Lace Music Products holy grails

Single Coil 1500's, 11.5k Bridge & 10.7 middle/neck. Used with Active Clapton Mid Boost.

Installed Pickups in 1994 Custom '54 Black Strat.

Used first through Fender FM100 solid state amp, sounded great especialy dirty. After getting the hang of the sound I used it through my Fender Hot Rod Deville 410. I'M STILL FIGHTING WITH THE BEAST 3 MONTHS LATER! I play in a celtic/Rock cover band, bluesy, rock, crunchy music & the damn things are...wait for it, way to clean! Every position is is useable, even the middle pickup on it's own. I will crack the riddle of the 'Holy Grails

I really like these Pickups. There is no wonder Lace have called them 'Holy Grails', they sound glass clean & dirty as hell when you want them to. I also have a Custom '62 Strat with Texas Specials, that's the ultimate Strat but doesn't have the balls of the Holy Grails.
I would be wary of installing these Pickups without careful consideration to what sound your really looking for. If your looking for that Ultra glass clean of the 50's Strats, buy them!

The Dark Art of pickup winding, best unknown to us mere mortals, produces some amazing pickups. Most manufacturers provide Sound Bytes on there websites so, ask yourself what sound am I looking for, check out reviews & websites, music shops or fellow musicians.

Lace Holy Grails are a high tech single coil with zero hum. The
HG-1000 is usually in the neck and mid position and has a resistance of 10.7k. The HG-1500,which is usually placed in the the bridge position has a resistance of 11.5k. But these pickups are NOT Lace Sensors. In fact,they have a lot less sheer volume than the Lace Sensors.I'd agree that they sound more like a 6 or 7k. They do however have a gorgeous chime and the bite and grind of a traditional single coil.

I dropped a pickguard loaded with Holy Grails into a hot rodded, custom Strat Plus. The pickguard was made by New Metal Shop Music.I already own a stock 1993 Strat Plus with red,silver and blue Lace Sensors.Great guitar with a modern strat sound. I really like the Strat Plus,but wanted also wanted a stage axe with a slightly more traditional sound.So I put a pristine maple 1995 strat plus neck on a new american Fender body.The bridge and tremsetter came from a mid 1990s strat plus as well.A guitar tech friend put the thing together and it is just a beauty.It plays like a dream..but the sound! Those Holy Grails make the guitar.

The output of the Holy Grail pickup is good.Not as high as I expected,however. When I switch from the traditional Strat Plus with Lace Sensors to this one, I have to turn up the amp. Yet the sound is very vibrant and organic. Holy Grails have not a hint of that sterile sound the Lace Sensors are often accused of. I like Lace Senors,but the Holy Grails are better for most of the music I play. Presently I'm in a blues based band that does everything from the Stones,to Fleetwood Mac to Eric Clapton,to the White Stripes.The Holy Grails just cut through.I'd say the tone is bright and ballsy,but it still has good mid and bass sound. I tend to use the out of phase between the bridge/mid the most. Lots of quack.But all positions sound good. The pickguard allows other multi pickup sounds thanks to a pull tone. I own a 1972 Princeton with a 12 inch Rolla Celestion speaker. The sound of this guitar through that amp is spine tingling. Never shrill and almost never too bright.My other amp is a 1983 Rivera concert.Also a very sweet amp for the Holy Grails.I chose the classic mint pickguard covers. I should mention that one of the pickups didn't work when we got the pickguard,but the guitar tech discovered a wire had been accidently cut by whoever put the pickguard together.The folks at metal shop were very accomodating and were willing to replace it before we figured out the problem. An easy fix. I use a number of effects including a Bad Monkey, Boss SD-1,Cry Baby Whah and a CE 2 Chorus,plus a boost pedal. They all sound great with these pickups.

I've been playing for 30 years,and have had many strats (including a 1972 strat..long sold..and a 1983 strat that was bought "nearly" new) and many pickups.I also own a 1969 tele. These are the quietest,sweetest vintage styled pick ups I've ever had bar none.If I had any knock,it's that they don't have a bit more power.If they had the same kind of output as the Lace Sensor,they would really raise the roof.But it would not be the 1954 strat sound these pickups are trying to emulate. Trade offs. I really like Holy Grails and am surprised I've not seen or heard more about them.I wonder why? I would definitely buy these pick ups again and may actually drop another loaded pickguard in another old foto flame japanese strat I hope to re build. Highly recommended.

noiseless single coil .
10k(which soounds more like 6k)

japanese strat from the 80's

The closest to a real good strat single coil that Ive tried.
I find good quack ,nice bass and treble. They sound as if they are in the upper 5 to 6k ouput as my other strat with fralins.

i am into tone and these pickups are the real deal. If I didnt tell you, you wouldnt know they are not very good traditional single coils. Ive tried the fender noiseless which are thin and harsh by comparison and the regular lace sensor which loses its "strat" sound in comparison.Its invaluable to play a critical session or gig and have no noise. BTW the Surh backplate coil which is over $300 doesnt sound near as good or quiet as these.