First time buying non-SD aftermarket pickups...

[phil_104]

I just purchased a set of Lollar Blackface pickups for my strat. Already have a set of Antiquities in another guitar, so I figured I would try something new.

So far, so good. More punchy that the Ants, yet still very vintage sounding. The cleans are not as chimey, but instead are more focused. Overdriven, they have a lot more body. I think they will work well for lead work with overdrive pedals, where the Ants will probably remain my go to pickup for complex chords.

Anybody else have experience with these or other Lollar sets? I was honestly very unfamiliar with them (still am really), and they came highly recommended. Curious to see what other players have to say about them.

 

[phil_104]

Re: First time buying non-SD aftermarket pickups...

Well, I guess this counts as a rock thread, in the sense that it sank straight to the bottom of the page. Since I got very little information about these pickups when I got them, I’ll take a few minutes to write my observations here, should anyone else be interested in these at some point. My point of comparisson is another strat, loaded with antiquity II pickups, through a Fender Blues Deluxe, and using medium to medium-high overdrive and lots of cleans. Here are a few things I noticed.

- These pickups, even though they retain the character traits of a vintage strat pickups, are definitely hotter and fuller. The lower mids is a lot more present, specially in the bridge pickup and neck pickup when used alone.
- They don’t ‘quack’ just as much as the antiquities do, but they do have more ‘spank’. Hard to explain, but the texture is different in positions 2 and 4, with a sharper and quicker note release, with less honk in the notes.
- With overdrive and distortion, they tend to get woolier than the antiquities, specially when using the neck and middle pickup. Because of the lower mid presence, instead of sounding thing, they almost sound like they want to push into the tone range of a fuzz.
- They are not quiet pickups by any means, but are no louder or quieter than the antiquities when in non-hum-cancelling positions.
- If the antiquities have a bell-like feel to them, these have a singing property : not as much chime and airiness, but more projection and focus, without loosing that still vintage 60s strat feel.

Anyways, I’ve come to the conclusion that if I wanted a strat that had vintage sounding pickups, but I wanted to gear my playing more towards lead work, I would favour these ahead of the antiquities. If I was more of a rhythm player, I would go with the antiquities. They are a little more modern sounding, a little fuller, a little more aggressive, but less chimey.

There you have it. I suck at describing pickups, but should anybody be curious about these, at least you’ll have one man’s humble opinion about them.

 

[Farkus]

Re: First time buying non-SD aftermarket pickups...

Thanks for the info. I've been interested in these pickups in the past but just had other pups come into my possession for whatever reason and never got around to trying them. I have a set of Ant I's in my 'classic rock' strat and I like them but I'm ready for a change...might give these a shot.

 

[jake_xms3_punk]

Re: First time buying non-SD aftermarket pickups...

their P90's come highly recommended, never used them though.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: First time buying non-SD aftermarket pickups...

Yes, thanks for the review. I'm also curious about their Tweed and Blonde series as well. It seems like they are more improvements on vintage Strat pickups than accurate reproductions of a certain era like other makers. Do the Surfers and Blackfaces provide enough contrast for you? (When you play or record a lead you'll go Lollar and when you play or record rhythm you'll go Duncan)

 

[phil_104]

Re: First time buying non-SD aftermarket pickups...

Yes, thanks for the review. I'm also curious about their Tweed and Blonde series as well. It seems like they are more improvements on vintage Strat pickups than accurate reproductions of a certain era like other makers. Do the Surfers and Blackfaces provide enough contrast for you? (When you play or record a lead you'll go Lollar and when you play or record rhythm you'll go Duncan)

Yes they do. The difference is noticeable enough for me to warrant taking 2 strats into the studio. With that said, they can both cover the ground and do it well if the need is there, but they have a different voice.

I also agree that they seem to be improvements on a vintage strat pickup rather than an accurate reproduction. With that said, from what I've read and what my pickup guy tells me, they Tweed tend to be very vintage correct.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: First time buying non-SD aftermarket pickups...

Very cool! What did they replace?

