Video Demo - Lace Sensors Hot Gold - Strat

This is the last video I plan to make with the setup that I used for the Wilde Pickups Keystones & MicroCoils demo videos. I put a set of Lace Hot Golds in the guitar and went through the same demo.

zR5D8FBaAYQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zR5D8FBaAYQ

Again, I had to go to the Strat forum to see a link.Is it this forum and my browser settings?Or is there no link?...As usual, great demo, really shows the p/ups basic sound.Do you find them more like an AlNiCo p/up than other Lace?

I just put the embedded link on the OP. I've added a standard link.

I don't know that I could quantify the sound of AlNiCo magnets versus others. I will say that the Hot Golds are definitely my favorite of the Lace Sensors (I've had Red, Silver, Blue, Gold). They will stay in this guitar at this point.

The Hot Hot Gold Bridge (13K) is not as bright as either of the Wilde pickup bridges, but it has the fatter sound that I like in a bridge pup. At first, I was concerned that the bridge wouldn't be bright enough & thought about getting another 6K Hot Gold, but it has really grown on me.

If I had to choose between the Microcoils and the Lace Sensors solely based upon your two videos. The Lace Sensors win.

The Lace pickups seem to have more body, more Strat-like and just overall sounded better than the Micros. IMHO.

Nothing against the Micros, they just didn't sound as good as the Sensors based upon your videos. They sounded thin to me. Again, IMHO.

I have variable faith in internet audio. The only way you can ever make an educated decision on gear is to buy it and try it. Unfortunately, like alot of us, I fall into the "must budget for gear" syndrome.

Good job on the videos.

If I had to choose between the Microcoils and the Lace Sensors solely based upon your two videos. The Lace Sensors win.

The Lace pickups seem to have more body, more Strat-like and just overall sounded better than the Micros. IMHO.

Nothing against the Micros, they just didn't sound as good as the Sensors based upon your videos. They sounded thin to me. Again, IMHO.

I have variable faith in internet audio. The only way you can ever make an educated decision on gear is to buy it and try it. Unfortunately, like alot of us, I fall into the "must budget for gear" syndrome.

Good job on the videos.

If I have the time, I might edit the original .wav files down & post them so you can hear the sound better.

The MicroCoils do seem thinner & brighter to me. Sometimes that good & sometimes not so good. I realize that they are supposed to have a flatter response than other pups, but with the same setup, other pups do sound "bigger" to me. More pronounced mids, I'd say. The MCs do have a certain clarity that is nice, though.

I'm going to put the MicroCoils in my '94 Strat, which is a warmer sounding guitar than this partscaster. I think the MCs will sound more like a good vintage Strat in that guitar. Otherwise, I may be buying another set of Hot Golds. :lol:

Thanks again, and congrats on the well done demo. I did not hear any clipping in this one. Did you end up lowering the the output on the GT-Pro to 12 O'clock? Not only is there no digital clipping, but the tone might even be better due to the lack of any distortion on the sound card input. I don't know if it's FET, or IC. I'd think IC distortion would be obvious and horrendous. Maybe it depends on the IC? Love to hear a redo on the Micro's with the lowered GT-Pro output, if indeed that's what you did to fix it.

Are those an older set of Sensors? I've read and am convinced that some recent design changes have produced inferior results. It could be just the decision to remove the former (Aluminum?) back plates. Therefore, could be easily remedied. Your set sounds very good to me, though.

I agree that the Lace Hot Golds sound very nice. Just goes to show you how good Ceramic magnet pickups can sound. Definitely a different voicing than the MicroCoils. There isn't really a one-size-fits-all pickup. Plenty of room for different types in this world. I also agree that even though the Hot Golds have less bass, they sound fatter than the MicroCoils, but that's not a surprise. The Hot Golds have a much higher wind count than the MicroCoils, so it's really apples and oranges. Wilde L298's might be a little more like the Hot Golds. As far as bass goes, compare the neck PUP "Peter Gun" style muted picking bass notes of each. Night and day. I also agree that they sound more typically Stratty than the MC's as well, but not so nasal as some Strat PUP's can be. In a word, I'd describe the MC sound as "huge". "Fat" may mean predominant upper bass/lower mids? The Sensors all have very low resonance peaks. Typical Strat PUP's are ~7kHz. I don't know the actual spec, but from my experiments, the M MC showed a resonant peak of ~15kHz! That's gotta have some affect on the final tone. Finally, while the inductance of the Hot Gold N and M are very close to the MicroCoils, the bridge HG inductance is much higher than the bridge MC, so the resonance will be much lower on the bridge HG with the same capacitance load.

