Phil, people sometimes say the Alumitones sound "sterile" but from a technical standpoint, an argument can be made that the Alumitone (the official term is "current transformer") is a better pickup than traditional designs. It has a broader and flatter frequency response, which is what you'd typically want from some kind of sensor. It's also a lot quieter. People, though, have spent the last 70 years listening to guitar and bass pickups that have limited frequency responses and typically a midrange bump. I don't know if people actually find that more pleasant or more exciting, but it is what people are used to. It's a bit like treble bleed circuits. On paper, using a treble bleed circuit yields a more consistent frequency response no matter the position of the volume control but people got used to the sound of Leo and Ted's electric guitars without them. One of the things that's cool about the Alumitones is that because they have primary and secondary coils, they have an additional factor that can be manipulated for voicing. You can change gain by altering the primary, but also the secondary. I think the reason why they are quieter than even humbuckers is twofold. The primary is inductively linked to the secondary by the small steel core, but it is electrically connected to ground, bleeding off RFI. Also, the secondary, copper wire coils are tiny compared to a conventional pickups, so essentially they are less sensitive antennas than the massive coils in a conventional pickup, so they pick up less interference. Also, the folks at Lace are really good people. I've worked with Jeff Lace on a purpose designed Alumitone for the Harmonicaster electric guitar that I recently launched (harmonicaster.com) and I can't speak highly enough about the whole crew there. Good folks with great musical taste.
Good post! I agree that the Alumas avoid the (inductive?) 'bandpass effect' of traditional wire wound magnetics. But as electric guitar players tend to favor sounds shaped by a *bunch* of tone affecting electronic circuitry (tube amps) and loudspeakers that don't cover nearly the full hearing range I'm not surprised to hear words like "dry," "sterile," lost "fullness" (low mids) etc.
Never heard Alumatone until this vid. I modded my Fender mex with 2 LSP's in the neck and middle position and a Seymour Duncan humbucker in the bridge spot. The tonal combinations are unreal!
I love lace pickups. Some of the best starts ever made we’re back in 90s with Lace sensor pickups. The alumitone on the neck of a tele is pretty darn nice as well
I have three guitars equipped with Alumitones. A Squier Strat which got a Lace fully loaded pickguard swap, and two forgotten brand Shaman JPMs, one with SSH and one with a HH configuration. They all sound great, best described as modern (flatter, more even response), yet very dynamic, and quite a bit on the hot side. Especially the Strat is a go too when I am after less traditional Strat tones, but still seek that flexibility. A great thing of its own, a hidden gem in the tone arsenal.
The Alumitone has a huge range, and it's pretty much lineair. I've seen a guy who had one in his guitar, and he then moved it to his bass - sounded amazing either way! Quite expensive, though.
I have a pair of these in an electric (tuned down). They are really chimey and clear when clean and the breakup is lovely. They are their own thing and personally I love them.
I want to put these in my les paul I tune to C standard but it's so hard to find good info on these. I read a review saying the edges aren't round and don't fit a normal rounded p90 route. Do you know if that's BS or not?
I'm putting together a partscaster Tele Thinline semi hollow body that's routed for a mini humbucker/P90 sized pickup in the neck position. This just might be the right fit I need for that! Thanks Phil!
The different Alumitones are incredible hum free pickups that have a wide range to them. Being able to “coil” split without a volume drop might give you more of the P90 sound you are looking to get. Be aware there are a few differences between the different models of LACE Alumitones. Rather a fan of the Fusion 251 neck with a Deathbucker bridge as a set for two humbucker pickup guitars. The single coil space versions are really happening, too. LACE is able to make some of their models into Extend Range variants, too.
I've had this unique/weird custom "8 string" guitar with lace alumitones in it for 2 years and just haven't sat down to play it, this makes me want to sit down and spend sometime with it plugged in and see how it sounds. Thanks!
They all sound very similar due to the construction, the only real difference being the physical size of the pickup so it can be mounted in different guitars.
I love weird pickups, and I loved this video. I currently have a mustang with a lipstick in the neck and SD quarter pound strat pickup in the bridge, split as standard and full on a push/pull. I also have a semihollow offset tele with a P90 and tele bridge pickup, and I'm tempted to try this out in place of the P90
See, I’d managed to stop thinking about trying some Alumitones, but this demo has me wanting to again. 😄 I don’t think I’d get the P-90 shaped ones, though. I have few enough guitars routed for P-90s that I’d rather have P-90s or minihumbuckers in them. It’d be nice to hear a comparison of the different sized Alumitones against each other. I’m assuming the humbucker-sized and P-90-sized ones are quite similar.
After decades of experimentation, the Lace alumitone has wone me over for good. I have the Aluma 90 in the bridge of my baritone and an alumitone "single coil" in the neck with tele style 4-way wiring... that guitar can do anything from death metal to convincingly imitating an acoustic.
I am a simple man. I buy guitars, and exclusively put Alumitone Deathbuckers in them.....they are just flat out the best. The clarity, low end.......just the best.
