Lollar Regal compared to the original?

[sticko]

Man! It's been a while since I've been here!

I'm curious if anyone here has had a chance to compare the Lollar Regal to the original Fender Wide Range humbucker. I have gigged/recorded extensively with a 1973 Tele Deluxe and a 1976 Tele Custom. I love the sound of the original Wide Range humbuckers, and am currently in the process of building up a Strat with the guts of a Tele Deluxe.

I'd love to hear from anyone who knows the sound of the original(NOT reissue)Wide Range and how the Lollars compare.

Thanks!

 

[ferosferio]

I have the same question. I've got a 1974 thinline and the original wide range humbuckers are truly amazing.

 

[JLock]

I have a 2011 MIM Tele Deluxe Classic Player w/ Tremolo that I bought last year and I put the Lollar Regals in it and replaced all the pots with 500k. I recently went into a guitar shop and played my Tele against two vintage Tele Deluxes (both '75-'76 era). The shop dudes told me both vintage Tele's were all original parts. One looked a little beat up and the other was pretty clean. My general sense comparing the guitars was that the vintage WR pickups were a bit warmer and sweeter sounding, but my Tele with the Lollars was louder, cleaner and brighter, not by much but definitely audible. I was considering going for some vintage WR pickups at $400 each, but after comparing them, I'm happy with the Lollars. With the warmth of the vintage pickups, there was more diversity with overdriven sounds. With the Lollars, there was more note definition at higher volumes (and that's with the 500k pots I have versus the 1 Meg pots of the original design). One striking difference I noticed was that my Tele had really nice harmonics in the mid-range that neither of the 70s Tele's had. The 70s Tele's were thin in the mids. Maybe I just got lucky with a nice MIM. Anyway, I'm glad these pickups are getting some attention.

 

[Swampash&Tweed]

I'm also thinking of getting the regals in a thinline project I have in the works. What makes this design so different from others? I would think everyone would be trying to make a great reissue like they do for PAF's and single coils.

 

[Telenator]

I have a 2011 MIM Tele Deluxe Classic Player w/ Tremolo that I bought last year and I put the Lollar Regals in it and replaced all the pots with 500k. I recently went into a guitar shop and played my Tele against two vintage Tele Deluxes (both '75-'76 era). The shop dudes told me both vintage Tele's were all original parts. One looked a little beat up and the other was pretty clean. My general sense comparing the guitars was that the vintage WR pickups were a bit warmer and sweeter sounding, but my Tele with the Lollars was louder, cleaner and brighter, not by much but definitely audible. I was considering going for some vintage WR pickups at $400 each, but after comparing them, I'm happy with the Lollars. With the warmth of the vintage pickups, there was more diversity with overdriven sounds. With the Lollars, there was more note definition at higher volumes (and that's with the 500k pots I have versus the 1 Meg pots of the original design). One striking difference I noticed was that my Tele had really nice harmonics in the mid-range that neither of the 70s Tele's had. The 70s Tele's were thin in the mids. Maybe I just got lucky with a nice MIM. Anyway, I'm glad these pickups are getting some attention.

That's a pretty accurate description. The Regals have a very nice sound and perform as you've stated. I have compared these pickups extensively and enjoy the virtues of both, the Regals and the originals.

In all honesty, a new Fender MIM Thinline, Custom or Deluxe will far out-perform a vintage one if you put a good set of pickups in it.

So many people say, "I'm not going to waste that kind of money putting great pickups in a MIM guitar!" It's their loss. A new re-issue Fender is twice the guitar at half the price of the original. I think they're a steal and well worth an investment in good pickups!

 

[hongaku]

So many people say, "I'm not going to waste that kind of money putting great pickups in a MIM guitar!" It's their loss. A new re-issue Fender is twice the guitar at half the price of the original. I think they're a steal and well worth an investment in good pickups!

+1,000

 

[JLock]

Lollar Regals vs. vintage

I'm also thinking of getting the regals in a thinline project I have in the works. What makes this design so different from others? I would think everyone would be trying to make a great reissue like they do for PAF's and single coils.

The magnets. The vintage pickups were CuNiFe (Copper/Nickel/Iron) magnets, and I think the screws themselves were the magnets. The Lollars are not CuNiFe. With a quick scan of the internet, I can't find what metals they're using, but I did find it somewhere once, and I know it's not CuNiFe.

Another company has introduced a WR pickup as well, maybe Rio Grande?

Also, Telenator has WR pickups that are CuNiFe, but I haven't heard how they sound.

 

[Maricopa]

Also, Telenator has WR pickups that are CuNiFe, but I haven't heard how they sound.

They get good reviews, but they are $450 a pop!

 

[JLock]

Buy a MIM

That's a pretty accurate description. The Regals have a very nice sound and perform as you've stated. I have compared these pickups extensively and enjoy the virtues of both, the Regals and the originals.

In all honesty, a new Fender MIM Thinline, Custom or Deluxe will far out-perform a vintage one if you put a good set of pickups in it.

So many people say, "I'm not going to waste that kind of money putting great pickups in a MIM guitar!" It's their loss. A new re-issue Fender is twice the guitar at half the price of the original. I think they're a steal and well worth an investment in good pickups!

I agree with Telenator on both points. The Lollar Regals and the vintage WR's are not the same pickup, but both have their strengths. I like the Lollars because I tend towards the brighter side of pickups, and the Lollars have a lot more body and volume than a single coil, and they "reproduce" the low end of the original. But they do not have the warmth of the vintage pickup. If you like the vintage pickups, which will give you consistent density from lows to highs, and more of a Gibson sound in the mids, go for the vintage pickups. I like the Lollars specifically because they don't give me the sweet Gibson mid sound, they are bright and sharp and have brilliant harmonics. The low E and somewhat the A don't have anywhere near the warmth of the vintage pickups. With the Lollars, they have the Fender "twang" still a bit. They just don't give you the ripping low-end. The vintage WR pickups seemed better at the low end.

