Lace Sensors

[bignote]

Does anyone have any experience with these pickups? Specifically the gold model. I would like to hear everyone's opinion on these. Thanks.

[pit_s_xroad]

Hi there...

I have them in a Clapton Strat from 1989 and I do love them in there because IMHO they come best in an active circuit which the EC has...

I tried them as well in a passive Am.Standard Strat... and well they were OK... but I didn't stick to it... and changed back to the normal single-coils... of course there's no humming with the Laces... that's an advantage...

PIT...

[ch willie]

I had Lace golds in an American Std., and I wasn't knocked out by them. However as pit says, they sound great on an EC--a buddy of mine has them on his 96 EC.

[cooltone]

I have a Strat Plus from '88 that came stock with gold Lace Sensors. I used that guitar as my main gigging guitar for 10 years. The pickups did have some signature strat mid-range "quack" yet they were pretty contemporary sounding for the time, as there were quite a few people using them.
They were quite versitile for what I needed. I liked that I rarely had to fight with "hum" issues..they were pretty quiet in that regard. They were also pretty compliant with the various effects that I used at the time.

What they lacked, IMO, was the traditional stratocaster 'shimmer'...glassy high end and well defined low end. They seemed a bit 'compressed' and dull.

In all fairness, my personal tastes changed as well. I now have a set of GFS '64 stagger's in that guitar and although I have the 'hum' of a noisy pickup, I also feel as though the guitar has a more trad. strat sound and a bit more 'life'.

[Spudman]

I'm always going to keep this one like this. 2 Lace Gold and a Red in the bridge. It's Strat-like but with balls and quiet electronically. Vintage sounding? Nope, but the "Strat" sound comes through and it works great with effects of any kind. I noticed that changing the pickup heights yields a variety of different tones. You'll also never get "stratitis" and can run them right up to the bottom of the strings.

The strings feel different than with any traditional pickup. They vibrate more and move quicker because of substantially less magnetic pull. I really think the in between (2 & 4) sounds are very good and love the neck and hot bridge. The bridge is really versatile without the icepick. It's almost fat like a P90 or humbucker. The volume pot value can really effect this pickup depending on what you want. I like a 500K pot for mine.

If you want 60s or 50s vintage Strat sound look elsewhere. If you need an electronically quiet machine that is just a little different from the norm yet still has the characteristic Strat sound then go ahead and check out the Lace pickups.

I went with the combo I did because I was hanging out with John Jorgenson one day and fell in love with the sound of his guitar. Of course much of his sound was him but the pickups really had something going for them and that was what I was looking for at the time. I've had this set since 1993 and still love them.

[Don]

What they lacked, IMO, was the traditional stratocaster 'shimmer'...glassy high end and well defined low end. They seemed a bit 'compressed' and dull.

That's how I felt about them. I had a Strat Plus that I bought new in late '88 and sold in the mid '90s. Regardless of the pickups, the guitar sounded better than the '57 re-issue that it replaced, but the pickups just weren't quite right to my ear. It's been to long for me to remember details!

[Erock_Germany]

I had an early 90's Strat Plus with them and never really managed to become friends with the guitar or the pickups.

I then had an extended loan of an EC from day '97 with that setup and the mid boost and that was really cool. Certainly more gain and versatile as far as a all around guitar/tone goes. So I guess I liked them. Playing with the height adjustment is key here. They are really sensitive to this (as many PUs).

After the loaner was given back, I got a G&L S-500. The Magnetic Field PUs they use are really cool - a neat combination of almost vintage sound with a bunch more gain that hits the fron of the amp nicely. Thise PUs with the mid boost circuit in the EC would be cool.

All in all, I think there are better noisless PUs out there but the Lace Sensors were way ahead of their time - and they still hold their weight today. I think they are worth a go and in combination with the EC electronics, they are really killer!

[phantomman]

Fender has a new line of noiseless pickups coming soon called the "N3", which are replacing the SCNs. They might be worthy of waiting for.

HTH

[elicross]

Andy from ProGuitarShop.com recently did a demo of the new American Deluxe Strat, which has the N3 pups.

For what it's worth:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8j5X9y64M4

[Sixpense]

I have an early model Fender Strat Plus which has them and they do the job. I also have a couple of the Clapton strats as well (including one with the Noiseless pickups). If you want to hear the difference, pick up the Cream live DVD. Clapton uses the Strat with the Noiseless pickups except for Rollin and Tumblin which he used the Strat with the Lace Pickups.

[Offshore Angler]

Had them in my Strat+, ditched them after a while. They were really generic and souless. After a few swaps I've settled on the VNs. They give a decent Strat sound with a hint of grind and clean up nice on the volume. Not totally traditional but I have another Strat with SC's for when I want that sound.

