# Lace Alumitone upgrade (X-Bar and Deathbar)



## Poparad (Sep 3, 2012)

I've been playing on an Agile Intrepid 928 for almost two years now, and while I've been mostly happy with it, I wasn't completely sold on the clean sound, especially in the lower register. A lot of the chords I was trying to play came out muddy, and I was beginning to believe it wasn't due problems with my voicings, but with the pickups themselves. Also, the tone just didn't seem to have that 'thickness' that I usually love in humbucker guitars.

After some research, I went and bought a Lace Alumitone X-Bar for the neck and a Deathbar for the bridge. I also added a push-pull pot on the volume to split the pickups. I'd already added a concentric tone pot so I could have separate controls for the pickups, and I'd already switched to 250k pots that the Lace pickups require (I prefer a darker tone anyway).

My first impression is that this is exactly what I was looking for! The tone is very clear and crisp across all the registers, and the previously muddy chord voicings in the low register are now nice and clear. The pickups are completely noiseless, even when split. The split sound is nice and quite usable. It's thinned out a bit, in a good way, from the full voiced pickup. The pickups sound strikingly similar to the H22 pickups in my Carvin Holdsworth (which is great, because that's my main 6-string and I love the tone of it). "Even" is about the best word I can use to describe the pickups. Not too boomy, not too midrangey, and not too bright. The Deathbar, compared to the X-Bar, has a considerable midrange spike, making it a bit hotter and punchier overall. Since I primarily use the bridge pickup for distorted playing, that's great. I use the neck exclusively for clean, and the X-Bar will be great for that, though it sounds great with distortion, too. It just sounds a lot smoother than the punchy Deathbar.










The Alumitones are extremely thin! The space under them in the body of the guitar is almost all open air.










Removing the old pickups...









I bought the 4.0 (4" wide) version, and they're a near perfect fit. Due to the square shape of the Lace pickups vs. the rounded corner shape of the Cepheus, I had to file down the edges a little bit to make it fit.






All finished!


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## yuureikun (Sep 4, 2012)

Looks awesome, I would love to hear some sound clips!


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## 80H (Sep 4, 2012)

"fuck no im not cutting all 8. this bitch was $3+shipping. ill just slide them under man."


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## Xplora (Sep 4, 2012)

80H said:


> "fuck no im not cutting all 8. this bitch was $3+shipping. ill just slide them under man."



I'm surprised he didn't leave the last 2 on 

Pups look great.


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## Rook (Sep 4, 2012)

^

Clips please!

DI's would also be acceptable.


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## jeremyb (Sep 4, 2012)

Nice! Does anyone know if these are a direct swap size wise for 808's?


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## Rook (Sep 4, 2012)

Yes they are, you'll need the 4" bars and 250k+ pots. It doesn't really matter what rating pot you get as long as its above about 250k, these are current driven so you don't get the same high end suck from pots. It's still there but it's much more subtle.


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## Poparad (Sep 4, 2012)

80H said:


> "fuck no im not cutting all 8. this bitch was $3+shipping. ill just slide them under man."



I didn't have an extra, so I left it on for the time being. I've got a new one coming in the mail.


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## Poparad (Sep 4, 2012)

Fun111 said:


> Yes they are, you'll need the 4" bars and 250k+ pots. It doesn't really matter what rating pot you get as long as its above about 250k, these are current driven so you don't get the same high end suck from pots. It's still there but it's much more subtle.



Actually they need to be 250k, not higher. 500k pots aren't recommended for these pickups.


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## Rook (Sep 4, 2012)

It doesn't matter, believe me 

The difference is subtle at best.


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## JaeSwift (Sep 4, 2012)

Poparad said:


> Actually they need to be 250k, not higher. 500k pots aren't recommended for these pickups.



It's a matter of preference, really. Though with Lace pickups it matters a little less than some others, it does add a bit more brightness.


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## Ishan (Sep 4, 2012)

I use a 500K with my DB, it sounds great.


