TONE MAGNET

Jason Lollar is one of the most respected pickup makers in the world. He says his goal is not to ‘make them like they used to’ but instead to make pickups better than anything that’s gone before. We learn the secrets of his masterly approach to tone…

- Jamie Dickson

Poised and responsive, with a sonic vibe all of their own, Lollar is one of the few pickup brands whose products we could identify almost blindfold. Whether it’s P-90s we’ve played in an Eastman semi on review or Tele pickups fitted to one of our Mod Squad creations, Lollars always seem to pull off the trick of being balanced yet never bland, clear yet never clinical, classic but never clone-like. So when founder Jason Lollar said yes to an in-depth chat about his approach to designing and building pickups – both traditional and progressive – we were intrigued to find out more. We join him to delve deep into Lollar pickups from A to Z, ranging from his earliest days as a designer to his most recent designs.

How did you start making pickups?

“Well, I started building electric guitars in the mid-70s. I went to Roberto-Venn [School of Luthiery] in Phoenix, Arizona, and they showed us how to make really rudimentary pickups, kind of like what Semie Mosrite used to make. They were made out of bits of plastic with a wood core and you’d glue it all together and drill it out. They had a little winder powered by a sewing-machine motor and a [model] train transformer. You were constantly getting shocked any time you touched that transformer…