I have a lollar special pay my bridge position of my 50th anniversary American series strat with ash body . I had fhralins vintage hots which I like. And I also use DiMarzio hs2 pickups with the bottom coil disconnected. I have to say these are about my favorite pickups I've ever tried the only thing that compares to it is the bare knuckle which is a little bit more on the vintage. The lollars special has just the right amount of power to push you into that rock tone but without being overpowering and allowing the true tone of the wood in the body to resonate through the pickups . The bridge pickup is awesome I'm not thin at all a little more mid-range meat , but still balanced and open sounding !
Yeah, Suhr should follow Lollar's lead. I dont like relying solely on youtuber reviews. Sound quality and production mean a lot when making a decision about pickups.
I have Lollar 64's with an Imperial High Wind bridge humbucker in a Custom Shop Strat, and a Lollar Special S bridge with Vintage Blondes in a Nash Strat. Amazing sounding pickups and the customer service folks at Lollar are super helpful and responsive. Couldn't be happier with the pickups in both of these guitars!!
I have a Special Blonde set in my 2020 American Pro Strat and I couldn't be happier. I have a 90's American Standard that I'm thinking about putting a set of 64's in for giggles to see how they compare. The Blondes are something special though.
Love the content you guys are putting out. They all have been very educational and definitely provide clarity to the upgrades I will make to my Strat. To be honest, I may go a different direction than I had originally intended after watching this video.
We're happy to be able to make such content and help as many folks, such as yourself, find the sounds that they're going for. Cheers and best of luck in your tone hunt!
I just purchased a 64 Strat with a really early refinish in gold, Aztec Gold, and it has the Lollar Dirty Blonde pickups in it... AMAZING GUITAR!!! I got it cheap because of the refinish and the replacement of the original electronics... But HAVE MERCY they sound phenomenal... I kinda knew they would though because of the Lollar El Rayo thats in my 2011 Gibson Les Paul Jr... So I now have two outstanding sounding guitars, thanks to Lollar!!!
I purchased a Suhr with the Lollar Dirty Blonde-set, and my Tone-search . . . ended right there. " Facts " = incredible pickups. Im in Tone heaven. oNe LovE from NYC
I have a lollar sixy-four (used to be called blackface) in my alder bodied, maple fretboard suhr strat's neck position. Love it to bits. I researched quite a bit between the blondes and the sixty-four back then, and decided that since my fretboard was maple (slightly brighter/ high mid) i went with the darker of the two. No regrets - cleans are chimey, mids are ballsy, and it takes gain really well. I have played sets where I used this one neck pickup for everything. Cheers guys.
So glad to hear this! It's always rewarding to learn of customers who are happy with the results that our products have offered. Thank you for your feedback. I hope others will see your comment and find it useful in their decision-making process.
@StymyParsley, the fretboard material can certainly influence the tone of the guitar, as it does affect the resonant frequency of the instrument and has an appreciable fingerprint when it comes to an instrument's attack. The choice of pickups will influence the response to these differences, but it won't change the tone or attack of the instrument itself. It can be that the difference is so subtle that plenty of folks might not even perceive the effect, but it is there. And in some cases, it is noticeable enough -- whether due to the sensitivity of the ear of the player or simply because the level of difference is so great -- that it should be taken into account when choosing things like pickups.
@@StymyParsley there certainly is. Just have a quick research on 50s strat vs 60s strat. In some cases, the fretboard material affects the mids, and sag/ response of pick attack.
Desafortunadamente, no tenemos a nadie que pueda actuar en pantalla que hable español con fluidez. (Tuve que usar Google Translate solo para escribir esta respuesta). ¿Quizás hay subtítulos en español disponibles para ti en las opciones de subtítulos en nuestros videos?
I just purchased a well used, somewhat neglected 82' Sunburst American Strat with a Rosewood neck. The stock pickup poles have some rust and seem muffled and tired. Having done some extensive research, Lollar pick-ups keep coming up as player favorites. I was leaning towards high output, but the consensus seems to lean more towards vintage/classic output designs, with maybe a steel plate under the bridge pickup. I'm really liking the sound of the Blonde set.
This is a great comparison! Were the pickup heights set the same or just tuned in by ear? I've been messing with my Blonde set in my 2001 American Strat and am having trouble balancing the pickups. Any advice or a measurement to start with?
Great question, thanks! They were set by ear, as they have different magnet compositions and strengths, so setting them all the same would have been a general disservice.
I'm surprised at the sound from the Tweeds. They actually seem punchier than the Blondes here. I have a lot of Lollar pickups, including Tweeds, which have stayed in the box until now. I expected them to be too thin for most of my builds. But they were the surprise star of this video.
We've honestly never compared the two of them head-to-head, so we can't say for sure how they will sound with regard to one another. But, on paper, I would say yes, the Special S is probably the closest thing to those.
@@LollarPickups Yes sounds like it. Maybe I'll do a video comparison. I'm not looking for that exact sound just looking for something hot and dark. Thanks for the reply.
The reason for flat and staggered is because of the fact that the earliest pickups were designed when players used heavier strings and, most importantly, wound third strings. This meant that the output of the first three strings was quite a bit higher than the others, due to the fact that it's the plain portion of the strings (including the cores of wound strings) that have the most fluxional interaction with the pickup's magnetic field. Leo Fender and the team at Fender's R&D department realized this and, rather than try to get every guitarist to change to different string designs -- that came a bit later -- they developed the staggered pole piece pickup. This helped balance the output of the various strings by compensating for the ones that were more magnetic than the others. This is why, on a staggered-pole pickup, you'll typically find that the B and high E stings have the lowest poles. This is because the size of the B and high E strings are thicker than the solid steel cores of the wound strings, well, all but *maybe* the low E strings' core, but that pole piece is low as well. Some consideration of the fretboard radius may be at play here as well. But, mainly, the design for staggered poles was to compensate for string gauge, tension, metallurgy, and wound vs. plain third strings. If, like most players today, you use modern strings with more balanced tension, a plain third, and modern alloys, then there's no need to compensate for the strings with staggered poles. Some folks, who have always used staggered poles by default may choose to stick with them when replacing their pickups. And that's fine too. Though doing so may actually introduce an imbalance in the opposite manner than staggered pickups were originally designed to combat. All of this to say, it depends on your choice of strings and what you want.
