Great job Rhett! A couple things I would add: 1. Before spending money on new pickups, If you aren’t that excited by your guitars sound, try adjusting your pickup height first! This can GREATLY affect the way your guitar sounds and reacts. I installed Duncan Seth Lovers in my 335 and afterwards, thought I had made a terrible mistake in choosing them. However, after adjusting both pickups just slightly from the “recommend” specs, it’s now one of my favorite guitars! Also, 2. Make sure when you tap your pickups, you do NOT use any tool that has been magnetized or that has a magnetic tip. You can change or even RUIN a good pickup! Beautiful guitar for sure, hope to see more of it now! 👍
I can't disagree more; however, I can also see your point. Still, really digging the Lollar's. They seem to cut right through, which is my preference with all the muddy Epiphone and Gibson pick ups I've worked through. Not all of either are bad, but enough have been. I tend to go for DiMarzio's, but I'd grab a set of Lollar's now.
I find this a common sentiment for people with boutique pickups. When you switch to lollars, fralin, throbak etc you'll get a much brighter, airy sound. The warmth and perceived fullness in a lot of stock pickups actually become wooly, mushy and lost live. If you ever isolated tracks on classic recordings you'll notice the guitar sounds have almost no bass and can sound quite odd, even if they sound fat and huge in the mix. So this is a question you have to ask yourself and also whether or not if it's relevant if you are a recording or touring musician
When he did the side by side, they both sounded good, but depending on what he was playing. I guess that goes to what Rhett was talking about for you to keep in mind.
I agree. Both sounded gr8 with the Lollars having more top end. I prefer the midrange of the filtertrons though. To my mind they had more character. All highly personal though!
I for one prefer the filtertrons, sounded more mellow to my ears. Anyway, if you got nothing to do with the old pickups, i'd be glad to give them a new home :P
Well... in the first couple of tunes I barely saw any difference, But in the more "fuzzy" ones at the end it's noticible the brightness of the filtertrons. I usually prefer te tone of my pickups to be darker... but in this case I also prefer the filtertrons. Maybe it's because I own a Gretsch and I am so used to them. But what matters is what te player likes orv feel confortable playing.
Nice video as always. I think the swapping didn't make much difference to my taste. I can tell that the Lollars were an upgrade, but in my personal opinion I wouldn't have them changed. The stock Filtertrons sounded really nice to me. Congratz on the upgrade tho!
Very subtle difference. I found the Lollars a bit mellower and smoother. As a long time player I understand how that tiny difference in tone makes a world of difference to the person playing the guitar. Great video as always. In fact I just subscribed! :-)
Filtertrons seemed more "even" sounding, having more midrange. Lollars sounded more scooped, as i usually hear in older pickups. Both sounded great, just different!! For that kind of guitar, i liked the Lollars better!!
The Filtertrons had more mid and low end, whereas the Lollars were a lot brighter. More bass'y low end with Filter...so maybe the Lollars will help it sit in the mix with bass and drums, more cut, and at high levels not boom out with the decreased lows and mid range frequencies. Its all dependent on what tone you are looking for as you said Rhet! Good video! :)
If anyone's confused about pickup output, it's measure in DC resistance. For example a 7.5K output humbucker will measure 7500 ohms at the output of your guitar. This is a good reading of how powerful/hot a pickup is because a higher resistance pickup will be able to capture the movement of the strings more than a low output. So, if you have a weird guitar and you can't find out what pickups are in it, try measuring with a multimeter. If your pickups are too hot, look for aftermarket ones with less DC resistance.
I, too, liked the original pickups. Maybe the recording brings out the tone of the filtertrons. The Lollars were flat and seemed to have less dynamics.
Excellent video.. covers all the major bases. You're a braver man than I, changing on a hollow-body. Also love the point about buying a used set of pups, that's my #1 way to save money. The only downside to buying used can be if the wires have been cut too short - happens sometimes.
I am genuinely surprised that I actually heard a difference, the new pickups sounded a little richer over you tube. Thanks for all the content Rhett, I always look forward to a new videos even as a non guitar player.
Nice video! But... Telling your 66k subscribers that "K"s are a "measure" of output is misleading. "K" stands for Kilo-Ohm, which is a measure of resistance. Not ouput voltage (signal that is...). There are too many factors involved on how a pickup sound. Resistance, inductance, wire gauge used, type of magnet etc etc. Usually, (and I say it again, usually!) a pickup can get more output using more coils of wire (= more resistance), but it also will suffer from lack of hi-end frequencies (hence dull, dark sound). It's a compromise. That said, I have a set of single coils measuring 5.2K of resistance on my strat-type guitar. Low right? Compared to the usual 7k (even 6k) of single-coils pickups, its lower.. But the output is massive! Why? because they have inductance (not resistance, not "Ks"), and since they have less windings (= less "Ks") they have a clear frequency range. So don't go just for resistance please, it's dumb.