I have a Lace Alumitone on the neck position. It has the most beautiful crystal clear Jazz bell like tone I've heard in 50 years of playing electric. Huge tone and that sustain....the sustain is unreal. Nothing quiet about them at all, in terms of volume. I alway hated the mid bump in multiwound pickups, this is on another level.
I use Alumatone's in my 8-string. They have a super unique tone and they behave very differently to coil tapping/splitting. You can get a lot of really cool sounds from them.
Call me crazy, but the Aluma 90 would be a great pickup for as P90 replacement on an archtop. It's not as "meaty" as the Fralin; but it does have a transparency and "acousticness" to it. And the reduced weight is always a plus on thinline or acoustics.
I have two Lace Alumitone Deathbuckers in my Explorer. They're fantastic. Plenty of output and very aggressive sounding, but so much definition. Clear as a bell, even under very high modern gain. Love them.
That is the great thing with Alumitones, with one pickup you can play the cleanest Jazz but also heavily distorted Metal. These pickups never disappoint.
Cool comparison, Phil. I've been looking for something as clean as the Alumatone for ages. I'm not one for magnets on a pickup, but Damn...it's so clear for every string. Thanks for the video.
I started using the Alumatone years ago. I have an Epiphone ES 335 with Alumatones on it. It works great. I also play a pedal steel and it works great. I visited the factory in Huntington Beach and they gave me a lot of information for the installation.
That was a great demonstration. I can see that different configurations will be better for different pieces of music. Someone needs to create a roller with different pickups that you can change with a third or half of a roll which automatically disconnects and connects the pickups. I can see changing even during the same piece of music at different parts...quiet, loud, melodic, chordal.
Thanks Phil. It’s really hard to get a decent review of the alumitone humbuckers and this is the first I’ve ever managed to find regarding the P90. Was this their regular P90 or the Riffian P90 ( would be interesting to hear a comparison ) Regarding anything else it’s all personal opinions and influenced greatly on whatever we are playing the video through for the quality of the sound and a real experience so I do greatly appreciate the efforts you have gone to
As soon as I saw the title of this video I put my headphones and listened: P90 LF: Beefy/Chunky/Gritty/Meaty/Raw. LC AT: Hi-Fi/Weak/Clear/Defined. With that being said, the P90 would probably be my to go option between these two, but sure the Alumitone could have better applications, specially for clean sounds. Thanks for sharing!
Man that Fralin is a BOSS. Thats the first time ive heard one of the alumitones and thought it sounded good (i question the installation on the previous guitars.). It does sound like an articulate humbucker, i agree. Much more so than a p90. You might disagree, but i think the shape and size of any pickup plays an ENORMOUS part in the sound/tone, and ive always assumed its bc of the size and shape of the magnetic field produced. Thats why single coil sized buckers dont sound like buckers. They dont sound like vintage fender either but more strat than LP or SG. Ive always assumed that was a huge reason for p90s being the best of both worlds for rock and blues rock tones. It has a wider longer field than a single coil gives more GRRR, and less mud/more articulation and presence than even a low output paf. Love to hear your thoughts. *does pickup shape and size make as much diff as number of/design of coils*
Here I was looking for information on the Alumitone pickups, and voilà! Phil provides! Well done, I really appreciate the way you put them through their paces. “Punch” and more of a mid bump seem like variables a person could manipulate with amp etc settings, no?
One of the things I really love about P90s is how they clean up with the volume knob. I can crank my amp for plenty of distortion on the bridge pickup, then switch to my P90 neck pickup with the volume down for a nice clean sound. How do these compare in that regard?
Phil great video.. I have a couple of guitars with Lace Spencer's..for lead playing both distorted and clean to me the absolute best pickups both single and humbucking versions...I have never tried the alumitones..they look weird... but from your video they seem really great...I preferred all the allumitone sounds... But I must say your playing makes a big difference..simple yet tasteful...and still some nice feel and expression...other videos like this seem to miss the point by over playing or their tone selection...you should post some music ..with you on guitar!!
I had an Alumna P-90 it was both quieter than the ceramic p-90 in volume and noiseless. Best with lots of pedals and gain. It is a low impedance pickup.
This is a definitely new on my radar, I'm hip to P90's, but not Alumatone before this video. Very cool & visually unique look to the pickup construction in addition to it's tonality. You're definitely pushing some great tone on both pickups, both sound awesome even though they each have very distinct flavors, Both sounded great in whatever overdrive signal path you're using & the clean sounded pretty fantastic as well (Just want to make sure I give Props on the playing too, those were some tasty vibes on those chord/melodic progressions, I dug the vibe of that clean picking progression especially, Really worked well with the clean tone on Both Pickups, Good stuff man!) So like you said already, the Standard P90's have that little extra pop or bite, and noticeably more low end content, which definitely adds weight to a solo jam, but the Smooth & Pleasant Discernable Clarity of the Alumatones Make me curious if it would sit well in a mix with a little less EQing than the standard P-90's to make sure it's playing nice with the Bass & Kicks etc., (depending on the genre of course haha). I feel like the Alumatone might sound awesome on like a Clean Tone "Downtempo Ambient" style track with Long Tail Dreamy Reverb & Delay Textures, like if you ran it through an Eventide Blackhole, or Valhalla Supermassive, or the Cloudseed reverb, just emphasizing that string definition with slow arpeggios or strummed chords to feed a Long Reverb... and maybe some Lucid Echo Textures for some rhythmic syncopation with Long feedback reversed delays from something like "SoundToys Crystallizer", or the Free & deceptively badass Grain Delay plugin by UrsaDSP "Lagrange". Anyway, Thanks for sharing that piece of kit, I really appreciate the Axe knowledge you drop on the regular, awesome video man! 🤘
I love Alumitone pickups. I installed the P90s, humbuckers, and strat type on some of my guitars. I don't think they make a filtertron replacement. Also, they aren't necessarily a drop in replacement, especially the humbucker. I had to slightly increase the size of the hole. And as you pointed out, it is best to change the pot and cap when replacing humbuckers. And you can do split coil wiring. Thanks for the review.
