Putting Lace in My Strat (Update: They're In).

[FirstMeasure]

Didn't want to Highjack the Pizza Thread.

 

I decided to get some pickups for my Stratocaster, a 1988 Olympic White Standard with a Kahler Spyder Tremelo. It's original Pickups lost thier punch, it's needed new ones for some time.

 

After some fretting over which ones to get I landed on the Lace Sensor Blue/Silver/Red combo, as I'd been wanting a Red Lace in the bridge for nearly the life of the guitar, the Silver and Blue ones sounded cool enough for me.

 

In the Pizza Thread Lowdown said,

 

So are they in yet?

If so' date='what do you think?

 

If not...a bit of advice - raise 'em up as high as you can get away with. These have no pull whatsoever and are designed to work at their optimum jacked up.

 

I bought the exact same set years ago.

 

Tried 'em in my Strat - fukcing yuck.

Tried 'em in a knockabout Squier - equally yuck.

Tried 'em in a guitar I made after they'd been sitting on the shelf for a year - BINGO! Exactly what I wanted. Put it down to either the body being heavy ash or the pups themselves had aged.

 

Oh,one more thing to consider...use 500k pots instead of the usual 250k Lace recommends. It's gives 'em a bit more bite as these pups tend to be a little "tame".

 

Hope they work out for ya.

 

Now back to PIZZA!...

 

Thanks Lowdown, that's going to help a lot.

 

Their not in yet, as I want to educate myself as much as I can before my Strat goes under the Knife (od Under the Iron, as it were).

 

Any Advice would be welcome, and I'll keep you updated with pics and such. I'll be doing it middle of next week, friday at the latest.

 

Here's a picture of her with the old pick ups. The Lace Pickups will really change her appearance.

[Lowdown]

Well...if you've had experience with soldering and modding before it'll be a piece of p*ss. No probs.

 

If you haven't - like anything,practice on something you don't treasure as much beforehand until you are comfortable.

It ain't hard. Just don't apply too much heat to the back of pots/caps etc. and don't be tempted to cut short wires.

De-solder them first.

Believe me,one day those old pups will come in handy and you'll kick yourself if you've cut the wires too short and find yourself trying to get extra mileage out of wire that isn;'t there.

 

The schematic that should've come with them is pretty straight forward - just use the 500k pots as I recommended and you'll be fine.

 

Ask away if you need help with anything...

 

Nice Strat btw,nearly identical to mine - have an olympic white with rosewood board too. But stock trem.

[FirstMeasure]

I'm pretty handy with a soldering iron, replaced the Pot in my old Crybaby with a Hot Pot. Here's a link to an on line album of that one.

 

Lace gives you a mini disk with the schematic so you can save them to your computer or print them out. Really nice. I'm studying them now and for the next couple days. I have to dig up my Soldering Iron and make a work space.

 

Thanks[biggrin] , I've had it since I was 17. Vintage Trems look a lot nicer, but it stays in tune real well. The stock pick ups were always a little dull, but they had their magic moments. I always wanted something hot in the bridge position, finally gonna do it.

 

Like to see some pics of your strat, too.

[Silenced Fred]

Not trying to hijack your thread, but are Lace good pickups for a Strat?

 

I have been looking at used MIMs to mod, because I have a Strat neck I love, but I don't care for the MIM Standard pickups....

 

If not Lace, what are some other ones? If this helps, I play with usually crunch in my sound, no high gain thrash metal though. Mainly Alternative Rock/Rock/Blues

[Lowdown]

I'm pretty handy with a soldering iron' date=' replaced the Pot in my old Crybaby with a Hot Pot. Here's a link to an on line album of that one.

 

Lace gives you a mini disk with the schematic so you can save them to your computer or print them out. Really nice. I'm studying them now and for the next couple days. I have to dig up my Soldering Iron and make a work space.

 

Thanks[biggrin] , I've had it since I was 17. Vintage Trems look a lot nicer, but it stays in tune real well. The stock pick ups were always a little dull, but they had their magic moments. I always wanted something hot in the bridge position, finally gonna do it.

 

Like to see some pics of your strat, too.

 

Good stuff.

If you can solder and replace a hot pot then you'll have no problems at all.

Those pots are a real pain in the arse to solder together without a vice or something holding them in place.

 

I'd forgotten about the mini disc(never used mine anyway)but yeah,good thinking on their behalf. Just print out the schematic - it's easier to have with you.

 

I hear ya about the tuning stability - the one thing Strat players are forever trying to conquer. And EVERYONE has an opinion and their own way of defeating it.