 

[DreX]

Re: First time buying non-SD aftermarket pickups...

Anybody else have experience with these or other Lollar sets? I was honestly very unfamiliar with them (still am really), and they came highly recommended. Curious to see what other players have to say about them.

I have both sets in two similar guitars, they're voiced pretty much the same, the difference is in the balance and the attack. The Antiquity IIs sound more lush (I hear more happening), balanced and punchy. The Lollar Blackfaces have a more cutting attack and high end. The Antiquities are the better pickup IMO, in that they accomplish something unique, they have a big, bold sound. The Lollars are more straight vintage, glassy strat tone, they don't really break any rules.

 

[DreX]

Re: First time buying non-SD aftermarket pickups...

Yes, thanks for the review. I'm also curious about their Tweed and Blonde series as well. It seems like they are more improvements on vintage Strat pickups than accurate reproductions of a certain era like other makers.

I have the Tweeds but not the Blondes. The Tweeds sound close the Blackfaces in voicing, very vintage. It's not as dramatic of a change in voice as you'd expect from such a lower output wind. The difference is they're cleaner sounding, you don't hear as much sparkle and all that, and they don't sustain as long. In that respect, I'm not happy with them for overdrive, the signal dies too fast and there isn't a lot of overtone, sparkliness or whatever, to play off the overdrive's fuzz. I think they're really only suited for players who want to play extremely clean rhythm work, who don't mind a lack of sustain.

I'm looking to replace them because even though I like the novelty of ultra low output, trying to jam with them leads to heartache. I can see why there isn't an "underwind" craze.

Do the Surfers and Blackfaces provide enough contrast for you? (When you play or record a lead you'll go Lollar and when you play or record rhythm you'll go Duncan)

I'm not the OP but I have both so I'll answer anyway, they're voiced so similar that I wouldn't pick up one before the other. If I mostly played subtle stuff I get the Lollars for their glassy highs, but if I played harder rock I'd get the Duncans for the fullness.

 

[phil_104]

Re: First time buying non-SD aftermarket pickups...

Very cool! What did they replace?

Stock Fender pickups in my Hwy1 strat (2010?).

I'm not the OP but I have both so I'll answer anyway, they're voiced so similar that I wouldn't pick up one before the other. If I mostly played subtle stuff I get the Lollars for their glassy highs, but if I played harder rock I'd get the Duncans for the fullness.

Interesting... I'd do the opposite. Found the Lollars to be fuller than the Duncans, and I didn't find that they were voiced similar. Goes to show what your ears can tell you I suppose.

 

[DreX]

Re: First time buying non-SD aftermarket pickups...

Interesting... I'd do the opposite. Found the Lollars to be fuller than the Duncans, and I didn't find that they were voiced similar. Goes to show what your ears can tell you I suppose.

It might be the guitars the pickups are mounted in. One thing I've realized with playing musical chairs with pickups is that some play nicely with bright bodies, and others prefer darker bodies, like if the body and the pickups are both bright, the end result can be shrill, the opposite can sound lifelessness.

There are sound files of Lollar Blackfaces on their site http://www.lollarguitars.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=LGP&Product_Code=209 and though a lot of factors make such demos near worthless, it do here the biting highs that I associate with the Blackface and not the Antiquities. The Lollar product description says it's "Pre-CBS 60s Strat®-style wind" and the Antiquity Pickup calls itself the 'ultimate 60's pickup for chime and quack', so they're going for the same tone judging from that, and I think they both achieve that sound. I've seen the adjective "piano-like" used to describe 60's style pickups voicing, I think that's a good description of the common voicing, and to my ears the Duncan's have more of that piano attack then the Lollars.

edit: I found a sound clip of Duncan Antiquity Surfs https://soundcloud.com/rollin-tumble/60strat-surf?in=rollin-tumble/sets/seymour-duncan-antiquities , neck pickup only though, but at least we have sound clips of both in some form. Granted that the guitars, amps and recording method are all different, I do hear fatter character to the Duncans, and more present highs in the Lollars.