Lace Sensor Pickups On Strat

[ronnieanand]

Hi,
I recently picked up a Squier Standard Strat and I changed the pickups to Lace Sensor Hot gold with 13K Bridge pickup. I was expecting the pickup to be hot. Unfortunately it's very lame. There's hardly any sustain even with a real hi-gain metal patch. It makes this hi-gain patch sound like a warm overdrive patch too... No character, no sustain. I noticed that the stock guitar had 100K pots. Would it make a difference if I change pickups or what should I do. Please help...

 

[walt]

Re: Lace Sensor Pickups On Strat

The gold lace sensors are the vintage ones and are no way hot (I owned 2 sets of them). If you are looking for the hot lace sensor get the red one, you'll have a real hard time getting a metal tone out of the gold, imho.

Gold - Vintage
Blue - Blues set
Silver - more mid range
Red - Hot

 

[claytonc]

Re: Lace Sensor Pickups On Strat

The gold lace sensors are the vintage ones and are no way hot (I owned 2 sets of them). If you are looking for the hot lace sensor get the red one, you'll have a real hard time getting a metal tone out of the gold, imho.

Gold - Vintage
Blue - Blues set
Silver - more mid range
Red - Hot

They have more recently made a "hot gold" and these babies are hot! I had a set with chrome lipstick covers. Rev. Donzo is the one to ask about these!

 

[Jocelyn]

Re: Lace Sensor Pickups On Strat

HEY MR. CHUBB ( I hope I spelt that right)
NICE TO SEE YOU HERE welcome to the forum

FunnY I seen the Title and thought abouth you, but I did not see your name against it. So I just decided to read the thread and see if I could get any help and sugetion for you. And Isee its you who have posted .

 

[Lake Placid Blues]

Re: Lace Sensor Pickups On Strat

With LS pickups the traditional distances from the strings don't hold, they usually require a different set up. LS have virtually no string pull, so you can set the pickup rather close to the strings. Try expermenting with various distances from the strings (probably very close) and see if that helps.

 

[revolution]

Re: Lace Sensor Pickups On Strat

Those new Samarium Cobalt Noiseless are pretty kick a** s/c p'ups. I was very impressed with the sound of those. In that Squire Strat you would be better off with something like that. A p'up like a gold lace which really makes a guitar sound like "itself" would require a better wood and build than a new Squire....my 2c anyway.

 

[Jocelyn]

Re: Lace Sensor Pickups On Strat

Ronnie do you still have the 100k pots in the guitar? try changing the pots if so, before changing the pick ups. Yeah sure the pickups will sound better on better wood, but yet not what you are describing.

 

[SoCalSteve]

Re: Lace Sensor Pickups On Strat

With LS pickups the traditional distances from the strings don't hold, they usually require a different set up. LS have virtually no string pull, so you can set the pickup rather close to the strings. Try expermenting with various distances from the strings (probably very close) and see if that helps.

Exactly what I was thinking-put them up close. I had this exact set in a MIM Strat and loved 'em. To me, when I think 'hot' for single coils I think thicker tone and that's the way I found the 13k bridge to sound.

 

[adrian]

Re: Lace Sensor Pickups On Strat

No, you´re right about the Lace Hot Golds. They´re not "hot", if that means overdriven or distorted. They have just hotter magnets, so they have a fuller sound, are more sensitive to pick attack, and so on. I have 2 Hot Golds in my Strat and sound just beutiful, with a OD-pedal and a chorus. Soft and singing, compared to stock Fender single coil. 250k pots are recommended.


But don´t ask Rev Donzo for advice on Lace products...

 

[ronnieanand]

Re: Lace Sensor Pickups On Strat

Thanks for your replies... Now my only concern is the lack of sustain. On Clean it has a decent sustain but with distortion, the sustain is very poor. I use a home made Clean Boost right after the guitar to boost up the signal but the decay of the signal is not very good. At one point, it stops abruptly. Surprisingly the stock pickups were really hot and I could even do Palm Muted Distorted Metal Riffing. Can I put 500K for the volume and dummy out the tone controls. Will this help....

 

[Buck_Cannon]

Re: Lace Sensor Pickups On Strat

Use 250k's,
or 500ks
raise them up within a Nickel or dime of the strings while depressing the last fret.

100ks usally are found in active guitars or in guitars with ceramic 3.5k to 4k pickups.

lace does not make one single hot pup, nothing there has much output, its all low magnetics in the name of less string pull and more sustain. even the hottest one RED, has less output then a stock Fender Tele Bridge...
Guess the name of the guy who designed those Hot Golds for Lace and win a free Cherry Flavored Sucker!




-

 

[stonabus]

Re: Lace Sensor Pickups On Strat

pffft.

 

[LReese]

Re: Lace Sensor Pickups On Strat

Guess the name of the guy who designed those Hot Golds for Lace and win a free Cherry Flavored Sucker!

Um.... Eddie Van Halen? :banana:

The Hot Golds are the best of the reduced noise pickups I have tried. Don did a good job designing them. That said, I have not tried the Stack Plus or the Suhr SSC yet.

With some eq/boost/compression, I'm sure they can sound heavy - at the expense of some hum.

On my Strat, I set the HG's approximately the same height as normal single coils, probably 1/16" (about the thickness of a nickel, like Don said) on the high E and 3/32" on the low E. It could be my imagination, but it sounded more natural with the pickups a little lower.

 

[Buck_Cannon]

Re: Lace Sensor Pickups On Strat

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEiMIMH0HRg&search=%26quot%3BJeff%20Beck%26quot%3B

WARNING this clip completly changed my mind about LACE SENSORS, I used to Praise Jeff and his use of his Sensors, Now stick him next to Mr. Strat himself and suddenly Jeff sounds thin, weak, dull, overcompresed, and with a false high end and that "Sensor Toy Guitar Sound",

 

[nebucanazza]

Re: Lace Sensor Pickups On Strat

Hey Ronnie!!!:wave:
Why dont you try 250K controls first, lower value pots will cause drop in o/p and brightness.Also, the caps might be of poor quality and of inappropiate value, causing dullness.

 

[frankfalbo]

Re: Lace Sensor Pickups On Strat

"Sensor Toy Guitar Sound",

Couldn't have said it better myself. Some guys love them, I think ronnieanand is one of the guys that has realized they aren't "all that". You have to get the 100k pots out of there, and put them against the strings to really judge them, but I don't think you'll be happy after that either. To me they are such a yawn. I became friends with Mel Lace, Don's brother several years back, and learned a lot about that whole Fender/Lace situation. Mel makes APC pickups, which are very different from Lace products, and again, some love them, some don't. I love the few I have. They make sensors sound like there's a wet towel over the amp.

A p'up like a gold lace which really makes a guitar sound like "itself" would require...

I can't even begin to dismantle that statement. The Lace products are among the most "coloring" pickups out there. To me they homogenize most guitars into the "sensor toy guitar" sound Buck is talking about.

 

[LReese]

Re: Lace Sensor Pickups On Strat

Don't want to hijack this thread, almost bought a set of APC's around Christmas, but chickened out. FrankFalbo, could you PM me with a little more info on on your thoughts about the APC's. Heard the Tele Neck PU's were very good, but no feedback on the Strat PU's. Thanks.