 

For me - a must was a Graph Tech Tusq XL nut and Goth Vintage Locking Tuners.

Then 4 springs and having the trem flush with the body - I just prefer it that way. Won't get into the tonal/sustain aspect[-(

 

It still goes out if I go crazy on the bar(which I don't anyway)but Strat trems(yeah vibrato's to be exact)weren't meant for that though.

But once I get it up to pitch and balanced everythings hunky dory.

 

My Strat -

 

 

My mongrel (unfinished/stained-completely naked.I like it like that) -

 

[Lowdown]

Not trying to hijack your thread' date=' but are Lace good pickups for a Strat?

 

I have been looking at used MIMs to mod, because I have a Strat neck I love, but I don't care for the MIM Standard pickups....

 

If not Lace, what are some other ones? If this helps, I play with usually crunch in my sound, no high gain thrash metal though. Mainly Alternative Rock/Rock/Blues[/quote']

 

Fred - Me personally I don't like Lace. But,it depends on what sound you're after and if they suit the guitar.

 

MIM's are teriffic guitars and don't let anyone tell you different,and I'm not gonna bother going into the semantics of why either,sorry. Too exhausting - not unlike debating the tired Epi - Gibson argument.

 

Anyways,the ceramic pups that I'm sure that are still being used in MIM's are great...for what they do. But sooner or later you are gonna want to step up to something else(notice I didn't say "better")because you will crave for that true Strat sound that they will just fall short of giving.

Or like FirstMeasure,want to get a different or hotter sound.

 

Me - I use these - http://www.tonerider.com/pickups/stratpickups.html - the Pure Vintage. They are exactly as they say.

 

You might like the City Limits.

 

Though check out SD & DiMarzio...plenty to choose from there. But for that typical Eric Johnson sound when overdriven I can vouch for the Pure Vintage.

[Silenced Fred]

Fred - Me personally I don't like Lace. But' date='it depends on what sound you're after and if they suit the guitar.

 

MIM's are teriffic guitars and don't let anyone tell you different,and I'm not gonna bother going into the semantics of why either,sorry. Too exhausting - not unlike debating the tired Epi - Gibson argument.

 

Anyways,the ceramic pups that I'm sure that are still being used in MIM's are great...for what they do. But sooner or later you are gonna want to step up to something else(notice I didn't say "better")because you will crave for that true Strat sound that they will just fall short of giving.

Or like FirstMeasure,want to get a different or hotter sound.

 

Me - I use these - http://www.tonerider.com/pickups/stratpickups.html - the Pure Vintage. They are exactly as they say.

 

You might like the City Limits.

 

Though check out SD & DiMarzio...plenty to choose from there. But for that typical Eric Johnson sound when overdriven I can vouch for the Pure Vintage.

 

That helps a lot, I would definitely go for something that can go hotter. The MIMs are great guitars for the money, I don't play Strat much and I am trying to find some semi cheap on craigslist, I figure that if I get them that cheap (~150-250), the pickups may be weird and need to be replaced. If they aren't, I won't mess with em. I plan on changing out the trem for Callaham, I figure for about 700 bucks, I can have a super sweet guitar with all of the options I want.

[deepblue]

Just my opinion lads...

I had a Strat plus in the early 90's that came with Lace Sensors.

In the beginning I liked the sound but quickly fell out of love with them.

After playing a friends Strat with regular pups I felt like there was something missing

in my sound. It lacked depth and didnt respond to my touch as well.

 

Long story short, I had Duncan Antiquitys installed and never looked back.

Then about a year later it was stolen at a gas station.....grrrrr!

[FirstMeasure]

Hey Fred, Highjack all you want.

 

I'm not going for a traditional strat sound, I have a Deluxe Players Strat with Vintage Noiseless PUs that sounds more like a Real Strat than my White Standard did with it's original Pick Ups (lets face it, Fenders not known for the Magic you get from their 80's Standard Pick Ups. There's no 88' reissue pickup). So in that light I was looking for something a Little Different. Then it has the Kahler on it (came stock on this model, it was FSR for Guitar Center), so I figured I might as well take the Super Strat Approach.

 

If you want a Strat sounding Strat, get the Fender Samarian Cobalt Noiseless or something that Duncan makes for strats (like the Antiquitys). Tex Mex pickups are really nice, very punchy, very Straty, and they're very affordable at about $80 for the trio.

 

Then about a year later it was stolen at a gas station.....grrrrr!