The Lollar pickups took away some low end, which was a really good thing for this guitar and the tone you were going for. It also made the whole instrument sound a lot smoother because it didn't need spiky highs to combat overly pronounced lows.
Hi, Rhett! I would say that the articulation of the Lollars is a bit more defined, yet a little smoother. I think you were right when you said it sounded more like something Chet would have played. I'm 63 years old and began with guitar on my 9th birthday in July of 1965. I still remember the iconic sound because I grew up with probably more than a thousand hours of music from Chet, George Harrison, John Knowles, Duane Eddy, and more. Later, I had my own Gretsch, a 1969 Streamliner. No relationship or even similarity to the new Streamliners except the body shape and the brand name on the headstock. And fortunately, it didn't have a centerblock to ruin "That Great Gretsch Sound".
You inspired me to change my stock pups in my G5420T. Love everything about that guitar except the sounds. I might go with TV jones but the point is you made me finally decide to go for it. Thanks!
I've was just thinking about changing out the pickups in my Country Gentleman. I love the guitar, but the stock pickups aren't my cup of tea. I think the timing on this video is amazing! Thank you for all of your hard work, I love watching the content you produce.
Great example of how a "how to..." Video should be done. Amazing side by side comparison at the end - must have taken some time in post-processing- but effort much appreciated. Thanks Rhett
I recently swapped to TV Jones Pups. They are a little pricey but definitely WORTH IT!!! The tone and output blew my mind. Now I am spoiled forever!!!!!
Good stuff Rhett. Thanks for demonstrating the hollow body, always wondered. Next time you come through Richmond, Va stop and see Lindy Fralin (assuming you haven’t already) and what they do. All hand-made pickups & controls; lots of options. Super group of guys. Keep up the great work!
The question is, would you have replaced the pickups if you had to pay for the new ones? How much do they cost? I didn't hear that much difference. It still sounds like a Gretsch.
I can hear what you say. The Lollards do sound brighter and less hot. I prefer the Lollards but I could see how some people could like the stock pickups.
I'm gonna have to give the W to the Filtertrons here after hearing the comparison. I love the richness of the low end. The Lollars are a bit more focus in the midrange, which will definitely cut through a mix well, but I find that the Filtertrons are doing a better job of sweeping the whole freq. spectrum.
Hi Rhett, first of all thanks a lot for all of ur videos. What would u recommand for playing with helix at home, low volume? Frfr cab? Studio monitors? What model would u recommand? Rock on
I definitely like the change. To me, the Lollars sound more "open". Brighter when needed but still have a nice thickness at the bottom when you're overdriving it. Plus, that's a damn sharp guitar and will look great on stage.
Hey jw, i bought a Gibson Les Paul Standard 60s (liked the neck profile & really like the Unburst top…wasnt a huge fan of the stock ‘61 Bustbuckers). After few months i ended up having a legit guitar tech. take the stock pups in & put in a set of Seymour Duncan Slash 2.0 alnico II pro’s. *the 61’ stock burstbuckers were alnico 5’s but less output, the SD Slash 2.0’s are alnico II pros with more output*. Also no push pull, 3 way toggle, orange drop caps, 50s style wiring, i believe audio taper pots & 500k pots. My question is when my Les Paul 60s standard 2023 60’s with stock 61’ BB’s in it, the sweep on the volume pots were both much more even and smoother…after having the SD Slash 2.0’s installed by a legit guitar tech i noticed at 10 its louder and more up allie tone wise, but for some reason rhe volume sweep changed…when it was stock with 61 Bustbuckers the sweep was pretty even for most part…now the volume knob on both pups are pretty sensitive from 10-6…5 and under it sounds like someone really dropped off the sound in my guitar pretty noticably? Ive been to diff guitar stores & back to my tech, he says its normal, others say theyve never heard of this and there may be an issue…others say its just different pickups reacting different to pots? It doesnt to dead silent at 5 or under, buf you gotta crank the amp vs if i had it at 8.5 or something, very top heavy on the volume sweep and then very very quiet at 5-2..then its basically muted at 1 & 0 lol
Thanks for making the video. The change in sound that made you so happy must have been very subtle; on 1080HD TH-cam, using a good sound card and Ultrasone headphones, these two pickup sets were virtually indistinguishable. I "sensed" that the Lollars may have been slightly brighter, by a vanishingly tiny increment. That's about it. Good thing they were "free."
I switched the original De Armond PUs in my Tele Sonic with Lollar mini humbucker. Couldn't be happier with the results. Lollar should be on anyone's list. Great upload, Rhett!
Great Video Rhett!!! I would be cool if you can do another video in detail changing pickups with tricks advices for doing it properly. I now that there are more videos out there but In think you explain very well things.
Very cool. Personally liked the Filtertrons better in the side-by-side comparison, but I'm also not chasing the tone in YOUR head. Thanks for the amazingly informative video!!
