LACE alumitone DB7 & HB7 V/S FISHMAN FLUENCE MODERN (in a Strandberg Prog 7)
FOR THE ONES IN A RUSH: 00:25 Dry unplugged sound 00:42 Cleans 05:17 Crunches 09:28 Gentle leads 13:48 Modern Metal FOR THE ONES WITH TIME FOR THE WHOLE STORY: 2 years after buying my Strandberg Prog 7, I still couldn't get around the dark sound of its original Fishman Fluence Modern Pickups. No matter what I tried to do to correct their sound to my liking - trying to lower them or getting them closer to the strings (which was a less worse solution for me), using EQs and testing several amps & sim. amps. -I had to admit my frustration at their lack of dynamics and brightness and had to take a decision. I needed more diversity, that's what PROG is about, isn't it ? Thus, after watching tons of test videos on Youtube, crowding FB strandberg groups with comments and discussions about my issues (even had a nonplussed answer from Ola himself, great of him anyway!) I crossed the step and changed them for a pair of Lace pickups (Humbucker 7 in the neck and Deathbucker 7 in the bridge): I got a nice bargain on Black Friday from the Lace website and found some guy to install them & rewire the whole thing (I got 500k pots instead of the original 250k)...then had to take the Laces out again to chisel the pickups cavities as the Laces ARE powerful and needed to be lowered a bit more....sheesh....after all the troubles, I finally got them sounding to my taste, with this passive pickup feel I had missed in the Fishmans. No mistake, they are NOT my dream Pickups (I still deeply regret the Mojoe dimarzio I lurrved in my former Ibanez JS...) but they are a lot better to my fingers and ears! So to sum up each pairs' assets to me: FISHMANS : good for djent/modern metal, compressed, gritty defined sound with heavy distorsion/gain. Fairly proficient for crunches but forget about bright cleans, squealing harmonics and dynamics. Surprisingly, lows are a tad bit too boomy on palm mutes LACES : very neutral sounding, enabling you to sculpt your sounds thanks to a wider sonic scope, with bright cleans in split modes, lots of dynamics and harmonics for subtle leads, lows are pretty tight. Hope it will help you! Give me your opinion in the comments & share!
FOR THE ONES IN A RUSH: 00:25 Dry unplugged sound 00:42 Cleans 05:17 Crunches 09:28 Gentle leads 13:48 Modern Metal FOR THE ONES WITH TIME FOR THE WHOLE STORY: 2 years after buying my Strandberg Prog 7, I still couldn't get around the dark sound of its original Fishman Fluence Modern Pickups. No matter what I tried to do to correct their sound to my liking - trying to lower them or getting them closer to the strings (which was a less worse solution for me), using EQs and testing several amps & sim. amps. -I had to admit my frustration at their lack of dynamics and brightness and had to take a decision. I needed more diversity, that's what PROG is about, isn't it ? Thus, after watching tons of test videos on Youtube, crowding FB strandberg groups with comments and discussions about my issues (even had a nonplussed answer from Ola himself, great of him anyway!) I crossed the step and changed them for a pair of Lace pickups (Humbucker 7 in the neck and Deathbucker 7 in the bridge): I got a nice bargain on Black Friday from the Lace website and found some guy to install them & rewire the whole thing (I got 500k pots instead of the original 250k)...then had to take the Laces out again to chisel the pickups cavities as the Laces ARE powerful and needed to be lowered a bit more....sheesh....after all the troubles, I finally got them sounding to my taste, with this passive pickup feel I had missed in the Fishmans. No mistake, they are NOT my dream Pickups (I still deeply regret the Mojoe dimarzio I lurrved in my former Ibanez JS...) but they are a lot better to my fingers and ears! So to sum up each pairs' assets to me: FISHMANS : good for djent/modern metal, compressed, gritty defined sound with heavy distorsion/gain. Fairly proficient for crunches but forget about bright cleans, squealing harmonics and dynamics. Surprisingly, lows are a tad bit too boomy on palm mutes LACES : very neutral sounding, enabling you to sculpt your sounds thanks to a wider sonic scope, with bright cleans in split modes, lots of dynamics and harmonics for subtle leads, lows are pretty tight. Hope it will help you! Give me your opinion in the comments & share!