Video Demo - Lace Sensors Hot Gold - Strat

[Phostenix]

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.



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

[Teleterr]

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?

[Phostenix]

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.

[SPUDCASTER]

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.

[Phostenix]

Originally Posted by SPUDCASTER

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.

[Narcoleptigon]

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.

[Phostenix]

Originally Posted by Narcoleptigon

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.

Originally Posted by Narcoleptigon

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.

Originally Posted by Narcoleptigon

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.

[Phostenix]

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

[Narcoleptigon]

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.

[dhuber]

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.

[Phostenix]

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.

[Ringo]

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.

[Phostenix]

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

[Drak]

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!

[Narcoleptigon]

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.

[Phostenix]

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.

[Phostenix]

Originally Posted by Narcoleptigon

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.

[Narcoleptigon]

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.

[Phostenix]

Originally Posted by Narcoleptigon

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

Oh, THOSE speakers. 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

[Teleterr]

Originally Posted by Phostenix

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

Another 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.