Glad you're happy with the swap. Those Lollartrons rises a midrangy thing in the Gretsch no so pleasant for me, but if you feel comfy, nothing can save you :)
Great video. I personally would have gone with TV Jones myself. TV and Jason Lolar are basically neighbors, both based out of the San Juan islands in the Puget Sound. TV has been and is a gretch and filtertron pickup wizard forever. For years Jason and TV stayed in their respective expertise areas, Jason the Paf gibson and single coil strat stuff, TV the gretsch and filtertron stuff. I have called TV's phone number and talked to him directly. He answered all the questions I had and gave me his expert advice based on what I wanted to achieve. They're both great pickup makers.
The lesson I learned by swapping pickups is that yes it can change the sound but what I was missing in two guitars of mine was percussiveness and clarity. It took me a couple of years of learning to find out that scale length matters more for this than anything else. I'm currently trying to get a 25.5" scale length Gretsch. A falcon is out of the budget but maybe an older county gentleman.
the new pickups sounded great, You might also want to change that cloth while using the soldering tool since its made out of plastic fabric and it burns fast, You probably don´t want to stain that beautiful guitar or any other for that matter.
Nice, Rhett. The Lollars are lower output, and therefore have more dynamics, plus they definitely have more character. I had a chambered Les Paul copy for years for never sounded right with the DiMarzio PAFs. I swapped them for Duncan Phat Cats, which are P90's in a PAF format. They totally breathed new life into this instrument, and I now love P90s!
I changed the pickups in my country classic to a TV jones supertron and classic plus. They sound amazing, but thankfully gretsch has done quite a bit of tweaking in their pickup designs in the last few years, and they are sounding pretty good.
At some point, especially if you are interrupted and can't do it all in one session, it is going to be really easy to be confused as to which pot is which. So I recommend putting a label on them as soon as you remove them. You also need to think about HOW to tie the line to those pots. It can be dicey getting the post through the hole when it is time to put them back. If you can use some tape to have the line basically coming from the centre of the post, life will be easier.
Rhett, no doubt REVERB rocks for new old pups, I grabbed a set of used Tremonti Sigs bass & treble for basically the price of ONE pup from Fret12!! Thanx, Cheech and Leo's Custom Creations!!
I spent quite a long time working in stores and have swapped out many many pickups in guitars. The same pickups will not necessarily suit every example of that guitar. I actually got quite good at not only listening to the requirements of the player but also the individual resonance of the guitar. Each individual guitar is going to be slightly different. There can be a bit involved in finding the best match to redeem what is acoustically within the guitar as well as what suits the player's style.
Wow ! can't believe how many folks still like the filtertrons better.. I thought it was a no brainer as they were to bright and noisey for my taste. The Lollartrons really cleaned and smoothed out the tone.
I am glad to say there is no difference because when I heard it before u changed them I was terrified because it was beutiful already and I'm glad to see that it made no difference in my humble opinion but super helpful on how to go about it and what I should be looking for thanx
You definitely got the results you were wanting. The Lollar's sound much cleaner, the highs are crispier, and the tone cuts through the overdrive really well. Nice pickup.
Thanks for featuring a hollow body guitar, I’ve been wanting to put a new set of pickups in my Eastman 372. Now I feel like I have enough intel to do the job. Also, the Lollar’s definitely sound better than the stockers. Thanks!
It's Dustin from Temple, GA again. Love your videos! Hope to see you at Righteous Guitars one day. I'll probably stop in tomorrow just to check out the store for the first time. The REAL reason I'm leaving a comment is because I would love to see you produce an album with some of your montage tracks like Rabea Massaad did with Grinding Gears and Grinding Gears 2. You make some awesome tracks as well and would love to see you compile some killer albums!
Not only am I a big fan of Lollar pickups, I am literally sitting about a mile from their office as I watch this video. Always cool to see my hometown products mentioned.Tacoma WA represent! I agree with you, I think the Lollars sounded better than the stock Filtertrons. I have Lollar '52s in one of my Teles and Tele Specials in the other.
The filtertrons act totally different in a falcon vs a 6120. I would suggest TV Jones pickups as he makes some other filtertron style pickups that will make the falcons less muddy. I play mainly Gretch hollowbodies so I am speaking from experience. TV Jones responds to emails and I would suggest emailing him with a bit of a description of what you are going for. I find the black tops that are in billy duffy signature are great for falcons. Also the Brian Setzer filtertrons are great for falcons. The MagaTron would sound great too. Also TV Jones sells a kit for working with thr wire harness. I would also check out nocturn peals as they are built and meant to work specifically with filtertron pickups
Preferred the stock filtertrons. More bite, good for straight up rock. But that might not be what you want the guitar for. Very nice and informative video!