PS: If you're still tuned in: Among my current builds is an ash-bodied simulation of a Fender Mary Kaye strat (originally 1957 or 1958, I believe). If you've had a chance to play an original Mary Kaye, it's a worthwhile experience. Is there a pickup set that comes to mind for reproducing that sound? I was originally assuming that was the domain of your Blondes, but after hearing this comparison, maybe it's Tweeds? I'm always cautious about putting bright sounding pickups in swamp ash, due to swamp ash's already scooped resonance. But your thoughts on this are appreciated.
The Blondes will be the most period-correct option for that instrument. But, having said that, if you like the Tweeds tone better, then you may be happier with them instead. You'll just have to choose between the sound you prefer and what's more historically accurate.
Hey, what will you recommend for sparkle and chime in the 2nd and 4th positions, woody tone for the neck and getting a good bridge tone which is not tiny. I'm looking to upgrade my mim strat with a maple neck. Thanks, Eyal
You'll most likely get the best balance between a full bridge sound, a woody neck tone, and the most sparkle and chime from two and four from our Special Blonde set. The Blondes in the neck and middle offer a nice glassy sound with plenty of the traditional Strat "quack" in the in-between selector settings, and the Special in the bridge will give you more low end and fundamental frequency response to avoid the bridge sounding too thin.
Good question! The stagger on Strat pickups has no relation to the neck radius. There's a difference between *radiused* poles and *staggered* poles. Some pickups, such as our Jazzmaster and Jazz Bass pickups have a bit of a radius to the poles due to the fact that they use shorter pole pieces with less magnetic strength. The magnets in Strat pickups were originally staggered to accommodate for old strings with wound 3rd strings and their resulting imbalance from the uneven tension. For most folks playing modern strings with a plain G, flat poles are a bit more balanced sounding, with regard to output levels and tone from string to string.
So if I am using Ernie Ball Super Slinky strings in a modern American-made Strat, I should go with your Flat Poles? I ask this because I purchased staggered pickups from another boutique builder and while I love those pickups, my High E always sounds noticably lower than my other strings no matter what I do (and this sort of makes the set useless). ...Thanks!!
@@donnybrook8051 great question and thanks for the info for us to reference in answering. We can't ever make any promises, as there are any number of variables that can inform the final sound you hear through your amp's speaker. But, in general, yes - flat pole will most likely deliver the best balance for you and the strings that you use. This is due to your choice of strings offering improved string-to-string balance than vintage strings could. Because of this, I would say to avoid pickups that have been designed to accommodate the historic imbalances found in vintage-style strings with wound third strings and inherent shortcomings when it comes to balanced output and tensions.
Looking at replacing the Yosemite pickups in my American Performer strat. If I’m looking for the bass and snap of Hendrix or SRV, but also the sparkle, openness, and articulation for R&B/neo-soul (somebody like Melanie Faye), would you recommend the Special Blonde set (or special 64)? Also I didn’t see either of this sets on the Lollar website
The best thing to consider is how each individual model sounds. The Blondes are glassy and snappy with a lot of quack in the 2 and 4 positions. This is very much the David Gilmore type of sound. They also lend themselves very much to the plucky and percussive sound of R&B, funk, and similar styles. The Sixty-Fours are a bit fuller and have more midrange and body, they are far more like Hendrix's sound. They are good at straddling the sounds of Gilmore/Knopfler and SRV. The Specials are most like SRV, in that they are hot and fat, with more emphasis on the fundamental frequencies than the harmonic content. Rounder, fuller, and thicker sounding. As for the set, I woudl say you're good to go with the Special in the bridge (that's what makes the Special Blonde/Sixty-Four sets "special", but for the other two positions, you'll have to decide whether you want the pickups to be glassier and quackier with a lot of top end and attack (Blondes) or if you'd prefer them to be a bit more balanced in their frequency response with more mids and lows as well as a smoother attack (Sixty-Fours). Either way, the set will sound great, but your individual needs will be what makes one combination or the other better for you personally. If you still aren't sure, you're more than welcome to reach out directly to our customer service team via email of phone and they can help you sort out your priorities.
LOLLAR PICKUPS, it would be nice if you made a video showing various lollar pickups using the frequency response plots and spectrum analyzer to see visually the frequency response profile curves of lollar pickups
I agree with this sentiment. Though I understand that we all acquire information differently. Some people just "get it" more when they see the differences with their eyes, some with their ears, some need to play it themselves to understand, and others just want to be told what it sounds like. For me, I'm like, "Just let me hear it."
@@LollarPickups I prefer both, to visually see on the spectrum analyzer because the pole piece alloy composition can raise or lower the inductance and Q resonance. The pole piece alloy composition will alter and change the A2 or A5 bar magnet in strat pickups. Adding or reducing more inductance it changes the magnetic field. You have to use both your ears as well as looking at the spectrum analyzer to fine tune. PRS calls it TCI Tuned Capacitance inductance meaning the wire wrapping capacitance with the pole pieces inductance you tuned them to a resonance peak Q and profile curve. My ears are different from all the employees at Lollar so you can't use other peoples ears as the references.
@@LollarPickups Dylan Talks Tone just did a video lesson about cheap pickups NOT being very sensitive to pickup attack. To test this is you set your fender amp to just edge of breakup and the pickup should have a very Wide Dynamic Range. The pickup should change its tone for light picking to hard picking as well as the amplifier should start breaking up, which this won't happen with cheap pickups. I'm not sure what modifications you can do to cheap pickups to fix this problem to have a wide dynamic range. Also cheap pickups don't react to the strats volume pot when rolling back and volume pot the cheap pickups don't alter or change the tone passing certain frequencies and rejecting and sinking/rolling off other frequencies. I'm not sure why cheap pickups don't do this and I'm sure what modifications can be done to cheap pickups to be very sensitive to the strat volume pot resistances. When turning down the strat volume pot the series& parallel LCR and DCR values will change.
