• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join freeLog in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Lace Alumitone Pickups

strange..i found about those pickups a lot of time ago

Yeah, the alumitones have been out for a while, it's the P bass units that are new, as well as the Bass Bars. I'm surprised they didn't do Jazz pickups... though they might be too narrow.

The Samples/videos i've heard are not that great, they don appear so "broader" sounding like qtuners. But I 've noted That it is FAR Too much speaking than Playing on the youtube Videos. The only one where youhere some notes without the spechingis that one:


Anyhow i'm extremely interested



What a dufus! He said "sustainlike" lol

I think they sound pretty good. It's a shame whenever anyone does these videos that they don't run the bass direct.

Maybe,too Bad the screws are defintely different ,so no Straight swap possible (i wonder )

Yes, they are EMG size. That's actually a better way to do the screws.. the EMG covers wobble a little, but you have to make new holes.
 
Sorry for the mispelling on my previous post,
yep i agree that is better 4 screw for pickup ,so You can angle the pickups too.

EVeryone can play a better "demo video" though,undoubtely .

About the "helix" basses with the alumitone ,i don't dig the shape (..:-) well i'm sure David Digs them ,it reminds me his basses ),with a longer lower horn the would be really more appealing
But the prices for them look fair ,(the fretboard of the video looks different though)
 

Thanks. Kinda spendy, huh? My point of comparison: A nice set of Duncan SPB-1's or a G&L MFD pickup are each around $80 or less. Also, the Helix demo: A lot of mids - sounds like a Seinfeld interlude. They did try to get some variety, but they didn't try for a reggae or old school kind of tone at all - did they ever even solo the neck pickup? It's a big part of the market - perhaps not for the Helix, but for the P-Bass pickup it'd be nice to hear them doing a variety of things - it's not like it's prohibitive to find a decent project studio to record them in.

None of that is too suggest that I've ruled out giving them a spin.

KO
 
OT:
Where You found g&l pickups MFD on sale?
IT:
when putting that kind of Pickups on the market ,main thing first is to show the wide broadband reachable.
Nevertheless ,
it would be also important to see if taming some frequencies through equalisation,
Those pickups would give you some "classic" tone too.
When i've listened qtuners ,no way they gave the "old vibe" through equalisation,they still sounded differently even when cutting Top end frequencies
 
...but they didn't try for a reggae or old school kind of tone at all - did they ever even solo the neck pickup?

Bass Player recently reviewed that bass. The reviewer seemed to think it got a really fat bottom end when he rolled the tone down. He said all kinds of words like "chocolate" and "butter bomb".

I heard a few spots with the bridge soloed. Hard to tell if he soloed the neck.

I was actually surprised how warm it sounded since the early reviews of the Alumitone guitar pickups seemed to paint them as being bright and thin sounding. All depends on how they wind the secondary on the transformer.

i don't dig the shape (..:-) well i'm sure David Digs them ,it reminds me his basses ),with a longer lower horn the would be really more appealing

No... I'm not crazy about them. I don't mind the shape as much as the contouring, which makes it look like plastic. I sure hope they didn't use my shape as a model! :rollno:

I've actually extended the bottom horn on mine because it slides off your knee when you are sitting with no strap. But sometimes you have to live with something for a while to find these things out. And I've been playing these for 15 years now. When I start building them again this summer I'm making some changes. :D
 
Thanks kraigo,guess from Italy Would be more troublesome.
I'm looking for infos on the "MFD" pickups only, so far i did'nt experience any "Non-G&L"
with Mfd Equipped.

-----

I was actually surprised how warm it sounded since the early reviews of the Alumitone guitar pickups seemed to paint them as being bright and thin sounding. All depends on how they wind the secondary on the transformer.

Uhm now i want really hear them badly,and compared to a real "p".
The price don't seem also impossible on the street.
Strangly the shop linked has just 4 string and 6 string "p" ,quite Unusual(well the images posted are 4 string p anyway).

I like the shape,and the custom options on the shape ,in the Homesite galleries,are Classy .I like them a lot
 
Hey Guys, Mike from Lace here.

I make those videos and we do try to get everything covered. I appreciate the input. I'm going to be working from the house this summer, and doing new sound comparisons. I'll be recording direct with a pre (probably an LA2A) and this will give you a better idea of their tone. We have new Aluma J's that I just wired up and tested and they match up great in a PJ config. Great tone options too, just by dialing one volume back. The tone control is very usable. Also, I wired up the new protos of the bassbars and man,they are SMOKIN! if you decide to leave your preamp in they'll be on fire! BTW, the Aluma P is one set that fits all. There are 2 independant coils that can be spaced as you see fit to accommodate 4, 5, or 6 string basses - You just flip the coils around.

