Fender Red Strat Lace Sensor

Pickup features: Single coil passive
Impedence or other specs: don't know

Model of guitar or bass: Fender Standard Stratocaster
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Fender Gold Lace Sensor
Other pickups on guitar: Gold Lace Sensors in neck, middle
Artists using this pickup: Billy Corgan
You musical style(s): Rock, punk, alternative, others
Reason for pickup change: I loved the sound of the Gold Lace Sensors - both clean and distorted, but I wanted a pcikup with a lot more sustain. I don't particularly like the sound of humbuckers, but I needed one pickup capable fo longer sustain.

Perceived output level: higher than stock or Gold Lace, not as high as a humbucker
Tone: Very trebly
Sonic evaluation: Fender Standard Stratocaster through Zoom 505 and a number of small practice amps. The Red Lace Sensor has a very biting, trebly sound that is well suited for lead guitar. It also has a lot of sustain, comparable to a humbucker. It picks up harmonics extremely well. It does NOT have the sort of thick, crunchy sound that a humbucker does, so if that's what you're looking for, stay away. Sounds OK clean, but is best distorted or overdriven. Extremely quiet pickup. My Zoom 505 can be a fairly noisy effects box, so the quietness of the pickup really helps.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Not harsh enough for metal, not the best clean. Anything else should be fine.

Comments: I would probably get the same pickup again, at least for this guitar. I am getting another guitar with Lacw's Holy Grail pickups, which are supposed to sound like a vintage 54 Strat, but I'm not that concerned with "vintage", just that they are quiet and sound good, which this pickup does. I would prefer even more sustain, but I can achieve that with effects. For me, this is an almost ideal pickup. My rating is a little lower because I think many people would expect it to sound more like a humbucker.

Pickup features: single-coil passive
Impedence or other specs: hell if I know!

Model of guitar or bass: Stratocaster
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: stock (WEAK!!!)
Other pickups on guitar: Gold Lace-Sensors (middle and neck)
Artists using this pickup: Billy Corgan
You musical style(s): Alternative, Metal, Punk, almost anything labeled "xxxrock"
Reason for pickup change: My stock single coils were weak.

Perceived output level: Very Hot. Almost humbucker-hotness (but has more high-end than a HB)
Tone: It has more high-end than most (although, this is in the bridge), but it isnt tinny.
Sonic evaluation: I have a seriously modified Harmony Strat clone. Hell, its my first electric, and Im in high-school, I havnt got THAT kind of money to spend on a guitar right now...
I have a Marshall solidstate combo, and an Electro-Harmonix Big Muff ramshead (im not talking RI, either). This pickup is great in the bridge. Its clean sound is not all that great. This is the only area that my stock pu's were better. However, the distortion is incredible. I have gold lace sensors in the middle and neck, and when the middle is switched on (4th position, middle and bridge), the tone is fattened up immensly. Sounds like a normal humbucker. These pickups have much less magnetic pull, so your notes tend to sustain longer, and you can mount them closer to the strings without getting the normal problems associated with single-coils. As for hum, they hum much less (and I think that they would hum less if I would move my amp from its perch on my fridge!). These pickups are great. I tried a guitar with the blue/silver/red combo, and liked how it sounded. Ive noticed that the lace-sensor pickup has fallen into the love/hate category, which is almost too bad, because depending on the review, they can be 'turned on' to the pickup, then try it out and hate it, or they can read a bad review, and never try the pickup at all! All I can say is try out all the pickups that you can (on guitars similar to your own) and see what works the best for you.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: It works good for pretty much all styles, well, except for anyting involving a lot of clean guitat sound.

