Lace Deathbar extended range guitar pickups
 

...Ok, so they're not specifically made for bass, but they are made for 7 to 10(!) string guitars that go waay into the bass range. Plus, from a purely aesthetic standpoint they're ruthlessly simple and elegant, and I dig that. (sorry, archi-speak outburst) The exposed magnets and folded steel chassis sends a shiver down my spine...

So maybe they're not an immediate swap in for bass guitar, but I would love to see them develop a bass version, especially since the ad says they have a very present midrange.

http://www.lacemusic.com/Deathbar.php

OK, I'm officially a moron, they DO make a bass version... anybody have any experience with these? http://www.lacemusic.com/Bassbar.php

I do not have any experience. But I completely agree with you on looks. If they sound as good as they look, that's one nice pickup.

I like them I wonder if they could replace my EMG's?

These caught my eye in the StewMac catalog. Was looking for p'ups to mod a cheap fretless I have. Decided the fretless isn't worth modding. These are really sharp looking, if nothing else. It's only got 2 reviews on Amazon, both are 5*.

looks interesting, but their blurb for the P versions touts them as being environmentally friendly because they use less copper;

this made me hate them instantly, since regular pickups only use a few ounces anyway :rolleyes:

it's like seeing a tub of lard for sale in the grocery store with a blurb saying "gluten-free!"

Or seeing a pickup truck full of coal for sale with the selling point that it's less than a boxcar of coal thus better for the environment.

But I'm still interested to read any TONE reviews of them, PC BS notwithstanding.

I have a Lace Helix bass with an Alumitone pickup in it.

I wouldn't say they get particularly deep, but they do sound pretty nice. Good mid range character with a nice, subtle grind. the upper mids and highs come out with a nice "pop" and sparkle. They are a good pickup.

They are also very light weight. You will likely save about a pound VS. typical soap bar pickups. They don't have a giant coil of wire and magnet underneath them.

I think processing aluminum is worse for the environment than copper, although copper mining does make a big hole.

I liked the Lace Transsensors (the predecessor to the Alumitones) better. I find the Alumitones to be on the microphonic side. But they are cool looking.

This, plus their unique aesthetics, are probably their biggest selling points. They don't sound bad, just kind of "averagely pleasant." But, if you're like a friend of mine who has back problems, cutting a pound of pickups out of a bass can make a difference.

So random revival, apologies.. But I had the fortune of playing several lace basses with these pickups yesterday, and they were quite cool. VERY strong midrange heft, good high end, decent low end, although the bridge position was a little light on bass for me. Fun sound though, for a metal band one of these in the sweet spot with some boosted lows would kill. two thumbs up, and Jeff Lace is a very nice guy that knows his products.

I dont get the claim that they can reduce up to 2 lbs weight compared to regular guitar pups. Ive never come across any guitar or bass pups that even weighed a pound.

Maybe wrong, but they dont look like direct fit replacements for most pups somehow. Screw position for adjusment diff in diff place then normal for a start.

Another guitar and bass making company was using pups they called alumitone that looked similiar yrs ago. Played them in a guitar at a store once. Bass response was not to good but mids and highs where nice. Adjusting pups heights better might have improved sound though. Dunno if these are same pups or similiar though.

They had an EMG of the same shape for weight reference, the Alumitones are probably less than half the weight. Surprising really, so I take their claims at face value for the most part. I imagine replacing two pickups on a five string could net a major weight loss.

I'm not sure if you are talking about my post or not. But to be clear, I meant saving jup to about a pound per two pickups. At the least, alumitones are way lighter than conventional pickups. But if you have a bass with some dual blade EMGs or maybe something similar to an Epiphone thunderbird pickups, you would save about a pound by swapping for Alumitones.