Over the years I've learned I prefer my pickups as low as I can set them. Drop them to the pickguard if necessary. When they start to sound too thin, raise them back up just a bit... this allows the notes to bloom with a more vintage clarity that's impossible to achieve when they're set high. Use the amp to get your volume back. - I think I learned that from Dan Petlanski IIRC....but it was truly a "light bulb" moment for me.
So true, have a lone star strat that has very strong magnets in the pickups. Literally had to take the pickups down to the pickguard before the mags didn't effect the sound.
@@ronnysuarez3257 Just seting the pickups low to the pickguard (far from the strings) and in my case sound gets bright, and if u set pickups high, sound gets more fuzzier and muddier (not that shining bright). :)
I would recommend one thing if you solder something again: Always add some fresh solder to the joints, to avoid cold connections. Fresh solder contains "flux" (colophony/rosin) which makes the solder flow better. Second: Heat your connections more. Good connections have both parts heated up a bit. So just stay there for 2-3 seconds and then remove heat. But nevertheless: Great work!
Schinken1 wanted to say excactly the same... just finished soldering 30 patchcables for my pedalboard, and within the first 5 plugs I learned a LOT to my soldering skills haha
I'd probably say to get some solder braid/wick to remove old solder if one is reusing soldered components. More solder on top of solder may or may not make good long term connections and I'd rather not take the chance. Plus, it'll be neater!
Got to be honest, I don't hear a ton of difference between the two. But that can have a lot to do with the recording, and the computer and headphones delivering the sound.
Personally, I hear a noticeable difference, but I suspect the real difference can only be heard and felt if you're actually in the room with the guitar. Guitar tones lives and dies in nuances and details, and those rarely come across through videos on UA-cam, unless the recording is top notch and you're listening through studio-quality headsets/speakers.
Watched the Video on my Sony Smartphone with shure in Ears in High quality and I was able to really hear a difference, the old ones sounded more muffled whereas the New ones sounded more brighter and clear
I think it's how you wrote, you may don't hear it in the recording. But even if you hear it while playing, it can affect your playing in a positive way. I don't know it's hard to describe
@@mescaliiiiine That's exactly what I noticed. It was a bit flat, kind of transitor-ish before. The new pickups made it way brighter and twangy. Big improvement, IMO. I'm having a similar problem with my guitar and I'm inclined to change out the pickups on it now.
yes, the new ones sound better. But it seems there's more energy / excitement in your playing after the switch too. Spirit impacts tone! Worthy project.
yeah i agree hes more excited about it so the performance changes. sorry, ur comment was three years ago. I keep doing that. responding to old comments
What I have found when swapping pickups and soldering wires to tiny components is that it's easier and cleaner to cut and strip the old wires instead of trying to solder to the tiny junctions. As long as there is still wire on the old pickups, you can reuse them. By doing it this way, you avoid grounding issues. Like when your solder bleeds over and touches another junction point.
Next Strat upgrade: I don’t normally go for relic guitars because those battle scars weren’t earned. In this case though, I’d peel off the chipped portion, and sand the edges between pain and wood, and live with a guitar you’ve owned for so long. (Edited to correct spelling)
Interesting! I actually really loved the way the old ones sounded, but then heard the new ones and I'm blown away because I didn't think it'd be THAT much better. Definitely an improvement. Lollar doesn't disappoint in my experience
5:12 - "There will probably be guys in the comments saying that I do everything wrong. ... Probably. Gotta learn it. Gotta do it." I've seen too many people who seem only capable of replying "hire a professional" when you ask how to do something, as if "professionals" are somehow different beings than the rest of us. I still remember a quote from the movie The Edge that I watched when I was a kid: "What one man can do, another can do." If someone else learned it, you can learn it too. It might be harder for you, or take more time for you to learn it, but you can learn it.
I fully agree! I've started getting into doing my own truss rod adjustments and other maintenance. There's definitely a learning curve and it probably won't be perfect on try 1 2 3 or 4 but anything can be learned with a help of UA-cam and some trial and error!
Definitely agree on this. However, it takes a learning curve to do something well enough, and you don't want your learning mistakes to be made in your prized instrument... that's why I always suggest, get a chance to try and practice what you intend to do on a friend's guitar first!
It might be inspiring but it's actually far from truth. Take for example this voice actor: ua-cam.com/video/6N5l0sgPP5k/v-deo.html . You just can't make your voice that deep if you are not born with it, no matter how much practice you put into it.
@@p_mouse8676 I have a cabronita style tele. I want to use a 3 position rotart style selector instead of the toggle switch that it came with but I'm not exactly sure which rotary switch to buy.
Evil Earl you need a three position and 2 pole rotary switch, you can get a switch with more poles but some with be unused, and switch with more than 3 positions will also work, but you will have extra positions(some switches let you lock out the extra positions)
Paul, you're a great guitarist and a novice electronics guy. I'm a great electronics guy (so I'm told :) ) and a novice guitarist... who takes lessons from you! Allow me to return the favor and eliminate the 'string buzz', as it were, from your playing of my instrument... the soldering iron. You'll need a wet sponge, a spool of no-clean rosin core solder, some solder wick, and a decent soldering iron (the one you have will do). Others have mentioned flux here in the comments, that's in the aforementioned solder & is the rosin. Flux cleans oxides off the metals being soldered and 'no-clean' means leaving the flux won't corrode the metals if left on once soldered. 'Tin the iron', this means wipe the tip on the wet sponge (with a twist to clean it all the way around) apply some solder to the tip, and if clean, it should melt quickly & flow evenly around the tip. If not, repeat the wipe/apply. Being careful with the 450-550F drop of molten solder, tap or shake off the excess (don't leave a glob on the tip is the point here). Apply heat with the tip to the joint (heat rises, so under or on the side of the joint is best) and apply a little solder to the opposite side of the joint. The solder will flow toward the heat of the iron. Add only enough solder to fill the gaps of the joint, don't make globs. Cleanliness is key. With a decent iron, good solder and a little practice a solder joint should only take 5-8 seconds. Look for shiny solder throughout the joint, if dull, it's dirty or wasn't made hot enough and will fail eventually. If, like in your case, there is old solder on the joints, use the wick (it's a copper braid impregnated with flux). Push the braid against the joint with the tip of the iron to 'sop' up the old or excess solder. And as you always seem to tell me... "Good Luck!" :) Oh, you ever like to ask about anything electronics wise, shoot me a line.
Ok, I'm listening on my phone whilst researching some replacement pickups and, truthfully, they sound the same to me. You've a great channel and I appreciate you sharing your skills and knowledge.
You need to listen through headphones, it may be subtle to some but I've been playing fenders for long enough to really tell that there's a Huge difference in the clarity. The old pickups sound dull and spongey whereas the new ones you can hear the sprinkley brightness
Damn I’ve swapped out so many pickups in my strats!! It took so many years to find the sound in my head. The noiseless stuff is a nightmare. I no longer use em’! Basically I’m using a combination of ceramic bar and alnico V. And I lower the height way lower than Fender specs. Almost every pickup I’ve tried sounds better lower than spec height!
Came here to mention pickup height. Glad someone already did. It's something I still struggle with on my Les Paul... I get to a point of "happy enough" but have ear fatigue too early to be productive after that.
