Lace Sensors

[scolfax]

This may sound strange, but I am thinking of switching from the Callaham/Fralin pickups on my parts-o-caster to a Lace Sensor set. I'm looking at the Hot Gold set as in this video:

 

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I really liked the modern, compressed tone in the video, even though the reviewer didn't.

 

Anyway, any fans/haters here?

 

Looks like Lace also has a Power Sensor set, but I can't find any clips on these.

 

Edit: The Fender noiseless pickups are on my radar too, still waiting to hear about the new N3's.

[tiltsta]

I've got a gold, gold, blue set up in one of my strats. I really like it. Dead silent, and produces a really nice array of sounds.

[Doctor Morbius]

I have a set of hot golds but wouldn't give up a set of Fralin Vintage Hots for them.

[roners5]

i had some in my old strat- i liked them. As you said, they are more compressed, much smoother, and more bell-like in nature (esp the golds). People {censored} on them cause they expect them to sound like regular strat single coils- if the honk/nasty lovin of regular strat single coils is what you're after, then you should probably go with..... you guessed it, regular strat single coils

[benzem]

I have one in the neck of an 85' Squier HSS (toggles for on/off/coil split) and really like the smooth compressed sound. Dead quiet and sings w/dist.

[Hurtzher]

The green sensor is an outstanding pickup, IMO. REALLY nice in the neck position. I'd like to get three of the greens and try'em out in my Strat.

 

My Carvin Bolt currently has a green/silver/red set. I'm not too fond of the silver in the middle position. The red in the bridge is alright I guess. I'm probably gonna replace the red and the silver TBH.

[ido1957]

I have an EC Strat with all Golds and it hums like a mofo...

[Temple of Light]

I had a pair, red, gold, in one of my guitars and I tossed them after taking them apart to see how they were made. I also found them to be noisy/hummy and not hot enough for my taste. The Fender Vintage Noiseless original or Jeff Beck versions I think are far superior. Hot biting clear bell tone and no noise at all. They really are noiseless.
I will eventually get another set of those for my Strat 12.

[scolfax]

Well, as far as the Fenders go I think I need to hear them for myself. Probably blindfolded, since I have a "listen with my eyes" thing about ceramic magnets, which are used on the Jeff Beck pickups.

[Musicscotty]

I use a Strat Plus Deluxe, with the red/silver/blue pickup configuration.

I can pretty much get any Strat tone that I'm looking for - without any unwanted background noise.

[Alecto]

The Lace Sensor pickups have been around since the 1980's and they really have that clinical sound: great if you're playing through lots of FX but they don't do much if you're playing straight into an amp, IMO. There's a reason why guys like Beck and Clapton have replaced the Sensors in their sig guitars.

A great design, but a 25-year-old great design. If you're looking for a noiseless single coil pickup, there are a lot better options out there these days.

[Mr. Fahrenheit]

I have a Strat Plus with three gold lace sensors, and I absolutely love it. The neck pickup on clean with a little bit of compression is the best clean tone I've ever had.

 

Gold lace sensors are gorgeous. I can even manage to get some cool, raunchy distortion with 'em. Obviously not for metal, but you can get some great blues and alternative tones.

[Faber]

i had some in my old strat- i liked them. As you said, they are more compressed, much smoother, and more bell-like in nature (esp the golds). People {censored} on them cause they expect them to sound like regular strat single coils- if the honk/nasty lovin of regular strat single coils is what you're after, then you should probably go with..... you guessed it, regular strat single coils

This. and the bit about them not sounding like regular strat pickups is why I have a love/hate relationship with the set of Golds in one of my strats - It's a very nice sound and I think they are in some ways moe versatile than stnadard pickups, they take to gain better for instance. But sometimes that bit of compression bugs me.

OTOH I have a silver/silver/red set in another guitar and that is utter perfection in tems of both sound and dynamics.

[D Carroll]

http://nashville.craigslist.org/msg/1777329406.html

If you live near nashville, this seems like a good deal, and you'd get more parts for another guitar.