Comments: Well, I havnt heard any stories on having your pickups stolen, with the theif leaving the guitar, but if somehow the pickups (or the whole guitar was stolen), I would track down the theif and promptly make them paint the ground red. Then I would check my gear to see if it was OK. If it wasnt, well the theif would have a lot more coming...
Ive been playing for, eh about 9 months, and through intensive woodsheding, I would say that I have a 'respectable' command over the instrument, but Im no EVH or Hendrix. As for gear, I also own a very old classical guitar, which for all I care could get stolen, because it is the worst representation of a classical guitar that I have ever played (ever heard of a 'Westbrook'? ha). Thats about it, as Ive said before, Im a poor high-school student (not for much longer!)
Im satisfied with the pickups. I compared it to what Di Marzio and Seymour-Duncan has to offer, and I think that they are far superior to EMGs. 'That' sound? Well, a JCM800 2203 or a Mesa Dual Recto would be nice (or a POD), but I dont have that kind of money to spend. These pickups are versitile. They can get a wide range of distortion, and the Gold lace-sensors clean sound isnt too shabby (read my other review), and the middle gold with the red, wow. Even that sounds good on the clean channel.

Pickup features: Single Coil (passive)
Impedence or other specs: Don't know. Pretty darn hot.

Model of guitar or bass: Peavey Destiny
Position: middle
Pickup being replaced: stock Peavey single-coil
Other pickups on guitar: Duncan Little '59 (neck), stock Peavey hot humbucker (bridge)
Artists using this pickup: Billy Corgan, I think.
You musical style(s): Rock, Metal, Blues, Fusion, a bit of Jazz
Reason for pickup change: stock single coils had very poor output, and were sort of washy sounding
in any case-- I have nothing at all against single coils, only crappy ones.

Perceived output level: Hotter than the hot humbucker in the bridge, but hardly insane.
Tone: Kinda compressed. A pleasant sound clean or with low-to-moderate distortion.
Sonic evaluation: The Peavey Destiny (I have one of the high-end ones, with the pretty wood and the Kahler Spyder whammy bar) is definitely a shred-type guitar. (strat-shaped body, configured S-S-H) I've had the pickup in about a week, and haven't gotten the chance to run it through my big 'ol Fender M-80, but I've played it through the store's amp, which was a Trace Elliot, I think, and through a little Peavey Blazer I use for practice and one of the tiny old-fashioned Pignoses. It's a very focused tone. As I said before, sort of compressed sounding. Very quiet, like Laces tend to be. Almost reminiscent of an active pickup like an EMG. It sounds ok clean and distorts really pretty well (I can get musical feedback at conversational sound levels). The surprising thing I discovered is that if you fingerpick and really pluck the strings, you can get *nice* blues tones clean or mildly distorted. Distorted, it sounds kind of Jeff-Becky. (recent Beck, that is. Guitar Shop, Who Else, etc.)

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play a bit of everything. Rock, blues, metal. A bit of fusion and jazz. Even did the punk thing for a while while I was in college. It's fairly adaptable, which is nice. I have it in the middle position, which is probably pretty atypical. It's prob

Comments: If it were destroyed or stolen, I'd probably get something else, but that's more to do with wanting to constantly hear different sounds than with any bad stuff about this pickup.
I should point out that it sounds a bit muddy and not at all clucky in the "in-between" positions. Haven't used those as much since having it put in.

Pickup features: single coil (passive)
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: standard Fender Stratocaster
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: suckey stock pickup
Other pickups on guitar: FLS (silver) middle / FLS (blue) neck
Artists using this pickup: Billy Corgan, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck
You musical style(s): alternitive, punk, classic rock
Reason for pickup change: Stock pick-ups were to noisey and thin.

Perceived output level: This pick-up is avertised as hot, and i would have to agree, it's not too hot but it does a hell of a job for a single coil, its perfect for me.
Tone: This pick-up is very trebly, perfect for bridge positions, very good harmonics, good output.
Sonic evaluation: Well im using a Fender Princeton chourus Amp, VOX wha,wha, EH big muff, and thats about it. the pick-ups work very well with my setup.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Well i play alternitive, punk, and classic rock, these pick-ups whould not be suitable for heavy metal or country but they work just fine for my style of music.

Comments: there's not much else i can say, these pick-ups ar great for my style i really cant ask for any thing better.

Pickup features: single coil passive
Impedence or other specs: Huh?

