Any Experience with Lace Sensors?

[marnold]

I'm still questing for replacement pickups for my Floyd. I got some prices on the Dimarzio Area 61. $69 seems to be the going rate. The Screamin' Demon is about $90. Not inexpensive.

Anyway, someone on the FDP forums is always raving about the Lace Sensor Hot Gold set. This site (http://www.aamps.us/lace_pickups/hot_gold_series.html) has an SSD set for $165 - 5%. That'd be quite a bit cheaper. My only concern is that the bridge dually is a whopping 26K. That's very hot even for my heavy metal heart. They do have a neck version that's about 12K that would be more what I'm looking for for this project.

[Algonquin]

I've never played them but I was just browsing their site the other day.

http://lacemusic.com/soundbites/sound_bites.php

Couldn't hurt to have a listen.

:beer:

[marnold]

The only problem with the Lace clips is that they don't have any Hot Gold ones. This is the guy (http://marksmitchell.home.mindspring.com/) on the FDP forums who raves about them. He does have several Hot Gold clips. He also has a guitar with a white pearloid pickguard and black pups (http://marksmitchell.home.mindspring.com/Bender.JPG) that I like the look of quite a bit.

I should add that I did play someone's Tele once with a blue Lace sensor in the neck. I thought it sounded very nice. It also had a Dimarzio Virtual Hot T in the bridge which I liked as well.

[Spudman]

I've got a set in a Strat. Golds in the neck and middle and a red in the bridge. I like them a lot. I got them after meeting John Jorgenson in New Orleans (Elton John, The Hellacasters, The Meters). I love the sound he was getting and asked him what he was using.

They are really quiet, but don't expect them to sound like a regular pickup. It's close but just a little different. It took me a while to get used to the sound and now I really like it. The red is super hot and it wails. The strings vibrate easier too because there is significantly less magnetic pull. It's really noticeable. It made my guitar come alive more.

They are good pickups just different.

[marnold]

They are really quiet, but don't expect them to sound like a regular pickup. It's close but just a little different. It took me a while to get used to the sound and now I really like it. The red is super hot and it wails. The strings vibrate easier too because there is significantly less magnetic pull. It's really noticeable. It made my guitar come alive more.
I guess my question with the Golds in particular would be: do they have that Strat chimyness and shimmer? If I said pretty please could I get you to record some quicky clean clips of just some strumming in positions #3, 4, and 5 with a Fenderish amp? You would be my hero.

[Algonquin]

Umm, Spud? Do you even remember which of the Herd you've got the Laces in. :D

This could take a while Marnold.

[Spudman]

This one, and they are staying it.
I'll try to get some clips up before long. There probably is already a clip in the backing tracks section. I don't remember which cut though.

http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w149/srspud/Guitars/koreansquier027.jpg

[Algonquin]

:drool: 'That's all I have to say about that.'

[Robert]

I had some gold ones in a guitar for a while, and I liked them. Personally, I would pick the Area 61 though, because I like the vintage sounding pickups and the Lace Sensors don't sound that vintage to my ears (although they are still nice).

[Spudman]

I had some gold ones in a guitar for a while, and I liked them. Personally, I would pick the Area 61 though, because I like the vintage sounding pickups and the Lace Sensors don't sound that vintage to my ears (although they are still nice).

I'll second what he says. The Lace are not going to sound like vintage pickups, but if their particular sound is what you are after then they are hard to beat. They worked best for me with 500ohm pots.

If you want great sounding affordable vintage noiseless pickups then the Dimarzios are the way to go.

[marnold]

I think I'm going to have to drag my Floyd to the guitar shoppe and do some A/B comparisons. I played an SRV strat earlier this year and didn't like the Texas Special pups in it. Sounded way too thin to me. Conversely I played a Highway One Tele and found its pickups to be dull and lifeless.

Unfortunately, my chances of being able to check out a guitar with any Lace Sensors in them, to say nothing of Hot Golds, would be slim to none and Slim just left town.

[Spudman]

Here is a Lace sensor demo for you. (http://www.box.net/shared/z4zwrv4is8)

I started with the neck pickup, then neck+middle, then middle just for a bit, then middle+bridge. I never got to the hot Red just by itself. It reminds me of a smoking hot P90 with no noise if that is of any help. This is clean into the Blackheart with no boost just reverb added in the mix.