I have read most of the comments pros/cons. To me I got more out of watching the techniques of actually taking the pickups out, soldering the pots, The fishing line was a great tip. The difference in tone of the two types of pickups were a moot point to me. They both sounded great. Keep in mind you are listening to this video sound pumped through maybe a 2 inch speaker in your laptop or even through your plug in speakers. How can you evaluate the tones in that medium? The Gretsch pickups are high quality designed by engineers for that guitar. The Lollar Pickups are high quality engineered for after market replacement. It's apples to apples. Just a guess that they are Lollar Imperial pickups [top of the line], $175 each. Am I going to spend $350 for a slightly different sound that I possibly could come close to recreating with the tone knobs or amp settings.......No. If I was going to upgrade an Epi etc yes maybe.
The filtertrons sounds bigger with more low end and presence and the lollies are more focused, you can hear the mids more, both are vialbe sounds, it's simply a matter of the situation and the players taste.
Agree with Rhett. I found the stock Filter'Trons were just a wee bit "Dymamic", whereas the Lollars were smooth and are probably easier to dial-up than dial back...Makes a big difference when playing live thru presets on rig...Great install video. I use my tech in Toronto because I always burn my fingers with the bloody soldering tool..Ouch...lol 👍🎸🎸🎸🎸
Amazed at the number of people preferring the stock pickups, they were very muddy at the lower end and lacked note definition across the range. The Lollars were much cleaner and had more harmonic upper mids for me.
Hey Rhett. You write a lot of what I think would become very *iconic riffs* if only they were used as parts in a rock band. I think that they are the type of riffs that could help propel a band into becoming extremely popular. Unfortunately, the bands I've seen you with are not at all _riff based_ bands, so I understand, and even concur, with them not being used in those situations. I guess this is just my long-winded way of saying I'd love to hear what you do in a more sort of hard rock, or even progressive band setting. In any case, you always do what all great players do and play what fit's the song, and a band mate or listener can't ask for better than that. I think this is your strongest point as a player (not disparage your other qualities ofc). It's always something I strive for as well, since being part of a band (not the leader, or star) was what made me decide to become a musician when I was a kid.
The originals were definitely hotter than the Lollartrons. The difference is so pronounced at 15.15 that I didn't believe my ears at first. Thanks for the video, happy you like the new tone of your great guitar!
![โรงเรียนห้ามรัก โดนจับได้ตาย...!! [เอิร์นไดเม่]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/4u02Sbr556Q/mqdefault.jpg)
Great job Rhett! A couple things I would add:
1. Before spending money on new pickups, If you aren’t that excited by your guitars sound, try adjusting your pickup height first! This can GREATLY affect the way your guitar sounds and reacts. I installed Duncan Seth Lovers in my 335 and afterwards, thought I had made a terrible mistake in choosing them. However, after adjusting both pickups just slightly from the “recommend” specs, it’s now one of my favorite guitars!
Also,
2. Make sure when you tap your pickups, you do NOT use any tool that has been magnetized or that has a magnetic tip. You can change or even RUIN a good pickup!
Beautiful guitar for sure, hope to see more of it now! 👍
The Lollars sound good, but I actually prefer the stock filtertrons.
I can't disagree more; however, I can also see your point. Still, really digging the Lollar's. They seem to cut right through, which is my preference with all the muddy Epiphone and Gibson pick ups I've worked through. Not all of either are bad, but enough have been. I tend to go for DiMarzio's, but I'd grab a set of Lollar's now.
I find this a common sentiment for people with boutique pickups. When you switch to lollars, fralin, throbak etc you'll get a much brighter, airy sound. The warmth and perceived fullness in a lot of stock pickups actually become wooly, mushy and lost live. If you ever isolated tracks on classic recordings you'll notice the guitar sounds have almost no bass and can sound quite odd, even if they sound fat and huge in the mix. So this is a question you have to ask yourself and also whether or not if it's relevant if you are a recording or touring musician
Same: the Lollars sounded somewhat hollow, out of phase.
When he did the side by side, they both sounded good, but depending on what he was playing. I guess that goes to what Rhett was talking about for you to keep in mind.
I agree. Both sounded gr8 with the Lollars having more top end. I prefer the midrange of the filtertrons though. To my mind they had more character. All highly personal though!
I for one prefer the filtertrons, sounded more mellow to my ears. Anyway, if you got nothing to do with the old pickups, i'd be glad to give them a new home :P
Well... in the first couple of tunes I barely saw any difference, But in the more "fuzzy" ones at the end it's noticible the brightness of the filtertrons. I usually prefer te tone of my pickups to be darker... but in this case I also prefer the filtertrons. Maybe it's because I own a Gretsch and I am so used to them. But what matters is what te player likes orv feel confortable playing.
Same
That cover of mr sandman was inspiring.
“Mr Sandman
Sand me a man
Make him so sandy
The sandiest man”
Sam Choate words of a true poet
Also, the worst of Padme Amidala's 3 wishes to her genie.
you live on a beach?
Give him the sand, like a silicon miner.
Just make sure the sand isn't iiiiiiin his vaaagiiiiinaaaaaa!
"Pickups are the most easiest thing to change in your guitar!"