Model of guitar or bass: Fender Standard Strat
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: neck and bridge standard pickups
Other pickups on guitar: standard mid
Artists using this pickup: billy corgan, james burton (i think)
You musical style(s): ROCK, EARLY alternative (none of this new matchbox 20 alterna-shit)
Reason for pickup change: i wanted a lower end on my strat, some more crunch and gain as well

Perceived output level: HOT
Tone: real bassy when distorted, but rather muddy when "clean", seriously muddy when distorted in neck position
Sonic evaluation: Fender Standard Strat w/ (in order) crybaby wah, danelectro fab tone, daddy-o, zoom505, to a fender automatic gt (25w giant)

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: works for rock, the tonic and smashing pumpkins type, i dont reccomend putting a red in the neck cause it's just insanely muddy and deep in that position, even though that's what i did.......

Comments: I would definitely buy this pickup again, only i wouldnt put another red in the neck, i've heard that blue lace sensors are good in the neck, but i wouldnt know. i've been playing about 2 1/2 years, but i've had these pickups for about a year now. i also have a '96 am standard tele, and that takes care of the clean sounds that i lose with these pickups, so i cant complain. they DO take away the clean sound of your strat. either play distorted, or dont play at all. I am very satisfied with these pickups overall.

Pickup features: Humbucking
Impedence or other specs: Mega Output

Model of guitar or bass: Squier Strat
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Stock single soil
Other pickups on guitar: 2 texas special singles
Artists using this pickup: ????
You musical style(s): Punk/Metal/Hardcore
Reason for pickup change: Wanted a humbucker

Perceived output level: It has an awesome sound on a distortion channel or pedal (I use a Metal Zone through a G600XL head) but on a clean channel it is a really muddy sound. like turning the tone all the way down on the neck pickup
Tone: It has more of a high end mid sound on distortion but muddy on a clean channel
Sonic evaluation: I use a Crate G600XL head through a Sonic 4x12 cabinet, and a Squier stratocaster and a BOSS Metal Zone. Since I rarely use the clean channel the muddiness doesn't bother me. But I have never seen a Fender Red Lace Sensor Dually other than my own. anyone else own one?

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Punk, Metal, Hardcore

Comments: I would definatley buy this pickup again, but I can't find one anywhere. I have been thinking about making my strat a dual humbucker guitar

Pickup features: single coil
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Casino (crappy strat copy)
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: standard
Other pickups on guitar: standard
Artists using this pickup: billy corgan
You musical style(s): alternative-soft-heavy-in between.
Reason for pickup change: Needed a change, firm sound and hot chicks.

Perceived output level: Not as hot as they described it, but I like it - UltraHot
Tone: Between Bassy and muddy (could be my guitar)
Sonic evaluation: I have an Axe 100 (a dodgy amp made by an adelaide company- where I live) I have (in order) A boss ds-2, Mt -2, EH Big Muff, Zoom 505, Boss bf-2, Ph-2, ceb-2?(bass chorus)+ an Mxr phase 90. All running thru a beefy jvc audio 20 band eq. I need a noise supressor.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Alrenative. Tis good for lots of gain. I use mutiple distortion.

Comments: I only got the single coil cause I did not want to cut the body for a humbucker. I love this pick-up, its clear and fattens the sound of your guitar. I recommend this as its the best single coil I've heard.

Pickup features: Single Coil
Impedence or other specs: na

Model of guitar or bass: Mexican Standard Strat
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Stock Mexican PU
Other pickups on guitar: Silver Lace @ bridge, stock in middle
Artists using this pickup: me
You musical style(s): ska punk pop
Reason for pickup change: Stock wasn't exactly a good pickup for heavy distorted, thick sounds, or penetrating, singing leads that cut through all the other band members. They weren't good for anything but sparkly, weak sounds. Good, but not for me in my 'rock guitar'.