What's ur opinion on the Fender Am Special Texas pickups? I tried one a couple of weeks ago & it's in a clearance sale, after trying loadsa Fender strats that day - that's the one that totally got me. I'm really, really trying NOT to buy it! Hahahaha...
jackillin I think they missed the mark a little. I actually like the Tex-mex pickups better ...and they are cheaper. BUT if I found a set ofTexas Specials on clearance I would definitely pick em up
@@PaulSpeed42 follow these directions and try these pickup height settings and let me know if they work for you. instagram.com/p/BvInggQHsbN/?igshid=1y22jykjnenb6
When rewiring a guitar, especially when you get into sophisticated wiring like the S-1, I like to use an ohmmeter to check the resistance of the pickups in the various switch positions. It's not 100% conclusive but can give you a decent idea if things are as they should be. It's a little easier than semi reassembling the guitar. If you haven't done it before it's probably not as informative but it can still be useful. Props for getting into it without being sure of what you are doing.
It's sounds like you could have fixed the original pickups with some brighter pots (changing 250k to 500k or 350k etc.) Higher value pots will let more of the true pickup sound to come thru. But well done. I hope you will now pickup this guitar more often. 👍
Interesting point, but with these pickups, I doubt it. They are terrible if you’re looking for Strat tones. I have them in mine and just like Paul, I loved the guitar years ago when I bought it. It’s simply a beautiful Strat and built great, but those pickups were a mistake. Lol
Wow, what timing! I have a 2018 Fender elite strat with the 4th generation noiseless pickups. And I recently bought the same lollar pickups you have, but also the Emerson Custom 5-way Blender Prewired Kit. I will install them soon. Thanks for the video! UPDATE: yeah, much better sound - no muddiness, strings and notes ring out clearly and separately. Great tones, and very responsive to changes in picking technique. The blender feature is great too. I play on the neck pick up mostly and blend in the bridge pickup to nearly 40-50 percent for that extra glassy tone.
I remember watching this video when it came out and I couldn’t hear a difference, glad to say I really do hear a big difference now. It absolutely does that ‘strat thing’ with the new pickups
Yes they definitely sound better and they "breath" more, however, I was also expecting a larger difference. You should put a nitro finish on it in a color you don't already have! Personally, white strats have always been my favorite
I just put a set of Lollar Special Blondes in my American Series Strat, put 10's on instead of 9's, tuned down to E-flat and now I now can't put the guitar down. Truly transformed!
For those who might be interested, Free-Way makes a 10-way 5-position switch that provides the following additional capabilities: 1. N_M in series 2. B + N in parallel 3. B + N in series 4. all 3 in parallel 5. N + M in series I have this switch in my G&L ASAT Classic S and it's much better than the standard "expander" switch. The "series" positions, while not pure humbucker, sound really good and provide a slight volume boost - perfect for soloing.
But I don't recommend hitting the pole piece with a magnetic screwdriver. I don't think there will be any effect unless it is a very high magnetic force, but it it's not mentally good.
taking off the poly will be a chore and fairly expensive if you have someone else do it, but from what I've read and heard it will make a massive difference in the guitar. Great Video Paul as always. Great job on your 1st pickup swap.
Just wanted to say thanks for another great video, really appreciate what you do. Don’t get discourage, keep making content you like and we’ll keep watching.
Single coils will always have that extra bite and sparkle, but I will say I'm impressed at how close the stacked pickups get. Handy for noisy environments. They both have their place.
I was interested in this video as I have a 2011 Deluxe and don't love it. I was expecting more of a difference, but can hear the Lollars are more sparkly or brighter. Your playing is so good that nothing ever sounds bad though (unlike me). I think if I was going to change pickups I would just get a fully loaded pickguard and swap the whole thing over.
Jason sprinkles some magic dust into his pickups. The difference isn't huge but totally worth it. My fav pickups. I'd replace the pots etc too. As they will affect the sound too.
You chucked out the long suffering originals, who'd given you the best years of their lives, and replaced them with 3 fresh and dirty blondes. Got to hand it to you dude, you're living the rock and roll dream.
So, just some general advice for anyone looking to up upgrade their pickups. A lot of small pickup makers will tell you what pots, caps and resistors they recommend to use with their products. Lollar doesn't include this info but, they will help you out if you ask! Whenever a builder is making a new pickup, they limit the variables as they try out different combinations. In other words, they keep all the other components the same. So, if you think about it, each custom pickup model is built to sound good with a particular combination of other components (pots, caps, resistors...) If you are disappointed with your new drop in set and you haven't changed the other components, do so before you decide the pickups aren't any good.
Definitely a personal preference thing, but I preferred the warmer tones of the old pickups to the brighter tones on the new ones. But only one person's opinion on that really matters, and what's important is that it was a successful swap and that you're pleased with the results.
Changing those saddles would also make a lot of difference. I've had a couple of guitars with those bridges & saddles I really feel they inhibit the guitars a bit. I swapped the saddles for more vintage style replacements.
I purchased a used MIM Fender 50's reissue Strat for $400 with hardcase. The neck pick up was not quite flat so I took off the pick guard to see what was up and discovered that someone had replaced the pickups with Lollar Blondes! Love 'em.
Congrats Paul and welcome to the dark side of gear modders!! You are one of us now. It starts innocently enough with pickup swaps, a new bridge, tuners etc.... then one dark day you look in the back of your tube amp and get mesmerized by those glowing glass bottles. Uh oh....the hard stuff they warn u about that can literally kill u. Hey have fun Paul, been modding for 35 years, started with with my first strat (which i butchered the frets on back in 85) now i can basically mod or repair all my gear but it took time. You did a fine job for your first swap, its just part of the long fun road of being a guitarist. Love your channel and your style.
I just finished building a guitar (sg) myself. I first tried spraying paint, but wasnt quite happy with how the paint job turned out. After some searching on the web i came across the "stunning stains" paints/oils from Crimson guitars witch worked really well for me! Maybe someting for you to check out when you dicide to refinish?
9:16 floating spider?? Besides that, lollar blondes are amazing. Have them in my nash s63 strat. Also have a strat with the blackface pickups which are also great. The blondes would be my say all end all though.
The new ones are a lot brighter, i do like the dirtier sound on the old ones, but everything pops more and has a better resonance with the new pickups!
If I am not mistaken, the SCN pickups are actually stacked humbucker pickups. This means that they will sound like a humbucker unless you do something to make them brighter. If they are like my Nashville Tele, Fender installs 1meg pots for the volume and the tone to bring back the brightness of the pickups. Putting single coil Lollars should also be matched with some 250K pots for the volume and the tone to soften the new pickups. Fender's choice for single coil pickups are 250k pots.
Just a quick tip. If you would don't have the strings on during a pickup change. Just use the tip of a screwdriver against the pole pieces of the pickup. Should give a "clank" sound and you know you're good to go. Also doesn't look as awkward as Paul did :D
Great vid.... those p/ups that were replaced were pretty ‘high end’ anyway and it was still a noticeable difference in a really good way... I have to get these in my strat!.
When you change the finish: it may look really cool with the natural wood with some clear code on it but a darker sunburst woul look great too.. u shoul ask the community
great job - I love when people jump head first into tasks they aren't that comfortable with and seeing everything work out just fine. It helps me to get over that initial barrier of doing it myself. Have a set of Tele pickups I'd like to install but have been putting it off for quite a while out of fear of the soldering iron ;). As for the refinish - that strat has my least favourite colour and the pickguard doesn't do it for me either. It would look great in black nitro with a mint green guard - you may need to change the dots too though as they look like they were chosen to match the existing pickguard.
