Why do people hate the Dragster humbuckers in the J-Craft Jaguars?

[dangayle]

I have both the J-Craft Jaguar Special HH and the Baritone Special HH guitars, and I love them to death. Especially the baritone.

One thing I've noted is that most of the people who have bought them in the past immediately swapped the Dragster humbuckers out, and I don't know why. I think they sound great. They're unique sounding, neither like anything that's ever been in a Jaguar and nothing really like a Gibson humbucker either. Not too hot, but thick. The bridge does have a bit of a honkiness too it, like a mid-range resonance, but I look at that as a feature, not a flaw.

Why do people dislike them so much?

[JSett]

I had one of the Baritones up until recently and I thought the Dragsters sounded great in it - really suited the tone of the instrument.

I had one of the normal guitar ones about 12 years ago and hated the pickups for regular guitar playing. They probably weren't that bad but I was a die-hard single coil guy at the time. I think I put P90s in and then, eventually, swapped in regular Jag pickups. Then sold it

Glad they work for you though, it's not often we're happy with stock pickups in things. I don't think a single one of my Fenders has the stock ones still in it

[dangayle]

I had one of the Baritones up until recently and I thought the Dragsters sounded great in it - really suited the tone of the instrument.

I had one of the normal guitar ones about 12 years ago and hated the pickups for regular guitar playing. They probably weren't that bad but I was a die-hard single coil guy at the time. I think I put P90s in and then, eventually, swapped in regular Jag pickups. Then sold it

Glad they work for you though, it's not often we're happy with stock pickups in things. I don't think a single one of my Fenders has the stock ones still in it

That's my experience with the baritone, the pickup sounds perfect in that. Maybe the EQ curve fits the scale length better.

[interceptör]

Surely because everyone in their right mind knows that not a single Fender guitar has ever left a Japanese factory without sub-par pickups.

[JSett]

Surely because everyone in their right mind knows that not a single Fender guitar has ever left a Japanese factory without sub-par pickups.

Apart from the new ones that have USA electronics

[interceptör]

Surely because everyone in their right mind knows that not a single Fender guitar has ever left a Japanese factory without sub-par pickups.

Apart from the new ones that have USA electronics

Yes, but only if you know they do; otherwise they are just yer plain ol' run-of-the-mill bland generic nondescript MIJ pieces of shyte.

[dangayle]

Surely because everyone in their right mind knows that not a single Fender guitar has ever left a Japanese factory without sub-par pickups.

That's a bit of a stretch, isn't it? The weird Strat-style single coils under a Jazzmaster cover are one thing, I can understand the dislike of those, but every single one? Ever?

[interceptör]

Surely because everyone in their right mind knows that not a single Fender guitar has ever left a Japanese factory without sub-par pickups.

That's a bit of a stretch, isn't it? The weird Strat-style single coils under a Jazzmaster cover are one thing, I can understand the dislike of those, but every single one? Ever?

Sorry, man, I was just making a bit of fun of our douchy cork-sniffin' and trope-gobblin' ways.

[dangayle]

Sorry, man, I was just making a bit of fun of our douchy cork-sniffin' and trope-gobblin' ways.

Ahh, sarcasm. I thought maybe, lol

[Ceylon]

Strangely enough I remember people on here being overwhelmingly positive towards the Dragster humbuckers because they were a bit clearer, less hot and more Fendery than your average humbucker. I definitely put them on the list of pickup I'd want to try because of the discourse on here.

[dangayle]

Strangely enough I remember people on here being overwhelmingly positive towards the Dragster humbuckers because they were a bit clearer, less hot and more Fendery than your average humbucker. I definitely put them on the list of pickup I'd want to try because of the discourse on here.

I don't remember where I read it, but one person put them in his Gibson and was raving about it.

[ainm]

Definitely one of those grumpy fucks who loves Japanese guitars but has a tendency to rubbish the electrics and pickups, but I like Dragsters I’ve got a few kicking about in my “must have more pickups than guitars” stash.

[windmill]

Have a couple of stock guitars with dragsters in them.

Playing mainly at home at low volume I wasn't impressed. They were "wooly" sounding.

Recently pulled one of them out to try for a new project I have going with friends and finally tried the "turn the guiter volume up to full and turn the amp volume down" instead of the other way around, which i have done in the past.

Completely different sound, the "wooliness" is gone and the mysterious "jangle" people talk about is there.

Impressed .

HTH

[GilmourD]

Have a couple of stock guitars with dragsters in them.

Playing mainly at home at low volume I wasn't impressed. They were "wooly" sounding.

Recently pulled one of them out to try for a new project I have going with friends and finally tried the "turn the guiter volume up to full and turn the amp volume down" instead of the other way around, which i have done in the past.

Completely different sound, the "wooliness" is gone and the mysterious "jangle" people talk about is there.

Impressed .

HTH

Sounds like the exact reason that people put treble bleeds on their volume controls.

[bessieboporbach]

I have both the J-Craft Jaguar Special HH and the Baritone Special HH guitars, and I love them to death. Especially the baritone.

One thing I've noted is that most of the people who have bought them in the past immediately swapped the Dragster humbuckers out, and I don't know why. I think they sound great. They're unique sounding, neither like anything that's ever been in a Jaguar and nothing really like a Gibson humbucker either. Not too hot, but thick. The bridge does have a bit of a honkiness too it, like a mid-range resonance, but I look at that as a feature, not a flaw.

Why do people dislike them so much?

Part of it is that a lot of guys just refuse to hear with their ears.

Part of it is that internet guitar bros only really like 3 kinds of pickups: extremely vintage-correct single-coils, extremely vintage-correct PAFs, and absurdly overpowered ones like the JB. Anything that isn't one of those 3 types of pickup is inevitably going to be dismissed.