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Jason Lollar has been a professional luthier since graduating from Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery in Phoenix, Arizona in 1975. However, his interests and expertise go well beyond building guitars. In addition to designing and producing extraordinary archtop, solid-body electric and lap steel guitars, Jason is a noted authority on nearly everything related to electric pickups. He is the sole author of Basic Pickup Winding and Complete Guide to Making Your Own Pickup Winder Jason's book has been credited as the spark that created a new movement in aftermarket and boutique pickup manufacturers.
Additionally, many amateur and professional luthiers and guitar electronics tinkerers have learned a great deal about pickups using Jason's book. Even if you never plan to wind your own pickups, his book is a valuable reference for any musician interested in gaining a better understanding of tone and sound in electric instruments.
The Imperial Humbuckers which we use capture the airy top end, tight lows, balanced midrange, and complex overtones of the best original PAF pickups. In reviews it is consistently given high marks for its balanced frequency response. Unbalanced coils keep the bottom end tight for the amount of fullness the pickups have, overtones build after each note is played. Alnico 5 magnets are de-gaussed to specific levels, unique to the neck and bridge positions. Nickel silver pickup cover, with single conductor braided shield wire. Neck 7.6K, Bridge 8.4K
Switchcraft Switches & Jack
Switchcraft, Inc. was established in 1946 to manufacture jacks, plugs, and switches. The original plant was located on West Diversey Street in Chicago. The company moved to a larger facility at 1328 North Halsted Street in 1948 and in 1958, the operation moved to 5555 North Elston Avenue, which is still the headquarters of the corporation.
Switchcraft is a leading supplier of a broad line of components for the audio, video, telecommunication, computer, medical, military, appliance, transportation, and instrumentation industries. In the 185,000 square foot Chicago facility, Switchcraft manufactures electronic and electromechanical components including: Jacks, Connectors, Jack Panels, Power Cords, Switches, Plugs, Patch Cords, EAC Power Receptacles, Molded Cable Assemblies
We utilize the Switchcraft Short 3-Way Toggle Switch, and Short mono end-pin jack. Switchcraft is considered the leader in switches and jacks for electrics guitars and are considered to be the “most reliable” available.
CTS Potentiometers
CTS Corporation designs, manufactures and sells a broad line of electronic components and sensors, and a provider of electronics manufacturing solutions (EMS), primarily serving the electronic needs of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). CTS product lines serve major markets around the world, which include the automotive, computer, communications markets, medical, defense & aerospace, and industrial, with a wide range of products.
The Larrivee RS-4 uses four of the Long Shaft CTS 500K potentiometers. These “pots” are considered the highest quality pots in the industry and are what professionals demand on their guitars.These pots feature brass shafts and mil-spec construction.
Gavitt Wire
You may think something as simple as the “wire” used in your electric guitar wouldn’t be a complex item. Think again. When we received the first pickups from Jason Lollar we were very impressed with the quality of wire he used; we quickly called Jason and he told us about Gavitt Wire Company and the rest is history.
Gavitt Wire & Cable Company is NOT your typical "catalog" house. They are a small, family owned and operated business with an 80+ year history of meeting customers particular requirements (small quantities a focus) for made-to-order product such as: High-Reliability (extreme service and/or extended flex-life) Wire, Cable, Retractile Cords, Ribbon Cable, Assemblies and Specialties serving such diverse markets as: Medical Equipment, Avionics, Fire Protective Services, High-End Audio, Control and Instrumentation, Marine, Consumer, and Entertainment industries.
Each Larrivee Guitar features about 4 feet of single conductor braided shield wire.
Luxe Capacitors
The development of the RS-4 took many twists and turns. The very first “drawing board” design we have has a little scribbled note which reads “paper-in-oil capacitors” on it. The research phase led us down several different paths but finally we settled on the LUXE path. LUXE is run by a husband and wife team (Donovan and his wife Kylie) who are truly some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. Every capacitor is hand rolled at their home in Los Angeles, CA
The capacitors that we use are perfect reproductions of the famous Sprauge Bumblebee found in the 1956-1963 Les Paul’s. At first they were made with Russian military surplus parts, but he has since started rolling the capacitors himself with the proper foil, paper, and oil. Each Capacitor features hand-painted stripes which correctly match the uF & VDC rating, as well as vintage-style varnished cloth spaghetti. The Capacitors produce a very warm and creamy sound.
The reason we chose LUXE over other makers is that the LUXE capacitors are the only paper-in-oil Bumblebee reproductions available in the whole wide world, and at half the price of the fakes.
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