Strings: am I a joke to you?
Haha, got a great laugh from this comment.
Why would you change your strings?
Sincerely, a bass player
Could be the TH-cam compression, but I REALLY dug the stock Gretsch pickups! But, It's not my guitar...
Nice video as always.
I think the swapping didn't make much difference to my taste. I can tell that the Lollars were an upgrade, but in my personal opinion I wouldn't have them changed. The stock Filtertrons sounded really nice to me. Congratz on the upgrade tho!
Very subtle difference. I found the Lollars a bit mellower and smoother. As a long time player I understand how that tiny difference in tone makes a world of difference to the person playing the guitar. Great video as always. In fact I just subscribed! :-)
Filtertrons seemed more "even" sounding, having more midrange.
Lollars sounded more scooped, as i usually hear in older pickups.
Both sounded great, just different!!
For that kind of guitar, i liked the Lollars better!!
I love how Filtertrons sound. Honestly, even the Broadtrons sound fantastic.But If you really wanted a Chet sound wouldn't you use TV Jones?
The Filtertrons had more mid and low end, whereas the Lollars were a lot brighter. More bass'y low end with Filter...so maybe the Lollars will help it sit in the mix with bass and drums, more cut, and at high levels not boom out with the decreased lows and mid range frequencies. Its all dependent on what tone you are looking for as you said Rhet! Good video! :)
If anyone's confused about pickup output, it's measure in DC resistance. For example a 7.5K output humbucker will measure 7500 ohms at the output of your guitar.
This is a good reading of how powerful/hot a pickup is because a higher resistance pickup will be able to capture the movement of the strings more than a low output.
So, if you have a weird guitar and you can't find out what pickups are in it, try measuring with a multimeter. If your pickups are too hot, look for aftermarket ones with less DC resistance.
TV Jones makes the Best FilterTrons Period!
Gotta say, I really prefer the Filtertrons to the Lollar pickups. But to each their own ✊
Your Chet Atkins style is great! I grew up on Chet and his Gretch Country Gentleman. This was interesting. Thanks for sharing with us.
The filtertrons have more sparkle on the top end. The lollartrons though seem clearer and fuller sounding to my ears.
I use snowmobile gas line vinyl hoses on the pots' shafts. Works better than fishing line.
TFW when the stock pickups you didn’t like sound way better than the fancy aftermarket ones you just spent a bunch of time installing 🤨
I, too, liked the original pickups. Maybe the recording brings out the tone of the filtertrons. The Lollars were flat and seemed to have less dynamics.
The TV Jones kit comes with surgical tubing and a dowel for the input jack. Really helpful for working on thr wire harness of a hollow body
Excellent video.. covers all the major bases. You're a braver man than I, changing on a hollow-body. Also love the point about buying a used set of pups, that's my #1 way to save money. The only downside to buying used can be if the wires have been cut too short - happens sometimes.
Love the Raconteurs song,it sounds so good with the hollow body.
I am genuinely surprised that I actually heard a difference, the new pickups sounded a little richer over you tube. Thanks for all the content Rhett, I always look forward to a new videos even as a non guitar player.
Love the Raconteurs riff! Sounds unreal man, good move.
hey hi could u possibly tell me wats the name of the second last song he played before he stacked the pedals like the lil funky riff kinda
I’ve been a longtime viewer but for some reason just subbed, love all the content and the in depth-ness you go into! Great stuff!
I've noticed the best way to improve the sound of my guitars is to let a real guitarist play them. Rhett, are you available? :)
This must be why my guitar sounds like shit.
Nice video! But... Telling your 66k subscribers that "K"s are a "measure" of output is misleading. "K" stands for Kilo-Ohm, which is a measure of resistance. Not ouput voltage (signal that is...). There are too many factors involved on how a pickup sound. Resistance, inductance, wire gauge used, type of magnet etc etc. Usually, (and I say it again, usually!) a pickup can get more output using more coils of wire (= more resistance), but it also will suffer from lack of hi-end frequencies (hence dull, dark sound). It's a compromise. That said, I have a set of single coils measuring 5.2K of resistance on my strat-type guitar. Low right? Compared to the usual 7k (even 6k) of single-coils pickups, its lower.. But the output is massive! Why? because they have inductance (not resistance, not "Ks"), and since they have less windings (= less "Ks") they have a clear frequency range. So don't go just for resistance please, it's dumb.
Perfect explanation brother!
The Lollar pickups took away some low end, which was a really good thing for this guitar and the tone you were going for. It also made the whole instrument sound a lot smoother because it didn't need spiky highs to combat overly pronounced lows.
i liked the stock filtertrons. sounds more like a gretsch. subjective, i know.