As far as MIM, my 2011 (bought used, $550) Tele body and neck are as rock solid as any vintage. I replaced the pickups and pots as described above ($450). I replaced the tuners with Schaller Tuners and the tremolo block with a Callaham Block and the 1/4" output jack with an Electrosocket. The American-made stuff at this point is for mass-market, and you'll have to replace many parts anyway. Buy a MIM guitar - the body and neck are the same as an American made - and put in the pickups you like, change the pots, rewire it if you like, and make the guitar you want. Total cost on this guitar for me: $1300.

 

[kiwi blue]

I may be completely wrong here, but my understanding is the CuNiFe magnets in the original WR pickups lose their charge quite quickly and nowadays are not as powerful as when they left the factory in the 70s. I'm wondering if this accounts for at least some of the tonal differences between the (aged) originals and the Lollars. A fairer comparison might be to recharge the magnets on some vintage pickups and then compare.

 

[Telenator]

One of the reasons the vintage WRHBs sometimes don't sound good is because some people just can't resist pulling the shiny threaded magnets out from the bottom of the pickup and swaooing them with the often worn looking magnets that stick out through the holes in the chrome cover. In many instances, they get screwed in with no consideration for magnetic polarity, and a once great pickup goes sour.

We have sorted out several of these for people on this and other guitar forums.

CuNiFe holds it's charge pretty well but some of the vintage pickups we've had pass through our shop were quite low on the gauss meter. It seems to lose a bit of it's strength after 30 years or so.

We offer to re-charge anyone's vintage CuNiFe magnets at no cost. It's such a simple thing to do for people and makes such a big difference when a WRHB is put together and charge properly.

I'd bet that a fair number of people who say they don't like the sound of the original WRHBs were probably trying a pickup that was eityher weak magnetically, or, had suffered someone's experiments with a screwdriver! We have 3 vintage WRHBs in the shop right now that fell victim to "the tinkerer's screwdriver!"

 

[blimpo]

One of the reasons the vintage WRHBs sometimes don't sound good is because some people just can't resist pulling the shiny threaded magnets out from the bottom of the pickup and swaooing them with the often worn looking magnets that stick out through the holes in the chrome cover. In many instances, they get screwed in with no consideration for magnetic polarity, and a once great pickup goes sour.

We have sorted out several of these for people on this and other guitar forums.

CuNiFe holds it's charge pretty well but some of the vintage pickups we've had pass through our shop were quite low on the gauss meter. It seems to lose a bit of it's strength after 30 years or so.

We offer to re-charge anyone's vintage CuNiFe magnets at no cost. It's such a simple thing to do for people and makes such a big difference when a WRHB is put together and charge properly.

I'd bet that a fair number of people who say they don't like the sound of the original WRHBs were probably trying a pickup that was eityher weak magnetically, or, had suffered someone's experiments with a screwdriver! We have 3 vintage WRHBs in the shop right now that fell victim to "the tinkerer's screwdriver!"

Telenator, I have several gigs in a row coming up and then some down time. If I send my WRHB (MIM) pups to you to be modded, what kind of turnaround time is the usual?

 

[thejohnpratt]

One of the reasons the vintage WRHBs sometimes don't sound good is because some people just can't resist pulling the shiny threaded magnets out from the bottom of the pickup and swaooing them with the often worn looking magnets that stick out through the holes in the chrome cover. In many instances, they get screwed in with no consideration for magnetic polarity, and a once great pickup goes sour.

We have sorted out several of these for people on this and other guitar forums.

CuNiFe holds it's charge pretty well but some of the vintage pickups we've had pass through our shop were quite low on the gauss meter. It seems to lose a bit of it's strength after 30 years or so.

We offer to re-charge anyone's vintage CuNiFe magnets at no cost. It's such a simple thing to do for people and makes such a big difference when a WRHB is put together and charge properly.

I'd bet that a fair number of people who say they don't like the sound of the original WRHBs were probably trying a pickup that was eityher weak magnetically, or, had suffered someone's experiments with a screwdriver! We have 3 vintage WRHBs in the shop right now that fell victim to "the tinkerer's screwdriver!"

Would changing the tone cap help to warm things up and get more smoothness out of the Lollars to better imitate the originals?

 

[JKjr]

I used to play tele deluxes back in the day when nobody wanted them. As Telenator will tell ya, those pickups were all over the place tonally. I haven't had the opportunity to try the Telenators, but to my ears the one set of Lollars I've heard were as good as the best WR's I ever had. All the attitude, better definition, and I didn't detect a lack of warmth, quite the contrary. And while the brightness is all there, it's a sweet kind of bright. If Telenator's are in the same ballpark (and I suspect they are) I'd gladly play them and not worry about the old ones.

 

[Telenator]

Would changing the tone cap help to warm things up and get more smoothness out of the Lollars to better imitate the originals?

I think that's a question better answered by Jason himself. He knows his product better than anyone.

 

[Wayne Alexander]

I have a set of Lollar Regals in a 72 Deluxe reissue, with the stock 250K CTS pots the pickups sound great - and by no means do they seem too dark. If you think these pickups are too bright, try swapping to 250K pots rather than 500K. Changing the value of the tone capacitor will change how dark the sound is with the tone control in use, but it won't do nearly as much to the overall brightness/warmth as going to lower value pots (especially the volume pots, the tone pots have less effect).