what do you guys think about lace sensors?

[sabbath90]

i'm thinking about, maybe, getting a set of lace sensors instead of kinman woodstocks. they seem a little more versatile. i'm looking at the blue-silver-red set. what do you guys think about them? do they sound completely digital and crappy or do they sound good and versatile without noise? thanks guys.

[aleclee]

I had a Strat+ w/the gold set. I found them similar to EMGs in that they're very "linear", faithfully converting the strings' vibration into a electrical signal. Some would describe that as "clarity" while others would call it "sterility". In either case, I didn't find 'em Stratty.

[mountain blues]

There was a guy over on the Fender Forum that did a lot of testing with the different Lace Sensor models, and he was very stoked on the "Holy Grail" pickups. You can check them out here:

Holy Grails (http://www.lacemusic.com/store/product.asp?id=17&catid=49)

[Bluedawg]

I have some old gold lace pups in a late 80s strat pro. For me it depends on the amp. They don't sound so good in my expensive boutique Carr Rambler which is just the cat's meow on my 1960 Relic strat.

However, the Lace pup strat into my low budget Peavey CLassic 50 4X10 is heavenly both clean and dirtified.

Figure that one out for me will ya.

:cool:

[Mr.Hanky]

http://instagiber.net/smiliesdotcom/cwm/cwm/puke.gif Lace Sensors

[tedm]

I love the golds from the early/mid '90s on certain am standards.

Originally posted by sabbath90
i'm thinking about, maybe, getting a set of lace sensors instead of kinman woodstocks. they seem a little more versatile. i'm looking at the blue-silver-red set. what do you guys think about them? do they sound completely digital and crappy or do they sound good and versatile without noise? thanks guys.

[mainsale]

I've got them in a "Buddy Guy" strat. They work great with the active mid-boost circuit.

[dazco]

Someone mentioned the holy grails. They really are good. They are one of the only if not THE only lace pups that has polepieces just like a reagular pup. And like kinmans and such they are dual coil except that instead of coils stacked vertically they are situated side by side one either side of the polepieces, which i believeare alnico.

They sound like a good strat pup w/o noise, but there is a difference......you have to take the time to dial in your amp differently moreso than when you go from one regular strat pup to another. Once i figured that out i now get a great sound that actually has som advantages over vintage type pups. They seem to have a less lively clean sound because of what seems to be a very hi end roll off, but once you dial them in by adding some presence from the amp they have that back and they sound very much like a vintage style pup but never sound thin or harsh. They are sort of an idealized strat sound. As tho all the traditional weaknesses in vintage style pups has been engineered out.

i've tried the original laces in all models except red, and the newer hot golds. The Holy Grails to my ear are the best, while the hot gold were good but not quite real sounding to me, and the originals sound way off. And maybe thier best feature is that when you gig with them they are one of those rare things that just has not one thing about them in a live mix that bothers you. You never seem to be thinking about having too much high end at any setting, or harshness, etc etc. They just plain work and deliver noisless strat tone. It actually took me a while to realize how good they are because they do take dialing in as i said, plus i find that this sorta "idealized" strat sound as good as the idea of that is, can be a bit hard to come to terms with at first because you aren't used to having that and you tend to hear the differences with suspicion till you realize it's a good thing. I know that probably sounds confusing but i can't quite think of how to explain it.

In any case, thats my take and YMMV a LOT ! But i would highly recommend them for anyone wanting noise free strat pups, tho i actually think i'd use them even if they hummed.

[mbratch]

I own a 1991 American Fender Deluxe Plus which comes stock with the Blue/Silver/Red in the Neck/Middle/Bridge positions.

Of the three, I really like the Blue in the neck position. It's a little fatter than a standard single coil, perhaps not quite a P-90 sound.

The silver is OK it gives a reasonably good quack combined with the red or blue. On it's own I don't find anything wrong with it particular, but I rarely switch to it by itself so the sound evidently doesn't do much for me most of the time.

The red is good in the bridge position. I think the American Fender Deluxe Ultra from the same period of time had a dually red in the bridge which would have given thicker/stronger tone. I think the tone is very good, but could use a little more push. I adjusted the pickup to be closer to the strings than the silver and blue.

Overall, I think they are good pickups, not top-of-the-line-great pickups. I don't think they sound "digital and crappy" but some people don't like them. I've used them for 14 years and have enjoyed using them, so it depends upon what kind of musical style and sound you like. And probably has some to do with the amp as well.

