Lollar P90 Pickups

Bluedog · #1 07-28-2011, 10:29 PM

Hi,

I am thinking of installing Lollar P90 pickups in a Jazzmaster copy I am buidling and am undedicded between standard wound pickups in the bridge and neck or standard in the bridge and 5% underwound in the neck.

On the web site Lollar state the underwound neck pick up will give equal volume between the neck and bridge while playing chords, with a little less bass in the neck position vis a vis the standard wound.

Does anyone have any experience with these pickups or views on what they would prefer?

Guitar will be used mainly for blues, but would like it to also cover the bluesy end of jazz.

Thanks for any thoughts

mattymel · #2 07-28-2011, 11:00 PM

i have a LP 54' RI w/ low wound in the neck and overwound in the bridge. that guitar is DONE. no improvements necessary. of all my guitars, it sounds great with every amp/style i have ever tried it with.

Bluedog · #3 07-29-2011, 12:44 AM

Thanks, the low wound in the neck does seem to be the way to go.

Loobs · #4 08-20-2011, 06:50 PM

I have the regular winds in both neck and bridge in my LP Special. They sound wonderful although I did have to wind the neck down and the bridge up to equal the volume.

SamBooka · #5 08-20-2011, 10:17 PM

when in doubt email them.

The only thing better than Lollar pickups is the total lack of BS whenever I have dealt with them. They have always thoughtfully (and accurately) answered my questions. Sometimes that makes the sale for them, sometimes it doesnt. I have never been disappointed and they have never steered me wrong.

Loobs · #6 08-21-2011, 08:37 AM

Yeah. They truly are a class act and I can't imagine finding a better P90.

Kuz · #7 08-21-2011, 11:50 AM

I have 3 Heritage guitars with Lollar regular wind P90s. To me the regular winds have more output, but are in NO way overly compressed or muddy sounding, just more output. Like others have said, with the Lollar P90 in the guitar no other improvements needed. They are the best P90s made, IMHO, and sound incredible. Sean Costello used Lollar P90s in his vintage and reissue Les Pauls. Do a you tube search for Sean Costello and you will hear the best P90 tone ever, again in my opinion.

Loobs · #8 08-21-2011, 12:14 PM

Totally agreed. Wonderful sounding and just so so versatile.

Drifter · #9 08-21-2011, 04:37 PM

Anybody knows what pots & caps are recommended for Lollar P90s? I consider swapping the P-100s of my ES-135 and I'm not sure if it would suffice to swap the pickups or if it would be better to also change pots & caps while I'm at it.

SamBooka · #10 08-21-2011, 08:11 PM

Asked him and Jason said stick with the classic500K and .022 cap. Was right about the 500K but personally I like .01 caps better but that may be just a phase I am going through since no one else on the planet uses a .01 for a tone cap.

jaystrings · #11 08-21-2011, 08:54 PM

Chuck Thornton's latest model is the Legend Special, which is his version of a LP Junior. They come with a choice of the Lollar Low Wind P-90s or the Lollar Minibuckers. I had the pleasure of playing one of these monsters in Chuck's shop last May & ordered one on the spot. He runs his guitars thru his old Fender Deluxe Reverb & the tones jumping out of this Legend Special were amazing. What a wide tonal palatte from rich crystal clarity to heavily overdriven. If you know anything about Chucks world-class workmanship in his guitars, you know that he selects only THE best components for his upscale guitars. And he doesn't sell a guitar that he hasn't researched, tested, & involved his own panel of sonic experts. I think his choice of the Lollar P-90 says all I need to know about the quality and appropriateness of the pickup. The proof was in the performance, & the performance lived up to all I've heard & read about them.

He uses Fralin pickups on some models & Lollars on others. The Legend Special is the first time I can remember him offering a choice on the same model. It's all mahogany. I trust his work 100%, and this will be CpT guitar #12 that I have bought.

Drifter · #12 08-21-2011, 09:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SamBooka

Asked him and Jason said stick with the classic500K and .022 cap. Was right about the 500K but personally I like .01 caps better but that may be just a phase I am going through since no one else on the planet uses a .01 for a tone cap.

Thanks!

I've installed a Lollar CC in my Ibanez AK105 and I love it. I don't doubt the P90s will be as satisfying.

Bluedog · #13 08-22-2011, 07:42 PM

Thanks guys for the feedback to my initial question. I ended up buying the standard p90s. The "jazzmaster" guitar is still to be finished so I have not heard them in the "finished product", but they sounded great in an old Ibanez that I use as my experimental / training tool (poor guitar has suffered greivously at my unskilled guitar tech hands!).

I can only agree with SamBooka's comments about the service from Lollar, it was exxcellent. Because I wanted f spaced pick ups they said it may take a few days to ship, but they were sent next day. On the phone they were friendly and informative. Could not ask for more.

Once the new guitar is finished I will post again to let you know how they sound.