Love the clarity of the Aluma. You can just put in a bit more mid with an EQ pedal if you want that punch while still being able to retain the definitions.
I have had several of these in a few different guitars, and I mostly love them. Very articulate sonically, and very lightweight, physically. They should be near the top of anyone's choice for any headless build. My only complaints are that a couple of the features they claim have not at all aligned with my experiences with them. I'm surprised to hear you claim that these pickups don't feed back. That has been the exact opposite of my experience with various Lace Aluma pickups of different models. Without exception, I've found that they've all been more vulnerable to feedback than when those same guitars had different pickups in them. This can obviously be prevented by not cranking the gain up too high, but it's still a drawback worth mentioning. Their single coil format version of the Aluma models claim to be of similar output to the humbucker format models. That does not seem to play out in a real-world scenario. They do give a more single coilesque tone, so credit to them for that one, but the SC Alumas have a harder time driving an amp on the edge of breakup than their standard-size Aluma pickups, and more importantly, the output they produce for tapping riffs requires a compressor in scenarios in which no compressor was needed for their humbucker-format Alumas.
WOW! I LOVE the sound of that pickup!! I’ll be buying a guitar or two ASAP just to put these pickups into! This is the most jazzed up for new pickups in a couple of years. 🤘😎🤘
I had to listen to it twice. I kind of like the tone in the neck position, it just sounded sterile. I'd like to put one in a pine Tele body and see if that makes a difference. I'm really liking the P90's in general even more now! Thanks Phil!! 8) --gary
Love your reviews and I watch often. Listening on calibrated headphones, I found the differences insignificant but I would have liked to hear the difference in the inherent noise of the pickup. I've found that noise levels are important both live and in the studio. A couple of things, I've always liked the sound of P90s but HATE the noise. I've been a recordist/tech in studios and broadcast since the 70's and started playing in the 60's. When I'm recording myself, I prefer noiseless pickups. A suggestion is that you check out some of the Lawing Musical Products Zexcoil and Tribucker pickups. My Partscaster Strat has Zexcoil Signature pickups that are versatile and quiet.
Very informative video!👍 Thanks!😊 I have a g&l Doheny Tribute series guitar with what looks like p90's in although it states single coil on the website 🤔 anyway i am considering swapping them out with a pair of the alumatones. Would you say they are a definate improvement? Not sure if you are familiar with the g&l style mdf pickups?
I have a Lace Alumi in precision bass. After trying many picks up over the years the Lace is by far the best I have ever used. They are clean, as a bass player there is no such thing as too clean.
Really fascinating footage for me in this video. Thanks, man. I love investigating outta the box, but I lack the wherewithal to do it myself. I appreciate videos like this that do it for me. Awesome! Thanks.
I have a set of the Alumas, i haven't fitted them yet, still deciding which one of my moder's to instal them in. I have a Strat from the 80's. It has Sensors in it. Single coils, but they sound amazing. I have that Clapton mod on the volume, they sound superb. It was on the merit of the Sensors that i bought the Aluma's. Nice one Phil, i'll get to soldering them in something soon. I have a LP Tribute i might stick them in. Thanks mate, props from the UK.
Interresting pickup. I would have to try one out before i could decide its good for me. Which magnets are that? Probably neodym? Is there a transformer on it and is that switchable? 🎸📼 🔊🎶
Yes! I want to try these in my les paul, I play in c standard in a stoner doom style. I read a review saying the corners aren't rounded like a normal p90 and didn't fit the route. Do you know if that's BS or what?
@@gooseabuse They are sold with or without a pickup ring (no cost difference). The tele type (Schecter PT Pro) is direct mount so the pickup ring was not an actual issue for me.
I got a lace alumitone humbucker for my neck pickup and honestly its been such a good pickup. Once I have some extra cash ill probably upgrade my bridge to an alumitone as well
Main difference I hear here is an EQ curve: the Lindy Fralin sounds about like I would expect from a P90, lots of midrange. By contrast, the Aluma has a more scooped feel to it, more in the bass and treble frequencies (the latter likely adding to that articulation and clarity that you're hearing). Not sure I'm ready to convert my guitars just yet but there's a lot of promise in this new coil-less technology; in a decade or two this may be the industry standard (assuming electric guitar is still relevant 😵💫).
