LukeFRC Posted October 22, 2015 Posted October 22, 2015 Lace alumitone pickups ... look intreaging. Anyone on here got any or a bass with them in? How do you find them ? Looking for some new pickups for my main bass and loojing at options. Its a warwick ss1 with acg preamp Quote
leroydiamond Posted October 22, 2015 Posted October 22, 2015 A couple of years back I got a Lace Helix bass at the right price with these pickups on board. A very good sounding bass indeed but it had a neck like the flute of a donkey so it had to go. I was rather taken by the sound, so I purchased 2 alumitone pickups for my '62 RI jazz bass directly from lace as drop in replacements. However the routing for the pickups was too shallow to take the pickups as they were slightly deeper than the standard jazz pickups. i was not prepared to adjust the routing to accommodate the pickups. I then got back to lace and after some protracted discussion, I got a refund. Quote
LukeFRC Posted October 22, 2015 Author Posted October 22, 2015 [quote name='leroydiamond' timestamp='1445533698' post='2892246'] A couple of years back I got a Lace Helix bass at the right price with these pickups on board. A very good sounding bass indeed but it had a neck like the flute of a donkey so it had to go. I was rather taken by the sound, so I purchased 2 alumitone pickups for my '62 RI jazz bass directly from lace as drop in replacements. However the routing for the pickups was too shallow to take the pickups as they were slightly deeper than the standard jazz pickups. i was not prepared to adjust the routing to accommodate the pickups. I then got back to lace and after some protracted discussion, I got a refund. [/quote] good shout to check the depth! how would you describe the sound?(based on the Helix obviously) Quote
leroydiamond Posted October 22, 2015 Posted October 22, 2015 [quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1445543085' post='2892345'] good shout to check the depth! how would you describe the sound?(based on the Helix obviously) [/quote] The output was on the hot side and the tone was punchy with a touch of grit. Nice Quote
Bigwan Posted October 24, 2015 Posted October 24, 2015 [quote name='leroydiamond' timestamp='1445533698' post='2892246'] it had a neck like the flute of a donkey [/quote] I have no idea what this means... And I'm a bit afraid to ask! Quote
mxm Posted October 24, 2015 Posted October 24, 2015 Got the Aluma J in my Mex Jazz, more of an aesthetic choice as the bass is refinished in chrome. Pretty decent tone, they were dropped in to replace a set of Fender Noiseless - and to be honest gave the instrument a bit more life... Quote
leroydiamond Posted October 25, 2015 Posted October 25, 2015 [quote name='Bigwan' timestamp='1445673958' post='2893224'] I have no idea what this means... And I'm a bit afraid to ask! [/quote] Well lets just say its the Donkeys Mr Winky Quote
Bigwan Posted October 25, 2015 Posted October 25, 2015 [quote name='leroydiamond' timestamp='1445772793' post='2893971'] Well lets just say its the Donkeys Mr Winky [/quote] And by describing a bass neck thus you mean... Quote
leroydiamond Posted October 25, 2015 Posted October 25, 2015 (edited) [quote name='Bigwan' timestamp='1445773996' post='2893986'] And by describing a bass neck thus you mean... [/quote] Really wide neck, string spacing was all wrong and fretwork not the best. I discovered that Lace use the exact same neck on their 4 and 5 string basses ( mine was a 4).Fantastic Edited October 25, 2015 by leroydiamond Quote
LukeFRC Posted October 25, 2015 Author Posted October 25, 2015 [quote name='leroydiamond' timestamp='1445776756' post='2894019'] Really wide neck, string spacing was all wrong and fretwork not the best. I discovered that Lace use the exact same neck on their 4 and 5 string basses ( mine was a 4).Fantastic [/quote] seems to be common thread... yeah lace pickups are probably nice... just they stuck them in some helix bass i couldnt wait to get rid off... Quote
leroydiamond Posted October 25, 2015 Posted October 25, 2015 [quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1445783859' post='2894126'] seems to be common thread... yeah lace pickups are probably nice... just they stuck them in some helix bass i couldnt wait to get rid off... [/quote] They used the Helix bass in an attempt to showcase these pickups, as you rarely see basses armed with lace pickups as stock. They seem to be more popular on 6 string guitars. Quote
