HB to go with a Lollar J-Street

[Matthias]

For my next partscaster, I wanted a fairly powerful bridge pickup without too much treble so I’ve gone for for a Lollar J-Street (8.7k Alnico V). It sounds great in demos. I am looking for a clear neck humbucker to go with it… rich but not tool woolly. I am currently impressed by the Lollar standard Imperials and the SD Saturday Night Specials. I quite like Alnico IVs in neck position.

Any thoughts? My price point gives me a LOT of choice. I play mainly crunch to mid level distortion 60s-to-modern rock/indie.

My planned wiring scheme is quite standard as I’m looking low output on the HB… 3-way, no split, 500k vol/500k no-load tone with 470k resistor when the bridge is active, .022uf Cap. I can of course tweak that if it’ll get a better result!

Thanks for your help!

 

[old wrench]

SH-55 (Lover/Duncan) pickup is a good choice for a Tele neck humbucker - it's a lower-output humbucker

Not too expensive and a very good sound - about as good as any PAF-type you'll find

I think G&L used them in the neck of their USA made Blues-Boy Teles

.

 

[Wallaby]

I second the Lover neck PAF - it's a nice pickup in that position.

 

[donrichfan]

I matched a Lollar low wind imperial with my j street, with pretty good results.

 

[Matthias]

Cheers all. The SH-55s do sound nice but the demos I can find aren’t quite what I’m picturing. The Bare Knuckle Abraxas seem quite interesting on a listen. Alnico IV smoothness is definitely winning me over.

My J-Street is in the bridge… reading 8.7k on the dot at room temperature. I will have to be patient to try it though as I’m waiting for the busy and cold postage season to subside before I order a neck. It looks lovely

 

[loco gringo]

Lollar El Rayo?

 

[old wrench]

Too cold to have a neck shipped?

Where do you live - Antartica?

.

 

[Vegetable Man]

Go big, get a Regal.

 

[Matthias]

Too cold to have a neck shipped?

Where do you live - Antartica?

.

Only cold enough it can sit in a very cold depot for a few days. I gather it’s not as bad as humidity but I still prefer to avoid extremes.

Go big, get a Regal.

I did consider a WRHB but the HB cavity is a touch too small. It wouldn’t take much to route it out though… only a small fraction of an inch top and bottom.

 

[Matthias]

Thanks all. After going over a few more demos, I decided on the medium wind Imperial. I kept going back to the depth they seem to have. I’ll post some build progress soon!

 

[kmac]

I have a lollar firebird paired with my j street. It’s a fantastic pairing.

 

[Matthias]

I have the guitar assembled enough to test the pickups and, while my only full tube amp is out of action, the tones you can get out of the J-Street/Imperial are quite diverse. I have never had any pickups quite react so well to the tone knob at all positions. The Lollars really nail a vintage airy vibe and the humbucker really stands out. I still need to get the most out of the J-Street and I didn’t quite understand it until I played along with some backing and WOW. Its frequency response sits exactly where you want a bridge part to sit in most mixes… Cuts through clearly without being too bitey.

Good choices, I think. Thanks all.

 

[telequacktastic]

Why not call Lollar and ask them?

 

[Robert H.]

For my next partscaster, I wanted a fairly powerful bridge pickup without too much treble so I’ve gone for for a Lollar J-Street (8.7k Alnico V). It sounds great in demos. I am looking for a clear neck humbucker to go with it… rich but not tool woolly. I am currently impressed by the Lollar standard Imperials and the SD Saturday Night Specials. I quite like Alnico IVs in neck position.

Any thoughts? My price point gives me a LOT of choice. I play mainly crunch to mid level distortion 60s-to-modern rock/indie.

My planned wiring scheme is quite standard as I’m looking low output on the HB… 3-way, no split, 500k vol/500k no-load tone with 470k resistor when the bridge is active, .022uf Cap. I can of course tweak that if it’ll get a better result!

Thanks for your help!

I would say Lollar Imperials too - but you say you play with crunch and distortion. That may favor something else. Another recommendation, putting aside the crunch comment, are the Bare Knuckles Mules - I have a set in a Gibson CS 336 (neck and bridge). I believe they are alnico IV's and sound wonderful.

 

[Timbresmith1]

For my next partscaster, I wanted a fairly powerful bridge pickup without too much treble so I’ve gone for for a Lollar J-Street (8.7k Alnico V). It sounds great in demos. I am looking for a clear neck humbucker to go with it… rich but not tool woolly. I am currently impressed by the Lollar standard Imperials and the SD Saturday Night Specials. I quite like Alnico IVs in neck position.

Any thoughts? My price point gives me a LOT of choice. I play mainly crunch to mid level distortion 60s-to-modern rock/indie.

My planned wiring scheme is quite standard as I’m looking low output on the HB… 3-way, no split, 500k vol/500k no-load tone with 470k resistor when the bridge is active, .022uf Cap. I can of course tweak that if it’ll get a better result!

Thanks for your help!

Lollar low-wind is a great choice
I’ll second the Duncan Seth Lover