I think a reason why a lot of players don't know about Lace designs is they tend to be expensive at retail (although not Bare Knuckles expensive) and there are relatively few specimens on the used market "out in the wild." Meanwhile you can find used EMGs, Seymour Duncans, and DiMarzio pickups all day long. Considering the vast majority of modern-ish rock albums were/are recorded with those three well-marketed pickup brands, I don't think many players are inclined to spend a lot of money to try something new. I had to make myself buy a 4 conductor Gibson 498t new and found I loved it. Lace's higher cost for their Alumitone pickups doesn't really make sense to me because they are using less materials. That said, the Alumitones probably require more precision to make than a traditional pickup. As far as Lace's traditional designs, like a lot of manufacturers, they have way too many product lines and it's an expensive, time consuming process trying all of them. It's hard enough trying to keep up with the brands I own because it seems every month they are releasing new production, custom shop, or signature designs--many of which are just slightly tweaked versions of well established models. As a metal player, I would favor the flat EQ of Lace's Alumitones line in the bridge because it sounds more like an active pickup. They also look really cool in pointy guitars. In the neck I really like the sound of the 50s-ish Sensor Golds. So there's nothing really wrong with Lace. I just don't have a reason to try them when I don't hear a tremendous difference between them and their cheaper competitors.
I got an Aluma Stealth 7 for a Harley Benton multiscale because it's one of the few that I found would fit and I really like the sound but it's very quiet compared to the stock pickup.
Twenty-five years of guitar playing finally got ahold of a p90 guitar and eureka the tone and sound and I've been looking for all my life! The magic from the very first strike of the guitar strings! Now the Favorite guitar of all time for me Harley Benton JA60 SB! A $160 guitar! ohhhh the money I could have saved!
Thanks for making the video Phil. I really like your pickup videos, whether it's a common pickup or something unique like this. I preferred the Fralin but that's because I love P90s. I preferred the Lace over other mini humbuckers or P90 shaped humbuckers.
Really liked the Alumitone in the neck position, not so much in the bridge position. I had a set of humbucker Alumitones in an Agile guitar I bought years ago. I just could not gel with them.
Phil, people sometimes say the Alumitones sound "sterile" but from a technical standpoint, an argument can be made that the Alumitone (the official term is "current transformer") is a better pickup than traditional designs. It has a broader and flatter frequency response, which is what you'd typically want from some kind of sensor. It's also a lot quieter. People, though, have spent the last 70 years listening to guitar and bass pickups that have limited frequency responses and typically a midrange bump. I don't know if people actually find that more pleasant or more exciting, but it is what people are used to. It's a bit like treble bleed circuits. On paper, using a treble bleed circuit yields a more consistent frequency response no matter the position of the volume control but people got used to the sound of Leo and Ted's electric guitars without them.
One of the things that's cool about the Alumitones is that because they have primary and secondary coils, they have an additional factor that can be manipulated for voicing. You can change gain by altering the primary, but also the secondary. I think the reason why they are quieter than even humbuckers is twofold. The primary is inductively linked to the secondary by the small steel core, but it is electrically connected to ground, bleeding off RFI. Also, the secondary, copper wire coils are tiny compared to a conventional pickups, so essentially they are less sensitive antennas than the massive coils in a conventional pickup, so they pick up less interference.
Also, the folks at Lace are really good people. I've worked with Jeff Lace on a purpose designed Alumitone for the Harmonicaster electric guitar that I recently launched (harmonicaster.com) and I can't speak highly enough about the whole crew there. Good folks with great musical taste.
Good post! I agree that the Alumas avoid the (inductive?) 'bandpass effect' of traditional wire wound magnetics. But as electric guitar players tend to favor sounds shaped by a *bunch* of tone affecting electronic circuitry (tube amps) and loudspeakers that don't cover nearly the full hearing range I'm not surprised to hear words like "dry," "sterile," lost "fullness" (low mids) etc.
@@mnemonik61 I think it's funny how people use a stereo system that can reproduce 20khz to listen to music made on guitar speakers that top out at 6k.
people like mid bump because its more forward sounding and is significantly better under distortion
Thank you, Cliff Klaven. 😅
I feel like they are described as sterile because people are used to some hum and they are quite. I love them.
I love alumatone pickups. Lace are criminally underrated imo.
I love your playing in this as well!
Never heard Alumatone until this vid.
I modded my Fender mex with 2 LSP's in the neck and middle position and a Seymour Duncan humbucker in the bridge spot. The tonal combinations are unreal!
I love all pickups. I think there is a charm to be found in any one of them. The Alumatone and the Fralin both sound great to me.
The Lace Aluma 90 has almost an acoustic sound about it. It's not really a P90, but it is real good! Thanks for sharing with us!
ya it isn't a p90.
Lol, you don't need pickups. You need new ears!
I kinda like the last configuration with the Alumitone in the bridge and the Lindy Fralin in the neck. Both seem to be awesome pickups.