Thanks again, and congrats on the well done demo. I did not hear any clipping in this one. Did you end up lowering the the output on the GT-Pro to 12 O'clock? Not only is there no digital clipping, but the tone might even be better due to the lack of any distortion on the sound card input. I don't know if it's FET, or IC. I'd think IC distortion would be obvious and horrendous. Maybe it depends on the IC? Love to hear a redo on the Micro's with the lowered GT-Pro output, if indeed that's what you did to fix it.

I actually turned the Input gain up for the Lace Sensors. It was the output level that was too high on the last video. The clipping was in Audacity.

Are those an older set of Sensors? I've read and am convinced that some recent design changes have produced inferior results. It could be just the decision to remove the former (Aluminum?) back plates. Therefore, could be easily remedied. Your set sounds very good to me, though.

One of the 6K pups is the older style, the other 2 are newer style. I don't remember which one is which. I've never really noticed any difference in sound between the "old" and the "new". The bottom plate is actually the same if you look at it closeley. It's only the mounting tab part that has changed. The mounting screw holes in the old style with the thin plate strip easiliy. I prefer the construction of the newer style.

I don't know the actual spec, but from my experiments, the M MC showed a resonant peak of ~15kHz! That's gotta have some affect on the final tone.

I'm also using that low capacitance Elixir cable (around 110pF), which makes everything sound a little brighter, too.

When the MicroCoils go into my Strat, I'll make another video with them & watch the levels more closely.

Thanks for the replies. What I'm saying is that the GT-Pro output may have been clipping the the laptop's soundcard, or did you use a USB connection? Either way, it sounds fine now.

I wonder if you can actually overload the the output preamp of the GT-Pro? If the output meter of your last internal effect is overloading the output preamp, maybe you get some distortion there? Worth checking, anyway. Thanks, again.

So what do you like better micro coils or Lace Sensor’s? I own four Strat's. One has Texas Specials. What I like about Texas Specials is the thin, clear and very smooth sounding chords high up on the neck, nice funk sound. The notes just chime like bells with very little attack. The down side is that's the only thing I've found Texas Specials are good for and these are the noisest pickup I've uese. Lace Red, Silver, Blue. The red seems to have too much attack for my taste also a lot of mid range. The silver sounds good by itself or mixed with red and blue. The blue might be a tad bit too muddy. Sometimes I like it. Rainbow Pack: Burgundy, Silver, Emerald. It seems maybe Lace was trying to emulate Texas Specials. These are thin, bright, and clear but not smooth like the Texas Specials. Lace Silver Gold Gold: This is my own arrangement and my favorite all around sound. Silver sounds great in the bridge with no bright shrill harsh sound. Gold's are perfect for the middle and neck. I've not tried the Hot Gold's yet but they will be the next set I try. Lace Sensors are the only noiseless pickups I've tried. They tend to be on the warm side but you can brighten them up with the tone control. I will testify that for all around versatility Gold and Silver Lace Sensors are the best for me. Lace has awesome customer support. I bought the Rainbow pack from Musician’s Friend and they sat on the shelf for months before I put them in. When I got done the Silver did not work and it read open on my ohm meter. This is probably the first time I did not check my pickups with an ohm meter before I installed them. I got an RMA from Lace and they either fixed it or replaced it for free and sent it back to me.

The Silver was my favorite until I tried the Hot Golds. I had the regular Golds in the neck & middle with a Silver in the bridge on this guitar at one point. I liked it, but didn't love it. I'm really liking the Hot Golds right now. I'm really enjoying playing this guitar with these pups in it. I still think I might like the 6K Hot Gold in the bridge, though. I go back & forth over whether I'd like the bridge to be brighter.

This guitar's wiring setup gives me 3 options for pickups in series & I do think the MicroCoils respond better in series than the Lace pups. I recall the MCs being brighter in series than these pups.

I have a set of Hot Gold Lace pickups in my Roland Ready Strat, I like them , a lot.
The other noiseless pickups that I've used in the past that I also really like are the Fender Hot Noiseless aka "Jeff Beck" pickups.
Not sure I have a favorite between them.

I made another video with the Hot Golds with the Half Out-of-Phase and In-Series choices.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t99Diu2Orbc

t99Diu2Orbc

Good timing, thanks!

I have a (new in box) set of (black) Hot Golds that I've been sitting on waiting for the right build for probably 6-7 years now and finally got the build under way last month, I'm shooting the finish on it now and it should be up and running in a month or so, and it's good to hear them again to keep the fires stoked and keep me moving forward with it. Great tones and I'm now looking forward to getting them in place!

