Can someone school me on Lace Alumitone pickups?

[benjuro]

Ultimately I have decided after discussing with Gabo from Nude to go with Bare Knuckle P90's in neck and bridge and humbucker in the middle position on my to-be-built Nude 30" baritone, as he frequently uses Bare Knuckle pickups in his guitars and is very satisfied with them.

I am also in talks with Anthony from Harvester and we are both curious about going with an Alumitone and a Curtis Novak Goldfoil, just haven't decided on the placement yet...

I have a set of BKP P90s in one of my downtuned guitars, Stockholm in the bridge and Supermassive in the neck. Best pickups I've ever owned by far, you will not be disappointed.

[Benn Roe]

I figured I'd revive this thread as part of my never-ending quest to pick the right pickups for my first partscaster. Are the alumitone single-coils and humbuckers effectively the same thing? Just different sizes? Are the alumitone "P90s" different? I'm just confused because they all seem like they're made pretty much the same way. I grant that there could be subtle differences that might account for different tones, but are there? I'm not sure what the point of the P90s if they're not somehow voiced differently, since they're presumably the same size as the buckers. I'll probably have more questions soon, and--like this one--they'll probably be questions I should just email Lace about.

[repoman]

I just put this baritone together with Alumitones
I kind of expected them to sound like Filtertrons, but to me they sound really similar to Jazzmaster pickups (surprisingly). I thought it would be cool to have something really different for pickups in this, HA!

I kinda wanna say they seem more single coil than humbucker in nature. A little clearer, really even EQ, less of that slow attack/bloom JM pickups give you but still pretty similar, it says they are like 3.4k so extremely low output, although I think there is something different about how they work so that doesn't really translate like how normal pickups are measured? I don't perceive them as zingy and high end/hi-fi ish like Filtertrons at all. They sound really different than my expectations. Maybe my perception is messed up with them being on a baritone with flat wounds though? They sound really nice, but at the same time kind of characterless, not in a bad way, its just I can pretty easily see what people are talking about how they describe the sound of a P90, or hot humbucker, or low output humbucker or telecaster bridge pickup, or filtertron, its really hard to perceive any unique qualities with these.

[BoatRich]

I just put this baritone together with Alumitones
I kind of expected them to sound like Filtertrons, but to me they sound really similar to Jazzmaster pickups (surprisingly). I thought it would be cool to have something really different for pickups in this, HA!

I kinda wanna say they seem more single coil than humbucker in nature. A little clearer, really even EQ, less of that slow attack/bloom JM pickups give you but still pretty similar, it says they are like 3.4k so extremely low output, although I think there is something different about how they work so that doesn't really translate like how normal pickups are measured? I don't perceive them as zingy and high end/hi-fi ish like Filtertrons at all. They sound really different than my expectations. Maybe my perception is messed up with them being on a baritone with flat wounds though? They sound really nice, but at the same time kind of characterless, not in a bad way, its just I can pretty easily see what people are talking about how they describe the sound of a P90, or hot humbucker, or low output humbucker or telecaster bridge pickup, or filtertron, its really hard to perceive any unique qualities with these.

I’ve also had them in baritones and VI’s and had the same opinion. They kinda feel piano like to me with slightly extended highs and really clear, percussive lows. I wish they were higher output though, they don’t really drive pedals hard enough

[oscillofuzz]

...flat wounds... ...characterless, not in a bad way,... ...its really hard to perceive any unique qualities with these...

Are you sure you're describing the pick ups and not the flatwounds? I'm half-joking here, but my limited experience with (Fender) flatwounds (on a P bass) would kinda be described as the above

[oscillofuzz]

I also dug up this link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1O7X3HOIyg0JcRN2TO99EtTEvslKo9EbW in a facebook group dedicated to Schecter VI type instruments. It compares the (presumably single coil, going by the picture on fb) Alumitones to the stock Seymour Duncan designed minibuckers from the old Hellcat VI models (which is the exact model I own) and to me the Alumitones sound like a definite upgrade in this case.