[tot_Ou_tard]

Here is a Lace sensor demo for you. (http://www.box.net/shared/z4zwrv4is8)

I started with the neck pickup, then neck+middle, then middle just for a bit, then middle+bridge. I never got to the hot Red just by itself. It reminds me of a smoking hot P90 with no noise if that is of any help. This is clean into the Blackheart with no boost just reverb added in the mix. Really sweet Spud! The BlackHeart sounds great too, izzat the 3 watt triode setting?

[marnold]

Thanks a million for taking the time to do this Spud, I really appreciate it. I particularly like the neck and middle (aka quack) tones.

[Spudman]

Really sweet Spud! The BlackHeart sounds great too, izzat the 3 watt triode setting?

That was on the 5 watt and the volume is at 10 o'clock and an sm57 off axis 8 inches from the speaker.

[M29]

Sweet Spud! Very nice, you need to make a CD that we can all enjoy, this was Sweet!

M29

[Bloozcat]

Sweet sounding demo there, Spud!

Mark Mitchell is a big proponent of Hot Gold pickups, and he really makes them sound good, too (I think Mark could make $20.00 axe sound good...he just plays that well!). Back about three years ago I was considering a set of Lace Sensor pickups and I talked with Mark a lot about them. I listened to his sound files, and to the advice and descriptions of several others who owned them. I was looking for something noisless that had the Strat single coil vibe, but that would also sound good when pushed in an overdriven amp.

I ended up getting the Lace Holy Grails, and I'm really glad that I did. As one poster over at FDP so aptly put it, they're like an "idealized" single coil sound. They sound like a good vintage single coil would sound if you could somehow magically remove all of the inherent noise. Still, they're not exactly like a single coil, no matter how much one tries to make them appear to be. They're just a different animal, but one that does a pretty darn good impersonation of a single coil. They're responsive to changes in EQ settings as well, so there's a lot of subtleties to explore with them. I think that's also true of the Hot Golds as well. You can certainly hear some of that in Spud's sound file.

[marnold]

Mark Mitchell is a big proponent of Hot Gold pickups, and he really makes them sound good, too (I think Mark could make $20.00 axe sound good...he just plays that well!). Back about three years ago I was considering a set of Lace Sensor pickups and I talked with Mark a lot about them. I listened to his sound files, and to the advice and descriptions of several others who owned them. I was looking for something noisless that had the Strat single coil vibe, but that would also sound good when pushed in an overdriven amp.
Yeah, I've been talking with Mark (aka SMark) on the FDP forum about this too. He's got a ton of clips. He posted one showing the second position quake with a 13K/13K Dually split at the bridge with a 6K in the middle. Think Mark Knopfler on steroids :)

[Bloozcat]

I don't think you'll be disappointed by any choice you make between any of the Hot Golds and/or the Holy Grails, marnold. It's just a matter of getting as close to the basic sound you're looking for, and going for it.

With all of the research you done on these pickups already, you're well aware that although they're very single coil-ish in tone, they're still not quite the same animal. Those who I've seen that were dissappointed with these pickups, didn't understand that they weren't simply ordering single coil pickups that were noise free. I think that when you go into it with realistic expectations, you're much more open to the vesatility and dynamic responses that these pickups offer. My attitude was simply that I have more than one straight single coil equipped Strat, I wanted something different in one guitar. These pickups are that.

Good luck with your choice, and let us know how you like 'em!

[marnold]

With all of the research you done on these pickups already, you're well aware that although they're very single coil-ish in tone, they're still not quite the same animal. Those who I've seen that were dissappointed with these pickups, didn't understand that they weren't simply ordering single coil pickups that were noise free. I think that when you go into it with realistic expectations, you're much more open to the vesatility and dynamic responses that these pickups offer. My attitude was simply that I have more than one straight single coil equipped Strat, I wanted something different in one guitar. These pickups are that.
See, it's that "not quite single coil" comment that tends to get me. I figure if I could hear them with my own ears, I'd understand. It's hard to judge from clips. That's not my guitar, that's not my amp, that's not my hands playing. Right now the main benefit for me would be cost, and that's not inherently the best determiner.

I know that when I play my Floyd and then put it down and play my '51 that I have my old Charvel Model 7's neck pickup in, I like the '51 a lot better but I can't necessarily define why. I think it's an issue of clarity. And this despite the fact that the guys on the Jackson/Charvel forums don't seem to hold the Jackson single coils from that era in high regard. Go figure.

