# NPUD: Lace Sensor Red/Silver/Blue... instant buyers remorse! :o



## MaCkCiTy (Jan 12, 2014)

So I bought a used Jap Strat a while back that was traded into my local guitar store. It was $350au and with a lot of "character" shall we say. I kind of actually like getting guitars in that state rather than new, so I don't feel I have to be precious with it. The bridge was swapped out for a DiMarzio Tone Zone. I played it in-store and loved everything it did. But I'm not sure what amp I tested it on because I got it home and hated the bridge through my amps. So replacing it has been on my to-do list for a while.

As I was uninstalling the Bridge through, I realised the reason I dislike probably has something to do with it running through the (presumably stock) 250k pots. So maybe that's something to look at in the future.

But anyway, Lace Pickups installed and all I can think is "WTF"!?!?! Not sure where or even if I could have done anything wrong since it was just a swap out. These things sound so sterile I'm pretty sure I lost the ability to impregnate a woman! These are beyond EMG sterility, I'm not even sure how passives could do it and that's through a tube amp, I can't imagine what an abortion it would sound like on a ss amp! I just A/B'd it against my EMG loaded strat and it's not my imagination. There's also an issue with bridge tone control not doing anything, it was working before and considering all I've done is wired to the pickup selector. I don't see how I could have done anything to that. I watched a youtube vid of people playing on the dirty channel saying it's capable of metal, ah, I wouldn't go that far. You could probably live with the power chords, but it's not hot enough for single note stuff. Considering they're single coil I never expected them to be able to do metal well anyway, but I'm not even LIKING them on the cleans! I think these need to get pulled out asap! Strong disappoint! 

So if I put the old stuff back and get 500k pots, do I need to replace the volume and tone for the bridge?


​


----------



## CrushingAnvil (Jan 12, 2014)

The difference between 250k and 500k pots will not make you HATE a pickup. Blame your own abilities or inabilities before you blame the pickup or the pots.


----------



## ihunda (Jan 12, 2014)

Try wiring one of the lace directly to the output jack and try it. It's the best way to know if it's coming from your soldering skills gone bad or truly the pickups themselves.


----------



## MaCkCiTy (Jan 12, 2014)

^^Meow! 

Well soldering is hardly rocket science and this isn't my first attempt at guitar wiring. There's no output issues between pickups and work correctly on the switch, so they're running as they should. I've since been checking user reviews and I'm not the only one feeling this way, it's just the nature of the pickups and obviously it's just not for me. Probably should have read some user reviews instead of just going off youtube videos, oh well, live and learn.


----------



## wakjob (Jan 12, 2014)

ihunda said:


> Try wiring one of the lace directly to the output jack and try it. It's the best way to know if it's coming from your soldering skills gone bad or truly the pickups themselves.



^ 
I know it's a pain in the drain, but I'd try this before writing them off so quickly.


----------



## SpaceDock (Jan 12, 2014)

I've had lace sensor red (bridge) and silver (neck) in a duo sonic. They sounded very much like a high end single coils without hum. The red is mid output and the silver was low, when compared to most guitars I play. They are great for rock and blues not metal and shred. I know Clapton and Billy Corgan used these a lot.


----------



## ihunda (Jan 12, 2014)

MaCkCiTy said:


> ^^Meow!
> 
> Well soldering is hardly rocket science and this isn't my first attempt at guitar wiring. There's no output issues between pickups and work correctly on the switch, so they're running as they should. I've since been checking user reviews and I'm not the only one feeling this way, it's just the nature of the pickups and obviously it's just not for me. Probably should have read some user reviews instead of just going off youtube videos, oh well, live and learn.



Ah ah, I didn't want to sound pedantic 
Well I have a squier with sensors and it's one of the best sounding strat I ever had and I want through a lot of strats some with fender vintage pups, all sort of duncan rails and virtual vintage dimarzios so it surprises me that you feel these lace pups are so bad.


----------



## Necris (Jan 12, 2014)

I have sensors in a few of my guitars and have nothing but good things to say about them, they're actually my go to pickups, I liked them better than emg/dimarzio/seymour duncan's offerings and don't find them sterile at all. However they aren't for everyone, some people hate the sound.

Also while the recommended pot value is 250k for the sensors but I found I strongly preferred 500k pots and also wired a blower switch for the bridge pickup.


----------



## gigawhat (Jan 12, 2014)

ihunda said:


> Ah ah, I didn't want to sound pedantic
> Well I have a squier with sensors and it's one of the best sounding strat I ever had and I want through a lot of strats some with fender vintage pups, all sort of duncan rails and virtual vintage dimarzios so it surprises me that you feel these lace pups are so bad.