I bought a LH Japanese 50s reissue back in 96 and the first thing I did was start shopping for pickups. I settled on a tapped Duncan Quarter Pound for the bridge, and a Vintage Stack for the neck. I later added a Quarter Pound RWRP Strat pickup as a centre option, then tossed the blade switch and incorporated mini toggles and pan pots to get the damn thing to do almost anything I want it to. New pickups make all the difference in the world. Hot fun.
1:00 Yikes! I wish I could make my Strat sound that good ... and it's not my pickups either 😆😆 Paul I'd let that finish rat out. Thinking of Rory Gallagher's and SRV's Strat's, the Peter Green / Gary Moore Les Paul, Roy Buchanan's Tele to mention just a few. We love 'em just as they are and all the miles, bars, shows, joys and tears that made them that way. Any one of us here would see that Strat of yours and recognize it immediately "Hey that's Paul David's Lollar swap Strat!"
Neil, true poly dies age differently than nitro. It will however age just as itself and for me that's good enough to tell it's story. For sure there are times too when a refinish becomes part of a guitars life. I love 'em all.
Huge improvement. The old pickups sound bland, muzzled, sterile and plastic, The Lollars sound as true vintage strat pickups sound. More sparkly, glassy.
Fender single coils with bullet nose pole pieces always impress - flat noses don't - as for tones... here's an Aria Custom tip - pick 3 fave humbuckers that can be split - hot rails, stacked coils, Gibson or Fender wide range - add 3 mini toggles or buttons for coil tap and then into the 5 way - Presto - 14 Tones from SSS to HHH and every combo - yes every setting is different - - and it helps if your bridge pickup is angled so you don't lose the Fender twang + quack - pos'n 2 + 4 now gives 4 tones each = S+S combo plus S+H, H+S, H+H - pos'n 1,2+3 now gives 6 tones as S or H - S+H is obv diff than H+S combos - not so obvious with 3 Duncan Designed Hot Rails but quite the Revelation with good pickups - this gives you everything -Strat + Tele tones and more ...an angled bridge humbucker is the elusive Rock Strat tone
I feel like I am the complete opposite. I look at a guitar and almost always think "What can I change or improve? How can I make this more my own." But almost all of my guitars more on the budget side (sub $800 US new). I just love the process of modding and changing things. Even if I end up changing it back to the way it was in a few months or years. It is all part of the hobby to me. I even chiseled out the neck pickup cavity on my MIM strat to fit a humbucker. I since put back in single coils. It is just how it goes. Maybe it was just UA-cam compression, but I didn't hear much of a difference, except on the bridge. And I liked the SCN a little better. So what I am saying is... if you don't know what to do with those pickups...
@@PaulDavids Paul, after soldering the pickups, did the switch on the volume knob stop working on your guitar? When you press it, the gain of the pickups is turned on. This is a feature Deluxe schemes.
Next step is to replace the saddles and trem block with Callaham. Probably the biggest bang for buck sound difference I made on my '96 American Standard strat. Do it, you won't regret it. Dirty blonde is a killer setup, although dirty blackface is nice as well...more mid's.
Paul, I really liked seeing a very good musician doing some good electronic stuff! I'm an electronic engineer (dedicated to do Embedded Software profesionally), I love playing guitar but I'm not as good as I would like. I like to do DIY stuff for a lot of things... Some years ago I completely disarmed my electric guitar (Ibanez cheap model) just because I did not liked the color (jewel blue) nor the figure (RG model) so I took the body, removed original paint, did some cuts here and there and rounded a little bit more all the edge front and back sides(so to look more like the SG models). Then I took the body for rapainting (the only thing I did not do by myself). It was more than 5 years later when I finally reassembled the guitar again, yes more than 5 years, almost all the steps were done separated by a lot of months. My daughter and son were borned in the middle so I had less time. I did some notes before disconnecting all the electronics so those helped me to reconnect again. Just wanted to share as your video remind me to that process. The moment when you plug the guitar again and discover that you connect it correctly is magical.
Remove those fancy potentiometers! Go full vintage, simple wiring and old fender style schematics. No capacitors for noise bleed either. Just let this thing rough as it can be. As for the painting, just superglue that stuff. Never try to hide the damages of years.
I had an opportunity to play a Nash S-63 over the weekend,. and was blown away with how glassy and toneful the Lollar pickups were ( primary guitar includes a Suhr, and an early EJ Strat). So now I'm down the rabbit hole looking into Lollar pickups to replace my Texas Specials in my '62 RI Strat. Maybe how its recorded, but I didn't hear a huge difference. The big difference was your impression- you're impressed with them, and now you've breathed new life into and old friend.
Noiseless pickups are more compressed and restrictive of attack and dynamics as well as having less of the punch, spank, and sparkle that a really good vintage sounding single coil has. The Lollars are a big improvement.
to me it sounds like the new Lollar pickups have more high end (it sounds better), i usually don't hear any difference in videos like these. does anybody else hear more high-end presence or clarity or is it just in my head (you know just checking)?
Yes definitely if using earbuds or headphones on a mobile. They're brighter and more crisp. I also was watching some videos on the Mojo Tone pickguard recently and they seemed a bit overwhelming in several videos. But as someone suggested above, you can lower the pups so it isn't as extreme. I have a more difficult search and that is a prewired HSS Strat configuration I want to stay with but upgrade seems it's old and needs new electronics
Something to consider, whenever I get into a complicated project just grab the phone and start taking photos before taking anything apart. If it is a really in depth deal I will snap pics as the teardown progresses. I have torn apart the diesel engine in my semi truck right to the block and pics are invaluable, manuals and diagrams are great but photos are a lifesaver. Retired now and back to my guitars on a more steady basis and watch your channel. Thank you for your hard work on these videos, just keep on trying stuff on your own if it doesn't work out you can take it to someone later but it usually works out doing it yourself. Oh by the way, there are many wiring diagrams on the net for 50s and 60s style wiring if you want to change it up , just a thought. Thanks JJ
A very easy way to wire in new pickups assuming same number of wires and same functionality from the pickup is to simply cut the pickup wires about 4 inches from the old and new; swap the pickup; and re-attach the wires (black to black, color to color) by soldering the wires together and cover with heat shrink (Lowe's) or simple electrical tape. This is simpler and does not require and control panel wiring or knowledge.
Those Lollar Blondes sound rather bright compared to the ones that came out. I have the Lollar Blackface set in my 2008 standard Strat which are a tad fuller sounding (to me), but that's what I was looking for in my case. Long as you like what you got, that's all that matters. It's all good!
@@Bairov I have Bare knuckle 63' slab boards in my strat now lol. I'm at the end of the road, done. No more changes. Hope all is well with your hook up whatever you have.
@Big G Nice! Wanted those at one point, but a friend has a set, and they are lower output than his 64's. If the 64's are too much its blondes, then maybe the veneer board set.
I not only swapped the gen 3 Noiseless pickups to Lollar Dirty Blackface in one of my Deluxe Strats, I swapped the pots too and got rid of that S1 switch. The sound was night and day better with the Lollars.
You would think that by now Fender would have worked out how to build a neat wiring harness, but no it's the same old spaghetti'o and a manky piece of masking tape to bundle the cables. All the pickup makers and other 'experts' are always going on about how the old magnets were different and about degaussing to get the magic 50 years old tone. In the early days of Fender all three Strat pickups were as identical as they could be coming out of the pickup production line and Mr Fender was looking for the strongest magnets he could get, which in those days were Alnico 5. So to get close to the old tone you might choose a pickup set with Alnico 5 magnets (for a brief period they did use Alnico 3 because you couldn't get anything else due to restriction on cobalt) and three lowish wind identical pickups. However, recently even Fender has been experimenting with different magnet alloys - with great success. I have become convinced that low strength magnets are the answer, providing they are combined with a coil that suites them. I fitted a set of Fender Yosemite pickups to a Player Strat - they sound phenomenal. I also fitted a Wudtone steel inertia block and a set of Highwood saddles.
I am actually curious, would it be more beneficial to modify an old guitar to sound new and fresh, or just all around buy a new guitar? It sounds awesome I'd say, which is why I pose the question.
The guitar body matters most when it comes to how it feels to play. Is it sitting right with your body? And very importantly, how does the neck feel? When it comes to the sound the electronics will be by far the most important. In this case, changing the pickups and perhaps other electronics will be enough.
Most people do it cause if you already like the feel of the guitar why try and find something totally new when you can have something your already comfortable with, that has a new sound
Paul, I hope you know how much you inspire some of us. Today, i didnt even want to play, but after watching three of your videos, im picking up my music man axis and getting down with some tunes. Sincerely, thank you for all you do for your channel and guitar nuts everywhere. Much love from Tennessee!
I hate doing stuff like this. I think I have enough technical knowledge to do it, but I am so nervous about wrecking something, I find my hands start shaking. Good job!
Noiseless are always more vintage sounding and "dull". Lowering the Lollars will quiet down the raspyness, but still be in their character. I couldn't get along with any noiseless pickups in the past. Jason Lollars are my favorite voicing choice BTW... Thx!
definitely wasn't as drastic as a difference as I would expect but like you said going in the right direction for sure. Maybe it has to do with the processing you're using? as far as the chip lacquer KEEP IT! you earned it on tour! it's character, just sand it down with some 320 400/600/800/0000steel wool or wet sand and compound etc. to as shiny as you like.
One thing I have found that works for me is slanting the pickups so it is higher on the smaller strings and lower on the bigger strings. When the pickup is flat the larger strings effect the magnetic field more than the smaller strings. Because of this the larger strings will be much louder than the smaller strings. Putting a slight slope in the pickup height will compensate for this to varying degrees depending on the angle. (A while ago I bought weird string gauges that Jimi Hendrix used and to my surprise this made a difference. But I didnt like the feel of them. So I got normal 9 guage strings and sloped the pickups a little and then played with the individual screw heights to better match the curve of the bridge and neck and got the same sound as weird string gauges. Later I fine tuned these adjustments to my personal taste as to what I think sounds the best which is subjective surely. I definitely think hendrix stumbled on to something with the string gauges but I don't want to buy buy three sets of strings and play mix and match. Or buy special strings only available on line. I do however want the small strings to be brighter and louder and i dont want the larger strings to over drive my clean channel. When I play chords across all six strings I don't want to have the three larger strings drown out the three smaller strings. If I play a lead high up on the neck I want them to distort and sustain well and so the pickup should be closer to the small strings and further from the large strings to balance this out. How much? That is all up to you. 9 gauge strings run .009 to 0.42. Hendrix used .010 -0.38 with some larger and smaller sizes in-between. This gave his guitar a signature sound. I am suggesting playing with your pickups this way can give you the same sound or your own signature sound.
I felt the same way about my American Deluxe strat. I recently swapped the whole pickguard for one with a $25 set of Guitar Madness pickups and that guitar totally came alive in every way. Similar to you, it was my first strat and I was a little skeptical about going without some kind of hum cancellation, but the whole 60 cycle thing is a bit overblown. It’s definitely there, but it’s also not prohibitive. I can’t imagine how a set of Lollars would have changed things 😱.
And I thought swapping my laptop hard drive was intimidating. It's like he's diffusing a bomb. 🤯
Try completely replacing all of the wiring on the whole guitar. That’s my task tomorrow 😰
@@franticfrancis9710 Hope it went well 😅
@@franticfrancis9710 depends on the guitar. Strat’s are easy.
I wonder why they can’t advance this technology so it’s not this difficult
Lol
The old ones really weren't that bad, imo. I liked the natural fuzz they had, but I enjoy that type of tone.
Same here! It sounded like a strat to me, a good one. Anyways!
Over the years I've learned I prefer my pickups as low as I can set them. Drop them to the pickguard if necessary. When they start to sound too thin, raise them back up just a bit... this allows the notes to bloom with a more vintage clarity that's impossible to achieve when they're set high. Use the amp to get your volume back. - I think I learned that from Dan Petlanski IIRC....but it was truly a "light bulb" moment for me.
So true, have a lone star strat that has very strong magnets in the pickups. Literally had to take the pickups down to the pickguard before the mags didn't effect the sound.
Well you really made my day bro, now the sound its just bright and perfect just like I ever wished! Cheers!
Can you explained a little better? :(
Going that low is crazy talk. I'm going to try it out.
@@ronnysuarez3257 Just seting the pickups low to the pickguard (far from the strings) and in my case sound gets bright, and if u set pickups high, sound gets more fuzzier and muddier (not that shining bright). :)
I would recommend one thing if you solder something again: Always add some fresh solder to the joints, to avoid cold connections. Fresh solder contains "flux" (colophony/rosin) which makes the solder flow better. Second: Heat your connections more. Good connections have both parts heated up a bit. So just stay there for 2-3 seconds and then remove heat.
But nevertheless: Great work!
Schinken1 wanted to say excactly the same... just finished soldering 30 patchcables for my pedalboard, and within the first 5 plugs I learned a LOT to my soldering skills haha
AMEN! Those connections will one day become loose and maybe cause a short. Not good.
I'd probably say to get some solder braid/wick to remove old solder if one is reusing soldered components. More solder on top of solder may or may not make good long term connections and I'd rather not take the chance. Plus, it'll be neater!
Or just get a guitar tech to go it. They have the tools and will do a better job than most.
@@planespeaking Are you the type of person that calls an electrician to change your lightbulbs?
Got to be honest, I don't hear a ton of difference between the two. But that can have a lot to do with the recording, and the computer and headphones delivering the sound.
Personally, I hear a noticeable difference, but I suspect the real difference can only be heard and felt if you're actually in the room with the guitar. Guitar tones lives and dies in nuances and details, and those rarely come across through videos on UA-cam, unless the recording is top notch and you're listening through studio-quality headsets/speakers.
The difference is not huge but unmistakable at the same time. It's clearly flat before, and comes alive after. Brings up the twang as well.
Watched the Video on my Sony Smartphone with shure in Ears in High quality and I was able to really hear a difference, the old ones sounded more muffled whereas the New ones sounded more brighter and clear
I think it's how you wrote, you may don't hear it in the recording. But even if you hear it while playing, it can affect your playing in a positive way. I don't know it's hard to describe
@@mescaliiiiine That's exactly what I noticed. It was a bit flat, kind of transitor-ish before. The new pickups made it way brighter and twangy. Big improvement, IMO. I'm having a similar problem with my guitar and I'm inclined to change out the pickups on it now.
yes, the new ones sound better. But it seems there's more energy / excitement in your playing after the switch too. Spirit impacts tone! Worthy project.
Tone also inspires
yeah i agree hes more excited about it so the performance changes. sorry, ur comment was three years ago. I keep doing that. responding to old comments
When you’re excited about an upgrade or change you play better because you’re having fun
That lollar neck pickup sound is almost all the guitar sound I could ever need, really does sound lovely.
What I have found when swapping pickups and soldering wires to tiny components is that it's easier and cleaner to cut and strip the old wires instead of trying to solder to the tiny junctions. As long as there is still wire on the old pickups, you can reuse them. By doing it this way, you avoid grounding issues. Like when your solder bleeds over and touches another junction point.
Next Strat upgrade: I don’t normally go for relic guitars because those battle scars weren’t earned. In this case though, I’d peel off the chipped portion, and sand the edges between pain and wood, and live with a guitar you’ve owned for so long. (Edited to correct spelling)
Interesting! I actually really loved the way the old ones sounded, but then heard the new ones and I'm blown away because I didn't think it'd be THAT much better. Definitely an improvement. Lollar doesn't disappoint in my experience
5:12 - "There will probably be guys in the comments saying that I do everything wrong. ... Probably. Gotta learn it. Gotta do it."
I've seen too many people who seem only capable of replying "hire a professional" when you ask how to do something, as if "professionals" are somehow different beings than the rest of us. I still remember a quote from the movie The Edge that I watched when I was a kid: "What one man can do, another can do."
If someone else learned it, you can learn it too. It might be harder for you, or take more time for you to learn it, but you can learn it.
Deserves top comment
I fully agree! I've started getting into doing my own truss rod adjustments and other maintenance. There's definitely a learning curve and it probably won't be perfect on try 1 2 3 or 4 but anything can be learned with a help of UA-cam and some trial and error!
Definitely agree on this. However, it takes a learning curve to do something well enough, and you don't want your learning mistakes to be made in your prized instrument... that's why I always suggest, get a chance to try and practice what you intend to do on a friend's guitar first!
It might be inspiring but it's actually far from truth. Take for example this voice actor: ua-cam.com/video/6N5l0sgPP5k/v-deo.html . You just can't make your voice that deep if you are not born with it, no matter how much practice you put into it.
@@olehsmirnov2472 That's certainly true in some cases, but it's true in far fewer cases than some people make it out to be.
The old ones sounded a bit muffled and compressed.
As an electronics engineer super fun to watch. Compliments for the can do mentality! Great job 👍🏻
(Yes there are things but why be nitpicky about it?)
Hey since you're an engineer can you help me with a guitar wiring/switch question?
@@rodwilliams68 that really depends on what. Lol
@@p_mouse8676 I have a cabronita style tele. I want to use a 3 position rotart style selector instead of the toggle switch that it came with but I'm not exactly sure which rotary switch to buy.
Evil Earl you need a three position and 2 pole rotary switch, you can get a switch with more poles but some with be unused, and switch with more than 3 positions will also work, but you will have extra positions(some switches let you lock out the extra positions)
@@pranavkamath4329 I just ordered one. Thank you.
Paul, you're a great guitarist and a novice electronics guy. I'm a great electronics guy (so I'm told :) ) and a novice guitarist... who takes lessons from you! Allow me to return the favor and eliminate the 'string buzz', as it were, from your playing of my instrument... the soldering iron. You'll need a wet sponge, a spool of no-clean rosin core solder, some solder wick, and a decent soldering iron (the one you have will do). Others have mentioned flux here in the comments, that's in the aforementioned solder & is the rosin. Flux cleans oxides off the metals being soldered and 'no-clean' means leaving the flux won't corrode the metals if left on once soldered. 'Tin the iron', this means wipe the tip on the wet sponge (with a twist to clean it all the way around) apply some solder to the tip, and if clean, it should melt quickly & flow evenly around the tip. If not, repeat the wipe/apply. Being careful with the 450-550F drop of molten solder, tap or shake off the excess (don't leave a glob on the tip is the point here). Apply heat with the tip to the joint (heat rises, so under or on the side of the joint is best) and apply a little solder to the opposite side of the joint. The solder will flow toward the heat of the iron. Add only enough solder to fill the gaps of the joint, don't make globs. Cleanliness is key. With a decent iron, good solder and a little practice a solder joint should only take 5-8 seconds. Look for shiny solder throughout the joint, if dull, it's dirty or wasn't made hot enough and will fail eventually. If, like in your case, there is old solder on the joints, use the wick (it's a copper braid impregnated with flux). Push the braid against the joint with the tip of the iron to 'sop' up the old or excess solder. And as you always seem to tell me... "Good Luck!" :) Oh, you ever like to ask about anything electronics wise, shoot me a line.
Wow!! I learned a lot here. Thanks
Excellent explanation! Have you ever thought of making a UA-cam video on the topic?
That's some UA-cam content right there 👍
@@Grant_Ferstat I should! Perhaps title it 'Soldering for noobs'... :)LOL(:
Ok, I'm listening on my phone whilst researching some replacement pickups and, truthfully, they sound the same to me. You've a great channel and I appreciate you sharing your skills and knowledge.
You need to listen through headphones, it may be subtle to some but I've been playing fenders for long enough to really tell that there's a Huge difference in the clarity. The old pickups sound dull and spongey whereas the new ones you can hear the sprinkley brightness
I love how the diagram is so simple but then when you open it up it's just a mess of cables
Damn I’ve swapped out so many pickups in my strats!! It took so many years to find the sound in my head. The noiseless stuff is a nightmare. I no longer use em’!
Basically I’m using a combination of ceramic bar and alnico V. And I lower the height way lower than Fender specs. Almost every pickup I’ve tried sounds better lower than spec height!
Came here to mention pickup height. Glad someone already did. It's something I still struggle with on my Les Paul... I get to a point of "happy enough" but have ear fatigue too early to be productive after that.
What's ur opinion on the Fender Am Special Texas pickups? I tried one a couple of weeks ago & it's in a clearance sale, after trying loadsa Fender strats that day - that's the one that totally got me. I'm really, really trying NOT to buy it! Hahahaha...
jackillin I think they missed the mark a little. I actually like the Tex-mex pickups better ...and they are cheaper. BUT if I found a set ofTexas Specials on clearance I would definitely pick em up
Paul Speed oh the joys of chasing tone! Lol!
@@PaulSpeed42 follow these directions and try these pickup height settings and let me know if they work for you. instagram.com/p/BvInggQHsbN/?igshid=1y22jykjnenb6
The old pickups sound like the Lollars if you were using a 50 foot cable and capacitance was robbing your tone.
... or just slightly older strings.
To me it sounded like he had a noisegate squashing the tone
When rewiring a guitar, especially when you get into sophisticated wiring like the S-1, I like to use an ohmmeter to check the resistance of the pickups in the various switch positions. It's not 100% conclusive but can give you a decent idea if things are as they should be. It's a little easier than semi reassembling the guitar. If you haven't done it before it's probably not as informative but it can still be useful.
Props for getting into it without being sure of what you are doing.
It's sounds like you could have fixed the original pickups with some brighter pots (changing 250k to 500k or 350k etc.)
Higher value pots will let more of the true pickup sound to come thru.
But well done. I hope you will now pickup this guitar more often. 👍
Interesting point, but with these pickups, I doubt it. They are terrible if you’re looking for Strat tones. I have them in mine and just like Paul, I loved the guitar years ago when I bought it. It’s simply a beautiful Strat and built great, but those pickups were a mistake. Lol
0:28
Hahah
Lmao
Wow, what timing! I have a 2018 Fender elite strat with the 4th generation noiseless pickups. And I recently bought the same lollar pickups you have, but also the Emerson Custom 5-way Blender Prewired Kit. I will install them soon. Thanks for the video!
UPDATE: yeah, much better sound - no muddiness, strings and notes ring out clearly and separately. Great tones, and very responsive to changes in picking technique. The blender feature is great too. I play on the neck pick up mostly and blend in the bridge pickup to nearly 40-50 percent for that extra glassy tone.
Crazy dutch guitarist uses inches instead of the metric system😂❤️
I remember watching this video when it came out and I couldn’t hear a difference, glad to say I really do hear a big difference now. It absolutely does that ‘strat thing’ with the new pickups
Yes they definitely sound better and they "breath" more, however, I was also expecting a larger difference. You should put a nitro finish on it in a color you don't already have! Personally, white strats have always been my favorite
White with a brown tortoise pickguard would look awesome
*breathe
EelkeC ah yes ofc course. My bad
Prefer the old ones. I think they're mellower. Just got one of these actually, and I absolutely love it just the way it is!
I just put a set of Lollar Special Blondes in my American Series Strat, put 10's on instead of 9's, tuned down to E-flat and now I now can't put the guitar down. Truly transformed!
For those who might be interested, Free-Way makes a 10-way 5-position switch that provides the following additional capabilities:
1. N_M in series
2. B + N in parallel
3. B + N in series
4. all 3 in parallel
5. N + M in series
I have this switch in my G&L ASAT Classic S and it's much better than the standard "expander" switch. The "series" positions, while not pure humbucker, sound really good and provide a slight volume boost - perfect for soloing.
6:00 you can test the pickups by tapping anything metallic (e.g. screwdriver) against the pickup :)
It has to be iron. stainless or not, copper and aluminum won't do.
Wanted to say exactly this!
But I don't recommend hitting the pole piece with a magnetic screwdriver. I don't think there will be any effect unless it is a very high magnetic force, but it it's not mentally good.
or even a plectrum 😊
@@hankcohen3419it works with basically anything, even a finger
taking off the poly will be a chore and fairly expensive if you have someone else do it, but from what I've read and heard it will make a massive difference in the guitar. Great Video Paul as always. Great job on your 1st pickup swap.
Just wanted to say thanks for another great video, really appreciate what you do. Don’t get discourage, keep making content you like and we’ll keep watching.
Single coils will always have that extra bite and sparkle, but I will say I'm impressed at how close the stacked pickups get. Handy for noisy environments. They both have their place.
I was interested in this video as I have a 2011 Deluxe and don't love it. I was expecting more of a difference, but can hear the Lollars are more sparkly or brighter. Your playing is so good that nothing ever sounds bad though (unlike me). I think if I was going to change pickups I would just get a fully loaded pickguard and swap the whole thing over.
Jason sprinkles some magic dust into his pickups. The difference isn't huge but totally worth it. My fav pickups. I'd replace the pots etc too. As they will affect the sound too.
Sounds good! I just put a set of Fender Yosemite pickups in my MIM Strat, and now it sounds like a late 50s beast!
You chucked out the long suffering originals, who'd given you the best years of their lives, and replaced them with 3 fresh and dirty blondes. Got to hand it to you dude, you're living the rock and roll dream.
I just put lollars in my jazzmaster. Got a gold foil and a p90. Lollars are the bomb! Good choice!
Ooh I bet that sounds incredible
Their gold foil is crazy expensive but I've always wanted to try it. How do you like it?
So, just some general advice for anyone looking to up upgrade their pickups. A lot of small pickup makers will tell you what pots, caps and resistors they recommend to use with their products. Lollar doesn't include this info but, they will help you out if you ask! Whenever a builder is making a new pickup, they limit the variables as they try out different combinations. In other words, they keep all the other components the same. So, if you think about it, each custom pickup model is built to sound good with a particular combination of other components (pots, caps, resistors...) If you are disappointed with your new drop in set and you haven't changed the other components, do so before you decide the pickups aren't any good.
Man, got to give you credits to getting the soldering the pickups to the pots perfectly, really appreciate the job 👍
How 'bout making a relic style finish. Your Strat has already started with it for you :D
Definitely a personal preference thing, but I preferred the warmer tones of the old pickups to the brighter tones on the new ones. But only one person's opinion on that really matters, and what's important is that it was a successful swap and that you're pleased with the results.
Changing those saddles would also make a lot of difference. I've had a couple of guitars with those bridges & saddles I really feel they inhibit the guitars a bit. I swapped the saddles for more vintage style replacements.
I purchased a used MIM Fender 50's reissue Strat for $400 with hardcase. The neck pick up was not quite flat so I took off the pick guard to see what was up and discovered that someone had replaced the pickups with Lollar Blondes! Love 'em.
Congrats Paul and welcome to the dark side of gear modders!! You are one of us now. It starts innocently enough with pickup swaps, a new bridge, tuners etc.... then one dark day you look in the back of your tube amp and get mesmerized by those glowing glass bottles. Uh oh....the hard stuff they warn u about that can literally kill u. Hey have fun Paul, been modding for 35 years, started with with my first strat (which i butchered the frets on back in 85) now i can basically mod or repair all my gear but it took time. You did a fine job for your first swap, its just part of the long fun road of being a guitarist. Love your channel and your style.
As a luthier, i recommend you to pick some new pots and capacitor like Emerson custom. That is definitely needy if you want a more open sound.
Great suggestion!
I just finished building a guitar (sg) myself. I first tried spraying paint, but wasnt quite happy with how the paint job turned out. After some searching on the web i came across the "stunning stains" paints/oils from Crimson guitars witch worked really well for me! Maybe someting for you to check out when you dicide to refinish?
9:16 floating spider?? Besides that, lollar blondes are amazing. Have them in my nash s63 strat. Also have a strat with the blackface pickups which are also great. The blondes would be my say all end all though.
6:58 I think that’s the moost excited i’ve ever see you in a video Paul Davids...!
John Mayer would love the sound of the older custom pickups
The new ones are a lot brighter, i do like the dirtier sound on the old ones, but everything pops more and has a better resonance with the new pickups!
If I am not mistaken, the SCN pickups are actually stacked humbucker pickups. This means that they will sound like a humbucker unless you do something to make them brighter. If they are like my Nashville Tele, Fender installs 1meg pots for the volume and the tone to bring back the brightness of the pickups. Putting single coil Lollars should also be matched with some 250K pots for the volume and the tone to soften the new pickups. Fender's choice for single coil pickups are 250k pots.
Just a quick tip. If you would don't have the strings on during a pickup change. Just use the tip of a screwdriver against the pole pieces of the pickup. Should give a "clank" sound and you know you're good to go.
Also doesn't look as awkward as Paul did :D
Woops at 9:02 I think it should say 'New' pickups, I loved the little project though!
Ah, yes! The last one is mislabeled by accident. but I think it's pretty clear due to the 2 angles right?! :) Cheers!
Great vid.... those p/ups that were replaced were pretty ‘high end’ anyway and it was still a noticeable difference in a really good way... I have to get these in my strat!.
A huge upgrade lovely tone from the new pickups
Paul - huge difference - vast improvement - well worth it
When you change the finish: it may look really cool with the natural wood with some clear code on it but a darker sunburst woul look great too.. u shoul ask the community
Julian Murr agreed. I’m a big fan of natural finish.
00:26
We see what you did there Paul!
I hope that it can recover from that. :(
That took me a second. I didn't catch it until I saw this, then looked twice & went ahhhh, now I see it. He got the Fender-19 :D
I don't get it haha what do you guys see?
@@nickhalewijn5668 on the guitar it says ''Corona California ''
@@nickhalewijn5668 "Corona" California was on the name plate. A subtle reference to the Novel Coronavirus, which is in the news.
@@sparky6086 Damn... should have picked that up , thanks tho!
great job - I love when people jump head first into tasks they aren't that comfortable with and seeing everything work out just fine. It helps me to get over that initial barrier of doing it myself. Have a set of Tele pickups I'd like to install but have been putting it off for quite a while out of fear of the soldering iron ;). As for the refinish - that strat has my least favourite colour and the pickguard doesn't do it for me either. It would look great in black nitro with a mint green guard - you may need to change the dots too though as they look like they were chosen to match the existing pickguard.
I bought a LH Japanese 50s reissue back in 96 and the first thing I did was start shopping for pickups. I settled on a tapped Duncan Quarter Pound for the bridge, and a Vintage Stack for the neck. I later added a Quarter Pound RWRP Strat pickup as a centre option, then tossed the blade switch and incorporated mini toggles and pan pots to get the damn thing to do almost anything I want it to. New pickups make all the difference in the world. Hot fun.
1:00
Yikes! I wish I could make my Strat sound that good ... and it's not my pickups either 😆😆
Paul I'd let that finish rat out. Thinking of Rory Gallagher's and SRV's Strat's, the Peter Green / Gary Moore Les Paul, Roy Buchanan's Tele to mention just a few. We love 'em just as they are and all the miles, bars, shows, joys and tears that made them that way.
Any one of us here would see that Strat of yours and recognize it immediately "Hey that's Paul David's Lollar swap Strat!"
Riverdeepnwide A ploy finish is never going to look like that.
Neil, true poly dies age differently than nitro. It will however age just as itself and for me that's good enough to tell it's story. For sure there are times too when a refinish becomes part of a guitars life. I love 'em all.
Huge improvement. The old pickups sound bland, muzzled, sterile and plastic,
The Lollars sound as true vintage strat pickups sound. More sparkly, glassy.
The guitar sounds so clean now.Good job man!!!!
Fender single coils with bullet nose pole pieces always impress - flat noses don't - as for tones... here's an Aria Custom tip - pick 3 fave humbuckers that can be split - hot rails, stacked coils, Gibson or Fender wide range - add 3 mini toggles or buttons for coil tap and then into the 5 way - Presto - 14 Tones from SSS to HHH and every combo - yes every setting is different - - and it helps if your bridge pickup is angled so you don't lose the Fender twang + quack
- pos'n 2 + 4 now gives 4 tones each = S+S combo plus S+H, H+S, H+H
- pos'n 1,2+3 now gives 6 tones as S or H
- S+H is obv diff than H+S combos
- not so obvious with 3 Duncan Designed Hot Rails but quite the Revelation with good pickups
- this gives you everything -Strat + Tele tones and more
...an angled bridge humbucker is the elusive Rock Strat tone
Paul Davids is perhaps the coolest musician on UA-cam!
(btw please don't shout at me! So is Adam Neely)
Jay Suryavanshi couldn’t agree more
Nah mate, Davie504
yes bro
@@mileseyre1636 nope
The new pick ups sound more strat to me! The old ones still sounds fine, but compared, they sound a bit muffled
I feel like I am the complete opposite. I look at a guitar and almost always think "What can I change or improve? How can I make this more my own." But almost all of my guitars more on the budget side (sub $800 US new). I just love the process of modding and changing things. Even if I end up changing it back to the way it was in a few months or years. It is all part of the hobby to me. I even chiseled out the neck pickup cavity on my MIM strat to fit a humbucker. I since put back in single coils. It is just how it goes.
Maybe it was just UA-cam compression, but I didn't hear much of a difference, except on the bridge. And I liked the SCN a little better. So what I am saying is... if you don't know what to do with those pickups...
For the first time it's a great pickup changing
I like the Old pickups better !
3:51 there is so much that can go wrong in this picture.
Actually, not really.
Alright your rte, there is oooone thing that can go terribly wrong in the this picture. The soldering iron is not secure.
@@PaulDavids
Paul, after soldering the pickups, did the switch on the volume knob stop working on your guitar? When you press it, the gain of the pickups is turned on. This is a feature Deluxe schemes.
Next step is to replace the saddles and trem block with Callaham. Probably the biggest bang for buck sound difference I made on my '96 American Standard strat. Do it, you won't regret it.
Dirty blonde is a killer setup, although dirty blackface is nice as well...more mid's.
Paul, I really liked seeing a very good musician doing some good electronic stuff! I'm an electronic engineer (dedicated to do Embedded Software profesionally), I love playing guitar but I'm not as good as I would like. I like to do DIY stuff for a lot of things... Some years ago I completely disarmed my electric guitar (Ibanez cheap model) just because I did not liked the color (jewel blue) nor the figure (RG model) so I took the body, removed original paint, did some cuts here and there and rounded a little bit more all the edge front and back sides(so to look more like the SG models). Then I took the body for rapainting (the only thing I did not do by myself). It was more than 5 years later when I finally reassembled the guitar again, yes more than 5 years, almost all the steps were done separated by a lot of months. My daughter and son were borned in the middle so I had less time.
I did some notes before disconnecting all the electronics so those helped me to reconnect again. Just wanted to share as your video remind me to that process. The moment when you plug the guitar again and discover that you connect it correctly is magical.
Remove those fancy potentiometers! Go full vintage, simple wiring and old fender style schematics. No capacitors for noise bleed either. Just let this thing rough as it can be. As for the painting, just superglue that stuff. Never try to hide the damages of years.
Lollar’s pickups changes every guitar! To better
My American deluxe is in the shop right now getting its pickups upgraded from SCN to Lambertones so this video is right on point.
I had an opportunity to play a Nash S-63 over the weekend,. and was blown away with how glassy and toneful the Lollar pickups were ( primary guitar includes a Suhr, and an early EJ Strat). So now I'm down the rabbit hole looking into Lollar pickups to replace my Texas Specials in my '62 RI Strat. Maybe how its recorded, but I didn't hear a huge difference. The big difference was your impression- you're impressed with them, and now you've breathed new life into and old friend.
Noiseless pickups are more compressed and restrictive of attack and dynamics as well as having less of the punch, spank, and sparkle that a really good vintage sounding single coil has. The Lollars are a big improvement.
to me it sounds like the new Lollar pickups have more high end (it sounds better), i usually don't hear any difference in videos like these. does anybody else hear more high-end presence or clarity or is it just in my head (you know just checking)?