Hi, Rhett! I would say that the articulation of the Lollars is a bit more defined, yet a little smoother. I think you were right when you said it sounded more like something Chet would have played. I'm 63 years old and began with guitar on my 9th birthday in July of 1965. I still remember the iconic sound because I grew up with probably more than a thousand hours of music from Chet, George Harrison, John Knowles, Duane Eddy, and more. Later, I had my own Gretsch, a 1969 Streamliner. No relationship or even similarity to the new Streamliners except the body shape and the brand name on the headstock. And fortunately, it didn't have a centerblock to ruin "That Great Gretsch Sound".
You inspired me to change my stock pups in my G5420T. Love everything about that guitar except the sounds. I might go with TV jones but the point is you made me finally decide to go for it. Thanks!
I've was just thinking about changing out the pickups in my Country Gentleman. I love the guitar, but the stock pickups aren't my cup of tea. I think the timing on this video is amazing! Thank you for all of your hard work, I love watching the content you produce.
Great example of how a "how to..." Video should be done. Amazing side by side comparison at the end - must have taken some time in post-processing- but effort much appreciated. Thanks Rhett
I recently swapped to TV Jones Pups. They are a little pricey but definitely WORTH IT!!! The tone and output blew my mind. Now I am spoiled forever!!!!!
Love the insight you give guitarists! really gives me some ideas on what my next challenge should be!
Good stuff Rhett. Thanks for demonstrating the hollow body, always wondered. Next time you come through Richmond, Va stop and see Lindy Fralin (assuming you haven’t already) and what they do. All hand-made pickups & controls; lots of options. Super group of guys. Keep up the great work!
The question is, would you have replaced the pickups if you had to pay for the new ones? How much do they cost? I didn't hear that much difference. It still sounds like a Gretsch.
Thanks for this. I have an Electromatic that sorely needs new pickups and these seem like the answer
I can hear what you say. The Lollards do sound brighter and less hot. I prefer the Lollards but I could see how some people could like the stock pickups.
I'm gonna have to give the W to the Filtertrons here after hearing the comparison. I love the richness of the low end. The Lollars are a bit more focus in the midrange, which will definitely cut through a mix well, but I find that the Filtertrons are doing a better job of sweeping the whole freq. spectrum.
Hi Rhett, first of all thanks a lot for all of ur videos. What would u recommand for playing with helix at home, low volume? Frfr cab? Studio monitors? What model would u recommand? Rock on
Love how this Gretsch sounds with the new pickups!
The Lollar's were definitely an upgrade. More body, smoother top end. Great video Rhett!
I definitely like the change. To me, the Lollars sound more "open". Brighter when needed but still have a nice thickness at the bottom when you're overdriving it. Plus, that's a damn sharp guitar and will look great on stage.
Filtertrons won for me - But you do you and go with the feel and sound you're going for.. because that's all that matters.
Hey jw, i bought a Gibson Les Paul Standard 60s (liked the neck profile & really like the Unburst top…wasnt a huge fan of the stock ‘61 Bustbuckers).
After few months i ended up having a legit guitar tech. take the stock pups in & put in a set of Seymour Duncan Slash 2.0 alnico II pro’s. *the 61’ stock burstbuckers were alnico 5’s but less output, the SD Slash 2.0’s are alnico II pros with more output*. Also no push pull, 3 way toggle, orange drop caps, 50s style wiring, i believe audio taper pots & 500k pots.
My question is when my Les Paul 60s standard 2023 60’s with stock 61’ BB’s in it, the sweep on the volume pots were both much more even and smoother…after having the SD Slash 2.0’s installed by a legit guitar tech i noticed at 10 its louder and more up allie tone wise, but for some reason rhe volume sweep changed…when it was stock with 61 Bustbuckers the sweep was pretty even for most part…now the volume knob on both pups are pretty sensitive from 10-6…5 and under it sounds like someone really dropped off the sound in my guitar pretty noticably? Ive been to diff guitar stores & back to my tech, he says its normal, others say theyve never heard of this and there may be an issue…others say its just different pickups reacting different to pots? It doesnt to dead silent at 5 or under, buf you gotta crank the amp vs if i had it at 8.5 or something, very top heavy on the volume sweep and then very very quiet at 5-2..then its basically muted at 1 & 0 lol
Aquarium tubing works really good too for pulling pots through. Slide the tip of the pot in the tube and pull it through
Thanks for making the video. The change in sound that made you so happy must have been very subtle; on 1080HD TH-cam, using a good sound card and Ultrasone headphones, these two pickup sets were virtually indistinguishable. I "sensed" that the Lollars may have been slightly brighter, by a vanishingly tiny increment. That's about it. Good thing they were "free."
I switched the original De Armond PUs in my Tele Sonic with Lollar mini humbucker. Couldn't be happier with the results. Lollar should be on anyone's list. Great upload, Rhett!
Great Video Rhett!!! I would be cool if you can do another video in detail changing pickups with tricks advices for doing it properly. I now that there are more videos out there but In think you explain very well things.
Both sets were good, but video's don't make themselves. Might as well have a nice demo on hollow body PUP change though. Very nice.
