark.
I am looking to brighten up the pickup and add some dynamics to it. If this were my only guitar, I would just leave it alone and re-EQ my amp. I use 3 or 4 guitars with the same amp though, so I need the tones to be similar enough that I am not constantly changing my settings when playing live.
Based on this video: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...8Dmw8jL3mSL4SJg&bvm=bv.66330100,d.cGU&cad=rja
I am leaning toward trying an A5 magnet. It seems to have slightly more output, but definitely sounds more lively than the A4 in the video.
I have some roughcast A5 magnets and some finished A5 magnets. Not sure which one I should try.
I also have some roughcast A2 magnets that I can try.
What do you guys suggest? I could simply just change the pickup to a Jazz or Alnico II neck model, or I can alter the original a little and keep the guitar mostly original. The original Dragon 1 pickups go for a premium price on flea bay and are pretty popular among PRS guys. I'm thinking the guitar will be worth more in the long run if I keep the original neck pickup in it, but it will be altered, so............
I also tried to find hex head screws for the pickup, but Addiction FX only carries the M3 screws, not an SAE type screw. When I compared the screw from my pickup with an M3 screw, it simply is the wrong thread and won't fit without forcing it.
Here is the chart:
I ran a thread a year ago about this guitar but then traded the guitar to a friend. I recently traded back for the guitar (vicious circle.......).
I love the bridge pickup, it's high output, very dark, but has tons of sustain and harmonics. It sounds like a very angry neck pickup, just the way I want my bridge pup to sound!
Rather than re-hash the old thread, I thought I would start a new one. I found a PRS pickup chart from 1995 that should help with the necessary information about the pickup.
The neck pickup though is too dark, or rather, maybe it doesn't have enough highs.
It has an A4 magnet. It is fairly high output, but when backed down a bit, becomes muddy and lacks dynamics.
Here is what I have done (based on the older thread and great advice from guys here):
Turned pickup around 180 degrees so that the screws are facing the bridge
Lowered the bass side of the pickup
Raised the bass side screw poles a little
This really helped, but I still think the neck pup is just way too dark.
I am looking to brighten up the pickup and add some dynamics to it. If this were my only guitar, I would just leave it alone and re-EQ my amp. I use 3 or 4 guitars with the same amp though, so I need the tones to be similar enough that I am not constantly changing my settings when playing live.
Based on this video: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...8Dmw8jL3mSL4SJg&bvm=bv.66330100,d.cGU&cad=rja
I am leaning toward trying an A5 magnet. It seems to have slightly more output, but definitely sounds more lively than the A4 in the video.
I have some roughcast A5 magnets and some finished A5 magnets. Not sure which one I should try.
I also have some roughcast A2 magnets that I can try.
What do you guys suggest? I could simply just change the pickup to a Jazz or Alnico II neck model, or I can alter the original a little and keep the guitar mostly original. The original Dragon 1 pickups go for a premium price on flea bay and are pretty popular among PRS guys. I'm thinking the guitar will be worth more in the long run if I keep the original neck pickup in it, but it will be altered, so............
I also tried to find hex head screws for the pickup, but Addiction FX only carries the M3 screws, not an SAE type screw. When I compared the screw from my pickup with an M3 screw, it simply is the wrong thread and won't fit without forcing it.
Here is the chart:
