LOLLAR PICKUPS - Telecaster Pickup Comparison
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- Опубліковано 4 лип 2024
- TIMESTAMPS BELOW
In this video, we compare and contrast our four most popular Telecaster pickup sets: the Special T, Vintage T, '52 T, and Alnico 3. We installed these pickups into a Nash Guitars T63. Each set is played clean -- without effects or manipulation -- straight into a Fender Black Panel Vibrolux-Reverb Amp. All of the three pickup selection positions (neck; neck and bridge; bridge) are played with both fingerpicking and plectrum/pick-strummed techniques, in both rhythm and lead playing styles to showcase their tonal characteristics, relative output, frequency response, dynamic response, and overall reaction to player input.
While all of these sets deliver brilliant and instantly recognizable Telecaster tones, they each offer their own particular strengths; giving players the advantage of choosing which one fits their niche, when it comes to their own individual needs. And the individual pickups are all very complimentary to one another, allowing for mixing and matching to create customized sets to help you maximize tonal flexibility in your personal tone pursuit.
Chapter timestamps:
0:00-1:21 Introduction
SPECIAL T
1:21-1:38 Special T Description
1:38-2:00 Special T Neck
2:00-2:25 Special T Middle (neck and bridge)
2:25-2:47 Special T Bridge
VINTAGE T
2:47-3:05 Vintage T Description
3:05-3:25 Vintage T Neck
3:25-3:50 Vintage T Middle (neck and bridge)
3:50-4:14 Vintage T Bridge
'52 T
4:14-4:34 '52 T Description
4:34-4:55 '52 T Neck
4:55-5:19 '52 T Middle (neck and bridge)
5:19-5:42 '52 T Bridge
ALNICO 3
5:42-6:06 A3 Description
6:06-6:28 A3 Neck
6:28-6:51 A3 Middle (neck and bridge)
6:51-7:11 A3 Bridge
7:11-7:32 Conclusion
Man, that video actually made my decision harder! They all sound great!
Seriously. When I chose my Tele pickups last year, I spent two full weekends watching videos and reading articles and forums.
Yeah, I’m thinking alnico or special T in neck and vintage in bridge so there won’t be much volume disparity…..🤷♂️. This is a tough decision. But with a 4 way switch I might go all vintage…..🤦♂️
While adhearing closer to the ethos of this video-that is helping potential customers understand the sonic nuances between these pickup types-it would make more sense to show all neck pickups back-to-back with no talking in-between (the descriptions can be read in the caption or stated beforehand), then all the middle positions, and finally all the bridge positions. It makes more sense when comparing the sets this way because I think more people are interested in the differences between types and less-so the differences between the neck and bridge pickups.
Valid points for considering for future videos. Thanks for your feedback.
They do have the video broken into segments/chapters so you can just jump from neck to neck to neck.... that's the pickup I'm most interested in as I love the Fender Broadcaster bridge in my Tele, I just haven't found a neck pickup that I like.
I mean. they time stamped them for your lazy ass. just click back and forth between the bridge pickup time stamps for each. done
I’ve got Alnico 3s in my tele and I can’t imagine a better sounding guitar. I use it to play jazz and indie rock, and it excels at both. They’re pretty different styles, but both benefit from a clear, defined attack and that’s exactly what the A3s provide.
I love the 52 bridge in my Esquire. Something about the softer attack with the extra clarity and high end presence is really addictive to play.
Damn they all sound great. Have a classic vibe I'm looking to update soon.
Thx to this video, I now have a set of alnico 3s in my swamp ash, Warmoth Tele and couldn’t be happier! Thx again for making this very helpful video. 👊
You're welcome and thank you!
This is what I’ve been needing to make a decision for my tele build. Thank you.
Glad you found this helpful! Thanks!
Lollar pickups are fantastic, I like them all but my favorite two are the 52T and the Alnico 3.
I think I would go with the vintage T myself but all of these have their strong points. The vintage T sounds like the most versatile as stated but without sacrificing traditional Tele sound
I think an Alnico 3 set will be my next purchase
Thanks 🙏 I’ll get the alnico 3
Great video, thanks a lot! Could you make one showing a Charlie Christian / Novel CC on the neck position, and how it matches with a few other bridge pickups - say, Vintage T, Special T, and BS?
Expensive…There are lots of excellent winders.
You have a respected brand. That’s great.
Thanks
You're welcome and thank you!
all is good !!!!
I've got your 52 Bridge
You've convinced me I need the Al3 instead
Instead? Or *ALSO*? ;)
Nice straightforward comparison. Can we have the same again, with some overdrive and tele rock tones?
Honestly, we'd love to be able to do something like that, but these sorts of videos take a VERY long time from shooting the footage to editing them down. This video alone started as about 3 and a half hours of footage and audio to be cut down to a usable (and watchable) 7 and a half minutes.
We just don't have the resources at the moment to do clean and dirty comparisons right now. Plus, nine times out of ten, folks will inevitably complain that you "can't hear the true tone" when there's distortion -- which makes no sense to anyone, like yourself, that wants to play them dirty. Of course you can hear the true tone, it's just dirty. So, we totally get where you're coming from, and maybe at some point down the road we'll be able to do something like you've suggested, but it's probably not very likely any time in the immediate future.
I am hot rodding an Aria Pro II for my BiL and was thinking about going with special T in the bridge and a P90 in the neck. Would this combination be good for a heavier, swampy blues style playing?
Yes, that's a great combination for that kind of sound.
Alinco 3 is interesting. I am picking a regular sized humbucker for the neck position in my partscaster tele. What are some suggestions?
There are far too many variables involved to give you any sort of educated suggestion. but you can email our customer service team with more details regarding the exact pickup that you're looking to pair it with, the style of music you'll be playing, and any other details that might give them an insight into what you want and need from the instrument. Then, with that info, they can help you choose the best pickup for your individual situation.
I use a fender custom shop 63’ tele and It has lots of mid and low so I am looking for pickups that have not much of mid and low, certain mid and low and pickups that catch the body resonance. For the neck pickups I’m looking for transparent sound and for the bridge, powerful but not so much a bit of mid and low and good high frequency. Well, I’m looking for very well balanced pickups. Could you recommend me ones?
Well, my first suggestion is to listen to the differences between the pickups featured in this video and decide based on the sound that best fits what you're looking for in a set of pickups. Although the guitar in this video and your own guitar may not sound exactly the same, the differences in the pickups in the video will be the same in this guitar, your guitar, or any guitar really.
My second bit of advice is to consider the Vintage T set, or possibly a Vitage T n3eck with a Special T in the bridge for a bit more body and fullness from the bridge position.
What would you say the best Lollar strat set/ combination that would get me closer to the Rory Gallagher sound? Like an early 1961 Stratocaster
I would say that our Blonde set for Strats would probably be the best option. It's based on the late '50s ('57-ish) type of sound. The next closest set would be the '64, but I think that they might be a bit to thick and have more midrange than you're looking for in that early '61 type of tone.
The vintage neck/Special T bridge for me.
I love this pairing too! It's pretty popular, and for good reason. Cheers!
That's what I have in my Warmoth Tele. Hahn guitars uses that set as their standard.
Trying to figure out what pickups to use is like looking at a Mexican Restaurant Menu or Sushi menu. The distinguishments all start getting jumbled together and everything starts seeming like it has the same ingredients...
You're not wrong. In fact, in pickups, many of the ingredients ARE the same and it's just a matter of how they're prepared that sets them apart. Much like, to follow your analogy, salmon sashimi versus smoked salmon. They're the same base ingredient, but the preparation makes them completely different dishes.
Any two pickups might have the same magnets, wire, and/or basic fundamental design; but the way in which they are built, at the more finite level (turn count, magnet strength, etc.) can create a totally different "dish". Likewise, changing one ingredient, say wire gauge or magnet type, also yields different results with regard to sound and feel of the pickups.
In addition to this - and what really sets our pickups apart - the level of care and quality that goes into both the ingredients and the preparation really affects the results. Just like having a famous award-winning chef make you the same dish you might get at the restaurant down the street from your house and finding that theirs just tastes better simply because they were more particular in the choice and measurements of ingredients as well as the method in which it was prepared.
By insisting in the highest quality of materials and craftsmanship, we are able to take those finite differences of ingredients and create a broad spectrum of really good sounding pickups that, while they have a through line between many of them, remain distinct offerings on their own. We're not fooling anyone into buying one of each. But, for those looking for something particular, we have enough options to allow them to narrow it down as close as possible to the sound in their mind.
That is to say, you're absolutely right. Though it's not so cut and dry, if care is taken to maximize each offering's potential.
Minor Threat sheep tatto, cool ;)
Out of step... ;)
Best for Esquire with full-bodied sound with plenty of bloom?
If you want the fattest, fullest Esquire tones, go with our J-Street bridge pickup (not featured in this video). Or, if you want a bit more flexibility and "Tele-ness" to your tone, you could use the Special T bridge, which will give you a bit more clarity and top end, while still having enough low end to offer a big sound when needed.
Alnico 3 sounds best to my ears.
Hello, thank you for you video. It soes help a lot!! I have to check others too :) a newbiee question: ive seen lots of people mentioning they buy the Royal T for the neck (and then a bunch of other selections to the bridge as with JStreet..) and that is what im planning to buy. So question is, why is Royal T not featured here? Does it sound to one of these pups? Which one? Thank you in advance
We only featured full sets of our Tele pickups, in which we offer both neck and bridge positions in the same model. Since the Royal T and J Street are only offered in neck and bridge options (respectively), we decided not to include them, as it wasn't going to be an apples-to-apples comparison.
The Royal T doesn't sound like any of our other Tele pickups. In fact, it doesn't really sound like a Tele pickup at all. It was designed to sound like a Strat neck pickup. The idea being that lots of folks like the neck in a Strat and the bridge in a Tele, so this allows players to cover both bases with a single instrument.
As far as how it sounds, it lands somewhere between the sound of our Blonde and Sixty-Four Strat neck pickups.
@@LollarPickups You guys are amazing. I couldn't expect such a better detailed answer, now I know better. And definitely will buy some of your pups. all the best!
Glad we were able to help. Thanks for your support!
The Vintage T output seemed so much lower this the other pickups. Were they recorded at the same level as the other pups or are they just super quiet?
They are a little lower output than some of the others, both in actual inductance and perceived volume. But there may be some discrepancy in recording levels that we didn't notice as well, because the difference isn't really all that noticeable in real life. I'm glad you caught that and asked, giving us the opportunity to address it here for you and anyone else that might notice. Thanks!
Tele pickups are a trip. Start over winding em a little and they get meatier and start to lose that telecaster chime. Ideally I would go with the 52s on a tone balanced tele. But, every guitar operates at a different frequency and has different needs. If a tele is super light and bright I'll go hotter until it sounds good. One guitar at a time is how I mod em. And just hang on to the extra parts, they might come in handy later.l
This is the most sensible response to a pickup demo I've seen. Most people overlook the fact that the base tone is already in the guitar woods and hardware - pickups just accentuate it. Buy pickups based on what your guitar needs, not just what you hear in a demo or what somebody says in an internet forum.
Not sure how critical to the selection but what hacks (volume, tone, 4 way, etc.) and better tele harness would you recommend to a set of pickups or is it universal? Thanks
Every part of the chain is more or less subjective. It depends on what gear you're using, what sound you're looking to achieve, and how deep down the rabbit hole you're willing to go. The effects of each, for the most part, is universal. For example, when wide open, a higher value pot will sound brighter on every pickup than a lower value pot on the same setting. The same is pretty much true with just about every link in the signal chain.
@@LollarPickups Thanks
Great comparison. I have a 2017 mex tele with lallor vintage T,s & 4way sw, it's assume.
Would like another Tele with the A3's. I think their sound would fit my style too.
Thanks for this video. Cheers.
I almost did the Royal T neck/ Special T bridge, or the '52 neck/ Alnico 3 bridge
But I ended up going with the '52 set on my Fender Am Deluxe Tele with the Series switch button and I can't get enough of those pickups with my Blues Jr, it's freaking sweet!! Thank you Lollar
**Also any suggestions on mixing the pickups like I was considering ??
The Royal T neck/Special T bridge combo is pretty popular. And the '52 neck/A3 bridge is a good one too.
For the most part, most of our pickups can be mixed and matched with one another and offer complimentary, if not balanced, results. Some conventions are beneficial to keep in mind, such as trying to avoid putting too hot of a neck pickup with a lower output bridge, as this can cause the pair to sound a little too bass-heavy and dark in the neck position and/or too bright and thin in the bridge. But, if that's the sound someone is after, then who are we to say it's wrong...?
