Dragon II vs 59/09: How far apart are they?

[mookyshoots]

Sorry for posting a pickup thread but I can't find anything as specific as I'm searching for.

I currently have stock Dragon IIs in my 2002 CE22 and they're nice but are a bit hot for my taste, at least the bridge pickup anyway. I've seen a lot of nice things about the 59/09s and the bridge appears to be a bit lower output (9K vs 12K) plus it works with the rotary switch. That said, how much different are the two models from each other? Trying to decide if I stay with the DIIs or move on. Musically, I'm kind of all over the place but it's mostly clean to low/mid-gain stuff these days, so hot pickups are not my thing. For reference, I have Suhr Thornbuckers in my S2 Mira, so that sort of gain range, which the 59/09s seem in the ballpark of.

 

[veinbuster]

I find the pickups quite different. I like both and keep guitars with them.

Without playing the guitars back to back, it might be hard to be clear about the difference, but as I recall it is something like this:

59/09 is a bit mellower. I turn the volume a bit higher to get the same sound level - maybe running 7-8 versus 6-7 on the dragons. The 59/09 might be a bit better balanced. By that I mean smoother frequency response if you drew the curve - might be my ears though.

To be fair, just a pickup swap might not show this. I did not switch pickups. I just continue to play guitars that came with them. I find the 5x/0x electronic package has more interplay between volume and tone controls than the older packages did, so some of the difference might be that - I do not run tone at 10.

So maybe a bunch of useless blah, blah. I’ll leave it just in case.

 

[gush]

Completely different animals.

Rider1260 has my old cu22 with drag 2s and through my 5150 head and 5150 cab it reminded me of 57 classics.

I switched to celestion loaded cabs and this cu22 just didnt sound as good through them.

5909 bridge is my favorite bridge pickup. I have them in my cu24 and they sound incredible in this guitar.

This may sound crazy but 5909 bridge reminds me of a good tele bridge pickup only a lot hotter. It cleans up very well and produces a cleaner crisp tone without being harsh.

If you watch Ebay long enough you'll come across 5909 set for under 250.00.

 

[bodia]

Completely different animals.

Rider1260 has my old cu22 with drag 2s and through my 5150 head and 5150 cab it reminded me of 57 classics.

I switched to celestion loaded cabs and this cu22 just didnt sound as good through them.

5909 bridge is my favorite bridge pickup. I have them in my cu24 and they sound incredible in this guitar.

This may sound crazy but 5909 bridge reminds me of a good tele bridge pickup only a lot hotter. It cleans up very well and produces a cleaner crisp tone without being harsh.

If you watch Ebay long enough you'll come across 5909 set for under 250.00.

I'd agree with this. I replaced the DII in my '06 Cu22 with a 59/09 (Bridge) and 57/08 (neck). Much more to my liking.

 

[gush]

I'd agree with this. I replaced the DII in my '06 Cu22 with a 59/09 (Bridge) and 57/08 (neck). Much more to my liking.

I'll add this.

I have a 5909 bridge in my McCarty and it sounds good but not quite as good as my cu24.

I have a 5909 bridge in my ce24 and it is farther away from my cu24 than my McCarty is.

Now the mccarty doesn't have the treble bleed and that might be the difference but I absolutely love the way the 8515 sounds in that guitar so I'm not wanting to alter that unless I could put the treble bleed on bridge only.

 

[mookyshoots]

I'd agree with this. I replaced the DII in my '06 Cu22 with a 59/09 (Bridge) and 57/08 (neck). Much more to my liking.

That's the thing. The 57/08s were also on my radar but that means no rotary, correct? I actually don't care for the rotary all that much but I'm trying to draw a line on how far I'm willing to alter the CE22 from stock. I thought about the FreeWay switch for a hot second and then backed off the idea.

 

[bodia]

That's the thing. The 57/08s were also on my radar but that means no rotary, correct? I actually don't care for the rotary all that much but I'm trying to draw a line on how far I'm willing to alter the CE22 from stock. I thought about the FreeWay switch for a hot second and then backed off the idea.

The guitar was going to the PTC for a refin, so I had them do the pickups, pull the rotary and replace with a 3 way and 2 mini toggles. Not sure about the rotary and the 57/08

 

[László]

I think the 59/09s have more clarity. I kinda like that.

 

[mookyshoots]

The guitar was going to the PTC for a refin, so I had them do the pickups, pull the rotary and replace with a 3 way and 2 mini toggles. Not sure about the rotary and the 57/08

Interesting. Do you happen to have a pic?

 

[Bowtiefanatc]

The guitar was going to the PTC for a refin, so I had them do the pickups, pull the rotary and replace with a 3 way and 2 mini toggles. Not sure about the rotary and the 57/08

You can do 57/08s with a Rotary or toggle.

 

[bodia]

Interesting. Do you happen to have a pic?

Before:

After:

 

[Bowtiefanatc]

Love it!

 

[mookyshoots]

Love it. Never thought of the mini switches even though I love the Paul's Guitar.

 

[Bowtiefanatc]

Love it. Never thought of the mini switches even though I love the Paul's Guitar.

I thought about it, but I would be a snob and want them countersunk. However, that requires a full refin which ain't in the cards for me. I still might add them at some point