Owen Posted October 26, 2015 Posted October 26, 2015 [quote name='mxm' timestamp='1445679398' post='2893287'] Got the Aluma J in my Mex Jazz, more of an aesthetic choice as the bass is refinished in chrome. [/quote] Pictures. NOW! Quote
LukeFRC Posted October 26, 2015 Author Posted October 26, 2015 sound clips too if you have them! L Quote
mxm Posted October 27, 2015 Posted October 27, 2015 [quote name='owen' timestamp='1445855905' post='2894670'] Pictures. NOW! [/quote] [attachment=203793:aluma.jpg] Not the best pic, but you get the idea. 2000 Mex Jazz - has been used for medical testing over the years - pretty much all that's original is wood and strap buttons. Quote
iiipopes Posted October 28, 2015 Posted October 28, 2015 (edited) [quote name='Bigwan' timestamp='1445673958' post='2893224'] I have no idea what this means... And I'm a bit afraid to ask! [/quote] The Lace Helix series of basses had exactly that - a helix neck, which rotated on the long axis away from the player at the nut. This was supposed to help players play better by lessening the amount of wrist pronation necessary to fret the lower notes next to the nut. Like anything else, it worked for some players and not for others. A bass luthier in Texas, Jerome Little, does essentially the same thing with his basses, which he calls a "Torzal" neck: littleguitarworks.com Edited October 28, 2015 by iiipopes Quote
Bigwan Posted October 28, 2015 Posted October 28, 2015 [quote name='iiipopes' timestamp='1446048824' post='2896515'] The Lace Helix series of basses had exactly that - a helix neck, which rotated on the long axis away from the player at the nut. This was supposed to help players play better by lessening the amount of wrist pronation necessary to fret the lower notes next to the nut. Like anything else, it worked for some players and not for others. A bass luthier in Texas, Jerome Little, does essentially the same thing with his basses, which he calls a "Torzal" neck: littleguitarworks.com [/quote] Err... Don't think so... Think you might be getting it confused with something else. The price point alone would suggest manufacture of such a bass impossible. Quote
PlungerModerno Posted October 28, 2015 Posted October 28, 2015 Check out: [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MjL76WzMVQ"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MjL76WzMVQ[/url] Seems cool enough. Would make fretwork and setup more difficult however! Quote
Bigwan Posted October 29, 2015 Posted October 29, 2015 [quote name='PlungerModerno' timestamp='1446062623' post='2896644'] Check out: [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MjL76WzMVQ"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MjL76WzMVQ[/url] Seems cool enough. Would make fretwork and setup more difficult however! [/quote] That's a new one on me! The Lace Helix bass we've been discussing had a perfectly normal (if somewhat donkey appendage-like) neck, despite the somewhat wacky body shape. I stand by the price-point comment. A twist neck bass would be orders of magnitude more difficult to make than even a fanned fret bass neck! Quote
Owen Posted October 29, 2015 Posted October 29, 2015 [quote name='owen' timestamp='1445985036' post='2896013'] I like it a lot. How did you do that? [/quote] No, really, how did you do that? Quote
BigRedX Posted November 1, 2015 Posted November 1, 2015 [quote name='iiipopes' timestamp='1446048824' post='2896515'] The Lace Helix series of basses had exactly that - a helix neck, which rotated on the long axis away from the player at the nut. This was supposed to help players play better by lessening the amount of wrist pronation necessary to fret the lower notes next to the nut. Like anything else, it worked for some players and not for others. A bass luthier in Texas, Jerome Little, does essentially the same thing with his basses, which he calls a "Torzal" neck: littleguitarworks.com [/quote] The helix guitars used a very mild version of this. The basses were simply a platform to show off the alumitone pickups. Some of the early ones (like the ones on my ex-NAMM Helix bass) had very low output. Quote
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