Thanks for your vid, and answering the questions below, very enlightening! My question is inspired by the setup of Lari Basilio who wants to increase versatility by using a T-style neck pickup. Could that work with Lollar pickups? I have a Charvel guitar, humbucker bridge. So something like Lollar Imperial Bridge, 64 middle and Special T neck?
Yes, you could use our *F-spaced* Imperial bridge, a '64 middle, and a Special T neck and get all the sounds and combinations that you'd expect from them. They will be in-phase with one another and offer hum-canceling operation when combining the neck and middle as well.
You mentioned mix-matched pickups like the special 64 (special in the bridge, 64s in the middle and neck). Are there options for this on the website or do I have to go to a dealer?
There are options on the Sixty-Four product page on our website for that, you just select the set of three (Special Sixty-Four Set of three flat *OR* staggered), choose your covers, and add it to your shopping cart. And you can also mix and match other models as well, should you wish to based on your individual needs, by selecting the model and positions individually and adding them to your cart.
Haha! No worries! It's a legitimate question. I'm glad someone asked it, because I'm sure others might be thinking it, but aren't willing to ask. Now, they can see this and know the answer. Thanks and take care!
What are the brightest and cleaning sounding set? That would be good with overdrive. I already have the Dirty Blonde set, but haven't installed yet. Would the tweed set be a good option for my other strat? Was also looking into getting the 64 set but thinking they may be to mid and bass heavy, with not enough highs. I like alot of sparkle, chime, and quack. Thanks.
The Tweeds are a bit lower in output than the Blondes and Special in your current set, so they'll definitely offer you more clean and bright tones. That doesn't necessarily mean that you'll like the tone, just that they will be cleaner and brighter. You might actually find that you would be happier with a set of three Blondes, since the Special in the bridge of a Special Blonde (FKA Dirty Blonde) set will definitely push the front end of your amp noticeably more than a Blonde bridge. We suggest listening to the Tweeds on our website, as well as in use from other content creators here on RUclips to see if they check the boxes you're looking to have checked off in your tonal hunt.
@LollarPickups thanks, I'm just going to settle on the Dirty Blonde set for now. I'm sure they will have the cleans im looking for. And that bridge pup should be great im thinking. Thanks.
To be honest, I don't think you would hear any appreciable difference between the two. The stagger of the poke pieces doesn't make all the much difference, just enough to accommodate for the differences in string gauge between older, heavier sets with a wound 3rd string and modern sets with lighter gauges and a plain 3rd string. In general, though, I don't think most people would be able to pick up on anything glaringly different between the two. Especially if they were paired with the appropriate strings. So, if you play the older style strings with a wound 3rd and heavier 1st and 2nd strings; you may want to consider staggered. Otherwise, you'll probably be happier with flat poles.
@@LollarPickups I see. Thanks for that info. That hasn't quite been my experience with my Telecaster, which has flat poles, though. I use an unwound G string, and I notice that my D string is quite a bit quieter than the rest. But that could also be partially because of its 7.25 inch radius.
Often folks will inadvertently blame the imbalance on the pickups, when it's actually an issue caused by the strings or their setup. The solid core of wound strings is where most of the magnetic interaction happens, and different string gauges use different size cores. Of course, the same goes for the plain strings. Most people buy their strings based on what they feel like to their fingers/string tension, but they don't consider the function of the magnetic components and how they interact. Although a wound 3rd string is usually thicker than a plain one, the core itself is quite a bit thinner (thinnest of all six strings, typically), so there's less ferrous material to induce a signal. This is why the 3rd pole is typically the closest. And the 2nd string is often the thickest solid core of all strings in a wound 3rd set, which is why it's usually the lowest of the poles. And none of this accounts for things such as how a player sets their action, strength of the individual magnets, the resonant frequency of the instrument, string tuning/tension, how ferrous the strings are, or any number of other variables. The fact of the matter is there's no wrong or right answer; only what sounds/feels best to the individual player. The pickup is just one of the variables and manufacturers can only plan for so much when designing their pickups. Since so many guitarists are creatures of habit and Fender has set a longstanding precedent with their staggered pickup design, most just build their staggered pickups based on the old Fender design to appease the "purists" - even though many may not even understand the relation between the different parts. When it comes right down to it, the functional differences between a flat and staggered pickup is nominal at best, and not great enough to matter for an overwhelming majority of guitar players. We suggest flat pole pieces for anyone not playing traditional wound 3rd sets, and we think that folks should always defer to what they like best for their own style and tastes, even if it's not what we would suggest or prefer.
Looking for an upgrade to my American St 2008 , problem is I dont know what pu has in (maybe Alinico v) and dont overly dislike them apart from the bridge which Is quite harsh. Looking for a rounder sound. 🇮🇹🙏
Unfortunately, you can't base this sort of decision on any one spec, such as magnet composition (or even a handful of specs) because there are so many things working in concert to provide the finished tone. While A5 usually sounds brighter and has a sharper attack than something like A2, there are other variables at play that could skew from the sound in your head to the sound of the pickup in use. I would suggest reading descriptions and comparing sound clips to find the one that jumps out at you as the best for your individual tastes.
Since you have very particular tonal characteristics that you're looking to achieve, I think it might be easiest for you to reach out to our customer service team via the email in our bio. They can get all the details of your setup and what sort of specific tones you're chasing, and then give you the best options to get there.
Thanks for watching! In general, I think most folks are happiest with traditional PAF-style humbuckers paired with those pickups. And, for that, I would suggest our Low Wind Imperial and standard Imperial for the Blonde and Sixty-Four, respectively.
Decent vid, but I would have preferred playing in different styles and riffs that would have more demonstrated the vibe and application of the pickups. Maybe it’s just me but that riff was a little too bluegrassy/acoustic natured.
Would you ever offer a loaded pickup ? If you wanted to mix and match pups divide the whole set by three and call you up? Suggestion, would you link the you tube video to you commercial site for easier sound comparison? The big guy you see.when you open the site, does he bite?