I had the Fender Nocasters in and those are A3 - really not a good rock set - so Royal T + Vintage Bridge - perfect. But plan to reinstall the Nocasters in something like a Fender Performer.
The Special T neck seemed a lot hotter than the Vintage T and 52 in this video. Is this actually the case?
Yes, the Special T is our hottest traditional style Tele pickup set.
Which set would you recommend for pure jazz and bebop?
By far, our most popular Tele pickups for jazz aren't actually included in this video. It's our Charlie Christian for Solidbody neck and Blade Style bridge. (Please note that the CC neck does require modifications to the body and pickguard)
Here are links to check them out.
Charlie Christian for Solidbody: www.lollarguitars.com/lollar-charlie-christian-pickups/charlie-christian-for-tele
BS Tele: www.lollarguitars.com/lollar-telecaster-pickups/bs-tele-bridge
Can you do a similar video with strat sets?
Yes, that is currently in the planning stages. We will definitely have something like this for our Strat pickups at some point in the future.
Have you done this same test with a Humbucker?
Not yet. But this is in the planning stages currently and will be done as soon as possible.
I tele you what those vintage pups fit me to a T.
I couldn't have made a better joke... and I'm a dad!
What’s the best pickup for Jimmy Page tele?
I'd go with our Vintage T set for that sort of sound. You could also pair a Special T Bridge with a Vintage T neck for a little more thickness and output in the bridge position.
Are any of the tele sets RWRP? Or can they be ordered that way?
We build our sets to be reverse wind/reverse polarity (RWRP). All of our pickups are designed with a fixed spec at the neck position; south up. From there, they are all RWRP to the pickup adjacent to them. That is, our Tele bridge pickups will be RWRP to all of our neck pickups. On a Strat, for example, the middle is north up, in phase (RWRP to the neck *AND* bridge) meaning that the bridge is south up, in phase, like our neck pickups.
Really appreciate the quick and thorough response! That is good to hear, I really enjoy having a noise canceling middle position. Now to decide between the '52s or the Alnico 3s!@@LollarPickups
Where is all the compression coming from? Amp, post processing or UA-cam?
The only compression added in post was on the voice, none on the guitar. There was a small amount of natural compression on some parts that came from the amp. So, I'd assume the rest of what you may be hearing would have to be coming from UA-cam's compression and/or possibly the playback device...?
I was wondering the same thing! the specials sound very squishy guess it must be UA-cam
No Novel T?
We chose to only demo the traditionally shaped/sized Tele pickups that we make both a neck and bridge for because, with all the various options, we could go on forever about the different combinations. Since the Novel T sounds so much like our Special T, we figured folks would get the idea from the sound of the Special T pickups that we demoed here in the video.
What capacitor was used?
The components used were standard/stock values; 250k pots and .047uF cap. That being said, the controls were wide open, so the components' tonal fingerprint is minimal.
hmmm, all of these are missing the tele boink ... but still sound amazing - just not like a tele
That’s a style of playing you are referring to. That tone is in the hand.
Please don’t heavily compress audio when doing pickup tests!
We don't use any compression in the guitar signal chain, only on the mics used to record the on-screen speech. It could be that it's UA-cam or the playback device adding compression after-the-fact...?
Well let's just forget to tell people the prices, after all, thats not a deciding factor.
I see your point and I agree that it is definitely part of the buying decision, but we didn't forget. We never mention prices in our videos because prices can change over the years. Some of our videos are more than a decade old and still retain usefulness because all of the info in them is still valid. If we had mentioned price and the price changed as time passed, that alone would make those videos inaccurate enough to require taking down from our channel. It makes more sense to just leave it out and folks can find that info on our website, seeing as they'll have to go there to get them anyway, since they can't buy through UA-cam.
@@LollarPickups
So sorry for sounding snarky. I see and understand your point. Thanks. Btw, really love your pickups!!
No worries, it didn't seem snarky, really. It seemed like it was a genuine concern and we just wanted to be sure it was clear that we're not obfuscating the price for any reasons other than purely practicality and longevity for the videos that we make. Thank you so much for taking the time to respond and for your continued support! Take care.
Relax yr vibrato
This video doesn’t help at all! They all sound good
I guess you just need to get more guitars to put them all in...? Haha!
@@LollarPickups that is a very good idea! 👍
Lanotec your strings . They are harsh .