I'm really sorry to hear this, Deepblue! I had an acoustic that I loved stolen from a Camp Ground. You just never get over the loss of a beloved guitar.

 

Lowdown- That's a beautiful Strat! White is very underrated. I like the "Naked" one, too.

 

Thanks again for all the helpful advice, this should be going smoothly now. I'll take pics of every step so you can get a look at what's happenin'. It'll be couple days, gotta get my workspace in order.

[surfpup]

I had a blue lace in the bridge of a Strat. It was kinda cool - though it didn't sound like a Strat. I switched out to a full sized humbucker (hey it was the 80s ).

 

For the last 15 years that Strat has had Seymour Duncan Alnico Pro Strat pups, and I like it better that way.

 

Looking forward to seeing and hearing the finished product though, FirstMeasure.

[FirstMeasure]

Thanks Surfpup. I'll make a Vid when it's complete.

 

Blue in the Bridge, huh? Lace claims that one sounds like a 50's LP Pick up, we'll see. I'm hoping the Silver in the middle position will give it one Strat-like setting.

[Riffster]

I have a Lace Chrome Dome in my beater and I like it but it does sound bright with 500k pots, I have an American Stratocaster as well so it is nice to have a different sound with the Lace.

 

I think the Chrome Domes are based on the Gold but hotter then a brass cover with chrome plating.

 

[FirstMeasure]

what is that Stiff Hand? A '51 with a tele neck?

[Jantha]

'51 Squier... I totally want one too.

[nikko18]

I'm putting the exact same pickups in my strat! We can be lace buddys!

[FirstMeasure]

I'm putting the exact same pickups in my strat! We can be lace buddys!

We can start a Clique.

[nikko18]

We can start a Clique.

 

 

+1 x]

[bluzhammer]

www.riograndepickups.com/ Give these guys a looksee, I put these in a MIM strat I modded for a friend, and he loves em. That being said, " to each his own".

[FirstMeasure]

Actually I was checking those out. They were very attractive, but the Lace came in at about $120 out the door, those would be about $300 after shipping and tax for the ones I wanted.

 

Just couldn't afford the boutique price.

[MojoRedFoot]

I have heard good things about the Hot Golds made by Lace. I think the output is as high or close to the Red but a little more of a strat bite. I have a red in the bridge of my Jaguar. Really beefy but no twang. The hot gold is supposed to have that twang. I'm thinking of getting a set of those for my 2001 Am Std Strat. I have a 1989 Strat plus w/ a Gold (n)/Silver (m)/Blue set (. The blue is great for that twang but not as much body as the red. Hot gold is supposedly a appy medium b/t red and blue.

[Hector Arcadius]

Thumbs up to all the White Strats with rosewood fingerboards!

 

Many thumbs up to Richie Blackmore for getting rid of that useless middle pickup!

[MojoRedFoot]

Thumbs up to all the White Strats with rosewood fingerboards!

 

 

Here's one of my fav guitars. It was a hunt that took a few yrs. Mostly waiting to save up the spare cash and came across this one by chance. Couldn't say no.

[Riffster]

what is that Stiff Hand? A '51 with a tele neck?

 

It is a now discontinued Squier '51, based on the cosmetics of a P 51 Bass.

 

A lot of people hoped Fender would make at least a Mexi version but neevr happened.

 

The humbucker splits and I just added the Gibson style pickup selector and a tone control.

[FirstMeasure]

It is a now discontinued Squier '51' date=' based on the cosmetics of a P 51 Bass.

 

A lot of people hoped Fender would make at least a Mexi version but neevr happened.

 

The humbucker splits and I just added the Gibson style pickup selector and a tone control.

 

[/quote']

I love those 51', it was the "Fender" decal that threw me off a little[wink] . Really like what you did with it.

[FirstMeasure]

I have heard good things about the Hot Golds made by Lace. I think the output is as high or close to the Red but a little more of a strat bite. I have a red in the bridge of my Jaguar. Really beefy but no twang. The hot gold is supposed to have that twang. I'm thinking of getting a set of those for my 2001 Am Std Strat. I have a 1989 Strat plus w/ a Gold (n)/Silver (m)/Blue set (:). The blue is great for that twang but not as much body as the red. Hot gold is supposedly a appy medium b/t red and blue.

I was going between the Hot Gold and Blue/Slv/Red right up to the check out counter. It was actually the fact that it came with "Three Different Ones" (Pink Floyd reference) that sold me. With the Hot Gold you the same Pickups for the Mid and Neck position. That and I wanted the Bridge Pickup to be a little over the top.

 

They go in Tomorrow.