Lollar P90-a-Thon: Standard v 50s Wind v Staple v Alnico Pole - back-to-back comparison - Best p90s 

thanks matt!

Thanks, cheers!

Thanks for the nice comment! glad it was helpful - cheers!

Yes! so often I’ve bought pickups based on sound alone and didn’t really like the feel.

Wow, thanks!

Glad it was helpful!

Cheers! Still loving the 50s in my guitar 2 years later. 😊

Thank you!

Thanks for listening, I agree!

MrJonathanwilson glad it helped! Love the 50s wind, especially the neck!

Yep, the Standard has a rounder, fuller tone that can be attributed to the added bass. Looks like I'll be ordering a bridge version for a Les Paul Jr. build.

Wagner Azevedo cheers, did you get something fun?

I wonder what a 50s wind neck and staple bridge combo would sound like in middle position. Output is about even so with a guitar that has only one volume knob it might be interesting... maybe this is something I should do Hahahaha

@@ronwood788 we actually have the same thought.

@@haskitt 2 years late to the answer, but yes! I did get the Lollar 50s and they are awesome! Thanks again!

Thanks Dustin!!

Thank you!

Yessss

@@haskitt I got the 50's wind installed. In the guitar i put them into, it was way too bright compared to my other p90 strat. I swapped the pot to a 250k and it's much more balanced now! Fun!!

D Box awesome! Install them yet?

Yeah, those sounded pretty! Very airy and detailed.

Thank you, Ben!

Exciting, congrats! The first time plugging in/hearing the 50s wind installed is a flashbulb memory for me… So good!

@@haskitt I had heard them in another YT video and thought they sounded exceptional. Bought them based on that and of course had buyer's remorse/doubt so found your review. Glad my ears didn't deceive me :). Building a LP from kit so it will take a while for me to hear them...

Phill Seagram glad you dug the Alnicos! I feel like they were less like P90s than the rest... kinda in a class by themselves.

Thanks a lot!

Thanks Nathan! glad you dug the A poles. I've come to realize how much I love Alnico 2 (50s wind are A2 bars)- if the A poles were A2 I would have them back in a heartbeat!

I liked the Alnicos more than I thought I would, but I think they weren't at their best being set to settings that worked well for these other pickups... they really seemed like they were their own thing.

The standards didn't quite roll off the way I would have liked, but yeah, treble bleed all the way! I will probably end up with the standards again someday, but right now I have the 50s... I actually had a 50s neck and standard bridge but I missed that soft alnico attack on the bridge. That staple bridge was AWESOME... really had some crazy mid honk to it. I wasn't crazy about the neck. cheers!

I should really make a blind test for this... I like to think I could tell them all apart but I'm not sure!

Sweet, thanks!

yeah, I sold the guitar I had the 50s in and miss them regularly!

Thanks Chris, cheers!!

Triple 50s! Love it - post a vid if you can!

@@haskitt I will record a quick one the next time we practice

Ha, yeah I know the feeling!

Hard to go wrong with the standards… I just love that 50s neck.

those subtle differences can be a deal breaker for many!

@Alex Hays I have an LP BFG with P90s I bought a few years ago. That guitar's neck pickup is not long for this world. I aim to put a Staple there.

Ah, thanks so much! And yeah, they’re all great!

WeirdErnie yeah, selling the extras wasn’t easy. Sorta just wanted to build a guitar from each set!

Thanks! Excuse my ignorance, but what is quasi?

Sorry, I thought you were paying a lovely homage to the melody of "Clouds" by one of the great art rock bands of the turn of the Century, Quasi. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-hc06vzX9G3g.html (don't think the singing starts till about :54)

I’ve been curious about these for a while! Good to know

I like that people are digging the alnicos in this comparison!

@@haskitt Absolutely, they have that touch-sweetness of the 50s but with a bit more output and more pronounced creamier mids that just fill up the sound to the level I like. It's hard to describe but they consistently turn up as a favorite for me, considering I'm looking for a bridge P90 in an S-S-H Strat to replace the humbucker. I've checked out Duncans, Fralins, Bareknuckles and whatnot - this video definitely helped me decide on Lollar Alnicos. It's either no clean sounds or just two chords on a bad recording or flat out gain monster videos where you can't tell a P90 from a chainsaw. This clean-to-mean and all the inbetween approach with great playing lets you hear 99% of situations you're gonna play the pickups in and with all the models included it's a dream. They should give you a job as the pickup demo guy for everything lol :D

The alnicos felt a little stiff compared to the 50s and regulars, but maybe a little less so than the staples. I attribute that to the alnico 5 magnets (I wish they offered these with Alnico 2 as well), and it's been quite a while since I played them! I'm gonna go back and listen... I'm waiting on a guitar that might sound great with the Alnicos. Cheers!

Thanks! Yeah I don't think even Lollar had any examples of the staple bridge (they might now)... I kinda miss that one, but I have too many guitars already!

Thanks Brian!

Thanks! Yeah I love the staple bridge. Sold it but I suspect I'll have one again someday.

First I've seen that, nice!

Can’t go wrong with Novak! He did some legit replacements of the Franz p90s in a guild reissue aristocrat I had a while back. Fantastic pickups.

Seriously. I think the ones I miss the most are the staple Bridge and middle position from the standards

@@haskitt I have never owned a set of those. Look and sound wonderful on this awesome comparison. My current favs are the Thornbuckers I have on Suhr’s. Really have a lot of latitude.

Yeah, they fit! I’ve tried it on three different reverend bodies and all of them fit great. I feel the same way you do… They’re just a little bit too thin and radius is too flat for me

Funny I think I’d love the other way around!

Thanks Arthur! That would be a fun combo. They’re not noiseless...I just found the sweet spot in the room! ;-) Middle is hum canceling on all of these sets though. Lollar doesn’t make any “noiseless” singles... very traditional in that way. Cheers!

Hey, thought I responded to this, sorry... no modifications necessary as long as you have a strat heel (that was an upcharge for this tele head)! It was a little bit of a tight fit, but I've honestly had aftermarket fender licensed necks fit tighter than this (in a bad way) on fender bodies.

Ha! Cheers, I hear ya

Thanks Mike! That was "Don't Need Anything" by Glen Phillips. One of my all time favorite tunes. I have a full guitar instrumental version here ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-u4JWy1ptzT8.html

The trapeze reduces weight a bit, and it does change the acoustic tone for sure, and if you don't mute the back end of the strings between the bridge and trapeze you can get some ringy harmonics that work really well for some things, other things I prefer the mute. I had to make a wooden piece to compensate for the angled side of the club king... I've actually been meaning to do a video of my club king partscasters... they're great guitars and I do love the trapeze, though I put the bigsby back on the blue one. I've been thinking of switching back, honestly.

@@haskitt Cool, thanks!

For the most part it was all amp Overdrive… though I can’t recall exactly which amps I used in the demo. I think I might mention it?

Thanks, cheers!

Thanks, cheers! That’s Overkill by Men at Work.

I would go 50s with that style list. I don't think you'd be unhappy with the standards, but I did have trouble at times getting them thinned out enough for certain things.

@@haskitt I appreciate your fast reply, thanks for your input!

Yeah, all around great pickups… sounds like you’ve got a sweet bunch!