We don't plan to offer pre-wired/loaded pickguards. We tried that a while back and we never sold many. Along with this, they are very time-consuming to assemble, and the extensive list of variables means that each one must be completely built from scratch after the order has been placed. We feel it's probably best to leave this to the folks whose sole service offerings are focused on this sort fo thing. The website is listed in the "about" section on our RUclips channel. And, no, Jason probably won't bite. At least not hard enough to leave a mark.
Yeah, sometimes I don't even get notifications for these things. I just have to keep checking in to see if someone commented. And thanks, merry Christmas to you as well!
If you want something a bit clearer, more articulate, and "Strat-y" still, then the Sixty-Four will keep up ok with the Imperial. If you want something a bit more balanced with the Imperial; hotter, fatter, etc., then the Special S in the middle and neck are a solid choice. They're like a hot-rodded Strat sound with a fuller low end and rounder top end. Hope this is helpful. And you can always feel free to reach out to our customer service team dorectly via email or phone if you have any more questions or concerns.
Hello, I have a Fender American Delux Stratocaster from the year 2011, rosewood fretboard, with n3 noise less pickups in the neck and middle position and an atomic humbucker in the bridge. I really like the bridge humbucker, but the n3 noise less pickups are not good. The guitar sounds a little dark and lifeless. It's a good instrument, but I'm not satisfied with the sound. I want to replace the n3 single coil noise less pickups with Lollar pickups. Taking into account the characteristics of the guitar I mentioned, which pickups do you recommend? What are your pickups that best combine with a humbucker in the bridge? I want the traditional Strat sound, but with a little more life and musicality. Thanks.
It's hard to say for sure, without knowing the characteristics of the humbucker. But, in general, the Special neck and middle for Strats are great with most humbuckers because they can keep up with the hotter output of most humbuckers, but they still retain the general sound of what a Strat should offer. they are a bit hotter and fatter than our other Strat offerings. You can read more about them and hear sound clips here: www.lollarguitars.com/lollar-stratocaster-pickups/strat-special If you want more traditional Strat glassiness and quack, you might be better off with our Sixty-Four neck and middle pickups. The output is a little less than the Specials, so they won't be as hot or fat for keeping up with the humbucker in the bridge, but they have more Strat-like vibes. I think you would be happy with either, but which is absolute best for your needs will depend on your own personal tastes. Here's a link to the Sixty-Four pickups: www.lollarguitars.com/lollar-stratocaster-pickups/strat-sixty-four I hope this is helpful!
You're not completely crazy. Sound is very subjective, especially when variables such as what speakers you're listening through come into play. So, they may sound similar to one person, while sounding completely different to another. You'd really have to get an apples-to-apples between the two using the same exact signal chain from the guitar to the recording software to really know how similar or different they really are. I can tell you this; they aren't made the same as the Fender pickups. Specifically, they have different magnets and coil specs.
I’ve had a Special Blonde set in my Strat for years - I struggled for a long time with pickups for it, but these are never coming out. I’d love to see this same video concept for your Jazzmaster pickups - and for that matter, a Jazzmaster Special bridge pickup would be an instant buy from me!
We're actually in the process of working on some possible future options for our Jazzmaster lineup right now. We'll definitely keep a "Special" version in mind!
@@ninjadadPrime I think @bigdumbidiotguy was referring to the background music bed used during the intro/outtro sections. Of course having a consistent lick during the actual sound samples is key.
![Strats, Pickups & Rabbit Holes - Blue Is Finally There! Maybe. [Mick's Strat Vlog] That Pedal Show](/img/1.gif)
This has the highest production value of any RUclips video I've ever seen from a pickup manufacturer, and I'm very thankful for it!
Wow! Thank you for such high praise, it's really appreciated. And we love knowing that the effort we're putting into our videos is not for nothing.
I have a lollar special pay my bridge position of my 50th anniversary American series strat with ash body . I had fhralins vintage hots which I like. And I also use DiMarzio hs2 pickups with the bottom coil disconnected. I have to say these are about my favorite pickups I've ever tried the only thing that compares to it is the bare knuckle which is a little bit more on the vintage. The lollars special has just the right amount of power to push you into that rock tone but without being overpowering and allowing the true tone of the wood in the body to resonate through the pickups . The bridge pickup is awesome I'm not thin at all a little more mid-range meat , but still balanced and open sounding !
The Lollar Special Blonde set that I have in my partscaster are the most beautiful sounding pickup's I've ever encountered.
Thanks for doing this. If every pick-up manufacturer made it this simple, they would probably do a lot more business.
Thanks! So glad that folks find these comparison videos useful.
Yeah, Suhr should follow Lollar's lead. I dont like relying solely on youtuber reviews. Sound quality and production mean a lot when making a decision about pickups.
Your introductory comments are incredibly articulate. Well done.
Thank you for your kind words. We're glad you found this useful, thanks for watching.
I have Lollar 64's with an Imperial High Wind bridge humbucker in a Custom Shop Strat, and a Lollar Special S bridge with Vintage Blondes in a Nash Strat. Amazing sounding pickups and the customer service folks at Lollar are super helpful and responsive. Couldn't be happier with the pickups in both of these guitars!!
So glad to hear that you're happy with your Lollar experience! Thanks for trusting your tone to our products.
Probably the best Strat pickup comparison video on RUclips! Thanks for taking the time!
✨👍🥴✨
You're welcome and thank you! We're glad you liked it.
One of these days I'm going to build a strat and stick some special 64s in it. I've played a buddy's strat with that setup and it's just magic.
Opting for Special 64 in my 2008 MIJ Aerodyne Strat, and I'm very pleased with the set so far.
I have a Special Blonde set in my 2020 American Pro Strat and I couldn't be happier. I have a 90's American Standard that I'm thinking about putting a set of 64's in for giggles to see how they compare. The Blondes are something special though.
Love the content you guys are putting out. They all have been very educational and definitely provide clarity to the upgrades I will make to my Strat. To be honest, I may go a different direction than I had originally intended after watching this video.
We're happy to be able to make such content and help as many folks, such as yourself, find the sounds that they're going for. Cheers and best of luck in your tone hunt!