One of my buddies was just saying he was gonna put some of these (humbuckers though) in a Fender Meteora. Fantastic sounding. Very clear.
I love lace pickups. Some of the best starts ever made we’re back in 90s with Lace sensor pickups. The alumitone on the neck of a tele is pretty darn nice as well
I have three guitars equipped with Alumitones. A Squier Strat which got a Lace fully loaded pickguard swap, and two forgotten brand Shaman JPMs, one with SSH and one with a HH configuration. They all sound great, best described as modern (flatter, more even response), yet very dynamic, and quite a bit on the hot side. Especially the Strat is a go too when I am after less traditional Strat tones, but still seek that flexibility. A great thing of its own, a hidden gem in the tone arsenal.
The Alumitone has a huge range, and it's pretty much lineair. I've seen a guy who had one in his guitar, and he then moved it to his bass - sounded amazing either way!
Quite expensive, though.
I have a pair of these in an electric (tuned down). They are really chimey and clear when clean and the breakup is lovely. They are their own thing and personally I love them.
I want to put these in my les paul I tune to C standard but it's so hard to find good info on these. I read a review saying the edges aren't round and don't fit a normal rounded p90 route. Do you know if that's BS or not?
Do they actually sound like a P90 or should I get Alumitone Single Coils instead?
@@themuted3123 They are their own thing. Close to a P90 but... Hope you find the right PUP's!
Have a Deathbucker, in one of my 6 strings, always loved it.
Fralin in bridge, Alumitone in the neck. Perfection!
Aluma 90 sounds like a finished product, post processing where other sounded more raw. Both sounds I like. thanks for sharing
I love the clarity of the Aluma. The string definition. It gives one a perfect clean canvas to build on.
I think the Fralin had a perfect P90 tone!
Agreed!!!
I'm putting together a partscaster Tele Thinline semi hollow body that's routed for a mini humbucker/P90 sized pickup in the neck position. This just might be the right fit I need for that! Thanks Phil!
Love the sound, its clarity with warmness, plus it's noiseless and much more lightweight compared to classic pickups construction !
I wanna see it in a PRS
The different Alumitones are incredible hum free pickups that have a wide range to them. Being able to “coil” split without a volume drop might give you more of the P90 sound you are looking to get. Be aware there are a few differences between the different models of LACE Alumitones. Rather a fan of the Fusion 251 neck with a Deathbucker bridge as a set for two humbucker pickup guitars. The single coil space versions are really happening, too. LACE is able to make some of their models into Extend Range variants, too.
I've had this unique/weird custom "8 string" guitar with lace alumitones in it for 2 years and just haven't sat down to play it, this makes me want to sit down and spend sometime with it plugged in and see how it sounds. Thanks!
Sounds really good. Definitely enjoy these types of videos.
I’d like to see more on the Alumatone, including a humbucker size version. There is very little out there on this pickup, so we need your review!
The humbucker-sized versions do NOT sound the same as traditional humbuckers. They’re more like the P-90 sized version.
They all sound very similar due to the construction, the only real difference being the physical size of the pickup so it can be mounted in different guitars.
@@ChrisOBrien666Pretty much. And they sound great, too! You should just know what to expect in each case.
I love weird pickups, and I loved this video. I currently have a mustang with a lipstick in the neck and SD quarter pound strat pickup in the bridge, split as standard and full on a push/pull.
I also have a semihollow offset tele with a P90 and tele bridge pickup, and I'm tempted to try this out in place of the P90
That’s the best format for a pickup comparison I’ve seen. Super helpful.
See, I’d managed to stop thinking about trying some Alumitones, but this demo has me wanting to again. 😄 I don’t think I’d get the P-90 shaped ones, though. I have few enough guitars routed for P-90s that I’d rather have P-90s or minihumbuckers in them. It’d be nice to hear a comparison of the different sized Alumitones against each other. I’m assuming the humbucker-sized and P-90-sized ones are quite similar.
Thanks Phil. See ya Friday.
Suggestion: Bare Knuckle Warpig or Painkiller humbucker review. Thanks again for all of your hard work for us.
After decades of experimentation, the Lace alumitone has wone me over for good. I have the Aluma 90 in the bridge of my baritone and an alumitone "single coil" in the neck with tele style 4-way wiring... that guitar can do anything from death metal to convincingly imitating an acoustic.
Amazing pickups. The clarity is through the roof!
I am a simple man. I buy guitars, and exclusively put Alumitone Deathbuckers in them.....they are just flat out the best. The clarity, low end.......just the best.
I have a Lace Alumitone on the neck position. It has the most beautiful crystal clear Jazz bell like tone I've heard in 50 years of playing electric. Huge tone and that sustain....the sustain is unreal. Nothing quiet about them at all, in terms of volume. I alway hated the mid bump in multiwound pickups, this is on another level.
I had the same experience. Once you got used to the quality of the tone, there is no way back to a conventionally wound pickup.
I use Alumatone's in my 8-string. They have a super unique tone and they behave very differently to coil tapping/splitting. You can get a lot of really cool sounds from them.
