Members wankdeplank Posted April 24, 2014 Members Share Posted April 24, 2014 Recently I mixed a Lace Sensor with an alnico and a ceramic in a 91 MIM Strat. I put it in the middle position. I had posted a thread asking for advice on this particular endeavor and most had never experimented in this way, but got a lot of support for the Lace pickups. Just before I installed it a forumite with some experience on the subject suggested that the Lace would sound a bit "out of phase" because of the magnetic fields. Well lo and behold this is what I experienced. To offset this, I've decided to replace the bridge (ceramic) with another Lace which should definitely give me a more refined bridge sound but also hopefully make the middle position less "quacky". So that's the bad news so to speak, but the good news is I swear that the addition of the Lace makes the neck pickup (Pete Biltoft boutique Alnico 5) sound absolutely incredible. I don't have any before and after recordings but I swear it's now got more warmth and presence than ever before. Before the swap, I questioned my decision to put an Alnico 5 in the bridge because it seemed too trebly, but with the Lace I sometimes think it sounds better than the Fender Custom Shop pickup in the neck of my American Strat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members knotty Posted April 24, 2014 Members Share Posted April 24, 2014 I always wonder with projects like this. Are you setting it up to suite a particular amp or testing it on a variety of amps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wankdeplank Posted April 24, 2014 Author Members Share Posted April 24, 2014 I always wonder with projects like this. Are you setting it up to suite a particular amp or testing it on a variety of amps? Nope, no project in mind, just basically upgrading an old MIM Fender Squier Series Strat. Real happy with the way the other one turned out with just some GFS "vintage boutiques" thrown in - it rivals my 89 American Strat and actually gets played more because I prefer the vintage style frets. This one had some real raunchy sounding ceramics in it - great for gain but not much else. So I've started slowly changing out the neck pickup first and then the middle when they didn't blend as hoped and now I'm abandoning the bridge as well for a Lace Sensor Burgundy. Have played it through several amps with similar results. Has something to do with magnetic fields I'm sure. From the Lace site: "Unlike ordinary electric guitar pickups that read string vibration from 6 magnetic poles, Lace Sensors generate 36 separate magnetic "sensing" fields which, in the areas where they contact the string, "read" the strings' vibration. (Regular guitar pickups only generate anywhere from 4 to 12 fields). Lace Sensors also have Radiant Field Barriers: metal slides which frame the inner core of the Sensor Pickup and perform two functions. The first is to shield the Sensor from the outside noise and 60 cycle hum. The second is to produce a broader, yet more concentrated umbrella of a sensing field than that of standard magnetic pickups." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members knotty Posted April 24, 2014 Members Share Posted April 24, 2014 Sounds logical, if the pup picks up more harmonics from a wider catchment area.reason I was asking about the amp was. My PRS and my vox AD30VT just didnt get on.PRS and other amps , fine.Vox and other guitars fine. VOX and PRS no good tones available!PRS now gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wankdeplank Posted April 25, 2014 Author Members Share Posted April 25, 2014 Sounds logical, if the pup picks up more harmonics from a wider catchment area. reason I was asking about the amp was. My PRS and my vox AD30VT just didnt get on. PRS and other amps , fine. Vox and other guitars fine. VOX and PRS no good tones available! PRS now gone. I know, I feel like I'm inventing the wheel or something. Don't like your neck pickup, just stick a Lace Sensor next to it. So that's the good news. Bad news is nobody seems to care. Sorry to hear about the loss of your PRS though.sm-drool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GilmourD Posted April 25, 2014 Members Share Posted April 25, 2014 I have a FLS Gold in the middle of my black Strat with a Fender Vintage Noiseless in the neck. I used to have a Duncan APS-1 in the bridge but I recently replaced that with a DiMarzio Area '61 since the Clapton mid booster I installed liked to turn the AlNiCo II Pro in the bridge into a noise monster. Regardless... FLS Gold sounds sweet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wankdeplank Posted April 25, 2014 Author Members Share Posted April 25, 2014 Wow, I don't think I've ever seen that beauty Gilmour. I guess we know where you got the Gilmour handle now. Did you notice that the addition of the Lace Gold in the middle made the others sound sweeter as well? I know I'm not imagining this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members knotty Posted April 25, 2014 Members Share Posted April 25, 2014 I know, I feel like I'm inventing the wheel or something. Don't like your neck pickup, just stick a Lace Sensor next to it. So that's the good news. Bad news is nobody seems to care. Sorry to hear about the loss of your PRS though.sm-drool Don't grieve for the PRS. Heres its replacement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wankdeplank Posted April 26, 2014 Author Members Share Posted April 26, 2014 She's a beauty alright!!! That could make a guy forget right quick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GilmourD Posted April 27, 2014 Members Share Posted April 27, 2014 Wow, I don't think I've ever seen that beauty Gilmour. I guess we know where you got the Gilmour handle now. Did you notice that the addition of the Lace Gold in the middle made the others sound sweeter as well? I know I'm not imagining this. Actually, I've always called this one Layla. I do have a Gilmour Strat I built but I'm not loving the neck I put on it since it feels too thin and the fretboard feels flat. As far as it making the other pickups sound better, I couldn't tell you... I bought the FLS Gold first and put it in the bridge position originally along with the stock MIM Standard pickups. Then I got the Duncan APS-1 for the bridge and moved this to the middle where I eventually put the FVN. My theory is that what your hearing is the low magnetic pull of the pickup not damping the strings as much. It's the same thing that people hear when they pull the neck pickup out of a guitar, like guys converting Teles to Esquires and when EVH pulled the neck pickup out of his LP Custom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wankdeplank Posted April 28, 2014 Author Members Share Posted April 28, 2014 Layla huh? I thought Clapton was still playing a Gibson during that period? It does look like Blackie though. And you make some very good points regarding the low magnetic pull thing. That sounds like a very valid explanation for why that neck sounds so much better. But the other thing is that in my case the Fender Lace Gold I put in the middle sounded a little too quacky or out of phase in the middle of an Alnico 5 and a pretty strong stock ceramic. This was actually predicted by forumite guitarcapo (http://www.harmonycentral.com/forum/forum/guitar/acapella-41/31112331-questions-regarding-strat-lace-sensors) in the first thread I did asking for feedback on putting a lace sensor with other type pickups. He said that the middle would sound "out of phase" - have you noticed this with your Strat? In any event, I just replaced my ceramic bridge pickup with a Lace Burgundy and WOW, what an improvement in the way that middle Fender Lace Gold now sounds. Real happy with this thing now - definitely no more experimenting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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