Those ‘64s with a Special bridge 💋 🤏
I just purchased a 64 Strat with a really early refinish in gold, Aztec Gold, and it has the Lollar Dirty Blonde pickups in it... AMAZING GUITAR!!! I got it cheap because of the refinish and the replacement of the original electronics... But HAVE MERCY they sound phenomenal... I kinda knew they would though because of the Lollar El Rayo thats in my 2011 Gibson Les Paul Jr... So I now have two outstanding sounding guitars, thanks to Lollar!!!
I have the special blonde flatpole set in my #1 strat. They’re perfect.
Awesome! So glad you like them! Thanks for your kind words.
I don't even own an electric guitar but I still really enjoyed the video 😊. One day I'll definitely get a strat
I purchased a Suhr with the Lollar Dirty Blonde-set, and my Tone-search . . . ended right there. " Facts " = incredible pickups. Im in Tone heaven. oNe LovE from NYC
Thanks for trusting your tone to Lollar!
I almost turned it off because of that loud guitar loop when he started wow very annoying but I suffered through because I like the pups
thnk you for this video ! Im saving up for my first set of lollar pickups as we speak!
Glad you found it helpful and we hope you love your new Lollar pickups when you get them!
I have a lollar sixy-four (used to be called blackface) in my alder bodied, maple fretboard suhr strat's neck position. Love it to bits.
I researched quite a bit between the blondes and the sixty-four back then, and decided that since my fretboard was maple (slightly brighter/ high mid) i went with the darker of the two. No regrets - cleans are chimey, mids are ballsy, and it takes gain really well. I have played sets where I used this one neck pickup for everything. Cheers guys.
So glad to hear this! It's always rewarding to learn of customers who are happy with the results that our products have offered. Thank you for your feedback. I hope others will see your comment and find it useful in their decision-making process.
Yeah I mean the fretboard doesn't make your guitar sound brighter or darker, the pickups do. The Sixty-fours are great pickups.
@StymyParsley, the fretboard material can certainly influence the tone of the guitar, as it does affect the resonant frequency of the instrument and has an appreciable fingerprint when it comes to an instrument's attack. The choice of pickups will influence the response to these differences, but it won't change the tone or attack of the instrument itself.
It can be that the difference is so subtle that plenty of folks might not even perceive the effect, but it is there. And in some cases, it is noticeable enough -- whether due to the sensitivity of the ear of the player or simply because the level of difference is so great -- that it should be taken into account when choosing things like pickups.
@@LollarPickups You should watch this video: ruclips.net/video/n02tImce3AE/видео.html completely changed my feelings about electric guitar woods.
@@StymyParsley there certainly is. Just have a quick research on 50s strat vs 60s strat. In some cases, the fretboard material affects the mids, and sag/ response of pick attack.
Hace falta este mismo video de Lollar Pickups relatado en Español. Saludos !!
Desafortunadamente, no tenemos a nadie que pueda actuar en pantalla que hable español con fluidez. (Tuve que usar Google Translate solo para escribir esta respuesta). ¿Quizás hay subtítulos en español disponibles para ti en las opciones de subtítulos en nuestros videos?
That´s a great comparision. Thanks for puting this whole line down.
Glad you like it!
I've been waiting for this video thank you. I want to put some Lollars in a 90s strat plus I have. Looking forward to it. I'll post a video too.
Oh rad, look at the Lollar "S Style" you guys should start manufacturing those!
I just purchased a well used, somewhat neglected 82' Sunburst American Strat with a Rosewood neck. The stock pickup poles have some rust and seem muffled and tired. Having done some extensive research, Lollar pick-ups keep coming up as player favorites. I was leaning towards high output, but the consensus seems to lean more towards vintage/classic output designs, with maybe a steel plate under the bridge pickup. I'm really liking the sound of the Blonde set.
Great video! Thanks! Love the Blondes! 🎸
Glad you liked the video and happy to hear that it helped you find your favorites! Thanks, and take care.
Great video! Very informative. Thanks!
Glad you liked it! Thanks for watching.
This is a great comparison! Were the pickup heights set the same or just tuned in by ear? I've been messing with my Blonde set in my 2001 American Strat and am having trouble balancing the pickups. Any advice or a measurement to start with?
Great question, thanks! They were set by ear, as they have different magnet compositions and strengths, so setting them all the same would have been a general disservice.
@@LollarPickups finally, someone does it right.
I'm surprised at the sound from the Tweeds. They actually seem punchier than the Blondes here.
I have a lot of Lollar pickups, including Tweeds, which have stayed in the box until now. I expected them to be too thin for most of my builds. But they were the surprise star of this video.
I'm leaning towards the special s. Is that the most Texas special style pickups you have?
We've honestly never compared the two of them head-to-head, so we can't say for sure how they will sound with regard to one another. But, on paper, I would say yes, the Special S is probably the closest thing to those.
@@LollarPickups Yes sounds like it. Maybe I'll do a video comparison. I'm not looking for that exact sound just looking for something hot and dark. Thanks for the reply.
@LollarPickups any suggestion on flat or staggered pole?
The reason for flat and staggered is because of the fact that the earliest pickups were designed when players used heavier strings and, most importantly, wound third strings. This meant that the output of the first three strings was quite a bit higher than the others, due to the fact that it's the plain portion of the strings (including the cores of wound strings) that have the most fluxional interaction with the pickup's magnetic field. Leo Fender and the team at Fender's R&D department realized this and, rather than try to get every guitarist to change to different string designs -- that came a bit later -- they developed the staggered pole piece pickup. This helped balance the output of the various strings by compensating for the ones that were more magnetic than the others. This is why, on a staggered-pole pickup, you'll typically find that the B and high E stings have the lowest poles. This is because the size of the B and high E strings are thicker than the solid steel cores of the wound strings, well, all but *maybe* the low E strings' core, but that pole piece is low as well. Some consideration of the fretboard radius may be at play here as well. But, mainly, the design for staggered poles was to compensate for string gauge, tension, metallurgy, and wound vs. plain third strings.