Man, I absolutely love Alumitone pickups and have them installed in many of my guitars. They’re super articulate and sound more ‘open’ to me.
Call me crazy, but the Aluma 90 would be a great pickup for as P90 replacement on an archtop. It's not as "meaty" as the Fralin; but it does have a transparency and "acousticness" to it. And the reduced weight is always a plus on thinline or acoustics.
I'm glad someone talks about this. I've been using Lace product for years and they're really innovative and sound very "hifi" but lack recognition
I have two Lace Alumitone Deathbuckers in my Explorer. They're fantastic. Plenty of output and very aggressive sounding, but so much definition. Clear as a bell, even under very high modern gain. Love them.
That is the great thing with Alumitones, with one pickup you can play the cleanest Jazz but also heavily distorted Metal. These pickups never disappoint.
Cool comparison, Phil. I've been looking for something as clean as the Alumatone for ages. I'm not one for magnets on a pickup, but Damn...it's so clear for every string. Thanks for the video.
I started using the Alumatone years ago. I have an Epiphone ES 335 with Alumatones on it. It works great. I also play a pedal steel and it works great. I visited the factory in Huntington Beach and they gave me a lot of information for the installation.
That was a great demonstration. I can see that different configurations will be better for different pieces of music. Someone needs to create a roller with different pickups that you can change with a third or half of a roll which automatically disconnects and connects the pickups. I can see changing even during the same piece of music at different parts...quiet, loud, melodic, chordal.
Thanks Phil. It’s really hard to get a decent review of the alumitone humbuckers and this is the first I’ve ever managed to find regarding the P90.
Was this their regular P90 or the Riffian P90 ( would be interesting to hear a comparison )
Regarding anything else it’s all personal opinions and influenced greatly on whatever we are playing the video through for the quality of the sound and a real experience so I do greatly appreciate the efforts you have gone to
That guitar is so slick for pickup demo's. I've never heard a Lace Alumitone of any stripe before. That was quite interesting.
As soon as I saw the title of this video I put my headphones and listened: P90 LF: Beefy/Chunky/Gritty/Meaty/Raw. LC AT: Hi-Fi/Weak/Clear/Defined. With that being said, the P90 would probably be my to go option between these two, but sure the Alumitone could have better applications, specially for clean sounds. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Phil I’ve been wanting to hear an alumitone comparison and you did a great job.
Lace makes a great pickup. I have their humbucker in a Charvel Model 5A.
Man that Fralin is a BOSS. Thats the first time ive heard one of the alumitones and thought it sounded good (i question the installation on the previous guitars.). It does sound like an articulate humbucker, i agree. Much more so than a p90. You might disagree, but i think the shape and size of any pickup plays an ENORMOUS part in the sound/tone, and ive always assumed its bc of the size and shape of the magnetic field produced. Thats why single coil sized buckers dont sound like buckers. They dont sound like vintage fender either but more strat than LP or SG. Ive always assumed that was a huge reason for p90s being the best of both worlds for rock and blues rock tones. It has a wider longer field than a single coil gives more GRRR, and less mud/more articulation and presence than even a low output paf. Love to hear your thoughts. *does pickup shape and size make as much diff as number of/design of coils*
Here I was looking for information on the Alumitone pickups, and voilà! Phil provides!
Well done, I really appreciate the way you put them through their paces.
“Punch” and more of a mid bump seem like variables a person could manipulate with amp etc settings, no?
One of the things I really love about P90s is how they clean up with the volume knob. I can crank my amp for plenty of distortion on the bridge pickup, then switch to my P90 neck pickup with the volume down for a nice clean sound. How do these compare in that regard?
Phil great video.. I have a couple of guitars with Lace Spencer's..for lead playing both distorted and clean to me the absolute best pickups both single and humbucking versions...I have never tried the alumitones..they look weird... but from your video they seem really great...I preferred all the allumitone sounds...
But I must say your playing makes a big difference..simple yet tasteful...and still some nice feel and expression...other videos like this seem to miss the point by over playing or their tone selection...you should post some music ..with you on guitar!!
I had an Alumna P-90 it was both quieter than the ceramic p-90 in volume and noiseless. Best with lots of pedals and gain. It is a low impedance pickup.
Thanks for diving into the pickup collection for us! I think you could have hit vids from diving into other pickups as well as personal guitars.
Awesome demo Phil, thanks again for another quality detail packed video, thanks for the share!
Yes, please, compare all the pickups! It's really good education to hear the differences between the types, and the magnets, and the configurations.