+over 9,000

Every Lace pickup I have tried has sounded amazingly fantastic, regardless of what guitar it was in, crystal clarity, with the tone of the instrument clearly evident. And that goes for the X-bar/deathbar, alumitone singles and humbuckers, aluma-90s, dirty fingers, bass bars, to the NUMEROUS lace sensors I have tried in the past years. 

While the sensors colored the tone more than any of the others (except maybe the dirty fingers), I'm still baffled at the descriptor "sterile" being attached to ANYTHING Lace. I don't mean that as a slight to your opinion of the tone OP, just commenting. Maybe you are hearing the clarity as sterility because of the lack of color you are use to. Or maybe you just don't like Lace sensors.  

I would definitely look into double checking your schematic and wiring if/when you decide to throw them back in. Not trying to imply lack of knowledge or skill, but everyone makes mistakes.  I would just hate for you to write off something that most people who have tried them have instantly fall in love. Granted the ones that don't immediately love it, tend to hate it with a passion, so YMMV.


----------



## MaCkCiTy (Jan 12, 2014)

Haha, sorry ihunda, the meow was for CrushingAnvil. I'm guessing he thinks I'm noob just because I'm new to the forum. 

By "sterile", to me it's like it doesn't seem to get picking dynamics. I swapped over to my EMG strat to compare and I can definitely hear picking dynamics better on that with a clearer top end. Maybe I'll wire to the input and give it a second chance, but I'm think it's just what they're about. This guy pretty much sums up my opinion, except I would probably like the Hot Hot Golds more!

​


----------



## Mordacain (Jan 12, 2014)

Meh, different strokes. I've never been a fan of Lace Sensors myself. I have a Purple (or Red, I'm not really sure) that had been installed in my MIJ 54 RI and never cared for it.

Not that it was necessarily bad, but just not really my thing. I found it just sounded a bit muffled and compressed. The dynamics really depend on the type. The Golds seemed responded well to picking dynamics, but the hotter sensors pretty much just stay hot in my experience.

Oddly enough, I bought that guitar to use my EMG DG20 set with so I actually compared the two in the same guitar. Given my druthers, I much preferred the EMG SA with the SPC. I didn't find the EMGs sterile personally. A bit clinical, perhaps, but balancing the SPC and EXG controls yielded lots of tonal ranges and the pickups themselves seem wonderfully dynamic and responsive to volume and picking.

Neither the Lace Sensors nor the EMGs would ever be confused for true single-coils though and I wouldn't use them as such.


----------



## Necris (Jan 12, 2014)

Out of the variety they offer the Silver, Gold and Emerald probably sound most like standard single coils. Red and Blue are wound to imitate High output and medium output humbuckers, respectively. The Burgundy are essentially Reds with lower output. The Purple sounds kind of like a p90. The light blue and hot golds I've yet to try.

Lace has written out descriptions of the sound of each but the following are my experiences with the ones I've used:

I have no real use for the red at the moment, it sounds too dark for my tastes, essentially like a higher output humbucker tends to, not at all what I want in a single coil. I'd rather throw a Burgundy sensor in and compensate for the lower output with a boost of some sort if I wanted more a bit more output while introducing less of the the nasty dark muffled character the Red can bring. The burgundy also sounds pretty good in the neck for lead playing.

The blue sounds similar to a paf humbucker, I like it and it is what I'd throw in the bridge if I were to throw laces in an SSS guitar.

The emerald is really dynamic sounding, on par with the silver and gold but with a little bit of twang to it. They recommend it for the neck and middle and it sounds great in both positions but I've also had one in the bridge as part of a Purple/Emerald dually and liked it quite a bit.

The silver and golds are fantastic, they sound the most like fender strat single coils to my ear, I prefer the silver slightly to the gold in the neck, the gold sounds really good in the bridge, I'd be happy with either in the middle.


----------



## gclef (Jan 12, 2014)

I've have/had the red/silver/blue set and a pair of lace hemibuckers with a 6k hot gold sensor in the middle. I liked them all except for the blue (which was in the neck, so that is probably why - too muddy).

I love them. They need to be super close to the strings to get the dynamics out of them. Unlike regular singles, they take any amount of gain well.

Oddly enough, I found the red to be similar to the jbjr bridge and the blue similar to the jbjr neck soundwise. Feel was different though. I preferred the lace sensors and have had a pair of jbjrs in my parts drawer for nearly 15 years.


----------