Great demo, man. I was wondering when you might start using the Fractal FX. I guess it's a newer generation modeler? What speakers models are you using? The mids and highs sound really smooth. It's funny how the HOoP tones sound like they'e closer to my ears than the standard tones. I ended up using a 5nF cap with the Tele MC set I set up for my bro. Someone once said he went down to 2nF's for a Strat. That might be beneficial for higher inductance pickups. Whatever works for you.

I had an old Lace Silver, so I put that in the bridge position tonight. It's much brighter than the 13K Hot gold bridge pup. So far, I'm liking it better - especially in series.

I'll make another video when I can.

I was wondering when you might start using the Fractal FX. I guess it's a newer generation modeler? What speakers models are you using? The mids and highs sound really smooth.

The Fractal is a great unit, and Cliff is constantly releasing firmware updates to improve it. The most recent major release was another big step forward. I wanted to finish out the videos that I had started with the GT-Pro, but I'm ready to move on now. I'm recording line out of the Axe into a laptop, so you're not hearing my speakers at all in the videos (same as with the GT-Pro). I'm using Mackie powered PA speakers with my setup in the room.

The Axe has the ability to record digital outs over USB or SPDIF, but I haven't tried to set that up yet.

Yeah, it sounds really nice. Good punch, and a little rounder in the mids/highs. I wondered what specific speaker model you used in the preset: 2 x 12" Jenson's, Oxford, JBL's? Just curious.

I wondered what specific speaker model you used in the preset: 2 x 12" Jenson's, Oxford, JBL's? Just curious.

Oh, THOSE speakers. :lol: I guess I've gotten used to them being referred to cabs in the Fractal venacular.

I'm using 2 speaker cabs together, but both panned center, with no virtual mics selected (I rarely like the added coloration of the virtual mics, I just EQ in other places):

From the Fractal wiki:

2X12 Blue - Based on: Chicago Jensen P12Q, two classic American 12” speakers with blue labels

2X12 Boutique - Based on: Matchless 2x12

I made another video with the Hot Golds with the Half Out-of-Phase and In-Series choices.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t99Diu2Orbc

t99Diu2OrbcAnother excellent demo.I think it was the solid state modeling rather than real tubes that gave me the AlNiCo vibe.Weren't the Lace thru an active circuit when Fender introduced them? Now I wish I'd kept mine and put them thru an op-amp. The HOoP sounds wonderful. I think if I did it, it would bug me that its artificial.Its only the past year or 2 I've been able to roll back the V and start using the Tone.

So, we are hearing the amp/cabs directly, like we are listening to them in the room, as opposed to in a studio through mics. Cool. I never really tried that option with modelers. BTW Teletarr, these are digital models, not solid state. Solid state would be something like a Tech 21 unit, where the emulation is done with transistor circuitry. Digital modeling is done in software.

So, we are hearing the amp/cabs directly, like we are listening to them in the room, as opposed to in a studio through mics. Cool. I never really tried that option with modelers. BTW Teleterr, these are digital models, not solid state. Solid state would be something like a Tech 21 unit, where the emulation is done with transistor circuitry. Digital modeling is done in software.Oh, that is a big difference,in terms of how the distortion or tube ambience is created.The interface beteen the p/up and the input for the device would be the only SS factor and it seems that shouldn't matter too much.When I've use opamp preamps w tubes, I do notice that normal p/ups sound more EMG like, but thats the low into high Z factor which isn't the same w the demo.

The input impedence of the Axe-FX II can be set to one of 12 values or set to Auto. I leave it in auto. When set to auto, it will change to match the amp or effect that is first in the chain.

I've attached a pic of the choices.

Just to get an idea of what the Axe is like to use, here's a screen shot of 1 of the basic amp settings for the patch I used (this is the software that can be used to edit patches instead of using the front panel of the unit).

There are 6 pages of settings for the amps. This box can be as simple or as crazy complicated as you want it to be.

Here's a shot of the basic speaker cabinet block settings.

So, we are hearing the amp/cabs directly, like we are listening to them in the room, as opposed to in a studio through mics. Cool.

The impluse responses (IRs) of the real speaker cabinets are done with a microphone of some sort. It could be anything from a dead flat reference mic to an SM57. The stock IRs in the Axe don't tell you what mic was used to make them. If you buy custom IRs from RedWirez or OwnHammer, they will tell you what mic was used.

I just leave the virtual mic off in the Axe for clean amps. I have found some changes I like by using a virtual mic with higher gain amp sounds.

