Still new at the Strat thing and learning as I go! Could some of you guys tell me what you think of the Lace pickups? What do they sound like compared to my AmStd? Good for the blues and rock? Do you like them or switch them out? Thanks!

Hi cnsky54: I have a calibrated set of Sensors in one of my Strats and I like them A LOT. I find the sound very rich and pure: they are not what Dave Gilmour uses but I do find them good for Gilmourish type lead lines, if that gives you any kind of reference point.

What they are definitely not ideal for is a "vintage" Strat sound. For example, I cannot get the early Mark Knopfler sound with them, at least not spot on.

But for many other things they are superb. And, babyish of me I know, but I do like the look too...

Cheers - C

First, enjoy your Strat! As pickup guru Martian sez, "Nothing beats a Stratocaster, nicely tweaked." I've heard good things about the new AmStd pups-I have a mid 90s one that I liked the pups OK in, but put in CS69s which I have been love/hate about-mostly love, though I like to play in the mid position and they are best in the neck. I have had a Deluxe AmStd practically since it came out (89-I got it in 91) They came stock with Gold Laces. Again, was riding the fence on them, but I really, really like them-The trick is to move them closer to the strings, the opposite of what you often do with single-coils for best tone. I like the high fidelity of them-some purists think they lack "growl" which is sort of true, but they are very versatile-Hot Golds are very popular, silver Laces are really sweet too, and there are others also.

Agreed, Ceri, except for a few things--Gilmour actually DID use Laces during the Momentary Lapse era, so grin wide-I find that I can get very Knopfleresque tones and have been told so by others (of course, it helps that I usually don't use a oick). And not to be too contrarian, but I have never been sold on the look until recently-Lace did make some pups with drawn-on dots--boo. But rich and pure are very good buzzwords for describing Laces...

Hi bobbya: ha, well that Gilmour thing is news to me. Neat: thank you for that.

Far as Knopfler is concerned: well of course I can play early Straits on my Lace equiped Strat and it sounds passable. But I can get that chimey tone so much better with my Strats with '60s or '50s type single coils in 'em - that's all I'm getting at. As a rough guide for cnsky54.

As to Lace drawing dots on the top, you said it perfectly - BOO!

Cheers man - C

Great guys, thanks much! I like the sounds of my AmStd SSS and HSS Strats, but I am blown over by David Gilmour's playing. If I run across a Lace-equipped guitar I won't be scratching my head now. Another Q: is Fender still using these Lace sensors? If not, what years (about) were they on the Strats? Thanks again!

Fender stopped using Laces a few years ago, there may be a custom guitar or two that use them, but Lace is a separate company.

I have lots of Fender-Lace Sensors on my Ultra... blue at the front, gold in the middle, and two red ones at the back which can each be run independently or together like a humbucker. The colour coding means different styles of sound.

They have a thicker sound vs the single coils and are harmonically rich. The downside is they lack the edgy Stevie Ray Vaughan-style twang.

They pick up much less hum than standard pickups.

They sound best raised up- there is no magnetic pull, so set them as close to the string as you can.

Not better or worse than single coils, but different.

It really depends on the sound you want. I've tried so many pickups and gadgets in my 30 some odd years of studying and playing guitar. Nothing cuts through the mix like a set of hot single-coils. There's a lot more to David Gilmour's sound than Lace or EMG pickups. He is also a master of the effects board and multi-layered compositions. But that aside, as others have stated here, noiseless pickups--by their nature, may come close but will not nail that vintage Strat tone.

_________________
"If I don't see you no more in this world I'll meet you on the next one and don't be late... don't be late." -Jimi Hendrix

I really wish Fender would "discover" the Hot Gold Lace Sensor. IMO, it's best Lace Sensor made. It's just a super dynamic pickup that really responds well to picking and fingering dynamics, especially when adjusted right up under the strings.

And they are likely the most flexible pickups ever by virtue of Laces Dually configurations. A Dually is just two Lace Sensors sitting next to each other and wired much like a humbucker. When you hook them to splitter switch you can choose between one coil or two coils, and you get great tones from both modes. And if you use two different Lace Sensors and wire them to a 3-way splitter, you then get three different tone choices out of one Dually. I actually have one guitar with enough switches to give me 17 different pickup combinations.

This is that Strat right here...


I have another Strat that I just recenty put together in a Fat Strat configuration with two Hot Gold Lace Sensor Duallys and just a simple master coil split switch. It sounds fantastic IMO. Here's a YT video I recently uploaded with me using this particular Strat...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rInRtR8-TI4

I got my first set of Hot Golds back in 2002 and I've been very happy with my tone ever since. I have like 5 sets of Hot Golds now in various configurations. The Hot gold is an amazing pickup.

_________________
Life is good when you love your tone.

Mark, that's a great sound and playing!

Here is video of Joe Bonamassa playing a Lace sensor'd Strat (I think a Clapton strat, maybe a Plus)- its a big sound, but also he uses the full dynamic range they offer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDAQm2qWnYw

Hi SMark: that's a very interesting looking guitar. Essentially a PRS513-meets-Strat set up, right?

Do I see a scalloped fingerboard as well? Who made that, may I ask?

And I presume that's your own custom decal you've put on the headstock. An excellent approach.

Very cool!

Cheers - C

I thought that too... I have a PRS 513rw and the pickup layout is very similar.

As an aside, the clever bit about the 513 is the humbucker wiring- you can select low or high output humbucking as well as splitting the coil.

Nice
hey mark I believe you've answered
my previous ? On hot golds

sick playing. Truly star quality

During the late 80's and through 90's Lace Sensors were the cats PJs, but now I dont here much about them anymore. I'd love to get a set of Red Silver and Blue.