If, like most players today, you use modern strings with more balanced tension, a plain third, and modern alloys, then there's no need to compensate for the strings with staggered poles. Some folks, who have always used staggered poles by default may choose to stick with them when replacing their pickups. And that's fine too. Though doing so may actually introduce an imbalance in the opposite manner than staggered pickups were originally designed to combat.
All of this to say, it depends on your choice of strings and what you want.
PS: If you're still tuned in:
Among my current builds is an ash-bodied simulation of a Fender Mary Kaye strat (originally 1957 or 1958, I believe). If you've had a chance to play an original Mary Kaye, it's a worthwhile experience.
Is there a pickup set that comes to mind for reproducing that sound? I was originally assuming that was the domain of your Blondes, but after hearing this comparison, maybe it's Tweeds?
I'm always cautious about putting bright sounding pickups in swamp ash, due to swamp ash's already scooped resonance. But your thoughts on this are appreciated.
The Blondes will be the most period-correct option for that instrument. But, having said that, if you like the Tweeds tone better, then you may be happier with them instead.
You'll just have to choose between the sound you prefer and what's more historically accurate.
Hey, what will you recommend for sparkle and chime in the 2nd and 4th positions, woody tone for the neck and getting a good bridge tone which is not tiny.
I'm looking to upgrade my mim strat with a maple neck. Thanks, Eyal
You'll most likely get the best balance between a full bridge sound, a woody neck tone, and the most sparkle and chime from two and four from our Special Blonde set. The Blondes in the neck and middle offer a nice glassy sound with plenty of the traditional Strat "quack" in the in-between selector settings, and the Special in the bridge will give you more low end and fundamental frequency response to avoid the bridge sounding too thin.
@@LollarPickups
One more question, the guitar's neck is 9.5', should I buy the staggered or the flat?
Good question! The stagger on Strat pickups has no relation to the neck radius. There's a difference between *radiused* poles and *staggered* poles. Some pickups, such as our Jazzmaster and Jazz Bass pickups have a bit of a radius to the poles due to the fact that they use shorter pole pieces with less magnetic strength.
The magnets in Strat pickups were originally staggered to accommodate for old strings with wound 3rd strings and their resulting imbalance from the uneven tension. For most folks playing modern strings with a plain G, flat poles are a bit more balanced sounding, with regard to output levels and tone from string to string.
So if I am using Ernie Ball Super Slinky strings in a modern American-made Strat, I should go with your Flat Poles? I ask this because I purchased staggered pickups from another boutique builder and while I love those pickups, my High E always sounds noticably lower than my other strings no matter what I do (and this sort of makes the set useless). ...Thanks!!
@@donnybrook8051 great question and thanks for the info for us to reference in answering. We can't ever make any promises, as there are any number of variables that can inform the final sound you hear through your amp's speaker. But, in general, yes - flat pole will most likely deliver the best balance for you and the strings that you use. This is due to your choice of strings offering improved string-to-string balance than vintage strings could. Because of this, I would say to avoid pickups that have been designed to accommodate the historic imbalances found in vintage-style strings with wound third strings and inherent shortcomings when it comes to balanced output and tensions.
Looking at replacing the Yosemite pickups in my American Performer strat. If I’m looking for the bass and snap of Hendrix or SRV, but also the sparkle, openness, and articulation for R&B/neo-soul (somebody like Melanie Faye), would you recommend the Special Blonde set (or special 64)?
Also I didn’t see either of this sets on the Lollar website
The best thing to consider is how each individual model sounds. The Blondes are glassy and snappy with a lot of quack in the 2 and 4 positions. This is very much the David Gilmore type of sound. They also lend themselves very much to the plucky and percussive sound of R&B, funk, and similar styles.
The Sixty-Fours are a bit fuller and have more midrange and body, they are far more like Hendrix's sound. They are good at straddling the sounds of Gilmore/Knopfler and SRV.
The Specials are most like SRV, in that they are hot and fat, with more emphasis on the fundamental frequencies than the harmonic content. Rounder, fuller, and thicker sounding.
As for the set, I woudl say you're good to go with the Special in the bridge (that's what makes the Special Blonde/Sixty-Four sets "special", but for the other two positions, you'll have to decide whether you want the pickups to be glassier and quackier with a lot of top end and attack (Blondes) or if you'd prefer them to be a bit more balanced in their frequency response with more mids and lows as well as a smoother attack (Sixty-Fours). Either way, the set will sound great, but your individual needs will be what makes one combination or the other better for you personally.
If you still aren't sure, you're more than welcome to reach out directly to our customer service team via email of phone and they can help you sort out your priorities.
@@LollarPickups thank you so much! Stellar response. Incredibly helpful. I’ll research more and reach out to the Lollar team. Thanks again!
LOLLAR PICKUPS, it would be nice if you made a video showing various lollar pickups using the frequency response plots and spectrum analyzer to see visually the frequency response profile curves of lollar pickups
Why would you pick your pickups based on how they look on a spectrum analyzer and not on which sound you prefer?
I agree with this sentiment. Though I understand that we all acquire information differently. Some people just "get it" more when they see the differences with their eyes, some with their ears, some need to play it themselves to understand, and others just want to be told what it sounds like.
For me, I'm like, "Just let me hear it."
@@LollarPickups I prefer both, to visually see on the spectrum analyzer because the pole piece alloy composition can raise or lower the inductance and Q resonance. The pole piece alloy composition will alter and change the A2 or A5 bar magnet in strat pickups. Adding or reducing more inductance it changes the magnetic field. You have to use both your ears as well as looking at the spectrum analyzer to fine tune. PRS calls it TCI Tuned Capacitance inductance meaning the wire wrapping capacitance with the pole pieces inductance you tuned them to a resonance peak Q and profile curve. My ears are different from all the employees at Lollar so you can't use other peoples ears as the references.
