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…
This story is from the July 2023 edition of Guitarist.
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This story is from the July 2023 edition of Guitarist.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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