Members wankdeplank Posted April 7, 2014 Members Share Posted April 7, 2014 Somehow I've gotten a little infatuated recently with Lace Sensor Pickups. I'm thinking I'd like to take the plunge and maybe try one (or two or three) in one of my MIM Strats. I want a very clean, vintage sounding pickup and research suggests I try the Fender Gold (NOS). So here's the question: would it be possible to put one in with the other existing pickups, would it be strong enough (no Ohm meter), would it be compatible? I've mixed alnicos with ceramics before and had good results, could I do the same with a Lace? Tell me your experience with these pickups - gold, blue, red; NOS Fender vs new Lace offerings; and most importantly, have you mixed and matched? Thx. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members humbuckerstrat Posted April 7, 2014 Members Share Posted April 7, 2014 I like the red, silver and blue Lace Sensors I have in a Strat, but they're very distortion-loving, especially the red in the bridge. Not very clean or vintage-sounding. No, I've never mixed and matched Lace Sensors with any other type of pickup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wankdeplank Posted April 7, 2014 Author Members Share Posted April 7, 2014 Hey Humbucker, thanks for weighing in. I know you play metal mostly so I'm sure you're very happy with them. Love to hear from somebody that has used the Gold - I gotta have a good clean sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members humbuckerstrat Posted April 7, 2014 Members Share Posted April 7, 2014 Hey Humbucker' date=' thanks for weighing in. I know you play metal mostly so I'm sure you're very happy with them. Love to hear from somebody that has used the Gold - I gotta have a good clean sound.[/quote']You're welcome, wankdeplank philthumb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dr. Scottie C Posted April 8, 2014 Members Share Posted April 8, 2014 I have the 3 Gold Lace Sensors stock in my 1993 Strat Plus..... they are my favorite pickup there is..... I have Rocketfires, Lollars, Texas Specials, and Dimarzios in my other guitars..... Lace Sensors are untouchable. Sound like a 1954 strat without any hum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wankdeplank Posted April 8, 2014 Author Members Share Posted April 8, 2014 Hey Scottie, hoping you might stop by. You're giving me the Lace GAS bug, big time, but yet I can't say that I'm at all dissatisfied with the pickups I currently have. Still, I want to figure out a way to give them a whirl even if it means buying another Strat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dr. Scottie C Posted April 8, 2014 Members Share Posted April 8, 2014 The Lace Sensors have a sound that is hard to describe. When playing alone....just you and the guitar plugged in..... they sound a little different then others..... but its when you get with other sounds and players that they really stand out. 1) There is a tightness about them....they is no mud with Lace....none..... for better or worse..... its all in your face and its all articulate. If you don't have a clean picking hand, they may not be right for that player....as every little nuance is in your face......where as with my Texas Specials..... you can hit a slightly bad note, or miss a bend a little here and there, and they may sound like you "meant" to do that...... With Lace Sensors....its all in the listener (and players) face....its tight, its articulate....and there is no hiding anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wankdeplank Posted April 8, 2014 Author Members Share Posted April 8, 2014 Well for myself, I never really gave them a fair shot. I got into this game kinda late and sometimes I fall for the conventional wisdom out there. And I may have even confused what I heard about Fender noiseless with Lace Sensor not knowing the difference or the full story about how they got replaced in the Fender lineup. I like Strats, have three Fenders and an Aria Pro, and I like the fact that they all have their own character, but I feel like I could further enhance that by adding some Lace Sensors to the lineup. At this point though, unless I can get a screaming deal on a Lace (gotta be Gold) loaded pickguard, I'm probably going to buy only one and put it in the middle or neck position of one of my Strats. I understand that the Fender Golds come in at about 6K which should be about right. And I don't guess I even have to worry about polarity if they are noise cancelling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dr. Scottie C Posted April 8, 2014 Members Share Posted April 8, 2014 They are big time noise cancelling. I can be squatted in front of a 100 watt Marshall on 3 (loud enough in a house where I have ear protection in) and they won't feedback or hum unless you are within a foot of the amp...... I hated Lace Sensors in the late 80's early 90's when they first came out...... but I liked Humbucker mud then. As I got older, I wanted clean, clean, clean..... by the time I reached 25, I had concluded that the sound of a humbucker was about as useful to me, as showing up at the Playboy mansion with a limp pecker. It really doesn't get