I'm just starting to scratch the surface of this unit.

LAce win

good job...made me assemble a spare guitar with a set I had lying around....2 thumbs up!!


Thanks:wink:

I notice the Amp block has a "Speaker" page. If it has it's own built in speaker, isn't it running through the cab that's next in the signal chain?

good job...made me assemble a spare guitar with a set I had lying around....2 thumbs up!!


Thanks:wink:

Strat or Tele? What do you think of the Hot Golds?

I notice the Amp block has a "Speaker" page. If it has it's own built in speaker, isn't it running through the cab that's next in the signal chain?

The Speaker tab of the amp block is for setting interaction between the power amp & the virtual speaker. Like I said, this box can get crazy complex if you want. You set the resonant frequencies & Qs on the Speaker tab. I left them at their default settings.

I could be wrong, but I think those are just the parameters of a default speaker that comes with the amp sim module, in case you don't want to use a separate Cab. Over on the lower right, you have the bypass mode set to "THRU", which I guess means it's bypassed. I wonder if the Speaker module does actually have some interaction with the amp? That is a missing factor in many amp sims, but a good sounding responsive speaker algorithm sounds good regardless of whether it alters amp response like a real speaker does.

No, you're wrong. :) If you don't use a speaker cab block, there is no modeled speaker. You use the speaker tab of the amp block to tweak the interaction with the speaker cab.

The bypass mode sets what happens if you bypass the block. THRU means the audio will pass through the block if it is bypassed. You can choose MUTE or one other choice that I don't recall right now.

Ah, so I guess it does simulate to some extent how a speaker's varying impedance creates more distortion at certain frequencies? I imagine it's independent of the CAB IR.

That's the thing about these amp sims. You can get really lost in tweaking. Sometimes less options is better. I've spent hours optimizing mic placements. It gets that much more complicated with 2, or more cabs. I never use more than 2 amps and/or 2 cabs. Too hairy.

The nice thing about the Axe is that all of those parameters are there to adjust, but you don't have to mess with them to get a good sound. All I did was choose a couple of speaker cabs. I didn't even change the tone controls from 12 o'clock.

Strat or Tele? What do you think of the Hot Golds?

a strat. I had a wired pickguard I planned on building a new guitar for several years ago. I loved them then, just got the tele bug bad and put my strats on hold for a while.

Your video reminded me how nice they were, so I did the deed. they are great pups IMO, and I think they are what the Golds should have been. I love the chime and they "quack" they have. Great for Dire Straits sounds.

Btw, I have the hot bridge also (13k) :wink:

Great pups at any price.

I didn't make any recordings, but at one point I had the regular Golds in the neck & middle on this guitar with a Silver bridge. I now have Hot Golds in the neck & middle with the Silver in the bridge. This current setup sounds far better than I remember the standard Golds sounding.

I'm still considering picking up another 6k Hot Gold to try in the bridge. How do you like the 13k bridge pup?

I didn't make any recordings, but at one point I had the regular Golds in the neck & middle on this guitar with a Silver bridge. I now have Hot Golds in the neck & middle with the Silver in the bridge. This current setup sounds far better than I remember the standard Golds sounding.

I'm still considering picking up another 6k Hot Gold to try in the bridge. How do you like the 13k bridge pup?

fits my needs like a glove, but I still want to try a 6k too. I haven't found it to be to "much" or overpowering yet.

I am cursed to tinker and try to improve things....[whistling, walking]:mrgreen:

I haven't found it to be to "much" or overpowering yet.


I liked the fatness of the 13K bridge pup, I just wanted it to be a little brighter. The usual tradeoffs. :)

I liked the fatness of the 13K bridge pup, I just wanted it to be a little brighter. The usual tradeoffs. :)

try some 500k pots...?

I replaced the pups in my MIM strat with 3 Hot Golds I also installed the TBX pot plus ancillaries. To be honest I dont like the tone at all !!-too bright and sharp for me no bottom end punch especially in the overdrive. I also have 2 Strat Plus Deluxes (the older one with the silver, silver, blue lace config the later model with blue, silver, red lace sensors). For me the older strat plus deluxe has the sound I want. Sorry to say, I will be removing my Hot Golds in the near future and will put in the silver, silver, blue- which i should have done from the start- John

try some 500k pots...?

Then the neck & middle would be too bright. :)

The Silver bridge is working well with the 6k Hot Golds. I've made a video & am editing it now. My playing was sloppy & choppy today. Oh well.

a strat. I had a wired pickguard I planned on building a new guitar for several years ago. I loved them then, just got the tele bug bad and put my strats on hold for a while.