[ibarakishi]

all lace pickups are really sensitive to how you set them too, so it might be in your best interest to adjust the height of your pickups yourself and do it to your liking by ear. When i first bought mine i was slightly disappointed too, but after adjusting them to my liking by myself, i found that it was a night and day difference. Kind of shocked me honestly. The guy that installed them didn't do anything wrong, he was just following what most pickups would be set to. But with the lace stuff, at least in my experience, it really pays off to adjust them yourself and just do it by ear vs what is normal. The way i set mine up are not 'normal' pickup height at all. But i love how they sound

[repoman]

I'm not disappointed with them, they sound very good, its just that I can't really observe any unique qualities with them. I think they sound best the closest you can get them to the strings (makes sense since they are only 3.4k).

[ibarakishi]

I think they sound best the closest you can get them to the strings (makes sense since they are only 3.4k).

this was true for me as well. my alumitones are deathbuckers though, so i can't comment on the normal ones. in my strat i have two lace golds and then a deathbucker in the bridge

[Benn Roe]

I figured I'd revive this thread as part of my never-ending quest to pick the right pickups for my first partscaster. Are the alumitone single-coils and humbuckers effectively the same thing? Just different sizes? Are the alumitone "P90s" different? I'm just confused because they all seem like they're made pretty much the same way. I grant that there could be subtle differences that might account for different tones, but are there? I'm not sure what the point of the P90s if they're not somehow voiced differently, since they're presumably the same size as the buckers. I'll probably have more questions soon, and--like this one--they'll probably be questions I should just email Lace about.

This is what Lace told me when I asked them about the above:

You are correct, the Alumitone pickups mostly have the footprint of their counterparts, and are more of a blend between the Alumitone and traditional pickup world. The singles do sound fairly Strat like, but more open. The HB's sound like a big, clear, sustaining humbucker, but without the mud and a much more transparent top end. The Aluma-90s sound the least like their counterparts, but still make for a wonderful pickup.

In your description of what you are looking for, you are defining the sonic qualities of the Alumitone humbucker and Deathbucker pickups. The DB is simple a high output version of the HB, with not additional gain or distortion. We have quite a few jazz players using the DB in their semi hollow body guitars. I hope this helps.

[TheOndrakGuy]

Went and did this today. First impressions are "bloody hell I can hear EVERYTHING" - they really are a hi-fi pickups. The lows are low, the highs are high, and this is the beefiest my Jag has ever sounded.

[Bon Hoga]

I'm not disappointed with them, they sound very good, its just that I can't really observe any unique qualities with them. I think they sound best the closest you can get them to the strings (makes sense since they are only 3.4k).

One unique quality they have is their flat eq -- they don't impose any sort of character on your tone, which leaves you with more options when it comes to tone shaping. Another unique quality is their extreme clarity, thanks to which they work so well in baritones and VIs. I agree they need to be raised to sound good.

[coldbrightsunlight]

Went and did this today. First impressions are "bloody hell I can hear EVERYTHING" - they really are a hi-fi pickups. The lows are low, the highs are high, and this is the beefiest my Jag has ever sounded.

This looks so cool!

[goroth]

I’ve had mine for a month or so and am not really jiving.
They have some nice aspects - quiet as hell, palm mute really well, but I found the cleans got lost easily and didn’t have a lot of “chime”, and with fuzz they sizzled more than they slammed.

Put the stock pickup back in the bridge, left the neck alumitone because I don’t play it anyway. Might try some Black Winters down the line.

Ultimately I wanted to love the alumitones, but thought they were ok?
Tried setting them low, crazy high and everything in between. Cranked the mids on my pedals, backed off the treble... you name I tried it.



Much edits, many typos.

[Benn Roe]

Has anyone tried the regular Alumitone buckers AND the deathbuckers? I'm trying to decide between the two, but not finding much in the way of comparison. The email I quoted above from Lace says "the DB is simple a high output version of the HB, with not additional gain or distortion", but what is a high-output pickup doing if it's not adding additional gain and distortion? Just adding volume? I'm really intrigued by all the reports from people about the clarity of Alumitones, especially through dirt pedals, but I'm worried they won't sound bright enough for my liking. Anyone tried both versions?