Very cool. Personally liked the Filtertrons better in the side-by-side comparison, but I'm also not chasing the tone in YOUR head. Thanks for the amazingly informative video!!
Glad you're happy with the swap. Those Lollartrons rises a midrangy thing in the Gretsch no so pleasant for me, but if you feel comfy, nothing can save you :)
The Lollartrons sounded a bit more open and clearer to my Ears, Interesting episode 👍🏻⭐️🌞
Lollars? I thought for sure you were going with Bareknuckle Aftermaths! Lol.
Once again, top shelf content. Thnx boss!
I would actually love to hear those pickups in a hollowbody haha
@@gentlewolf1279 try converge ! Kurt ballou often use that type of pickups in hollowbodys
TV Jones Classic Filtertrons! That's what Setzer uses.
In '67 I put a PAF in my Mustarng. Very sweet. I miss that guitar.
Great video. I personally would have gone with TV Jones myself. TV and Jason Lolar are basically neighbors, both based out of the San Juan islands in the Puget Sound. TV has been and is a gretch and filtertron pickup wizard forever. For years Jason and TV stayed in their respective expertise areas, Jason the Paf gibson and single coil strat stuff, TV the gretsch and filtertron stuff. I have called TV's phone number and talked to him directly. He answered all the questions I had and gave me his expert advice based on what I wanted to achieve. They're both great pickup makers.
The lesson I learned by swapping pickups is that yes it can change the sound but what I was missing in two guitars of mine was percussiveness and clarity. It took me a couple of years of learning to find out that scale length matters more for this than anything else.
I'm currently trying to get a 25.5" scale length Gretsch. A falcon is out of the budget but maybe an older county gentleman.
the new pickups sounded great, You might also want to change that cloth while using the soldering tool since its made out of plastic fabric and it burns fast, You probably don´t want to stain that beautiful guitar or any other for that matter.
Great video man. Loved the clarity of the new pickups. Where's the info on the Lollars, btw? Couldn't find it on the description
I wasn't expecting to like the Filtertrons the most!
Thanks for taking the mystery out of the process. The Lollars sound fantastic. A great upgrade.
Nice, Rhett. The Lollars are lower output, and therefore have more dynamics, plus they definitely have more character. I had a chambered Les Paul copy for years for never sounded right with the DiMarzio PAFs. I swapped them for Duncan Phat Cats, which are P90's in a PAF format. They totally breathed new life into this instrument, and I now love P90s!
I changed the pickups in my country classic to a TV jones supertron and classic plus. They sound amazing, but thankfully gretsch has done quite a bit of tweaking in their pickup designs in the last few years, and they are sounding pretty good.
At some point, especially if you are interrupted and can't do it all in one session, it is going to be really easy to be confused as to which pot is which. So I recommend putting a label on them as soon as you remove them. You also need to think about HOW to tie the line to those pots. It can be dicey getting the post through the hole when it is time to put them back. If you can use some tape to have the line basically coming from the centre of the post, life will be easier.
Rhett, no doubt REVERB rocks for new old pups, I grabbed a set of used Tremonti Sigs bass & treble for basically the price of ONE pup from Fret12!! Thanx, Cheech and Leo's Custom Creations!!
New pickups sound well balanced. Old ones were pretty boomy on my speakers.
Amazing video man. Simply great. I feel the same way about those filtertrons on my white falcon. It hardly gets played as much as my 335 and tele.
Beautiful Soumd with your New Pickups !!!!! Hopefully this Guitar will now appear more in your Videos.
I spent quite a long time working in stores and have swapped out many many pickups in guitars.
The same pickups will not necessarily suit every example of that guitar. I actually got quite good at not only listening to the requirements of the player but also the individual resonance of the guitar.
Each individual guitar is going to be slightly different. There can be a bit involved in finding the best match to redeem what is acoustically within the guitar as well as what suits the player's style.
Brother, don’t hate on me, but, I dug the stock pups too.
“The grass is always greener....”
I love the binding on that guitar.
Wow ! can't believe how many folks still like the filtertrons better.. I thought it was a no brainer as they were to bright and noisey for my taste. The Lollartrons really cleaned and smoothed out the tone.
Beautiful guitar, great playing and perfect sound for the Gretsch.
You do you, man! Great video! You just sold me on the Gretsch filtertrons, buddy lol! I'm going to Reverb right now to upgrade my 2627!
This video was a big help to me. I am about to change my pickups and I am no longer concerned about the task.
I am glad to say there is no difference because when I heard it before u changed them I was terrified because it was beutiful already and I'm glad to see that it made no difference in my humble opinion but super helpful on how to go about it and what I should be looking for thanx
Filtertrons sounded better to me - louder with more sparkle. But I guess the Lollars would cut through a mix better 👍
You definitely got the results you were wanting. The Lollar's sound much cleaner, the highs are crispier, and the tone cuts through the overdrive really well. Nice pickup.