This is a definitely new on my radar, I'm hip to P90's, but not Alumatone before this video. Very cool & visually unique look to the pickup construction in addition to it's tonality. You're definitely pushing some great tone on both pickups, both sound awesome even though they each have very distinct flavors, Both sounded great in whatever overdrive signal path you're using & the clean sounded pretty fantastic as well (Just want to make sure I give Props on the playing too, those were some tasty vibes on those chord/melodic progressions, I dug the vibe of that clean picking progression especially, Really worked well with the clean tone on Both Pickups, Good stuff man!) So like you said already, the Standard P90's have that little extra pop or bite, and noticeably more low end content, which definitely adds weight to a solo jam, but the Smooth & Pleasant Discernable Clarity of the Alumatones Make me curious if it would sit well in a mix with a little less EQing than the standard P-90's to make sure it's playing nice with the Bass & Kicks etc., (depending on the genre of course haha). I feel like the Alumatone might sound awesome on like a Clean Tone "Downtempo Ambient" style track with Long Tail Dreamy Reverb & Delay Textures, like if you ran it through an Eventide Blackhole, or Valhalla Supermassive, or the Cloudseed reverb, just emphasizing that string definition with slow arpeggios or strummed chords to feed a Long Reverb... and maybe some Lucid Echo Textures for some rhythmic syncopation with Long feedback reversed delays from something like "SoundToys Crystallizer", or the Free & deceptively badass Grain Delay plugin by UrsaDSP "Lagrange". Anyway, Thanks for sharing that piece of kit, I really appreciate the Axe knowledge you drop on the regular, awesome video man! 🤘
I love Alumitone pickups. I installed the P90s, humbuckers, and strat type on some of my guitars. I don't think they make a filtertron replacement. Also, they aren't necessarily a drop in replacement, especially the humbucker. I had to slightly increase the size of the hole. And as you pointed out, it is best to change the pot and cap when replacing humbuckers. And you can do split coil wiring. Thanks for the review.
Definitely dig the alumatone
Love the clarity of the Aluma. You can just put in a bit more mid with an EQ pedal if you want that punch while still being able to retain the definitions.
I have had several of these in a few different guitars, and I mostly love them. Very articulate sonically, and very lightweight, physically. They should be near the top of anyone's choice for any headless build. My only complaints are that a couple of the features they claim have not at all aligned with my experiences with them.
I'm surprised to hear you claim that these pickups don't feed back. That has been the exact opposite of my experience with various Lace Aluma pickups of different models. Without exception, I've found that they've all been more vulnerable to feedback than when those same guitars had different pickups in them. This can obviously be prevented by not cranking the gain up too high, but it's still a drawback worth mentioning.
Their single coil format version of the Aluma models claim to be of similar output to the humbucker format models. That does not seem to play out in a real-world scenario. They do give a more single coilesque tone, so credit to them for that one, but the SC Alumas have a harder time driving an amp on the edge of breakup than their standard-size Aluma pickups, and more importantly, the output they produce for tapping riffs requires a compressor in scenarios in which no compressor was needed for their humbucker-format Alumas.
Since it uses a 250k pot, it sounds like a good option for an HSS bridge PU.
WOW! I LOVE the sound of that pickup!! I’ll be buying a guitar or two ASAP just to put these pickups into!
This is the most jazzed up for new pickups in a couple of years. 🤘😎🤘
i've played with alumitones for 10+ years, and they are, in my opinion, some of the best pickups I've ever heard and used :)
the alumatone pickup sounds great! love the clean tone. Thanks for this video!
I love Alumitones. I have them in 2 basses, a 5 and a 6 and they're awesome. I'm thinking of a set for a HSS guitar I have too.
I had to listen to it twice. I kind of like the tone in the neck position, it just sounded sterile. I'd like to put one in a pine Tele body and see if that makes a difference. I'm really liking the P90's in general even more now! Thanks Phil!! 8) --gary
against a gibson p90, FIIIIIIGHT
Much closer than I expected. Both sounded great
Thanks for the review!
There was a big hype about them like 10 years ago, but I haven't seen them in recent years. Thanks for reminding me they exist. :)
Maybe a humbucker sorta sound but man it sounds great, good info and video thx
After having tried out approx. 30 different pickups I settled with Alumitones. The clarity and precision are unrivaled.
Love your reviews and I watch often. Listening on calibrated headphones, I found the differences insignificant but I would have liked to hear the difference in the inherent noise of the pickup. I've found that noise levels are important both live and in the studio.
A couple of things, I've always liked the sound of P90s but HATE the noise. I've been a recordist/tech in studios and broadcast since the 70's and started playing in the 60's.
When I'm recording myself, I prefer noiseless pickups.
A suggestion is that you check out some of the Lawing Musical Products Zexcoil and Tribucker pickups. My Partscaster Strat has Zexcoil Signature pickups that are versatile and quiet.
I think when you're playing you "feel" the difference, but in a recording it's barely noticeable. Might as well use noiseless.
That alumatone sounds phenomenal.
Very informative video!👍 Thanks!😊 I have a g&l Doheny Tribute series guitar with what looks like p90's in although it states single coil on the website 🤔 anyway i am considering swapping them out with a pair of the alumatones. Would you say they are a definate improvement? Not sure if you are familiar with the g&l style mdf pickups?
I have a Lace Alumi in precision bass. After trying many picks up over the years the Lace is by far the best I have ever used. They are clean, as a bass player there is no such thing as too clean.
thanks for the review! Can you show your thoughts on the regular alumitone?
Really fascinating footage for me in this video. Thanks, man. I love investigating outta the box, but I lack the wherewithal to do it myself. I appreciate videos like this that do it for me. Awesome! Thanks.