any cleaner than Lace Sensors, they are great with gain..... but remain so clean.... that even with a "death metal" pedal or setting, you will never reach that level of "sacrifice a goat/chainsaw/trainwreck dirge" like you can achieve with some....they are simply too clean to ever get there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Marko Posted April 8, 2014 Members Share Posted April 8, 2014 ~~Hey, Scott Grove says Lace are the best, so… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wankdeplank Posted April 8, 2014 Author Members Share Posted April 8, 2014 Just got off the phone with a buddy I jam with and his take on Lace Sensors was like EMGs or hot rails. Said he had some years ago and describes them as almost akin to active pickups. He doesn't remember but I told him he must have had the reds or blues. Anyway super clean is what I want and what I'm hearing on those Youtube videos with Golds. So again, appreciate the input Scottie. Hey, Scott Grove says Lace are the best, so… That guy's a bit of a kook but you know what they say about blind squirrels and their acorns. Once in awhile that guy hits on something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dr. Scottie C Posted April 8, 2014 Members Share Posted April 8, 2014 Grove (probably through some major disability settlement or something of that nature rather than his instructional dvds)....has about 2-2.5 dollars worth of guitars in that Las Vegas desert basement of his...... he does often say that Lace sensors are the best pickup ever made. At one time he also had 33 Strat plus's that still had the plastic on the pickguard.... he is down to 6 or 7 now. He has been selling off collections. A local dealer here in my city just bought 3 Paul Stanley sigs from him.....paid out the ass for them too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wankdeplank Posted April 11, 2014 Author Members Share Posted April 11, 2014 Well I let a loaded pickguard just slip through my fingers on Ebay because I didn't refresh the page and missed the bid (less than $100 w/shipping). Just as well as it wouldn't have been a perfect fit on my 93 MIM Blackface Fender anyway and I may have ended up drilling a bunch of new holes. Chose this particular Strat for the experiment as I'm not changing a thing on the other two (89 American has Fender CS in the bridge and two stockers (all alnicos), 98 MIM Fender Squier Series has two GFS boutiques and a stock bucker in the bridge). Just pushed the buy it now on a used but guaranteed Fender Gold single pickup (the older ones were US built and some say superior). So anyway it's going into the middle position (replacing a stock ceramic) next to a sweet Pete Biltoft Alnico 5 in the neck and a stock ceramic screamer in the bridge. Love to mix and match so this should be interesting and fun. If it works out like I hope, this could be my most versatile Strat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcapo Posted April 11, 2014 Members Share Posted April 11, 2014 I never liked any of them except the Gold version which I thought sounded somewhat good but nothing to write home about. They have a sort of sterile sound to them. About the closest thing I can compare them to would be a single coil sized humbucker. I think they sound best in the middle position of a 3 pickup strat. When mixed with other pickups they tend to have a bit of phase canceling "quack" going on. The main advantage I find is that they are very quiet but retain some single coil brightness over humbuckers and the output is more in keeping with single coils. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wankdeplank Posted April 11, 2014 Author Members Share Posted April 11, 2014 Hey capo, appreciate your weighing in. And according to your calculations, it sounds like I'm doing this exactly right putting it in the middle then. Maybe it's a good thing I didn't go the loaded pickguard route. I feel good about this but even if it's a bust I'm glad to find out what all the buzz is about. Actually I'm certain it will be a better match for the neck than the stock ceramic was. Still collecting Magnatone amps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wankdeplank Posted April 17, 2014 Author Members Share Posted April 17, 2014 Got the Gold Sensor installed in the middle position and gotta say that it's a big improvement over the stock ceramic. Capo hit the nail on the head with his comments about the phase cancelling quack. Here I thought I was exploring virgin territory. Comparing the sound to my other Strats, I would say that a.) it's not the warmest sounding pickup in the world - I get the sterile thing, b.) this thing is a rock n' roller's dream, fantastic for lead and palm muted power chord stuff - so I get the love as well. Mixing it with other pickups, I was able to improve the sound in three positions - quack positions sound much better IMO. What the middle position lacks on the staccato stuff it more than makes up for with the added fatness and sustain on legato leads. Anyway, that's my assessment and I'd do this mod again in a heartbeat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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