Today is theoretically my day off (I say "theoretically" because I still have a meeting this morning). I'm going to take my Floyd down to a couple of shops in Green Bay and A/B it through an AD30VT with various other single coil-equipped guitars and see if I can figure out exactly what the heck I want. Should be interesting. I'm especially going to try to listen to some Texas Specials and Vintage Noiseless as well as standard American Strat pups.

[Bloozcat]

I understand what you're saying, marnold. It's always a crap shoot when you get new pickups, though. This is just a different kind of crap shoot...;)

[SuperSwede]

Spud, that strat sounds SWEET. Very blue, both in color and sound!

...Same same but different as they say...

[sunvalleylaw]

SirSpud, that was really, really nice. Goes on the iPod! Hope you don't mind if I cop some licks if I can pull them off.

[Spudman]

Marnold
I've never played any single coil noiseless pickups to date that also didn't change the feel of the instrument. They have less magnetic pull and therefore the strings react differently than with regular single coils.

It took me a while to get used to the Lace sensors but I'm glad that I stuck it out and finally quit comparing them to regular single coils. I've noticed the same thing with the Vintage Noiseless too.

So when you are sampling them be sure to get it into your head that you CAN'T expect them to be like regular single coils.

And one last thing, I've had mine for 15 years and you'll never see them up for sale. I hope that helps.

[Bloozcat]

It just struck me that this is a little like trying to explain an elephant to a blind man.......;)

[Spudman]

It just struck me that this is a little like trying to explain an elephant to a blind man.......;)

True. But since it is a forum and people that can read look for information I thought I should at least try.

[marnold]

It just struck me that this is a little like trying to explain an elephant to a blind man.......;)
That is precisely my problem. Or maybe more directly, trying to describe music to a deaf man.

[Bloozcat]

Well, about the best anyone can do is to try to relate what these pickups sound like to them. Spud went a step further with that sound clip that shows you how melodic and sweet the Hot Golds can sound, and Mark Mitchell has those great sound clips of the overdriven sound of the Hot Golds.

Spud said he won't ever sell or trade his Hot Golds, and I won't ever sell or trade my Holy Grails. I don't know about Spud, but I've tried and discarded as many pickups as I've kept. My Lace pickups are definitely in the "keeper" catagory.

Decisions, decisions...:)

[Spudman]

What a tease.:poke: :D

[Bloozcat]

What a tease.:poke: :D

Aw, just a little gentle prodding!

We GAS-a-holics love company...:D

[Spudman]

Since we are on a noiseless single coil topic...the active EMG system in the Luke (my avatar) is virtually noiseless and very Strat like.

[marnold]

Since we are on a noiseless single coil topic...the active EMG system in the Luke (my avatar) is virtually noiseless and very Strat like.
I thought about EMGs. I've heard their Tele set is awesome. However, I didn't want to mess with a battery.

[Spudman]

I don't blame you. If you don't unplug then it ends up being one more trip to the store to get batteries when you don't really want to go. It's always when you are really looking forward to playing and then discover the battery is dead.:thwap:

[marnold]

Back to the Laces, I received an email from Lace saying that the dually in there Hot Gold S-S-D set is a 13k/6k. Thus following the advice in the other thread I could wire up an on/off/on switch to choose between a hot humbucker, hot single coil, or vintage single coil at the bridge. That's almost enough to sell me on the set right there. Then I could make the volume knob a push-pull to turn on the humbucker for bridge-neck, and all three pickup combos. The mind boggles!

[Bloozcat]

Back to the Laces, I received an email from Lace saying that the dually in there Hot Gold S-S-D set is a 13k/6k. Thus following the advice in the other thread I could wire up an on/off/on switch to choose between a hot humbucker, hot single coil, or vintage single coil at the bridge. That's almost enough to sell me on the set right there. Then I could make the volume knob a push-pull to turn on the humbucker for bridge-neck, and all three pickup combos. The mind boggles!

I have this visual of marnold reading the e-mail from Lace while a pod slowly rises behind him. Foom!...the pod spews it's spores, and marnold suddenly sees everything so clearly...:D

I think I've watched too many old science fiction movies...:o

[Spudman]

I was watching this Deep Purple DVD last night and realized that Richie is using Lace Gold pickups. Check out any of the 1993 Mark II videos and you'll be able to hear these pickups. They sound amazingly like Richie's older guitar tones before he started using Lace pickups.

Side note: if you love Deep Purple MkII then the 1993 "Come Hell Or High Water" DVD is simply amazing. There are some parts that are just unbelievable. Ian Paice steals the show of course but everyone's playing is spot on.

OnsSkHEUroY