It wasn't that long ago, that if you did not like the sound of the pickups on your guitar, the only recourse that you had was to trade your old guitar in, and get one that had the pickups that had the sound that you were looking for. Thankfully today, that is not necessary. If you really like the feel of your current guitar, but want to change the sound, a very easy solution is to just replace the pickups that are in your old guitar with a set of new ones that have the sound that you are looking for. If you are looking for a pickup that has some of the best features of a modern and vintage sound, you may want to check out the Lace Sensor Gold/Gold Dually Humbucking Pickup. Read on and see if this pickup might have that special something that you are looking for.
Lace has been making guitar pickups since 1985, and Fender used them exclusively on some of their high end guitars from 1987 to 1996. I have a set of single coil Lace Sensors on a 1989 Fender Stratocaster, and it sounds great. Lace Sensors are available under the Fender name brand, but are also available directly through Lace Music Products. Lace Sensors are available in many varieties, each with its own specific tonal characteristics. However in this review I shall be focusing on the Lace Sensor Gold/Gold Dually Humbucker Pickup. The Lace Sensor Gold/Gold Dually has a retail price tag of $109.99, but it can be had from most national musical instrument chain stores, and better Internet dealers for a discounted price of merely $76.99.
The Lace Sensor Gold Series of pickups is designed to emulate the classic sound of a 1950's era single coil Fender Stratocaster Pickup, but to do so without the noise that is typically associated with a vintage era single coil pickup, and it does not have the magnetic string pull or dampening effect that is that is typically associated with an overwound single coil pickup. The Gold Lace Sensor did such a good job at reproducing the best tonal characteristics of a vintage single coil pickup, as would be typically found on a 1950's era Fender Stratocaster, that it was chosen by Eric Clapton and by Fender as the pickup that was used in the original Fender Eric Clapton Signature Stratocaster, and it was used on that model from 1988 to 2001. The Gold/Gold Dually Lace Sensor is designed to also simulate the crisp spank and bell tones of a vintage Fender Stratocaster, but with a bit more output than is available from the single coil Gold Lace Sensor. The Gold/Gold Dually Lace Sensor is available in three colors, namely White, Black, and Crème.
The Gold/Gold Dually Lace Sensor has what Lace describes as a "Radiant Field Barrier." This barrier is composed of metal sides that surround both the coil and the magnets at the heart of the pickup, and thus there is less hum and noise from the pickup. This barrier also generates a broader and yet more concentrated sensing field than a traditional guitar pickup. The Gold/Gold Lace Sensor joins two single coil Gold Lace Sensors, into a humbucking configuration for a virtually noiseless pickup. Each of the two single coil Gold Pickups have 36 individual sensing fields, as compared to the 4 to 12 magnetic sensing fields typically found on a conventional guitar pickup. The result is that the Gold/Gold Dually Lace Sensor "reads" a greater physical area of the vibrating string, and as such, it reproduces potentially more complex harmonics, and therefore a richer and more complex tone.
Because the Gold/Gold Dually Lace Sensor has a concentrated sensing field, this pickup can use less powerful magnets than a conventional guitar pickup. This is a very important advantage that the Gold/Gold Dually Lace Sensors have over conventional pickups with more powerful magnets. With a conventional pickup, the closer one moves the pickup to the strings, the greater the dampening effect of the magnetic field on the vibrations of the string. This dampening effect, which is a direct result of the strength of the magnetic pull of the pickup on the strings, which is sometimes referred to as "Stratitis," results in the reduction in the sustain of the string, and in some cases it can actually change the pitch of the note being sustained due to the generation of dissonant frequencies. This problem is virtually nonexistent with a Gold/Gold Dually Lace Sensor, as the magnets that are used have a weak magnetic field, and as such, there is no dampening effect from the magnetic field being generated by the pickup. Thus, you can raise a Gold/Gold Dually Lace Sensor as close to the guitar strings as you wish, and there will be no reduction in the vibration of the strings, and the sustain will be nothing short of dramatic.
Given that the Gold/Gold Dually Lace Sensor has the same footprint as a Gibson style humbucking pickup, this Dually Lace Sensor would be ideal replacement pickups for a guitar with this pickup configuration, whether it is a Gibson or not. As a matter of fact, the guitar that I had the opportunity of testing this pickup out in, was an Epiphone G-400. The Gold/Gold Dully Lace Sensor was in the Neck position, and the bridge pickup had been replaced with a Red/Red Dually Lace Sensor. If you would like to read my review on the sonic characteristics of the Red/Red Dually Lace Sensor, please click on the link below.