@@LollarPickups Dylan Talks Tone just did a video lesson about cheap pickups NOT being very sensitive to pickup attack. To test this is you set your fender amp to just edge of breakup and the pickup should have a very Wide Dynamic Range. The pickup should change its tone for light picking to hard picking as well as the amplifier should start breaking up, which this won't happen with cheap pickups. I'm not sure what modifications you can do to cheap pickups to fix this problem to have a wide dynamic range. Also cheap pickups don't react to the strats volume pot when rolling back and volume pot the cheap pickups don't alter or change the tone passing certain frequencies and rejecting and sinking/rolling off other frequencies. I'm not sure why cheap pickups don't do this and I'm sure what modifications can be done to cheap pickups to be very sensitive to the strat volume pot resistances. When turning down the strat volume pot the series& parallel LCR and DCR values will change.
Keep these coming!!
blonde bridge sounds fantastic
Thanks for your vid, and answering the questions below, very enlightening! My question is inspired by the setup of Lari Basilio who wants to increase versatility by using a T-style neck pickup. Could that work with Lollar pickups? I have a Charvel guitar, humbucker bridge. So something like Lollar Imperial Bridge, 64 middle and Special T neck?
Yes, you could use our *F-spaced* Imperial bridge, a '64 middle, and a Special T neck and get all the sounds and combinations that you'd expect from them. They will be in-phase with one another and offer hum-canceling operation when combining the neck and middle as well.
You mentioned mix-matched pickups like the special 64 (special in the bridge, 64s in the middle and neck). Are there options for this on the website or do I have to go to a dealer?
There are options on the Sixty-Four product page on our website for that, you just select the set of three (Special Sixty-Four Set of three flat *OR* staggered), choose your covers, and add it to your shopping cart. And you can also mix and match other models as well, should you wish to based on your individual needs, by selecting the model and positions individually and adding them to your cart.
@@LollarPickups man I’m dumb sometimes 😂
Haha! No worries! It's a legitimate question. I'm glad someone asked it, because I'm sure others might be thinking it, but aren't willing to ask. Now, they can see this and know the answer.
Thanks and take care!
@@LollarPickupsjust picked up a set at Corner Music in Nashville! Can’t wait to put them in! Got 2 64s (neck and middle) and a special bridge.
That's great to hear, thank you for trusting your tone to Lollar! We hope you're happy with the sound the offer you.
What are the brightest and cleaning sounding set? That would be good with overdrive. I already have the Dirty Blonde set, but haven't installed yet. Would the tweed set be a good option for my other strat? Was also looking into getting the 64 set but thinking they may be to mid and bass heavy, with not enough highs. I like alot of sparkle, chime, and quack. Thanks.
The Tweeds are a bit lower in output than the Blondes and Special in your current set, so they'll definitely offer you more clean and bright tones. That doesn't necessarily mean that you'll like the tone, just that they will be cleaner and brighter. You might actually find that you would be happier with a set of three Blondes, since the Special in the bridge of a Special Blonde (FKA Dirty Blonde) set will definitely push the front end of your amp noticeably more than a Blonde bridge.
We suggest listening to the Tweeds on our website, as well as in use from other content creators here on RUclips to see if they check the boxes you're looking to have checked off in your tonal hunt.
@LollarPickups thanks, I'm just going to settle on the Dirty Blonde set for now. I'm sure they will have the cleans im looking for. And that bridge pup should be great im thinking. Thanks.
I'd love to hear a comparison of flat vs. staggered pole pieces on the Blondes. That's what I'm currently stuck between for my strat build.
To be honest, I don't think you would hear any appreciable difference between the two. The stagger of the poke pieces doesn't make all the much difference, just enough to accommodate for the differences in string gauge between older, heavier sets with a wound 3rd string and modern sets with lighter gauges and a plain 3rd string.
In general, though, I don't think most people would be able to pick up on anything glaringly different between the two. Especially if they were paired with the appropriate strings.
So, if you play the older style strings with a wound 3rd and heavier 1st and 2nd strings; you may want to consider staggered. Otherwise, you'll probably be happier with flat poles.
@@LollarPickups I see. Thanks for that info. That hasn't quite been my experience with my Telecaster, which has flat poles, though. I use an unwound G string, and I notice that my D string is quite a bit quieter than the rest. But that could also be partially because of its 7.25 inch radius.
Often folks will inadvertently blame the imbalance on the pickups, when it's actually an issue caused by the strings or their setup. The solid core of wound strings is where most of the magnetic interaction happens, and different string gauges use different size cores. Of course, the same goes for the plain strings. Most people buy their strings based on what they feel like to their fingers/string tension, but they don't consider the function of the magnetic components and how they interact.
Although a wound 3rd string is usually thicker than a plain one, the core itself is quite a bit thinner (thinnest of all six strings, typically), so there's less ferrous material to induce a signal. This is why the 3rd pole is typically the closest. And the 2nd string is often the thickest solid core of all strings in a wound 3rd set, which is why it's usually the lowest of the poles.
And none of this accounts for things such as how a player sets their action, strength of the individual magnets, the resonant frequency of the instrument, string tuning/tension, how ferrous the strings are, or any number of other variables. The fact of the matter is there's no wrong or right answer; only what sounds/feels best to the individual player.
The pickup is just one of the variables and manufacturers can only plan for so much when designing their pickups. Since so many guitarists are creatures of habit and Fender has set a longstanding precedent with their staggered pickup design, most just build their staggered pickups based on the old Fender design to appease the "purists" - even though many may not even understand the relation between the different parts.
When it comes right down to it, the functional differences between a flat and staggered pickup is nominal at best, and not great enough to matter for an overwhelming majority of guitar players. We suggest flat pole pieces for anyone not playing traditional wound 3rd sets, and we think that folks should always defer to what they like best for their own style and tastes, even if it's not what we would suggest or prefer.
@@LollarPickups I'm very grateful for this thorough and detailed response, thank you!
@@LollarPickups How would one compensate for the thinness of the wound D string, if not with a raised pole piece?