Yes definitely if using earbuds or headphones on a mobile. They're brighter and more crisp. I also was watching some videos on the Mojo Tone pickguard recently and they seemed a bit overwhelming in several videos. But as someone suggested above, you can lower the pups so it isn't as extreme. I have a more difficult search and that is a prewired HSS Strat configuration I want to stay with but upgrade seems it's old and needs new electronics
Something to consider, whenever I get into a complicated project just grab the phone and start taking photos before taking anything apart. If it is a really in depth deal I will snap pics as the teardown progresses. I have torn apart the diesel engine in my semi truck right to the block and pics are invaluable, manuals and diagrams are great but photos are a lifesaver. Retired now and back to my guitars on a more steady basis and watch your channel. Thank you for your hard work on these videos, just keep on trying stuff on your own if it doesn't work out you can take it to someone later but it usually works out doing it yourself. Oh by the way, there are many wiring diagrams on the net for 50s and 60s style wiring if you want to change it up , just a thought.
Thanks JJ
A very easy way to wire in new pickups assuming same number of wires and same functionality from the pickup is to simply cut the pickup wires about 4 inches from the old and new; swap the pickup; and re-attach the wires (black to black, color to color) by soldering the wires together and cover with heat shrink (Lowe's) or simple electrical tape. This is simpler and does not require and control panel wiring or knowledge.
Those Lollar Blondes sound rather bright compared to the ones that came out. I have the Lollar Blackface set in my 2008 standard Strat which are a tad fuller sounding (to me), but that's what I was looking for in my case. Long as you like what you got, that's all that matters. It's all good!
I just ordered that set as well! I'm still torn between sets. If these don't work, I'm going to trade for some blondes
@@Bairov I have Bare knuckle 63' slab boards in my strat now lol. I'm at the end of the road, done. No more changes. Hope all is well with your hook up whatever you have.
@Big G Nice! Wanted those at one point, but a friend has a set, and they are lower output than his 64's. If the 64's are too much its blondes, then maybe the veneer board set.
@Big G What is the biggest difference between the Veneer set and the 64's that you find? My strat is alder btw
@@bigg4454 ooh and those Mark Foley 59'S look really nice too!
The first thing I'm gonna do now is to change the cheap pickups on my guitar.
I not only swapped the gen 3 Noiseless pickups to Lollar Dirty Blackface in one of my Deluxe Strats, I swapped the pots too and got rid of that S1 switch. The sound was night and day better with the Lollars.
You would think that by now Fender would have worked out how to build a neat wiring harness, but no it's the same old spaghetti'o and a manky piece of masking tape to bundle the cables.
All the pickup makers and other 'experts' are always going on about how the old magnets were different and about degaussing to get the magic 50 years old tone. In the early days of Fender all three Strat pickups were as identical as they could be coming out of the pickup production line and Mr Fender was looking for the strongest magnets he could get, which in those days were Alnico 5. So to get close to the old tone you might choose a pickup set with Alnico 5 magnets (for a brief period they did use Alnico 3 because you couldn't get anything else due to restriction on cobalt) and three lowish wind identical pickups. However, recently even Fender has been experimenting with different magnet alloys - with great success. I have become convinced that low strength magnets are the answer, providing they are combined with a coil that suites them. I fitted a set of Fender Yosemite pickups to a Player Strat - they sound phenomenal.
I also fitted a Wudtone steel inertia block and a set of Highwood saddles.
I am actually curious, would it be more beneficial to modify an old guitar to sound new and fresh, or just all around buy a new guitar? It sounds awesome I'd say, which is why I pose the question.
Unless the guitar neck is warped to bits, then theres no point in buying new
@@fernank017 Ahh I see
The guitar body matters most when it comes to how it feels to play.
Is it sitting right with your body?
And very importantly, how does the neck feel?
When it comes to the sound the electronics will be by far the most important. In this case, changing the pickups and perhaps other electronics will be enough.
Most people do it cause if you already like the feel of the guitar why try and find something totally new when you can have something your already comfortable with, that has a new sound
I like buying my guitar because i can make them old and beat up 😋
Paul, I hope you know how much you inspire some of us. Today, i didnt even want to play, but after watching three of your videos, im picking up my music man axis and getting down with some tunes.
Sincerely, thank you for all you do for your channel and guitar nuts everywhere.
Much love from Tennessee!
I put the Lollar dirty blondes in one of my strats as well. Lollar makes great pickups.
I hate doing stuff like this. I think I have enough technical knowledge to do it, but I am so nervous about wrecking something, I find my hands start shaking. Good job!
😂the same guy.
next project for the guitar: DIY Relic!
I bought my first electric guitar today boiz!!! No more acoustic shit!!!!
Smexy_RatBoi sweet
Noiseless are always more vintage sounding and "dull". Lowering the Lollars will quiet down the raspyness, but still be in their character. I couldn't get along with any noiseless pickups in the past. Jason Lollars are my favorite voicing choice BTW... Thx!
You are now officially a heart surgeon.
It would be cool to give it a psychedelic paint job
definitely wasn't as drastic as a difference as I would expect but like you said going in the right direction for sure. Maybe it has to do with the processing you're using?
as far as the chip lacquer KEEP IT! you earned it on tour! it's character, just sand it down with some 320 400/600/800/0000steel wool or wet sand and compound etc. to as shiny as you like.
One thing I have found that works for me is slanting the pickups so it is higher on the smaller strings and lower on the bigger strings. When the pickup is flat the larger strings effect the magnetic field more than the smaller strings. Because of this the larger strings will be much louder than the smaller strings. Putting a slight slope in the pickup height will compensate for this to varying degrees depending on the angle. (A while ago I bought weird string gauges that Jimi Hendrix used and to my surprise this made a difference. But I didnt like the feel of them. So I got normal 9 guage strings and sloped the pickups a little and then played with the individual screw heights to better match the curve of the bridge and neck and got the same sound as weird string gauges. Later I fine tuned these adjustments to my personal taste as to what I think sounds the best which is subjective surely. I definitely think hendrix stumbled on to something with the string gauges but I don't want to buy buy three sets of strings and play mix and match. Or buy special strings only available on line. I do however want the small strings to be brighter and louder and i dont want the larger strings to over drive my clean channel. When I play chords across all six strings I don't want to have the three larger strings drown out the three smaller strings. If I play a lead high up on the neck I want them to distort and sustain well and so the pickup should be closer to the small strings and further from the large strings to balance this out. How much? That is all up to you. 9 gauge strings run .009 to 0.42. Hendrix used .010 -0.38 with some larger and smaller sizes in-between. This gave his guitar a signature sound. I am suggesting playing with your pickups this way can give you the same sound or your own signature sound.
Nice job Paul, the new Lollars sound great. Strip the baby and go all natural Beatles style!
when are we getting a sequel???
9:15 bug spotted behind your ear
Nice presence on the lollar man
I felt the same way about my American Deluxe strat. I recently swapped the whole pickguard for one with a $25 set of Guitar Madness pickups and that guitar totally came alive in every way. Similar to you, it was my first strat and I was a little skeptical about going without some kind of hum cancellation, but the whole 60 cycle thing is a bit overblown. It’s definitely there, but it’s also not prohibitive. I can’t imagine how a set of Lollars would have changed things 😱.