Funny thing is, Bob play a lot of reggae - He's in my working cover band and we play a lot of reggae, but we do punk, metal, blues, jazz, Irish, disco, whatever. It covers them all pretty good, and we play2-3 nights a week all over OC. Nothing thin about these pickups in any style. We did have some output issues, but that's all under the bridge. The Aluma P's are becoming the new hot ticket. There's more new stuff coming out soon, too. Any questions or thoughts, email me at [email protected]

Enjoy them, guys!
 
I have been interested in these for a while and I have a few questions.
Are bass soapbars available or are they exclusive to the Helix bass?
Can you use a series/parallel switch on them?
Assuming the P are wired in humbucking configuration, is the J humbucking by itself?

Thanks
 
it's great when you can interact so directly like that!

also i like of those pickups the fact that probably you can even fit in a new bass without actually routing the wood:looking the pickup by side-view they don 't seem going so "tall" as the commons are.
Off course not the "direct retrofits", but with custom "ear screw" they coul be really be installed just by screwing them
8or so it appears to me )
 
No worries, DRM. Me and Bob are jsut kind of "fly by the seat of our pants" type of guys. We push record and go. We kinda like it that way - You get to see us and not a talking head. An outline would have been a good thought, tho.

The soapbars will be available real soon, and are not exclusive to the Heli. The new soapbars have way more output and will be available as a separate item soon. Series-parallel, no prob. The AlumaP is a humbucker, the AlumaJ will be just one coil, but super silent and louder than most singles. You'd probably want a body rout for the new soapbars, but the new ones have 4 corner screws as opposed to our old ones, which have 2 in the center, like P90's. I mount the new ones with some foam blocks in there for the side rails and long thin screws for the corners. That stuff should be in the box. There'll be a MMan replacement soon, too.

Thanks guys for the input! Check us out at Summer NAMM next weekend, booth #1501

MikeG
Lace Music.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jafp
No worries, DRM. Me and Bob are jsut kind of "fly by the seat of our pants" type of guys. We push record and go. We kinda like it that way - You get to see us and not a talking head. An outline would have been a good thought, tho.

The soapbars will be available real soon, and are not exclusive to the Heli. The new soapbars have way more output and will be available as a separate item soon. Series-parallel, no prob. The AlumaP is a humbucker, the AlumaJ will be just one coil, but super silent and louder than most singles. You'd probably want a body rout for the new soapbars, but the new ones have 4 corner screws as opposed to our old ones, which have 2 in the center, like P90's. I mount the new ones with some foam blocks in there for the side rails and long thin screws for the corners. That stuff should be in the box. There'll be a MMan replacement soon, too.

Thanks guys for the input! Check us out at Summer NAMM next weekend, booth #1501

MikeG
Lace Music.

I checked out a couple of clips of a Strat loaded with Alumatone humbuckers...it had a very clean, distinct tone...

If the bass pickups are anything like the guitars, they'll have a good top-end performance..I actually look for that in a pickup...because you can so easily roll off too much treble, but it's so hard to make up for deficiencies (such as lack of bottom, or mid-heavy)...

I think these pickups have the potential for being stars in the MM category...I can't wait to hear some bass clips...
 
BTW, the Aluma P is one set that fits all. There are 2 independant coils that can be spaced as you see fit to accommodate 4, 5, or 6 string basses - You just flip the coils around.
Sorry Mike I did'nt get exactly,
Do You mean it's Just 1 "P" model Available ,but blade/coils are large enough to cover from 4 to 6?
Not a Direct swap for 5/6 strings "p"?

ALso ,I see that You also Offer beautiful Custom Works like
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]


----But More importantly about customs,
What If One Wants just a custom shape to accomodate his particular bass,

..For example a custom set like:

"A MM+P in the exact "traditional" positions "
,once you get the MM pickup out
(That involves to create a custom because the "original positionings" overlap a bit).

..How much could vary the listing price /waiting time on this?

(..well anyway :) ,
Off course the "Yewelry" is so cool That i can't resist ..I would make a bracelet of that one ,to mount as a Pickup when needed :hyper: )
 
Hi Mike, surely you already know that the LA2A is not a pre? And that it is famous for heavily coloring the tone of whatever is run through it?


I'm sorry about my parentheses!

I meant probably a preamp in addition to a comp. I don't need to necessarily run it through any compression, but most of the recorded bass I've come across is compressed one way or another. I was going to do a solo track and one w/ drums and guitar for mix. I could do a naked track for the solo.

Thanks for the note, man. I work on coffee and donuts and when they run low, I do too - Work, kids and gigging do that to you.

Regards,
MikeG.
Lace Music Products