This Lollar P Pickup is worth it

[induction]

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.

Good to know the Lollar works well with EQ to let you sculpt a tone you want, as opposed to need EQ to remove something you don't want.

Yesterday I tried lowering the Player pickup under the G, LPF a little above 5k, and amp EQ small cut at 4k (shelving), to remove some highs or upper mids - to me they sound more like a whine and less like a honk - I wonder if it is similar to what you had with your Player pickup.

 

[Evan J]

Good to know the Lollar works well with EQ to let you sculpt a tone you want, as opposed to need EQ to remove something you don't want.

Yesterday I tried lowering the Player pickup under the G, LPF a little above 5k, and amp EQ small cut at 4k (shelving), to remove some highs or upper mids - to me they sound more like a whine and less like a honk - I wonder if it is similar to what you had with your Player pickup.

Yes this is exactly what I experienced with my player pickup. A whine a is a good way to put it. Or maybe a “quack”.

I kept getting caught in a catch 22 because I would darken the bass with EQ to get rid of the quack, but then FOH was always asking for more high end.

Now with the Lollar I can leave it fully open and the highs are very pleasant. I can even do a high / mid boost and it still sounds classy.

 

[TheArchitect]

Dr

Yes this is exactly what I experienced with my player pickup. A whine a is a good way to put it. Or maybe a “quack”.

I kept getting caught in a catch 22 because I would darken the bass with EQ to get rid of the quack, but then FOH was always asking for more high end.

Now with the Lollar I can leave it fully open and the highs are very pleasant. I can even do a high / mid boost and it still sounds classy.

Was this through an amp or di to FOH?

 

[Evan J]

Dr

Was this through an amp or di to FOH?

Through a very transparent signal chain then DI to front of house. No amp.

 

[Evan J]

Dr

Was this through an amp or di to FOH?

Empress and DCX are always on. TH is my live DI and occasional overdrive stomp box.

 

[induction]

Following up on this thread, I finally replaced my pickup:

The discussion on EQ motivated me to experiment some more with EQ for the stock pickup...but still no success getting the sound I wanted.

Over the summer I was interested in the Lollar and Aguilar 4p-60 but eventually decided on the Nordstrand after listening to more demos. Installed it a couple weeks ago and like it so far. Still trying it with different gear but overall it has a nice low grunt and low mids and EQ is now working better for me.

Here are recordings of open strings for each pickup. EADG: near neck, neck side of pickup, over pickup, bridge side of pickup, near bridge. Each recording is buffer > amp > DI out (pre EQ) > interface. La Bella 760FM strings. Tried to match the levels of each track, good headphones or speakers recommended.

Thanks again for starting this thread and motivating me to try a different pickup!

 

[L. L. Elwood]

I know i'm late to this thread but i'm 100% in agreement. Not a better P replacement pickup out there. Every time I think of trying something else, I remember the dozen or so Pickups I a/b'd only to discover the Lollar crushes them all with warmth, presence and a nice little top end crispness that you just don't get elsewhere. The tonal qualities combined give you a lovely subtle definition that is often missing from P basses, especially when playing live. Tough to describe but soooooooo worth the $150. Installing one of these will bring your search to an end.