Members niceguy Posted March 27, 2012 Members Share Posted March 27, 2012 I'm going to be recording soon, and I really need some noiseless pickups for my Strat. I don't play the 2 or 4 (quack) positions; I use the single coil sound from the neck position solo and the mid position solo. I've heard some samples on the youtubes, and the blue in neck position sounds very dark, nothing at all like a strat. Is that the case? Keeping in mind I want a noiseless, clear-yet-overwound single coil tone, should I instead be putting the Silver model in both the neck and mid? Also, please limit responses to Lace. I'm rather set on them. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members *BLEEP* Posted March 27, 2012 Members Share Posted March 27, 2012 Well, I for one like the Lace Hot Gold Sensors in all positions. Some may prefer the original Gold Sensor sets instead. Yet others may want Hot Gold in the middle and neck with something like a Red or Burgundy in the bridge. You can mix and match Lace Sensors to your needs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Moot Posted March 27, 2012 Members Share Posted March 27, 2012 Lace pickups are really sweet. They're great, but most people are put off by the looks. The aforementioned golds are the standard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cratz2 Posted March 27, 2012 Members Share Posted March 27, 2012 I bought a guitar from Doc Morbius that had a set of Hot Golds... They were OK. I'd played the guitar for a couple years before buying it though I did not buy it for the pickups. Overall, I'd say the are strattier than EMGs or Dimarzio HSs, but I'd definitely say the Fender Vintage or Hot Noiseless are more traditionally stratty as are the Dimarzio Areas. But I know a guy that would sell a set of Hot Golds for a reasonable price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members onelife Posted March 27, 2012 Members Share Posted March 27, 2012 i had a pair of silvers and a blue (neck) in my old strat for several years - i found the sound to be very usable but not quite as "stratty" as the originals - i put the lace sensors in because i needed to get rid of the buzz and it worked but it was a bit of a compromise i used the guitar live and on several recording projects and i'm pleased with the results - that being said, i was very happy when i finally replaced the lace sensors with a set of kinmans (at twice the price) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members thecornman Posted March 27, 2012 Members Share Posted March 27, 2012 I have giving Lace Sensors a try in a few of my guitars in the past! Just can't gel with any of them. Has nothing to do with the way they look. It is all about the way they sound. I would go with the Dimarzio Area pickups if I was looking for noiseless type single coils. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tiltsta Posted March 27, 2012 Members Share Posted March 27, 2012 I have a strat plus that came from the factory with three gold lace sensors. I think they sound great. I replaced the bridge gold with a blue to get more of a vintage humbucker type sound, but that was a matter of preference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frets99 Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Well, I for one like the Lace Hot Gold Sensors in all positions. Some may prefer the original Gold Sensor sets instead. Yet others may want Hot Gold in the middle and neck with something like a Red or Burgundy in the bridge. You can mix and match Lace Sensors to your needs. This Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dr_Kuh Posted March 27, 2012 Members Share Posted March 27, 2012 I love Lace sensors. Get a set of golds or hot golds and you are fine. If not get a set of holy grails. Even less noise and more tone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BG76 Posted March 27, 2012 Members Share Posted March 27, 2012 I love them. Have liked them since they came out and been using them since 89 or 90. I have a drawer full. When I was in college and worked at a store people hated them so when they would buy new pickups I would put them in and keep the old ones as payment. Did the same thing in my dorm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members niceguy Posted March 27, 2012 Author Members Share Posted March 27, 2012 Sweetness, I just bought a Silver I'm gonna try it out in the neck position for a while, and I'll take it from there. I'm not completely sold on the Blue---the audio samples I've heard sound dark (like a humbucker), and I want a nice, overwound, fat single coil tone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rvschulz Posted March 27, 2012 Members Share Posted March 27, 2012 i have a strat with the blue/red/silver combo ... i use it to try to get closer to the Gilmour and Clapton tones and i really like them for most things strat-wise. most people put the blue which is