Perceived output level: hot? About the same as stock, but perhaps a little more. Definitely more lively.
Tone: Strange to describe. Seems trebly, but also seems to have some bass. Pretty scooped in the mids. Definitely not muddy.
Sonic evaluation: Using a silver lace in neck pos for clean sounds, and a red lace in the brige for lead/distort sounds. Using a mesa boogie studio pre amp into a mesa 50/50 running through 4 12' celestions. The red pu is good and articulate, medium on output, with a lot of cut. Great for distort sounds, perhaps a little trebly played alone, defined when played with a band. Cuts through well, very managable sustain/feedback.
What they are not: real pickups. If you play clean, blues, etc... or in anyway just want guitar or strat 'tone' and 'quack', you would be better served with some Texas Specials, Duncans, Fralins, etc...pickups with real magnetic pole pieces and windings. If you want flat out rock tones or play scooped heavy distorted guitar, but still want the cut of a single coil (and don't want to cut a hole in your guitar for a HB) go for these. They aren't big on tone or vibe, but they are great for generic rock sounds, good output, little string pull, great punch and cut. I prefer them in my strat to humbuckers, althouh I may get a red dually an wire a switch to go from single to dual, so as to attain a solo boost (humbucker mode) when I need it, so EVERYBODY hears it.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: rock and roll baby. read above.

Comments: I would definitely get them again. I've had all the lace sensors but the blue, which I am only familiar with. I love them, but don't expect to get what Fender claims them to give. Think of these as 'modern' single coils. The golds are good, but they don't nail any strat-tones like the Texas Specials or Duncans would. Still, they definitely make my Mexican Strat sound a hell of a lot better.

Pickup features: passive single coil
Impedence or other specs: Duh?

Model of guitar or bass: Fender Jap Strat
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Stock
Other pickups on guitar: Blue lace(neck), gold(middle)
Artists using this pickup: Some Fender signature guys, Billy Corgan... all kinds of fools...
You musical style(s): Guitar pop? Hard to determine...
Reason for pickup change: Stock pickup had a weird vibe. Very thin and trebly. Distorted sounds always had a type of "zing" which I really didn't like.

Perceived output level: i expect this pickup is hotter. At least it distorted all the patches on my Sgs-2112 much more than the stock pickup.
Tone: Nice treble bite. Not too trebly as some say. It's all got to do with the setup, amp etc. Scooped nicely when distorted to the max.
Sonic evaluation: Who said that you can't get a proper Gibson SG crunch with a strat? Go ahead, fix one of these pickups on yer guitar, mate. It rulez! Nice semi-distortion when combined with the middle pickup. Perfect for pop. Smooth, ah so very smooth! It may frighten you at first though, when you haven't fiddled around with you amp controls.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play guitar driven pop and the pickus on this strat give me a nice sonic palette from which to paint my music. I wouldn't consider putting a red lace in the middle especially if you still want decent clean sounds.

Comments: I might get this pickup again or I might not. It all depends on what I'm doing then. I have been playing for 5 years now and found that this pickup is a part of my tone but not the sole factor in building it... i am satisfied with it!

Pickup features: Single coil that is supposed to mimic a humbucker...
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: 96' Am Standard Strat
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Stock
Other pickups on guitar: Stock single coils
Artists using this pickup: Can't think of anyone using this
You musical style(s): Blues, Rock, Anything... (Mostly playing Praise and Worship stuff
Reason for pickup change: I though that the stock just wasn't useful.. I loved the neck and middle pickup (and ofcourse the inbetween positions) but the bridge was just too sharp... Wanted something fatter

Perceived output level: Hotter... But crappier (tone wise)
Tone: Dead Dead dead dead!!!! Just plain dead!! This pickup is useless... (tonewise)
Sonic evaluation: This pickup doesn't sound anything like a Humbucker!!! Infact it is so lousy that when I placed my stock SC back into my strat last night, I'd though that I'd just reached tone heaven!!! Boy this pickup is really not worth the money or the time.. now onder my friend advised me against getting a lace (I wanted to buy a Gold.. Really I think that that is the only lace I'm ever gonna try ever... Stay away from red sensors!!!), proving his point by letting me use his red one!! (I'm back on stocks... )

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: none....

Comments: I'm in persuit of a nice fat, solid bridge pickup... This ordeal has now caused me to think that I need a humbucker in the bridge position.. However suddently the stock sounds so good!!! (I'm gonna just tweak the tone controls on my strat from now onwards...)