Fender Lace Sensor Views Please

[Bill Bowley]

.... and having Strats with 'red-silver-blue' and 'gold -gold-gold' and Lace 'California' sensors I recently bought and fitted a set of Lace 'Holy Grail' sensors in a '62 re-issue Strat and I find them the best of the bunch for early '60's Strat sounds - and they have the six 'magnets' and look the part.


Hope that helps rather than confuses!

[Chriz]

Hi

I too have considered looking at lace sensor pickups to get that sound!! However I am worried that if they are so good how come they are not fitted to new fenders?? if memory serves me correctly they used to be fitted to the Clapton model and the plus/deluxe models! I had heard fender made them because the were loosing a lot of buisness to the EMG company as ther pickups were a very popular aftermarket upgrade for a while. How come they have now been dropped
Any comments appreciated Chris

[Bill Bowley]

Chris,

Fender didn't 'make them', Lace did for Fender. Fender now make their own 'noisless' pickups (see what Chris Kinman has to say about that after they stuffed him around!) and therefore don't want to spend the money on Lace units. You can still buy some Fender models with Lace Sensors fitted. Read all about how Fender got involved with them in Duchoissoir's 'the Fender Stratocaster' if you want the real info.

[Chriz]

Hi Bill!

Thanks for correcting my ignorance The trouble many of us face is that its difficult to know whether something is fashionable or genuinely good (remember when people were trading in there fenders and gibson guitars for pointy headstock monstrosities in the 80's) . I think there could well be political/corporate reasons behind many things in the guitar industry we are not aware of. The trouble with pickups is that you just cant go and try them out in your guitar!!! Its been a few years since i played a guitar with the lace pickups in and i wasnt overly impressed then!! However I wasn pursuing a vintage strat sound. So maybe i'll give them another test!!

Chris

[Bill Bowley]

Chris,

I agree with you regarding 'fashionable' objects that seem to flood the market from time to time, I doubt if there would be any one of us has not been 'taken in' by the general move to 'follow the trend''!

Seriously though, I had similar aversions to Lace Sensors for a few years for no valid reason I can think of, until I tried out a Fender Strat 'Plus Series' with the Lace Gold Sensors, and I was hooked! As far as noiseless pups go, I do have Kinmans on one guitar, but prefer the Lace, particularly the 'Holy Grails' for the vintage tone. Unlike the situation in my 'youth', I can now afford to (and do) keep a 'selection' of guitars for any sound that I fancy, from BB King 'Lucille' to Marvins (both Burns and Baldwin) to Strats to Telecasters of various kinds, however if I had to give them all up and keep only one, it would be the '62 re-issue Strat with Lace Holy Grail pickups for sure.

[Tim]

Only just spotted this. I have had a Strat with Gold Lace Sensors for 15 years. They sound great - real Shadows sound imo and no pick up noise. It is as others have said probably the look that has put people off.
Tim

[wattybluesman]

Hi Derek,

I used a Ultra Strat Rosewood neck with Lace Sensor Pickups on all my recordings except when was playing rock'n'roll tracks for those I preferred my Telecaster with humbuckers .I have given you a link you can hear for the pickups for yourself they are also great if you are sitting near a computer as they aren't so noisy as your standard pick-ups.

WattyBluesman.

P.S I love them they can really chime depending how you set your amp.
Can you not take your amp into your friendly music shop and try a guitar out loaded with sensors?

http://www.4shared.com/audio/pff2zV7Z/Telstar.html

[OLDEREK]

Thanks everyone for your replys, I have now got some Lace Sensors Gold, it will be a while till I am ready to fit them, too many others to try first, thanks again...............Cheers

[StuartD]

Hi

Saw this thread and decided to buy one. I have a Musicman Silhouette and have a Little 59 Seymour Duncan in the Bridge position. I previously had 2 kinman AV63's in the other positions. I bought a Gold Lace Sensor for the middle position and it sounded great. So i then got another for the neck and it really is like a different guitar. I am playing Country Rock at the moment and it really works, so thanks for all the views. It really did help

Regards

Stuart