MCP DEMO: Dragon Suit - Hot Head - Detroiter - T-Wreck

[firejack]

Finally got around to finishing up a rough comparison clip of 4 of my MCP bridge models.
Nothing fancy. Just a simple recording to try and highlight the subtle differences between each pickup.
Guitar is a Jackson Adrian Smith SDX (Basswood, Maple, Rosewood).
Amp is my Peters GNL. All settings identical.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyL3HNBHtNQ
Go to the YT page above and compare the pickups using the time checkpoints in the description section.
Best place to hear the differences are at the Intro and Outro sections of each model.

Cheers

 

[sixty-niner]

nice demo, which do you prefer?

 

[halebox]

Great demo thanks!

 

[JiMB]

Yeah, thanks for the demo!

 

[Beyond Black]

Great job, man! They all sound great and the differences are very subtle. You can definitely tell that they were all created with the same pair of ears. I'd happily play any of them. I've got an Afwayu and a Detroiter in two LP's and they sound phenomenal. Wade make great pickups, I only wish that he would keep his website up to date...

 

[HilltopExplosion]

Nice! Cool riffage! The difference is subtle, but they all sound good! To me the Detroiter has the most mids, and the Dragon Suit has less highs, but maintained good growl. Hard to pick a favorite.

 

[nigelpkay]

I liked the Detroiter the best. (But I'm biased as it's the only one of these I've tried). Second was t-wrecks for that looser AC/DC feel.
If I ever get another Les Paul, I want the Detroiters again. Super versatile.

 

[romanianreaper]

I really liked the Detroiter and the Dragon. All sounded great!!

 

[firejack]

nice demo, which do you prefer?

Very hard to pick a fave as I love all my MCP's. They each have very subtle differences and always sound great.
All have tight bass response, great growl and character in the mids, and cutting highs that aren't shrill or piercing.
The biggest difference between the models I have is how they feel to play. If I was forced to rate them, it'd go:

1. HotHead / Dragon Suit - The HH and DS have the most complex, swirling mid-character and are very nice to play.
2. Detroiter / Afwayu - These two almost play themselves. There's loads of compression in the Afwayu, but it can be dialled back by lowering the pickup far away from the strings.
3. 2nd Degree Black Belt - Takes a bit more work than the above models to play. It's got really nice highs and overall has the most interesting and complex sound (if that makes sense).
4. T-Wreck - The T-Wreck is the stiffest feeling of the bunch, and thus my least fave. Still sounds great though.

 

[firejack]

Great demo thanks!

Yeah, thanks for the demo!

Cheers guys! And thanks Halebox for all your demos too man.
Have you added any more MCP's to your collection lately?

 

[firejack]

Great job, man! They all sound great and the differences are very subtle. You can definitely tell that they were all created with the same pair of ears. I'd happily play any of them. I've got an Afwayu and a Detroiter in two LP's and they sound phenomenal. Wade make great pickups, I only wish that he would keep his website up to date...

Yeah man same here. It would be nice if the website was up to date. For years that site prevented me from purchasing any of Wade's pickups.
But I'm glad I eventually took the plunge. Wade's pickups are a cut above everything else I've tried.

Nice! Cool riffage! The difference is subtle, but they all sound good! To me the Detroiter has the most mids, and the Dragon Suit has less highs, but maintained good growl. Hard to pick a favorite.

Thanks mate.
The differences are indeed subtle. And that's why I think Wade's pickups sound consistently good. All the MCP bridge models I have share similar tonal traits and qualities.

To my ears...

Bass/Attack:
The Hot Head and Detroiter have the nicest attack for my tastes. The Detroiter has a bit more clank and sharpness, whilst the Hot Head is more rounded off.
The T-Wreck sounds the thickest and roundest of the 4. It's more chunky and warm than the others.
The Dragon Suit isn't far behind the T-Wreck and is very strong in the bass. But still has a touch more sharpness in the attack than the T-Wreck.