Now I would like to briefly discuss some points regarding the sonic characteristics and output of the Gold/Gold Dually Lace Sensor Humbucker. The two single coil size Gold Lace Sensors that are hooked together in tandum each have a Resistance of 5.8k (5,800 Ohms), and an Inductance of 2.4 henries. The Dually or double coil humbucking size pickup has a Resistance of 12.1k and an Inductance of 4.9 henries. As I am sure you probably have already guessed, that because of its higher output, the Lace Sensor Dually Gold pickup is ideal as a bridge pickup when used in conjunction with the two single coil Lace Sensor Gold pickups. However, on the Epiphone G-400 that I was playing, the bridge pickup had been replaced with a Red/Red Dually Lace Sensor, and the neck pickup had been replaced with a Gold/Gold/Dually Lace Sensor.
For those of you who are technically minded and who want to understand a bit more about what the numbers mean that I mentioned and referenced in the above paragraph, the Resistance of a guitar pickup depends on the number of turns or windings in the bobbins of a pickup's coils, as well as the diameter of the wire. The Inductance of a guitar pickup is measured in henries, and this figure will depend on the number of turns of wire on a coil as well as on the shape of the coils. Thus, the Lace Sensor Gold Dually is a rather powerful sounding pickup. Yet because of the unique design of these Lace Sensor Pickups, and their use of relatively weak magnets, there is no string dampening effect, and the sustain and tone of these pickups is superb. As many of you who are reading this review may already know, guitar pickups that have a very powerful magnetic field can actually exert so much string pull that the vibrations of the strings is actually dampened. Thus, a guitar that is equipped with pickups that have a weak magnetic field can actually sound fuller and richer, and also sustain better than a guitar equipped with pickups that have a significantly more powerful magnetic field.
The Gold/Gold Dually Lace Sensor can also be wired to be switchable from being either a single coil operation to having both coils in operation together. This gives one great sonic versatility and increased tonal options. Wiring diagrams are also included on a 3 inch mini CD that comes with the Gold/Gold Dually Lace Sensor with purchase. Unfortunately, I was not able to hear how the single coil option sounded on this guitar as the Gold/Gold Dually Lace Sensor was wired to function as a traditional humbucker with both coils being activated. However, I have heard this on other guitars, and the sound of the single coils alone is reminiscent of a vintage Fender Stratocaster Single Coil Pickup with Alnico V Magnets. The sound of the Gold/Gold Dually Lace Sensor was similar to a vintage single coil Fender Stratocaster sound, but it was also a bit more beefier, and it had a richer and fuller low end. When this pickup was cranked, and the tone was pulled back a bit on the guitar, and the amp volume was turned way up, this pickup had a really great singing sustain on solos. When the volume was reduced on the guitar, as well as on the amp, and the treble on the pickup was increased, the bell like tones of a vintage Stratocaster pickup were also able to be emulated quite well. Not perfectly, at least to my ear, but close enough to sound really good.
Well who is the Gold/Gold Dually Lace Sensor best suited to. There are many inexpensive guitars brands out there that do not have a set of good sounding pickups, and the Lace Sensor Series of Pickups would be ideally suited as a simple upgrade that would dramatically improve the sound of any of these less expensive guitars, that come equipped with less well crafted pickups. The Gold/Gold Dually Lace Sensor is also suited to someone who wants to have a guitar that has a vintage 1950's Fender Stratocaster sound, especially if you employ a coil cut switch, as well as having the added capability of having a moderately hot sounding pickup for a modern sound. The Gold/Gold Dually Lace Sensor would also be a good choice to replace the pickup on a guitar that has a pickup setup similar to a Fender HSS or Fat Stratocaster design. If the Gold/Gold Dually Lace Sensor were to be placed in the bridge position, and if it were to be wired to employ the coil cut option, then one could get the sound of a single coil pickup in the bridge position, as well as switching back to a hotter dual coil pickup sound when desired.
Well, I want to thank you for taking the time to read my review. But now if you will excuse me, I must get back to my practicing.
Fantastic prices with ease & c...(Stock status: N/A)
This is a Lace Sensor Blue/Red "Dually" humbucking pickup with white cover. Suited for the bridge position, this pickup allows you to switch between f...More at Amazon Marketplace
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