[Musicscotty]

The Lace Sensor pickups have been around since the 1980's and they really have that clinical sound: great if you're playing through lots of FX but they don't do much if you're playing straight into an amp, IMO. There's a reason why guys like Beck and Clapton have replaced the Sensors in their sig guitars. A great design, but a 25-year-old great design. If you're looking for a noiseless single coil pickup, there are a lot better options out there these days.

Lace sensors do tend to divide opinions quite a lot. I use my Peavey Classic 50 212 with the Strat Plus Deluxe going straight into it.

It sounds absolutely awesome - far, far better than Standard Strat pickups. They also have a significantly better performance when you roll off the volume - compared to the pickups on a Standard Strat.

IMO, it's the appearance of the Lace sensors that causes the purists to take cheap shots at them.

There is no way that anyone could pick out a Lace equipped Strat in a blind test - except perhaps that they sounded better and had no annoying buzz/background noise

[Dr_Kuh]

I love them. Great sparkly and glassy tone, perfect for slightly distorted tones especially with rolled of volume.

[lefchr]

I like them, they do have their own thing going on compared to a standard strat pickup. I have a hot gold set and a red/silver/blue set. I just put the r/ss/b set in a cheap strat copy I had around and it sounds pretty good. The hot golds are in a pick guard that I sometimes swap out of my strat. I'm surprised about the people saying they are noisy, I have never had a problem with them except once when I wired the guitar up wrong and it wasn't grounded right.

[thecornman]

I have had them more then once and was never really happy with them. If i want to go noiseless i go for the Dimarzio Area pickups.

[xStonr]

I have a set of Reds in my Strat right now. Reds are the hottest pickup Lace Sensor has. As ballsy as these pickups are, my guitar still can sound like a Strat should.

[bdegrande]

The Lace Sensor pickups have been around since the 1980's and they really have that clinical sound: great if you're playing through lots of FX but they don't do much if you're playing straight into an amp, IMO. There's a reason why guys like Beck and Clapton have replaced the Sensors in their sig guitars. A great design, but a 25-year-old great design. If you're looking for a noiseless single coil pickup, there are a lot better options out there these days.

 

 

I play straight into an amp and like them a lot. If you are looking for a traditional Strat sound, the Lace Holy Grails do that better than the Lace Sensors. I like all of them except the red.

 

As to the pickups changing in their signature models, Fender decided that they wanted to make their own line of noiseless pickups. I suspect that the conversation went something like:

 

Fender: We want to change to Vintage Noiseless pickups

Beck/Clapton: Yeah, whatever.

[Dr_Kuh]

I play straight into an amp and like them a lot. If you are looking for a traditional Strat sound, the Lace Holy Grails do that better than the Lace Sensors. I like all of them except the red. As to the pickups changing in their signature models, Fender decided that they wanted to make their own line of noiseless pickups. I suspect that the conversation went something like: Fender: We want to change to Vintage Noiseless pickups Beck/Clapton: Yeah, whatever.

 

 

 

Yeah but Clapton still uses them (mainly for slide playing) and always has one with laces with him. Also he stated in an interview that he actually still likes the Lace sensors a bit more.

 

 

 

[Karma1]

I've experimented with different combinations in my Strat over the years and have settled on silver/neck, gold/middle, blue/bridge. I like the blue in the bridge better than the red I had in there before, which was too harsh and edgy for my taste. The blue is smoother and warmer. Silver in the neck is great. I also have a gold in the neck of my Tele Thinline which I like.

[billybilly]

I hate to say it but swapping out fralins for laces is just wrong. Maybe as an experiment but once you do it, you will lose that sparkle that only a true single coil can get. And fralins, well, I put them right near the top for pickups.

PS Always good to experiment though, I am sure you can find a place for the laces in your arsenal.

[srspud]

I've got 2 Gold and a Red in a Strat and have had them since 1994. I like them. If I only play them and don't switch to any other guitar then I am perfectly happy. I like my other guitar pickups too and the Lace are great for what they are. They have their strengths and this guitar gets used for those needs. What really struck me was the difference in feel of the strings due to the lack of magnetic pull. I REALLY like that.

[humbuckerstrat]

I like 'em, even the red in the bridge (which is what I use the most).