Mids:
I like prominent and pokey mids in a bridge pickup and Wade's pickups never disappoint. With these 4 bridge models, I feel the Dragon Suit has the most interesting mid character. It's very complex and alive sounding. You can hear it when you compare the outro sections of the video side by side. The Dragon Suit's mids have a thick but hi-fi quality to them.
The Hot Head and the Detroiter aren't far behind the Dragon Suit. They are very similar in that they have that same hi-fi swirl thing going on in the mids, just not quite as much as the Dragon Suit. Between the Hot Head and the Detroiter, the Hot Head is more lower-mid focused, whilst the Detroiter is more upper-mid.
The T-Wreck has the least prominent mids in comparison, but still has a very interesting growl.

High's:
They are all very open sounding pickups, but the Dragon Suit and the Detroiter have the clearest and sharpest highs. The Hot Head and T-Wreck sound slightly more smeared and compressed.

 

[halebox]

Great demo thanks!

Yeah, thanks for the demo!

Cheers guys! And thanks Halebox for all your demos too man.
Have you added any more MCP's to your collection lately?

No but I switched the magnet in the solution I had to an alnico 5 unorientated and I like it better. I wrote wade and he said he prefers orientated regular alnico 5 so I ordered one of those to try. I almost wrote the solution off but now I'm digging it. It feels very different than other mcp. It doesn't even feel like the few emg's I've tried. Its very clear and bold. I do have a custom wind under 8k neck pickup in the bridge of one les Paul and it sounds crazy good at home. Let's see how it holds up in a band situation. Still digging the easiness of playing the
Afwayu which is my fave so far but haven't practiced with band lately to see where it stands in a mix.
Wanted to try a dragon suit eventually but it sounds just like a mcp with slight tweaks so not a priority but who knows maybe it's perfect. You never know till its in a guitar

 

[fearhk213]

Nice demo

In you're clips I also preferred the Dragon Suits and Hot Heads. The Dragon Suits sound a bit more open with more upper mid focus and chime, while the Hot Heads are more compressed with more lower mid growl. The thing that sticks out to me in your Hot Head clip and a couple of others I've heard is they seem to just settle in the mix extremely nice. I have a set of Hot Heads I still need to try, but I've been really enjoying the Dragon Suits, so I just haven't got around to it yet .

 

[gibson5413]

Awesome Gavin! Sounds great and a monster player!! I've said it before and I'll say it again...I miss those horror themed originals you used to record a few years back.

 

[fearhk213]

Firejack, have you tried your T-Wreck in a Les Paul style axe?

 

[mchn13]

Good demo man. I liked your black dog detroiter demo as well. I love the detroiters in my les Paul. Just the perfect punch.

 

[firejack]

I liked the Detroiter the best. (But I'm biased as it's the only one of these I've tried). Second was t-wrecks for that looser AC/DC feel.
If I ever get another Les Paul, I want the Detroiters again. Super versatile.

I really liked the Detroiter and the Dragon. All sounded great!!

Yep there's a fair bit of overlap between the Detroiter, HotHead, and Dragon Suit models and they each sound great.
I'm not really getting along with the T-Wreck as it's the most different sounding of the bunch and just feels a bit too stiff for my guitar playing abilities.

 

[jape23]

Thanks for taking the time to break things down and offer up your findings on these pickups. I was thinking about ordering another 2nd degree black belt for another of my super strats, but you have me thinking that I should give the Detroiter a go instead.

 

[gepetto33]

Great bit of work you've done here, really....

As a pickup shopper you've put together a great objective base in which to make comparisons, being able to compare/decipher each of their characteristics side by side - truly the only way to show off pickup sounds accurately. The only other meta factor is knowing what guitar was used, and you can deduce from there. Much regards to you sir, this may have even sell me a pickup

I have a quick question regarding the Dragon Suit -

I have a Bare Knuckle Black Dog i was looking to replace. Judging by the names on each of these pickups, i would assume they were both going for a similar character.... and since you've owned both now, how would you compare the two? I liked how it (the DS) sounded in the clip... and both seem to have a healthy bit of mids and low mids, with the top end slightly tapered off.... but what would the real differences be would you say, having used them in practical applications?

 

[gepetto33]

bump for response

(i can't send pm's, sorry)