Lace Music Products S-100

Discontinued line of single coil, potted, passive pickups for a Strat. The design is the product of either a mad man or a genius (maybe both). They are low noise and have a weaker magnetic field than normal single coils. If you can be bothered to read the literature (and most guitarists don't) this means you can set them much closer to the strings without "Stratitis"- that's when the magic happens. They were marketed as sets, so you got the same pickup in all 3 positions. This may be emotionally upsetting to the modern pampered guitarist but Fender did the same on all those ancient guitars which are now selling for the price of a house.

I bought a decent Japanese Fender Strat cheapish because it had twin bar magnet design pickups (yuck) not proper alnico ones. I'd tried a lot of alnico sets in other Strats so I thought I'd do something different before I stuck in a set of vintage replicas, mainly to see if they were low noise.
Eric Clapton didn't seem to have the same trouble with Lace pickups as one of the reviewers here so I guess Clapton is just a talentless fool :)

They are actually low noise. Because of this the mid pickup isn't reverse wound/reverse polarity so the 'tween positions don't cancel out frequencies and are a lot fuller. They obviously have a good frequency response because the neck is full and rounded and the bridge is bright without being harsh. For the first time with a Strat I use the mid pickup on its own because it has a distinct tone.
Over all they sound similar to old style, low impedance pickups which don't stifle pick attack but the output is pretty much the same as modern wound pickups.

There are great pickups out there which deserve a 9.5 but on a mid-priced gutar there's no point in paying ludicrous prices to upgrade. If you aren't afraid of trying something different at a decent price give these a try. They are better than the mass produced alnico sets which are everywhere at the moment and did I mention they are low noise.

Pickup features: Halll-effect single coil
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Strat
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: stock Fender pickups
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Classic rock
Reason for pickup change: The stock pickups lacked clarity and range.

Perceived output level: Slightly lower than stock
Tone: Balanced, but kind of sterile
Sonic evaluation: This is where the real problems began. I rely on predictable feedback and sustain, and the Hall-effect pickups do not sustain and feedback in the same way as regular Strat picups. With my Fulltone Clyde wah pedal I could shift the resonant frequencies to get feedback in many positions on my Strat, but it was hopeless with the S-100s. If you play any sort of Strat style like Hendrix or Trower, these pickups will destroy your harmonics and feedback structure. Be warned.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: '60s raging Marshalls and Strats

Comments: Replaced them in hours with stock pickups, then later with custom wound pickups from OC Duffy. Tell him you want the same wind Mike MacLeod got!
Wonderful organic, woody, acoustic bass, screaming Strat wailing in upper mids and highs. Perfect roots/classic rock sound. Meticulous construction and detail.

Pickup features: Single coil
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Stratocaster
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: 'Orrible Squier Strat standard pickups
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Rock, funk, blues & jazz
Reason for pickup change: The Strat was a budget choice, with flawed neck, and naff PUs, so it was going in the bin. Thankfully as the neck wasn't a normal one, it happened to be brilliant. Thin and smooth. So it was a case of chucking out the old electrics and replacing them, or binning the whole thing.

Perceived output level: The output level is similar to my previous PUs, although the neck is slightly higher. Not tremendously hot, but it doesn't need to be. Retains a lot of clarity all the way up on my amp
Tone: Very VERY clear warm tone, without being tinny.
Sonic evaluation: I use a strat (now with S-100s) or les paul (standard PAFs) running through a Marshall VS100, with various effects.
Let's start out by saying that the characteristic S-100 sound is warm and clear... and this permeates all the positions.
Neck - probably my favourite position now. The sound is very warm, but crystal clear and bell-like in tone. I used to use the neck PU for jazz solos, but I can use it for so much more. I'd be confident using for any solo or thick full rhythm style. The treble sound is really brought out into the mix without it ever losing the sheer presence that the neck harmonics lend it.
Middle pickup... least favourite! It's still a good balanced sound, and useful for general stuff. Has less presence and a little more treble than the neck, and is once again, very clear.
Bridge pickup... 2nd favourite. Slightly less tinny that your average strat bridge PU. You've lost a lot of the presence and bass sound from the neck, but considering how huge it was there, it doesn't really signify much. It's a single coil bridge PU! What did you expect?? They all lose the bass. Once again, very clear sound, cutting enough to scream through your mix on solos and rhythm that doesn't need to drive the song.
The PUs all react very well to gain on the overdrive channels, which - using a Marshall amp - I was pleasantly surprised by. On standard overdrive, you can push up the gain a little to get some presence in rhythm, but it doesn't start to purr at you until 10 o'clock. Useful for stronger rhythm and arpeggioing. For the 2nd overdrive channel (super o/d), i've found it superb for when you need even more drive. Slap it on the neck PU, and you can get some huge sounds for soloing, and then drop off into rhythm or picking... you can still hear the individual sound rather than the general roar I get from the humbuckers on my les paul.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: The neck and middle PUs are suitable for anything, jazz through to rock. Especially jazz... you can have a lovely warm bright sound, or darken it up a treat by tweaking the tone dial.

Comments: Very very happy with these PUs... the neck PU kick's butt. It's given a nasty strat a new lease of life. The only other thing i'd wish for is a little more presence on the bridge PU, which is why it gets a 9, but as I have that on my les paul, it doesn't make me lose too much sleep.
I've you've got a strat you're fed up with, go and get some Lace sensors... you know it makes sense. Lose the nasty sound that is so... dead... sanitised and characterless. Bring the funk back and make that lump of wood sing!
I don't often wax lyrical about things, but i'm very pleased with these...

Pickup features: Passive Single Coil
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Fender Stratocaster
Position: middle
Pickup being replaced: I replaced the middle and bridge
Other pickups on guitar: The reason I left the original neck pickup on is, I wanted to keep the main bluesy strat sound.
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Blues/rock/jazz
Reason for pickup change: These have a vintage strat sound.

Perceived output level: They don't have as much output as the original pickups, but they are warm and full.
Tone: The middle is balanced but the bridge has more treble.
Sonic evaluation: I am using a strat,and an all tube Peavey Classic 30.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play Rock/blues/jazz. In my opinion I would leave the original neck pickup on, because it has more of a fat sound.

Comments: I compared it to seymore Duncans. The were good, but the vintage sound I wanted I couldn't get with them. They are AWESOME!!!