NO pickup, new or old, is in or out of style as long as it does the job for you.

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You dig?

80's cheese? I like the way they look. I also like fingerboards without position markers. Maybe it's just little round things I don't like.

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In my opinion Leo Fender had essentially perfected the guitar amplifier by 1964.

Umm...CF at one time Jimmy helped keep the Strat in the line, but lets face it Clapton was probably been most responsible for its long term popularity...If I remember right Jimmy's Strat sold for $300K to $400K, Clapton's Blackie sold for $950K+...not to mention Brownie went for $495K. Just saying.

As for Buddy Guy, yep definate influence on Claptons guitar choice at first, but the Buddy Guy model was basically a Clapton Signature Series guitar at first so it was too close to the EC Model, so he made some changes to get his own signature model...so guess the influence went both ways. And guess where Jimmy got all those moves for his showmanship?...yep Buddy Guy...so I am guessing that he might have just influence ol Jimmy's guitar choice too!

And so as not to hijack the post...I dig the way the Gold Laces sound in my Clapton Strat, so who cares if they are out of style!
T2

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What time is it? It's Fender Time.

SLASH?!?!?



Have you ever heard of a gentleman named "Jimmy Page"?



Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

clapton? that guy that plays an SG? he's still around?

I personally love my Lace Sensor pickups. My Strat Plus has blue/silver/red Lace Sensors and it's the nicest sounding strat I've played in a long time. The guitarist in my band asked to borrow it all the time when we play gigs.

I have a 1996 US Buddy Guy signature with Lace Sensor Gold pickups and it sounds amazing!!
I've heard they're considered to be weak but in my Strat they sound fantastic. The Strat's got a 25db mid boost though, maybe that active circuit helps with the output of the PUs but even with the boost turned down to zero the PUs still have more output than my standard american Fender SCs or my Texas Specials.

The Buddy Guy signature is pretty similar to the Clapton Strats.

I personally LOVE the Laces and I certainly will get a second Strat with them (preferrably a Buddy Guy sig in 3tsb (mine is honey blonde)

Who cares about the look?? It's the sound that counts!

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Kindest regards from Germany, Dee
My recordings --> http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_mu ... dID=564337
STRATS ROCK!!! but Teles and Firebirds, too!

Detriot is right, everything comes around again. I took all kinds of crap for sticking with my Strat back in the "Big Hair 80's", guess what Strat's are cool again. Play what you like and to heck with the "flavor of the week". Trends come and go, a great design is NEVER out of style. Lace Sensors were a tech innovation, but I kind of like that 60 cycle hum.

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"Life is like eating jalapenos. What you do today may burn your arse tomorrow"

Get a black MIM polka-dot. Stick in a set of Gold LSes with black pickup covers and the active circuit on it. You gotta have the same guitar Buddy used over the years.

No pun intended but I will never buy a MIM again. Without intending to be snobistic (i.e. I love my cheap RG 350, so it's NOT luxury or showing off I'm after!), the MIMs simply don't meet my expectations regarding quality. Without wanting to start one more of the endless discussions (yes, there are bad MIAs as well!), I NEVER was fully satisfied with ANY of the many MIMs I've played. A short while ago I thought I had finally found a really good MIM .... I was wrong! I sold everything except the body and made a project out of it.

Next thing: I love Buddy Guy and his music but I don't care what guitar he plays.
My Buddy Guy Strat might also be a Dolly Parton signature .... I wouldn't care because it's the guitar itself which I adore. Even if it would say "Hello Kitty Strat", I would love it (as long as it's not pink, ha ha ha).
What I mean is: the advertisements make you believe that if you buy a signature instrument, it will be i.e. Buddy Guy's guitar. It is NOT! Most signatures don't even come close to the originals, except for some basic features.
That's how the companies make money!
They make you believe that it's the star's guitar, that it will make you sound like the star whom you adore etc....
This believe drives many people to buy signatures.
When I bought this guitar, I didn't even know Buddy Guy!! In fact, I discovered Buddy Guy's cool Blues because I googeled who the guy was who gave my guitar its name, ha ha ha.

Anyhow, I'm drifting off here....

You CERTAINLY don't even get close to Buddy Guys original Polka Dot Strat by converting a MIM, but that's just my personal opinion.
I am NOT after a Buddy Guy guitar, I'm just after the same model I have because I love the sound and playability of it. And since I'm not very happy with blonde finishes, it should be the 3tsb model. The only reason I don't refinish mine in oly white is the decrease of value. This guitar was expensive!

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Kindest regards from Germany, Dee
My recordings --> http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_mu ... dID=564337
STRATS ROCK!!! but Teles and Firebirds, too!

I've had a Deluxe American Standard since 1991-I took a lot of guff from purists about the Lace Sensors and indeed did find them to be a bit pristine for awhile. Now that I've had the guitar for a long time and have tended to favor Gibsons in the last ten years, I've grown to really like the Sensors, and prefer them to more vintage-styled pickups, which do deliver tonally, but to me are a bit wimpy. I just like a little higher output even though I prefer the setup and overall sound of a Strat to anything else. They may not be "hip" or have mojo, but they do deliver, and I can get just about any sound I want with the guitar and the Laces.

I guess I am having a hard time with the "they are not cool looking, 80's cheese" quotes.

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Xhefri's Guitars
www.xhefriguitars.com

im 18 and for 2 years have had a set of lace golds in my strat, they sound great!

Woohoo, Xhefri, I'm thrilled everytime I see your black one!! Love it!!

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Kindest regards from Germany, Dee
My recordings --> http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_mu ... dID=564337
STRATS ROCK!!! but Teles and Firebirds, too!

Lace sensors are out of style with me. Had 2 sets for 15 years or so (mainly for the low noise), and I would always transfer them from the guitar I was trading in, into the guitar I bought. In 2003/04 our band recorded our first (and only) CD. After hearing the finished product a few times I became convinced to go back to regular single coils to achieve a tone that would cut through the mix. The Lace Sensors, to my ears, sounded... "artificial"... kind of like a Strat-through-a-Star-Trek-replicator might sound. After some experimenting, I settled on a Custom Shop '54 set for my US Strat. While I appreciate the creamy texture of the Sensors (especially with mid-boost), I am much happier with the organic quality of the '54 pups. And with a Boss NS-2 in the #1 slot on my pedalboard, noise isn't much of an issue anymore.