closer to a HB in the bridge ... i put it in the neck to get a really fat 'woman tone' for bluesy runs. i usually play the 2 and 4 positions for a lot of rhythm and it does fine. the red in the bridge will scream. i like them a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Doctor Morbius Posted March 27, 2012 Members Share Posted March 27, 2012 I had a set of Hot Golds that were in a Strat that I sold to Cratz2. They were reduced noise for sure. They weren't the best Strat pickups I had though. If I were one to saturate my tone with distortion and overdrive the Lace pickups would have been more suitable. However, played cleanly I believe there are better options. One thing to keep in mind with the Lace Sensor pickups is they are designed around very weak magnets in order to reduce the noise. This means the pickups have to be raised fairly close to the strings in order to sound good. The middle pickup was always in the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members honeyiscool Posted March 27, 2012 Members Share Posted March 27, 2012 I swear by my Lace Sensors and have had them in many guitars and I keep going back to them when I need good single coil pickups. Here are the ones I've tried: 1. Emerald: Awesome neck pickup. Perhaps my favorite neck pickup ever. Currently have this in my KC Mustang (neck). 2. Silver: In a Strat, obvious place is the middle, but makes a good overwound neck pickup. When I had it in the middle of a Strat, I used it maybe 85% of the time I played that guitar, and I normally never use the middle pickup. Does distortion and clean equally well. Currently have this in my '73 RI Mustang (neck). 3. Hot Gold: Awesome Strat pickups. I think if you have to get one set of Lace pickups, it's the Hot Gold w/ the Hot Bridge. It will do everything you want it to do. I loved these in my '65 RI Mustang. 4. Chrome Dome: At first, I thought these would be pretty much Hot Golds with a chrome cover, but really, they are not as good and don't do anything better. Avoid. 5. Purple: I find these a little uninteresting, I have it in the bridge of my '73 RI Mustang. I honestly much prefer Hot Gold Hot Bridge or Blue as far as bridges go, but since I rarely use the bridge by itself, it's actually a great pickup since it combines with other pickups well. 6. Gold: There is absolutely nothing wrong with the standard Gold set. As much as I prefer the Hot Golds, would not hesitate to float with Gold instead. Adjust pickup height until you get them sounding right. 7. Blue: Very versatile pickup. Makes a Gibson-y neck pickup, or a good overwound bridge pickup that can do a little bit of everything. I had it in the bridge of a Strat for a while, thought it sounded great. 8. Red: Very loud, very brash, some might call it harsh. Makes an interesting bridge pickup. It gives very smooth distortion if you want it. Didn't like it at all, but makes a great short scale bass pickup. I currently have this in my Bronco Bass, and I've never found a bass that sounds better to me. Generally speaking, they have a very different dynamic to other pickups. They are a bit compressed and the same setting that other pickups love won't exactly sparkle with Lace. However, you can easily adjust the amp to sound great with Laces. The great thing about Laces for me is that they retain their clarity and tone no matter what effect you put them through. I think that's why they're rather popular on stage (esp bands that use a lot of FX like Radiohead) and for DI recording applications. If you're a simple player who loves tube amps w/ like one tone knob and just going straight guitar to cable to amp and only use volume knob to do everything, you might not like Lace. As for noise, they're not noiseless. They are true single coil pickups, but they have very little noise. They benefit a lot from shielded wiring, and once fully shielded, the noise level is pretty much negligible, though still louder than a humbucker. I do use a reverse-wound Silver in my Mustang to make it even quieter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members niceguy Posted March 27, 2012 Author Members Share Posted March 27, 2012 I swear by my Lace Sensors and have had them in many guitars and I keep going back to them when I need good single coil pickups. Here are the ones I've tried: Thanks so much for the review! As I said, I wound up purchasing the Silver, and I'm gonna put it in the neck position. How would you compare the Silver in the neck vs the Blue in the neck, for playing fast rhythms clean? Like, 8th note patterns with barre chords, etc. I don't use neck positions for leads or distorted rhythms, so it's the clean I'm interested in. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Blackface Posted March 27, 2012 Members Share Posted March 27, 2012 I have a set of golds in a Strat. I think how much I like them depends on the amp I'm playing through. Through my Princeton Reverb they sound dull and lifeless compared to my Strat with normal pickups. Through my Vox and Mesa Boogie they sound great and pretty normal strat like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Happy Ending Posted March 27, 2012 Members Share Posted March 27, 2012 I have a contemporary set of golds (LACE, not Fender lace) in my 80s Squire Contemporary Strat (Jpn), hot gold at bridge. I like em. Less noisy, work well w/efx. You can adjust them close to the strings as you want without having to worry about excessive string pull. In regard to the golds only: very clear output - maybe even a bit "glassy" like Strat pups from the 70s. Medium output from the standard golds and obviously the Hot gold adds a little more oomph. That's fine by me since 70s pop/rock/blues (light stuff to heavy stuff) was what I grew up listening to and learning from. I did have an original Fender Lace blue at neck - in a parts/SuperStrat I put together many years back. I remember not liking it too much, a little too "round" and "warm" for me (to my ears kinda smooth and muddy at the same time). Sorta like a medium quality, medium-to-high output humbucker. Never tried Reds or Silvers - or burgundy (?) (didn't know there was one). If you're primarily a single coil fan like me, I'd say go with the Golds if you want to maintain a more-or-less traditional Strat tone - or hot golds as someone else suggested since you're looking for extra output. I'm sure Lace must have output specs at their website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members honeyiscool Posted March 27, 2012 Members Share Posted March 27, 2012 Thanks so much for the review! As I said, I wound up purchasing the Silver, and I'm gonna put it in the neck position.It's been a while since I had the Blue in the neck, but going by memory and what you say you like to do, the Silver is the correct choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Guitar Heel Posted March 27, 2012 Members Share Posted March 27, 2012 glad you went with Lace. My favorite Strat pickups, hands down. Golds work for me, but they make one for just about everybody. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members honeyiscool Posted March 27, 2012 Members Share Posted March 27, 2012 Oh yeah, I made this video yesterday using a Lace Sensor Silver in the neck and Purple in the bridge. [video=youtube;TyZZw83CXKw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyZZw83CXKw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Karma1 Posted March 27, 2012 Members Share Posted March 27, 2012 I've been a big fan of Lace Sensors and have experimented with a number of them in my Strat. I've pretty much settled on this combo: Silver/neck, Gold/middle, Blue/bridge. I had a Red in the bridge for a long time, but it was too harsh and edgy for my taste so I swapped it for a Blue which is warmer and smoother. The Silver in the neck is great and very Strat-like. I don't find them cold or sterile at all. I also have a Gold in the neck of my '69 Tele Thinline reissue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members xStonr Posted March 27, 2012 Members Share Posted March 27, 2012 I have a set of reds loaded in one of my Strat pickguards. The bridge is a dually red/silver that can be spit via a push/pull pot. Considering the hot output, it still sounds like a Strat, only on steroids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blind radish Posted March 28, 2012 Members Share Posted March 28, 2012 What's not to love about Lace Sensors ... great pickups in any combination. My fav is Blue Neck, Silver Middle and Red Bridge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members niceguy Posted March 28, 2012 Author Members Share Posted March 28, 2012 Very awesome video! Thanks much, it really makes me glad I bought a Silver for my neck position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members spacequixote Posted March 28, 2012 Members Share Posted March 28, 2012 I have a set of golds wired to switch between parallel/series in positions 2,4. I really like that set-up, but I have one issue with it. I asked this before in a separate thread but nobody responded: What has been bothering me lately is the volume difference between neck and bridge since they are not wound hotter at the bridge (the volume gain when switching from parallel to series was expected on the other hand). Is there anything I can do to even the output a little between neck and bridge? I thought about pickup height but I don't think it'll get me there without sacrificing tone. Another option I thought about would be to wire a resistor to ground to the neck and mid pickup, but that would lower the output of an already very low output pickup...so I might need a boost pedal or similar when switching guitars. Any ideas or pro/cons of this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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