Your video reminded me how nice they were, so I did the deed. they are great pups IMO, and I think they are what the Golds should have been. I love the chime and they "quack" they have. Great for Dire Straits sounds.

Btw, I have the hot bridge also (13k) :wink:

Great pups at any price.I describe Light Blues as being what Blues should have been. Makes me want to try them. I think w every p/up style there is a "Magic Wind" for its topology, so maybe the Hot Gold is it for Lace...The 13K Bridge, Do you guys think its thinner wire is a better or worse fit for the basic p/up design.(like 42 vs 43 in a Tele bridge) I find the Reds wire size seems to "agree" more w the p/up style; it makes the magnets less obvious, but its tone is too overwound.

Changing to a finer wire gauge won't add inductance, or lessen highs - unless the maker can't wind it. From 42 to 43 is a relatively small change. Rickenbacker once used 54 gauge wire but abandoned it due to the increase it added for production cost. Finer wire can help minimize coil dimensions and increase coil density, decreasing the surface area acting as an antennae for noise while increasing voltage output. As the wire becomes finer, it's harder to avoid shorts in the coil, which are often introduced by winding directly on the poles in Fender-style pickups and by creating pressure points on the sides of the oblong pickup bobbin. The increased resistance of finer wire would take away some "edginess" due to the resonance of the pickup inductance interacting with cable capacitance, useful in the bridge position, as long as the maker is winding a pickup free of shorts.

Looking forward to hearing the Silver combined with the Hot Golds. I guess the HG's use more powerful magnets. Hopefully they combine well. I have no experience with them, but my guess is that the HG's have more bass then the standard Golds? The inductance of the rhythm HG's is slightly lower, too. So, they'll have a slightly higher resonance at the same capacitance load. They have about the same inductance (2H) as the rhythm MicroCoils. Comparison using the same cable is more standardized, because the resonant frequency is about the same. I think the MC's have a very low Q factor, which produces the smooth highs we are not accustomed to hearing in a single coil. I don't know about the HG's Q factor. Given that the 6H bridge HG sounds rather dark even with the super low-C (116pF) Elixir cable, which gives it a resonance of ~6kHz, it's likely that it has a fairly low Q factor, and lots of bass and mids like over-wound pickups generally do. Maybe Lace should make a 3-4H bridge HG.

OK, here's the Silver bridge with the Hot Gold neck & middle. I haven't had a chance to hear the recording on anything but the laptop at this point, but I like the sound of the Silver in the bridge (from what I can tell). In the room through the PA speakers, the Silver sounds really good to me.

I really like the way the Silver mixes with the Hot Golds. I may just be able to move on to some other projects now. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQ1WIBuqVxA

rQ1WIBuqVxA

Yeah, sounds really good. The combined sounds are very nice. The Silver might be lower output than a potential Hot Gold of the same inductance, but it works well. Definitely more Straty than the bridge HG. I only hear the left channel, though. No Biggy. Maybe you only recorded the left channel in Audacity?

I only hear the left channel, though. No Biggy. Maybe you only recorded the left channel in Audacity?

I've got both channels on 2 different computers. When I listen with headphones on the laptop, the right channel sounds louder than the left. That's probably the difference between the 2 speaker cab IRs.

Yeah, I meant the right channel. Guess it's louder. Sounds great. Thanks, again.

I had the Hot Golds in my Strat at one time. They had replaced my first set of L280s. What I liked at the time was the firmer midrange, which cut through a mix quite well. Over time, however, I grew to miss the upper end sparkle that the L280 pups had over the Lace pups, and I just started preferring less midrange in my overall sound. I've been back to L280s in both my Teles and in my Strat for quite some time, now, and I don't see changing anytime soon.

If I had an entire stable of Strats, one would surely have the Hot Golds, because they are great pickups, and offer a lot of advantages over standard single-coils.

see below...

Wouldn't just changing the bridge tone pot to 500k on your Hot Bridge do the trick without affecting the neck & middle...?

I had forgotten, I have another strat that a dear friend of mine is using. It has a Lace Blue in the neck and Silvers in the middle and bridge...I like that one too.

I'm building a strat for him as a retirement gift to himself, he has mine as a player while he's waiting...

edit:

I just saw your new video with the Silver in the bridge..I think you have nailed it!

That is textbook Strat, IMO. Great job, and thanks for your work.

BTW, Your website is excellent! I feel the need to break out the soldering iorn...:wink:

-Ray