Questions about Dragonfire and Johnny Eleca Pickups

[ant_riv]

Hi and thanks for checking out my thread.

I recently picked up a used Partscaster that I have fallen in love with.
It has a Licensed by Fender Wenge neck, ash body, full-sized CTS pots, CRL switch, locking tuners and a Wilkinson 2-point vibrato.

I wasn't sure what the pickups were, but they looked cheap.
When I bought it, my first thought was I'd pull the pickups and replace them with something 'better'.

It sounded good when I demoed it in the store, and I've always believed that you should first make sure the guitar is set-up properly before changing things. So I set it up, and suddenly wasn't so sure about changing the pups.

It is HSS, with a Johnny Eleca-labeled HB in the bridge position.
As near as I can find online, the two SC pups are Dragonfires. There are no markings, so I am just going by pictures.

I brought the guitar to rehearsal, and it sounded just as good at band volume as in my living room.

Does anybody have any experience with or know anything about these pups? I couldn't find much info online, and the JE website is pretty useless regarding info.

 

[ant_riv]

Re: Questions about Dragonfire and Johnny Eleca Pickups

Here is a bad cell phone picture:

 

[Masta' C]

Re: Questions about Dragonfire and Johnny Eleca Pickups

The Johnny Eleca pickups are made in China, but have much better components and quality control than most "Chinese" pickups. Plus, they typically use Alnico magnets, as opposed to the less expensive Ceramics most low-cost pickups use.

Sure, what you have are not "expensive" pickups, but that doesn't mean they're "cheap", if that makes sense.

If they sound great, I see no reason to change them.

 

[ant_riv]

Re: Questions about Dragonfire and Johnny Eleca Pickups

Thanks for the reply. I appreciate the info about "inexpensive but not cheap".
I assumed Chinese-made, but I have been impressed with the increased level of craftsmanship I've seen from MIC products in recent years.

I agree about keeping them, since they sound good, but ......
There is that voice inside that says "what if it would sound even better?"

Sometimes, it seems the parts of a guitar come together in a special way, and this one has that.
When I played it for my wife, and compared it to a couple others, she even remarked how much better it sounded.

I have a gig on Saturday, and I am going to see how it goes then. Hopefully, that will quiet that nasty little voice!

 

[Masta' C]

Re: Questions about Dragonfire and Johnny Eleca Pickups

I agree about keeping them, since they sound good, but ......
There is that voice inside that says "what if it would sound even better?"

Tell that voice to shut up!

When you find a combo that works as well as you say this one does, use it. Once you stray, you'll be on a never-ending (and expensive) quest toward a mystical idea of tonal perfection that doesn't exist. If these pickups sound great in THAT guitar, leave them!