[refin]

Clapton and Beck usd to have them in their sig models.........they both switched to noiseless.I don't think anything could have saved Eric's '80s/'90s tone.
I've heard people get some really good sounds out of the LS pups....I've never had a guitar with them.

[Porto Leone]

Lace Sensors are great if you're not looking for a vintage sound. They have their own tone and it's a matter of personal taste if someone likes them or not. One think that i've noticed is that the recent golds have a different character when i hear them in comparison against the older ones (for example the ones on some of the '90s strat+). I don't know if Lace made some upgrades, but the difference is very noticable. Now, not all the sensor models are really good. I have tried the most of them, but my favorites are the low (6k) output model of the hot golds and the burgundy. Again, for sure they don't have the typical single coil sound, IMO.

[SMark]

You need to check out the Hot Gold Lace Sensor. It isn't a hot pickup (except for the bridge model,) just a way more dynamic Gold Lace Sensor. My favorite Lace Sensor of all time.

[mystique 1]

I have Golds in my Strat Plus. and my 2008 Am Std. I added a second Delta tone pot to the Std, and the Golds are equally as bright as the Stock Alnico V's, except with little or no hum, and a more up front sound!

[mystique 1]

One think that i've noticed is that the recent golds have a different character when i hear them in comparison against the older ones (for example the ones on some of the '90s strat+). I don't know if Lace made some upgrades, but the difference is very noticable.

I don't hear a massive difference between new and old "Fender" Lace Sensor Golds. They did add an extra green earth wire in the early 90's, but apart from that, thats about it! I notice Lace (not Fender Lace),Sensors are now made without the brass base plate, so maybe that has something to do with it?

[pit_s_xroad]

Hello there...

nice demo of a CS Strat equipped with Golden Lace Sensors and the Clapton Boost-Kit...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4daDh43BCP0

The guy is talking German only... but the sounds speak for themself...

Greetings
PIT...

[twangmeisternyc]

I have a final model year Strat Plus in Natural Swamp Ash body with Rosewood Board and 3 Gold Lace sensors. It has the boost/cut circuit. I actually went out on the hunt to find it a few years back. I think the combo of woods and sensors is superb. It will sustain for something close to infinity.

I have it set up for bottleneck, very easy to shim the LSR rollernut with a piece of veneer.

Positions 2 and 4 probably are my favorites, more the vintage sound...but, the neck Position 1 really belts it out.

[solitaire]

I don't hear a massive difference between new and old "Fender" Lace Sensor Golds. They did add an extra green earth wire in the early 90's, but apart from that, thats about it! I notice Lace (not Fender Lace),Sensors are now made without the brass base plate, so maybe that has something to do with it?

Rumours has it they tried to tweak the Sensor to sounding more vintage. Obviously the main technology is the same, so there will still be that bluesy, mini-humbucker sound from them.

I've always prefered the Sensors a bit hotter than the Gold, the increase of impedance really gives the pickups more body and less shrill highs. The Burgundy and Light blue are nice addition, having heavier copper wire from what I've heard. A bit dark though.

For what it's worth the Holy Grails are amongst the finest vintage pickups I've heard and its dead quiet. Sort of fatter than stock '54s but really has plenty of that alnico chime.

[Sage]

I used them exclusively throughout the 90s when I was in high school and college. I had two silvers and a gold in my Strat. I bought them to reduce the hum, which they did a little, but didn't eliminate it entirely (although in retrospect I may have had poor shielding).

I have fond memories of those days but I don't use them any more. These days there are far better options, like Kinmans, if you want a good Strat sound and want to eliminate hum.

[Sixpense]

They do sound different from regular pickups but I have guitars with both. The magnetic field is not as strong on Lace pickups to allow for longer sustain on string bending.

When you bend the strings on a regular pickup, you are pulling it away from the pole piece which causes a decay in sound where the Laces magnet covers more area to prevent the decay.

If you want to hear the difference between Lace and Noiseless pickups, for the 2005 Cream Reunion, Eric Clapton mostly uses his strat with the noiseless pickups, but he does switch to the strat with lace sensors during one track. And you do hear a difference in sound. Both Beck and Clapton use to use the Lace Pickups on their guitars but switched to the noiseless and their current models. The noiseless are similar to standard pickups but contain an extra coil underneath for humcancelling without making the pickup a humbucker.

To me, the noiseless has a more metallic sound when you attack the strings with a pick vs the lace sensors.

The wonders of Youtube

Cream 2005 Rollin and Tumblin - Clapton with Lace Sensors

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnz-wd9uMrY

Sittin on Top of The World - Eric with the noiseless pickups

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSvpGZ0sKZU

I own a few Clapton models with Lace Sensors (and one with Noiseless) along with two Strat Plus models (an early model and late model) with Gold Lace Sensors and I prefer Laces Sensors to any other.