The Steel Guitar Forum

I picked up a vintage 50's Deluxe D8 (the one with the trapezoidal pickups) from the forum about 3 weeks ago. A very nice guitar in excellent condition, but due to age, the tone cap was dried out and dead and the string-through pickups were shrill with the bobbins warped which caused it to "buzz" where the strings were touching. I replaced the tone cap (which was easy enough) and tried to see about getting the pickups in playing order. Long story short, I broke one of the pickups trying to take it apart and finally decided I needed an expert - go figger This is where Jason Lollar's shop comes in.

I contacted the shop through the website and even though they say on the site that they're not doing rewinds anymore, they responded to my email quickly and recommended that I send in both pickups, including the plates to which they mount. They re-magnetized the magnets, replaced the bobbins, rewound them and re-soldered the ground wire to the mounting plate. They quoted a 4-6 week turn around but I got back in only a week.

I put them back in the guitar, restrung it and it was sheer magic Whereas before I couldn't get the treble low enough either by rolling off the tone knob on the guitar or on the amp (PRRI), now I just roll the tone knob down about half way and set the amp treble/bass to 4. The pickup is wonderfully balanced, with a beautiful tone and a high end that's bright but not shrill, with a nicely filled out bass. The tone itself is beyond classic. Even my girlfriend commented on it, without being asked, saying that it sounded just like those old records!!!

FWIW, the rebuild on both pickups is NOT cheap, but I figure since they'll be good for another 50 years it's well worth it. I highly recommend it.

I've heard a few folks say that they couldn't get a fat sound out of these pickups and, having owned a few of these guitars, I know that if this is the case then there is a problem with the pickups. All the trap pickups I've had were very full through the entire audible spectrum, except for one guitar which had the shrunken bobbin problem and had weird overtones. They are worth the attention!

Jason is a true pickup guru. That guy REALLY knows his stuff and consistently delivers incredible sounds.

Just goes to show, you need to ask. Glad you did. ENJOY that Fender.

Not only is Jason Lollar one of the most (if not the most) knowledgeable person on pickups. He shares his knowledge freely. I tried to rewind one of the coils on my Airline lap steel but ran into some problems. I sent an email to him and to my surprise he responded the next day with all the information I needed, and even offered to sell me the parts to complete my project.

I'll bet she sounds great Twayn! When those trap pickups are working right they are sweet for sure!

We in the steel guitar community are lucky to have Jason around! He knows his stuff and delivers the goods.

I had the same experience with Jason. He answered a question I had next day and included many troubleshooting tips. I wish more people took his approach; put your name on the company and completely stand behind it.

The best...

Jason wound all the Rick pickups I used. He's the man alright.....

In dealing with Jason last year I got the impression that he has been playing lap steel a long time- perhaps even longer than he has been playing regular guitars. With him steel guitar pickups are not just an afterthought but something that means a lot to him. (One of the projects he mentioned last year was coming up with a 10 string version of his Supro lap steel pickup for one of his neighbors, a well-known amp designer.)

And as several people here have already mentioned, he takes the time to help out people who are having problems with a pickup. Not to mention that he literally wrote the book on winding pickups- most of the boutique pickup makers got started by reading the book he published in the 90's which included instructions on how to build your own winding machine.