Looking for an upgrade to my American St 2008 , problem is I dont know what pu has in (maybe Alinico v) and dont overly dislike them apart from the bridge which Is quite harsh. Looking for a rounder sound. 🇮🇹🙏
Unfortunately, you can't base this sort of decision on any one spec, such as magnet composition (or even a handful of specs) because there are so many things working in concert to provide the finished tone. While A5 usually sounds brighter and has a sharper attack than something like A2, there are other variables at play that could skew from the sound in your head to the sound of the pickup in use. I would suggest reading descriptions and comparing sound clips to find the one that jumps out at you as the best for your individual tastes.
suhr classic pro ,rose wood fingerboard. what can i choice ? blond+imperial or 64 + special ? I want the sound to be more transparent and elastic
Since you have very particular tonal characteristics that you're looking to achieve, I think it might be easiest for you to reach out to our customer service team via the email in our bio. They can get all the details of your setup and what sort of specific tones you're chasing, and then give you the best options to get there.
hey Great video, what bridge humbucker would you recommend for the blondes and 64s? thanks
Thanks for watching! In general, I think most folks are happiest with traditional PAF-style humbuckers paired with those pickups. And, for that, I would suggest our Low Wind Imperial and standard Imperial for the Blonde and Sixty-Four, respectively.
Ughhh I want the sixty four pickups so bad for my jv mod 60’s strat. Time to start flipping stuff on eBay!
Decent vid, but I would have preferred playing in different styles and riffs that would have more demonstrated the vibe and application of the pickups. Maybe it’s just me but that riff was a little too bluegrassy/acoustic natured.
Thanks for your input. We'll keep this sort of thing in mind for future videos.
Would you ever offer a loaded pickup ? If you wanted to mix and match pups divide the whole set by three and call you up? Suggestion, would you link the you tube video to you commercial site for easier sound comparison? The big guy you see.when you open the site, does he bite?
We don't plan to offer pre-wired/loaded pickguards. We tried that a while back and we never sold many. Along with this, they are very time-consuming to assemble, and the extensive list of variables means that each one must be completely built from scratch after the order has been placed. We feel it's probably best to leave this to the folks whose sole service offerings are focused on this sort fo thing.
The website is listed in the "about" section on our RUclips channel.
And, no, Jason probably won't bite. At least not hard enough to leave a mark.
Thanks for the reply. I did not get it until 12-19. This is the old post office times. You do make good pups. Merry Christmas!
Yeah, sometimes I don't even get notifications for these things. I just have to keep checking in to see if someone commented. And thanks, merry Christmas to you as well!
What would pair best with my lollar imperial? I bought some tweeds, and it was definitely NOT the right pairing 😂
If you want something a bit clearer, more articulate, and "Strat-y" still, then the Sixty-Four will keep up ok with the Imperial. If you want something a bit more balanced with the Imperial; hotter, fatter, etc., then the Special S in the middle and neck are a solid choice. They're like a hot-rodded Strat sound with a fuller low end and rounder top end. Hope this is helpful. And you can always feel free to reach out to our customer service team dorectly via email or phone if you have any more questions or concerns.
Love the special s
Hello, I have a Fender American Delux Stratocaster from the year 2011, rosewood fretboard, with n3 noise less pickups in the neck and middle position and an atomic humbucker in the bridge. I really like the bridge humbucker, but the n3 noise less pickups are not good. The guitar sounds a little dark and lifeless. It's a good instrument, but I'm not satisfied with the sound. I want to replace the n3 single coil noise less pickups with Lollar pickups. Taking into account the characteristics of the guitar I mentioned, which pickups do you recommend? What are your pickups that best combine with a humbucker in the bridge? I want the traditional Strat sound, but with a little more life and musicality. Thanks.
It's hard to say for sure, without knowing the characteristics of the humbucker. But, in general, the Special neck and middle for Strats are great with most humbuckers because they can keep up with the hotter output of most humbuckers, but they still retain the general sound of what a Strat should offer. they are a bit hotter and fatter than our other Strat offerings. You can read more about them and hear sound clips here: www.lollarguitars.com/lollar-stratocaster-pickups/strat-special
If you want more traditional Strat glassiness and quack, you might be better off with our Sixty-Four neck and middle pickups. The output is a little less than the Specials, so they won't be as hot or fat for keeping up with the humbucker in the bridge, but they have more Strat-like vibes. I think you would be happy with either, but which is absolute best for your needs will depend on your own personal tastes. Here's a link to the Sixty-Four pickups: www.lollarguitars.com/lollar-stratocaster-pickups/strat-sixty-four
I hope this is helpful!
@@LollarPickups Hello, thank you very much. sexty-four for me.
thank you very much
am i going crazy or does the blonde sound so much like the player strat alnico v pickups?
You're not completely crazy. Sound is very subjective, especially when variables such as what speakers you're listening through come into play. So, they may sound similar to one person, while sounding completely different to another. You'd really have to get an apples-to-apples between the two using the same exact signal chain from the guitar to the recording software to really know how similar or different they really are.
I can tell you this; they aren't made the same as the Fender pickups. Specifically, they have different magnets and coil specs.
I’ve had a Special Blonde set in my Strat for years - I struggled for a long time with pickups for it, but these are never coming out.
I’d love to see this same video concept for your Jazzmaster pickups - and for that matter, a Jazzmaster Special bridge pickup would be an instant buy from me!
We're actually in the process of working on some possible future options for our Jazzmaster lineup right now. We'll definitely keep a "Special" version in mind!
@@LollarPickups can’t wait!
Are these flat or staggered for the video?
The pickups in the video are flat pole.
Toutes mes guitares, Stratocaster, jazz Master, Jaguar sont équipées de micro lollar, besoin de rien d'autre 🙂🎸
Merci beaucoup d'avoir confié votre son à Lollar Pickups !
OMG the repetitive guitar lick in the background is so distracting
Thanks for your feedback. We'll keep it in mind when making future videos.
@@LollarPickups Most of us understand that you were attempting to keep the variables to a minimum in order to evaluate the different sets.
I beg to differ. The fact that the same lick was played allowed me to compare tones apples to apples.
@@ninjadadPrime I think @bigdumbidiotguy was referring to the background music bed used during the intro/outtro sections. Of course having a consistent lick during the actual sound samples is key.
Sterile tone. Thank you for talking me out of lollar pickups.
Always happy to help. Cheers!🍻