Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
This Lollar P Pickup is worth it
- Thread starter Evan J
- Start date
I emailed the shop and asked if there was any chance of a demo of the Lollar. They have been very helpful and responsive to my questions in YouTube comments so hopefully will hear back soon.
People have been saying this since I joined TB in 2007, fwiw.
I think the issues lay with the human handiwork on the CNC cut parts.
Fret work, sanding, poor attention to detail, letting unfinished or bad quality part through to finish, etc.
Usually, QC is the last one to detect any blemishes but they look over thousands of instruments a day.
This isn’t just Fender Ensenada too. Fender Corona is the same as well but they get more heat because the MIAs are priced at like $2k in Canada so you’d expect utmost quality.
Oh. To me all those things are expected. Wages are low and expectations high. Only custom shop will get you a finished instrument.
I’ve never played a bad Player model ever in my experience. They all felt and sounded great. The set up wasn’t great and the store never bothers to fix that on their end but i tend to bring my own tools to simply lower or raise action, truss rod adjustment, just to play it a bit.
I got my Player P 2 years ago. It was a very good playing instrument. Was not sure how I felt about the pickup. I picked up a CS62 for it that I need to put in it. Just something to compare thecstock pi kup with. Been waiting to get flats on it to here those with the stock pickup before switching it out. The P is getting flats so whatever sounds best with flats will win.
I was pretty happy with the American Vintage 62's I put in my Player Jazz bass so I thought the Fenders were worth a shot.
I was pretty happy with the American Vintage 62's I put in my Player Jazz bass so I thought the Fenders were worth a shot.
I think this is what I use on my Yamaha TBRX 605. That bass was great from the jump. Not a bad sound to be found and those humbuckers had the perfect growl
Ah, roundwound. This description is even more interesting now:
And @Pocket Dave sounds great in the videos posted above with same strings and the Lollar:
You guys are inspiring me to try roundwounds! Specifically on my Aerodyne Special Precision, which, to my ears, has a bit of a chime-like quality to the tone I really like. Currently I have Ernie Ball Cobalt flats on. I chose these because several reviews said they sound a bit like rounds. I prefer them to the GHS Precision flats I had on previously, but wonder if I can find strings to give even more chime-like qualities than the Cobalts while still not sounding harsh. Which brings me back to the thread topic: yesterday I practiced with the Aerodyne Special P and experimented with something different: EQ going into light drive to see if I could get close to some of the sounds I hear in demos of the vintage pickups. My sound goal for the Player P is very specific, and I do not necessarily need a versatile pickup for it, especially if the Aerodyne Special can cover some of what a more versatile vintage pickup gives.
And related to this:
On the Aerodyne Special and I get good sound playing over the neck down to the bridge. I was playing over the neck for the above experiments.
Gracias. I've tried different roundwonds from stainless to pure nickel; The D'Addario EXL series gets it done for me.
While I love pure nickel strings on guitars, I prefer these particular nickel wound/steel core hybrids. They've got the warmth of pure nickel, with a more articulate, zingy top end when fresh. For me it's been the perfect matchup with the Lollar pickup.
One more clip - Here everything is lower-register. The song's been transposed to a lower key, yet everything rings clearly, despite the vintage thump bass voicing, even the 1 to 6 walkdown during the chorus, something I added to show exaggerated intent of the original's piano part.
Last edited:
The key word for the Lollar is NATURAL.
To me, it doesn’t sound like it’s trying to be too vintage or too hi-fi. It doesn’t seem to be marketed to a specific genre. It just reports the natural sound of the bass.
It gives you such a quality signal that you can push it through some radical EQ, or leave it totally flat, and the whole range still sounds good.
For example:
Our FOH engineer is sometimes looking to boost some high end so that the bass can remain articulate in the mix. This would usually bring out some strange honk in my fender pickups. But with the Lollar he can boost whatever he needs, and the bass still sounds natural.
To me, it doesn’t sound like it’s trying to be too vintage or too hi-fi. It doesn’t seem to be marketed to a specific genre. It just reports the natural sound of the bass.
It gives you such a quality signal that you can push it through some radical EQ, or leave it totally flat, and the whole range still sounds good.
For example:
Our FOH engineer is sometimes looking to boost some high end so that the bass can remain articulate in the mix. This would usually bring out some strange honk in my fender pickups. But with the Lollar he can boost whatever he needs, and the bass still sounds natural.
That makes sense. They definitely have a classic sound to my ears. A good kind of “square one” bass string
It turns out I likely have EXL 160M on an Ibanez AGB200. Ibanez only specifies the gauges, but I found posts saying the stock strings are medium scale length D'Addario rounds. The ball ends are the right colors.
I already have a set of D'addaio ETB92M ETB92M tapewound to put on when these go dead, but I like the sound with these rounds more than I expected. I thought it was because of the short scale, semi hollow body, and pickup right up to the neck, but maybe the nickel is a factor too. Good to know!
I already have a set of D'addaio ETB92M ETB92M tapewound to put on when these go dead, but I like the sound with these rounds more than I expected. I thought it was because of the short scale, semi hollow body, and pickup right up to the neck, but maybe the nickel is a factor too. Good to know!
Heard back:
"We will likely get to the Lollar in the not too distant future, but have many videos in queue before it…it’ll likely be several months."
Sounds great. Yes, the bass is clear and I can distinctly hear the notes. Nice!