I have a set of the Alumas, i haven't fitted them yet, still deciding which one of my moder's to instal them in. I have a Strat from the 80's. It has Sensors in it. Single coils, but they sound amazing. I have that Clapton mod on the volume, they sound superb. It was on the merit of the Sensors that i bought the Aluma's. Nice one Phil, i'll get to soldering them in something soon. I have a LP Tribute i might stick them in. Thanks mate, props from the UK.
I have a set in one of my guitars. I have the standard in the neck and the riffian in the bridge. I think they sound awesome!!!
Interresting pickup. I would have to try one out before i could decide its good for me. Which magnets are that? Probably neodym? Is there a transformer on it and is that switchable?
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I put a Lace Alumitone P90 Riffian in one of my guitars. It has a slightly higher output than the one you used for this video. I love it.
Yes! I want to try these in my les paul, I play in c standard in a stoner doom style. I read a review saying the corners aren't rounded like a normal p90 and didn't fit the route. Do you know if that's BS or what?
@@gooseabuse They are sold with or without a pickup ring (no cost difference). The tele type (Schecter PT Pro) is direct mount so the pickup ring was not an actual issue for me.
Loved Lace pickups. Still searching for a used hammerclaw
I got a lace alumitone humbucker for my neck pickup and honestly its been such a good pickup. Once I have some extra cash ill probably upgrade my bridge to an alumitone as well
I did that - the combination rocks. It is addictive. After a while you can't stand longer the muddy sound of other pickups.
Always love the videos phil thank you!
Main difference I hear here is an EQ curve: the Lindy Fralin sounds about like I would expect from a P90, lots of midrange. By contrast, the Aluma has a more scooped feel to it, more in the bass and treble frequencies (the latter likely adding to that articulation and clarity that you're hearing). Not sure I'm ready to convert my guitars just yet but there's a lot of promise in this new coil-less technology; in a decade or two this may be the industry standard (assuming electric guitar is still relevant 😵💫).
I think a reason why a lot of players don't know about Lace designs is they tend to be expensive at retail (although not Bare Knuckles expensive) and there are relatively few specimens on the used market "out in the wild."
Meanwhile you can find used EMGs, Seymour Duncans, and DiMarzio pickups all day long.
Considering the vast majority of modern-ish rock albums were/are recorded with those three well-marketed pickup brands, I don't think many players are inclined to spend a lot of money to try something new. I had to make myself buy a 4 conductor Gibson 498t new and found I loved it.
Lace's higher cost for their Alumitone pickups doesn't really make sense to me because they are using less materials. That said, the Alumitones probably require more precision to make than a traditional pickup.
As far as Lace's traditional designs, like a lot of manufacturers, they have way too many product lines and it's an expensive, time consuming process trying all of them. It's hard enough trying to keep up with the brands I own because it seems every month they are releasing new production, custom shop, or signature designs--many of which are just slightly tweaked versions of well established models.
As a metal player, I would favor the flat EQ of Lace's Alumitones line in the bridge because it sounds more like an active pickup. They also look really cool in pointy guitars.
In the neck I really like the sound of the 50s-ish Sensor Golds.
So there's nothing really wrong with Lace. I just don't have a reason to try them when I don't hear a tremendous difference between them and their cheaper competitors.
How cool, had no idea those existed…. They sound incredible on clean settings.. will have to incorporate one into the next build !!!! Thank you 🙏
I got an Aluma Stealth 7 for a Harley Benton multiscale because it's one of the few that I found would fit and I really like the sound but it's very quiet compared to the stock pickup.
Twenty-five years of guitar playing finally got ahold of a p90 guitar and eureka the tone and sound and I've been looking for all my life! The magic from the very first strike of the guitar strings! Now the Favorite guitar of all time for me Harley Benton JA60 SB! A $160 guitar! ohhhh the money I could have saved!
I like how the frailn creates a coalescing effect when strumming large chords.
I have an Alumitone in the neck of my T-type. Love it!
both sound sweet👍
Bass player here. I am in love with the alumitones. I have started moving over all my basses to various models of the bass alumitones. No regrets!
How do you compare bass alumitones to other bass pickups dynamics-wise?
Thanks for making the video Phil. I really like your pickup videos, whether it's a common pickup or something unique like this. I preferred the Fralin but that's because I love P90s. I preferred the Lace over other mini humbuckers or P90 shaped humbuckers.
Which Lindy Fralin P90 is that? Under or over wound? It sounds incredible.
Both good but apples/oranges. alumatone is more articulate but I love the Lindy P90 for grit.
Really liked the Alumitone in the neck position, not so much in the bridge position. I had a set of humbucker Alumitones in an Agile guitar I bought years ago. I just could not gel with them.
I personally really like the clarity in the chords
Some good actionable info here. Thank you, Phil!
Lace pickups are fantastic.
I wanted a strat with Lace pickups when they first came out (i was young...) soooooo bad...
Well done, thank you.
I like it! I have LACES on my 1988 Strat Plus they are great.
Sounds great and look cool too.
I appreciate all your videos. Much thanks for the info