Although I like them, I have been considering trying "higher end" pickups in the guitar (like the Harmonic Design Super-90) just to have something different for a change. Also, the design is now 15 or more years old, so a lot of the newer stuff is probably improved.

[Jon Silberman]

Originally posted by mainsale
I've got them in a "Buddy Guy" strat. They work great with the active mid-boost circuit.

I have the same guitar and feel similarly. The 2 and 4 position, in particular, are great, very quacky. The other positions are their own thing, the folks who say they're not really "classic Strat" sounds are not wrong. But that's neither good nor bad, necessarily, it all depends what you're looking for.

One thing I'll say about mine is they are fairly high output for Strat-type single coils and they do compress the tone when you hit 'em hard. Depending on your touch, types of music you play, and tones you prefer that may be good or bad.

The last thing I'll say is that about the high end rolloff one guy mentions, to me that's only an issue in the quack positions (the others are plenty trebly for me) but that's not an issue in the Buddy Guy Signature Strat as it's got that dual 250/1000K pot where you can essentially dial back in a lot of highs (close, in fact, to what you'd get from an outright "blower" switch).

[mountain blues]

To appreciate the possibilities with Lace Sensor Golds, check out the Joe Bonamassa DVD, "A New Day Yesterday". He makes a stunning case for them being fine pickups, especially the bridge with the mid-boost engaged on his Clapton Strat.

[Blueser]

Originally posted by mountain blues
To appreciate the possibilities with Lace Sensor Golds, check out the Joe Bonamassa DVD, "A New Day Yesterday". He makes a stunning case for them being fine pickups, especially the bridge with the mid-boost engaged on his Clapton Strat.

Yup...Also check out Jason Barkers clips with his gold CS Strat. Those are Gold Lace Sensors in that guitar, and he gets some pretty righteous tones from them!

[mbratch]

Originally posted by Jon Silberman
One thing I'll say about mine is they are fairly high output for Strat-type single coils and they do compress the tone when you hit 'em hard. Depending on your touch, types of music you play, and tones you prefer that may be good or bad.

I would agree with the high-output comment. The Blue/Silver/Red are slightly higher output than the HD humbuckers I have in my ES-347 (judging from the amp volume when comparing the guitars, that is - possible that the volume/tone circuits may have something to do with that as well).

I haven't found them lacking in dynamic expression when playing on them, so the compression has never been an issue for me.

[Bassomatic]

Originally posted by mountain blues
There was a guy over on the Fender Forum that did a lot of testing with the different Lace Sensor models, and he was very stoked on the "Holy Grail" pickups. You can check them out here:

Holy Grails (http://www.lacemusic.com/store/product.asp?id=17&catid=49)

And i thought TGP was bad - those cats have some serious apostrophe issues!:eek:

[dazco]

The last thing I'll say is that about the high end rolloff one guy mentions, to me that's only an issue in the quack positions

Assuming you mean the original laces, i was talking about the holy grails. To me they have a roll-off but it's in the ultra high range like an amp's presence. I can dial it back in with the amp if i want. As for the 2 and 4 positions, they sound a bit weak and less quack than i wanted, but no more high roll-off compared to the pups alone than with any other pup. But what i did was put one of my vanzandts in the middle and that fixed that problem right up completely. And i don't use the middle except for the combined positions anyway.

[Jon Silberman]

Yes, I was talking about the originals, sorry for any confusion.

[John Hurtt]

I had a Clapton set (golds w/mid boost) in a strat for years to record with. At the time I was using alot of heavy effects and they were perfect for this application as they were very consistent and even sounding. I also had a JB Strat that had the dually gold/gold/gold set and I really didn't like it much. Of course, I threw in a ton of different pickups, never could make that particular strat sound good.

[MCG]

I was playing a strat with two silver (neck & mid) and a red (bridge) in my band for a while. This strat belongs to the other guitarist in our band, and FWIW is real good piece.

Now this strat is a bit of a Frankenstien with a mid boost/cut circuit as well. But all in all I think this is one hell of a strarocaster.
The Lace sensors sound really good to me. They are fuller than a vintage strat pup, but that's a good thing to my ears. I really can't say they sound steril at all.

I will admit that they don't respond to the dinamics of your playing as well as regular pickup however. I couldn't get them to clean up by lightning my touch. I had to lower the volume on the guitar it's self. And that may keep some folks away.

MCG

[pbradt]

Originally posted by sabbath90
i'm thinking about, maybe, getting a set of lace sensors instead of kinman woodstocks. they seem a little more versatile. i'm looking at the blue-silver-red set. what do you guys think about them? do they sound completely digital and crappy or do they sound good and versatile without noise? thanks guys.
I try not to think about them at all.