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## Philligan (Sep 4, 2012)

Was this a custom order, or did you do the neck pickup route yourself? I'm looking at the 22 frets


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## Poparad (Sep 4, 2012)

Philligan said:


> Was this a custom order, or did you do the neck pickup route yourself? I'm looking at the 22 frets



It's the stock route, but the inlays are custom. I ordered it with no inlays, and since I have to tune it down a whole step for the high string (won't go any higher than a G and I want to keep 4ths on top), I had inlays installed locally but shifted by two frets. The actual 2nd fret has two dots (like the 12th or 24th) which is the same as the open string on a standard tuned guitar. From there everything is relative to that. Since I think in terms of note names when playing and already have the fretboard memorized in standard tuning (and I have to communicate with non-guitarists a lot and don't want to hassle with transposition) it made more sense to me to have all the position markers lined up with where I already know the notes to be.


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## Philligan (Sep 4, 2012)

Poparad said:


> It's the stock route, but the inlays are custom. I ordered it with no inlays, and since I have to tune it down a whole step for the high string (won't go any higher than a G and I want to keep 4ths on top), I had inlays installed locally but shifted by two frets. The actual 2nd fret has two dots (like the 12th or 24th) which is the same as the open string on a standard tuned guitar. From there everything is relative to that. Since I think in terms of note names when playing and already have the fretboard memorized in standard tuning (and I have to communicate with non-guitarists a lot and don't want to hassle with transposition) it made more sense to me to have all the position markers lined up with where I already know the notes to be.



Cool


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## Winspear (Sep 4, 2012)

That inlay idea is cool as fuck, I like the way you think!


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## crg123 (Sep 4, 2012)

I have the same combo in my Agile 827 and the clarity is beyond phenomenal (especially for extended range). Congrats!


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## Poparad (Sep 5, 2012)

I'll probably try and get some recordings done Sunday. I'll also have a new 9th string by then.


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## Brohoodofsteel75 (Sep 9, 2012)

Poparad said:


> I'll probably try and get some recordings done Sunday. I'll also have a new 9th string by then.





Good I'm really eager to hear!


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## helferlain (Sep 24, 2012)

Poparad said:


> I'll probably try and get some recordings done Sunday. I'll also have a new 9th string by then.



Could you upload a recording of the split neck pu, please?


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## Poparad (Sep 24, 2012)

Hopefully this weekend! I've been very busy with performances and rehearsals the past two weeks.


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## aawshred (Sep 24, 2012)

they look amazing! deathbars/buckers are the best, I use them in both my main guitars.


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## MrGignac (Sep 28, 2012)

im really close to buying a pair of these. Will these fit an EMG style route? i have slanted cephius 9s on my pendulum. the 4.5 im guissing if they would fit in there


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## Jason Spell (Sep 29, 2012)

If they sound as good as they look in there, I can't imagine you'll be putting that guitar down.


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## Poparad (Sep 29, 2012)

MrGignac said:


> im really close to buying a pair of these. Will these fit an EMG style route? i have slanted cephius 9s on my pendulum. the 4.5 im guissing if they would fit in there



They are square, so they're likely to fit EMGs, though I'm not sure if the dimensions are exact. I originally bought the 4.5's, but they were far too wide. I exchanged them for the 4.0's and other than a small bit of filing to make the route square, they were a perfect fit.


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## Poparad (Sep 29, 2012)

dingaling said:


> If they sound as good as they look in there, I can't imagine you'll be putting that guitar down.



I have been motivated to practice this thing daily now. The tone before was thin and dull, and I didn't enjoy practicing it. The new pickups added a lot of fatness to the sound, and overall it just sounds richer and crisper.


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## Poparad (Sep 29, 2012)

Also, tomorrow I should be doing some recording with the new pickups!


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## Onegunsolution (Sep 30, 2012)

I have to pull the trigger and get this combo already, all clips and descriptions of em sound perfect for what I need. They look good on the guitar man HNPD


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## MrGignac (Oct 4, 2012)

mine just came in the mail today, but the disc with the wiring diagrams doesnt have Deathbar instructions.do they install just like a regular passive pup.


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## Poparad (Oct 13, 2012)

MrGignac said:


> mine just came in the mail today, but the disc with the wiring diagrams doesnt have Deathbar instructions.do they install just like a regular passive pup.



Basically, although splitting is a little different. The wiring is identical to the X-Bar and all the other Alumitone humbucker-sized pickups.


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