Thanks for featuring a hollow body guitar, I’ve been wanting to put a new set of pickups in my Eastman 372. Now I feel like I have enough intel to do the job. Also, the Lollar’s definitely sound better than the stockers. Thanks!
Swapping PUs on a hollow body require gynecologist skills.
Weirdly enough I loved the original pickups. But Lollar does make incredible pickups. With Dirt the Lollars were less harsh.
It's Dustin from Temple, GA again. Love your videos! Hope to see you at Righteous Guitars one day. I'll probably stop in tomorrow just to check out the store for the first time. The REAL reason I'm leaving a comment is because I would love to see you produce an album with some of your montage tracks like Rabea Massaad did with Grinding Gears and Grinding Gears 2. You make some awesome tracks as well and would love to see you compile some killer albums!
My Les Paul has pretty hot pickups so for a clean sound I turn down to about 8. That also reduces finger noise and harmonics too.
Great video , I like the lollars to. My uncle and chet were roomates when they went to UT. Great playing,I think Chet would agree with that tone.
Not only am I a big fan of Lollar pickups, I am literally sitting about a mile from their office as I watch this video. Always cool to see my hometown products mentioned.Tacoma WA represent! I agree with you, I think the Lollars sounded better than the stock Filtertrons. I have Lollar '52s in one of my Teles and Tele Specials in the other.
The filtertrons act totally different in a falcon vs a 6120. I would suggest TV Jones pickups as he makes some other filtertron style pickups that will make the falcons less muddy. I play mainly Gretch hollowbodies so I am speaking from experience. TV Jones responds to emails and I would suggest emailing him with a bit of a description of what you are going for.
I find the black tops that are in billy duffy signature are great for falcons. Also the Brian Setzer filtertrons are great for falcons.
The MagaTron would sound great too.
Also TV Jones sells a kit for working with thr wire harness.
I would also check out nocturn peals as they are built and meant to work specifically with filtertron pickups
I could not really tell any difference listening on a car stereo. Probably different in person while playing. Great video and well done regardless !!
Fantastic channel.
Real world discussions and solutions for working musicians.
TY for the excellent video. The TV Jones classic in neck and classic plus in bridge and you will get the sound your after.
If you've exposed the cavity by removing the pick guard assembly, why not install some copper shielding while you're at it?
Beautiful guitar, I've done many pickup swaps and installed push pull knobs for coil splits.
Already did it with my ml warbird,went from what ever Dean put in to a 59 neck and a l500xl bridge
Preferred the stock filtertrons. More bite, good for straight up rock. But that might not be what you want the guitar for. Very nice and informative video!
I have read most of the comments pros/cons. To me I got more out of watching the techniques of actually taking the pickups out, soldering the pots, The fishing line was a great tip. The difference in tone of the two types of pickups were a moot point to me. They both sounded great. Keep in mind you are listening to this video sound pumped through maybe a 2 inch speaker in your laptop or even through your plug in speakers. How can you evaluate the tones in that medium? The Gretsch pickups are high quality designed by engineers for that guitar. The Lollar Pickups are high quality engineered for after market replacement. It's apples to apples. Just a guess that they are Lollar Imperial pickups [top of the line], $175 each. Am I going to spend $350 for a slightly different sound that I possibly could come close to recreating with the tone knobs or amp settings.......No. If I was going to upgrade an Epi etc yes maybe.
The filtertrons sounds bigger with more low end and presence and the lollies are more focused, you can hear the mids more, both are vialbe sounds, it's simply a matter of the situation and the players taste.
Agree with Rhett. I found the stock Filter'Trons were just a wee bit "Dymamic", whereas the Lollars were smooth and are probably easier to dial-up than dial back...Makes a big difference when playing live thru presets on rig...Great install video. I use my tech in Toronto because I always burn my fingers with the bloody soldering tool..Ouch...lol 👍🎸🎸🎸🎸
Amazed at the number of people preferring the stock pickups, they were very muddy at the lower end and lacked note definition across the range. The Lollars were much cleaner and had more harmonic upper mids for me.
Hey Rhett. You write a lot of what I think would become very *iconic riffs* if only they were used as parts in a rock band. I think that they are the type of riffs that could help propel a band into becoming extremely popular. Unfortunately, the bands I've seen you with are not at all _riff based_ bands, so I understand, and even concur, with them not being used in those situations.
I guess this is just my long-winded way of saying I'd love to hear what you do in a more sort of hard rock, or even progressive band setting.
In any case, you always do what all great players do and play what fit's the song, and a band mate or listener can't ask for better than that. I think this is your strongest point as a player (not disparage your other qualities ofc). It's always something I strive for as well, since being part of a band (not the leader, or star) was what made me decide to become a musician when I was a kid.
He didn't write those rifffs, I think that's some Jack White stuff.
The originals were definitely hotter than the Lollartrons. The difference is so pronounced at 15.15 that I didn't believe my ears at first. Thanks for the video, happy you like the new tone of your great guitar!