[Riscchip]

I have the holy grails in one of my strats and they are the best noiseless single coils I've played. I like them better than Kinmans. They have all the clang and sparkle going on, very elastic feel. Not a ton of output. I dig them.

The old style lace sensors that were oem on Fenders never floated my boat, but the holy grails are brilliant.

[MichaelK]

Fred Tackett of Little Feat uses 'em; I think he sounds pretty good.

[carltonh]

I think the Hot Golds are pretty good, but if you are looking at noiseless cheaper than Kinmans, I'd get L280s from www.billlawrence.com.

[dazco]

Originally posted by Riscchip
I have the holy grails in one of my strats and they are the best noiseless single coils I've played. I like them better than Kinmans. They have all the clang and sparkle going on, very elastic feel. Not a ton of output. I dig them.

The old style lace sensors that were oem on Fenders never floated my boat, but the holy grails are brilliant.

Excellent description...clang and elastic are 2 very good terms that describe them well. I was unable to come up with such a good a description but that nails it. Clang especially, which is something that is so satisfying it's hard to explain other than to say it really defines each note in a chord beautifully. I love that sound but it often also brings with it harshness. But with the grails that doesn't happen. The elastic feel you mention is another detail i love about them. It's really obvious when you're playing single notes without too much gain. Especially when you get your index finger on the string along with the pick, not as a harmonic but to get that snap. I can just sit there playing a single note and feeling/listening to it all nite. beautiful ! I'm beginning to think these may be the ultimate strat pup for me with the added bonus of noiseless. Howver as i think i mentioned, i do like to use a regular SC in the middle because it makes for snappier 2 and 4 position sounds. Not that a grail there isn't fine, but this way just gets me some punchier quackier in between sounds, and i never use the middle by itself anyway.

Did you like me also find that the grails sounded ok at first but they grew on you? I liked them at first, but nothing like i did after a week or so. took me a while to hear them because i was so used to vanzandts. But once i did i tried putting the VZ's back in just as a test to see how they compared and they came right back out quick ! And they used to be my favorites for many years !

[Lucidology]

One of my favorite sounds on a guitar right now, is Ray Obiedo's ...
Who plays with the funk/latin band RAD & in David Garabaldi's new band ...
Just love his sound with the older Gold Lace Sensors.... ton's of quack!!

[gkoelling]

I had an Am. Std. Strat that I put golds in the neck/middle and a blue in the bridge back in the early 90's.

I had no complaints with them and was complimented on my tone when gigging.

[Gasp100]

I have the red - white (or silver?) - blue combo in my '89 Fender James Burton tele. I have to agree that "clarity" describes them perfectly. The blue sounds really full and deep, more so than a "standard" strat pickup. The 2 - 4 positions sound really nice for chimey cleans and funky rhythms. The bridge pickup works well with distortion but I would like to get a little more bottom end and growl out of that position. I think they used the red to try and actually get close(r) to a tele bridge position sound but also have the ability to handle a smoother overdrive.
Overall the guitar w/ pickups is extremely versatile.
I've played this thing exclusively (until about 2 weeks ago) for about 12 years for rock, blues, prog as well as faking jazz and country licks. The guitar (and pickups) sound great through ANY amp (I've gone through many). I'm sure the newer Holy Grails are even better.
I originally bought the guitar because it had lace sensors and I thought Ty Tabor was using a guitar with lace sensors at the time -- I was probably wrong but love the guitar anyway.

[SW33THAND5]

http://instagiber.net/smiliesdotcom/cwm/cwm/puke.gif Lace Sensors


POST OF THE DAY!

[SW33THAND5]

i like the golds quite a lot...had a strat with some that i put a lot of hours on

i also had a tele with a blue in the bridge that was nice...not very tele-like but a really nice sound all the same


i really have not been impressed with the kinmans that i have played...fwiw

[clothwiring]

I only ever liked the Golds, but I don't highly suggest the Sensors. Them vs Kinman are two different worlds. If you're looking for noiseless, have you considered DiMarzio's Area pickups? Out of all the noiseless pups (Kinman, Sensors, Bardens, Areas) I like Area's. Plus nice price.

[gbtommasi]

I had a set on a strat maybe ten years ago, configured as red(b), gold(m), blue (n).

I definetely liked em all, but of course positions 2 and 4 suffered, and i ended up replacing them with a set of different fender and duncan single coils.

LS are not bad, though