Just curious if anyone has compared both of them together? The VV are about $50 less..but of course it sounds like the Lollars are the gold standard. Just curious.
Nothing wrong with the VV's, Pete does a good job on them. The newer model Gibson's are worth keeping your eye out for too. My favorite P90 right now are the BG-Pups with an A2 and A5 mix mag setup, they are very articulate with great clarity and dynamics.
My feel is that the VV's are good, but Lollars are great. I think that for $50, you would always think....should I have gotten the Lollars? The 2 most important areas of your guitar are the neck and the pickups. They are the factors that will really bond you to a guitar. My 2 cents that is deflating daily!
Thats kind of what I've been thinking also. Would I wonder if I got the best? The pickups on thier now are either Duncan vintage P90's or vintage hots. not sure of which. They're a bit muddy so I'd like to brighten them up..but I do like them being a bit hot. I like the fact though that Pete (vv) sends 2 magnets. Thats cool.
Nothing second rate about the VV pickups at all. I've used them before and was very impressed. I put a set of his P90-style Strat pickups in a friend's guitar and they sound superb.
I have a set of Lollars in my R6 Les Paul and I love them. The first of P-90's that I bought for that guitar however, were Vintage Vibes. The pickup cavity on the guitar wasn't deep enough for them, so I had to return them. I've since heard them in the guitars of friends and really liked them. I probably would have just stayed with them if they would have fit in the first place and been quite pleased. The Lollars do kick ass though, and won't be leaving my guitar any time soon. Also, these were the only two companies that I new of at the time that offered their P-90's reverse wound, which put them a step above the Gibsons for me.
I had a Lollar-equipped LP Special, and frankly was underwhelmed with the pickups, which is surprising since I am a huge fan of Jason's work. They were the standard P-90s, however, and I have heard that the Lollar vintage P-90s produce more of the growl that I was expecting. So, you might want to investigate both Lollar options before buying to see which set matches your tastes. +1 on the current Gibson P-90s being great too.
