Alumitone Pickups

[Cagey]

Last week I took delivery of a Lace Alumitone Pickup for an upcoming customer build and was quite surprised at what I saw when I unboxed it. These things are way off the beaten path. I know they've been out for a while, but they're new to me. So, I thought I'd share some some pictures with those who may be curious.

This particular unit is what they call "splittable", although there's obviously nothing to split. Clearly, there are no coils; it's a current pickup. So, they probably mean the current transformer is tapped. Brings out four wires, anyway. Interesting design. They're supposed to be ultra-clear and noiseless, so maybe they're a good candidate for the modelling or synth crowd. Stay tuned; we'll find out.

 

[bbl4ck]

Yea, I'm taggin' this thread...
I really would like to hear your opinion of these pickups.
I have almost picked up a pair a couple times, but always chickened out at the last minute.
:rock-on:

 

[Fat Pete]

Yep, I'm interested in how they sound too... Certainly look interesting.

 

[alterbridgefan]

I as well. Maybe a demo even?

I love the look, and was considering a pair for the jag, but I'm opting to go with Roadhouse for this build, I think.

 

[Cagey]

Well, they don't exactly give the little rascals away. At between $110-$150 apiece, you probably want to know you want one before you experiment.

Of course, some folks pay more than that for Kinman and other boutique pickups, so maybe I shouldn't say anything.

I have an Axe Fx II here, which is the ultimate Modeller of Doom, so I'll definitely be giving it a workout. Plus, a buddy of mine has a basement full of vintage Fender amps, as well as some Line 6 and Mesa Boogie amps/preamps/etc., so... should be interesting. Probably be a while, though. Still waiting on some custom Warmoth parts, and I don't know what the timeline is on that stuff yet.

 

[Cagey]

I as well. Maybe a demo even?

I love the look, and was considering a pair for the jag, but I'm opting to go with Roadhouse for this build, I think.

I'm a big fan of the appearance, too. The only downside would be if you had a guitar where the thing had to sit a little high in the saddle. They're not particularly attractive from the side. Plus, they're not quite as wide as a standard PAF-style humbucker, so you end up with about 1/8" more clearance on the sides of a standard mounting ring than you might expect. I think I may sheath the wiring in black so it's not so easy to see.

Also, while I've got your attention, I should mention I've got an offset waist guitar coming up this month. Black Jazzmaster. No kukka bridge, no kukka pickups, no kukka tuners, no goofy brain-damaged control scheme. Now how much would you pay?

Yeah, I'm a slut  :icon_biggrin:

 

[bbl4ck]

Hey Cagey,
Could those Alumitone pickups be wood mounted or are they too small to look correct in a wood mount cavity?
:dontknow:

 

[Cagey]

The difference in width, while noticeable to someone who's familiar with typical dimensions, is not that dramatic. If it were, the thing wouldn't pick up all six strings.

The mounting tangs are in the same place dimensionally as a typical PAF-style humbucker. Also, the mounting tangs reach down about the same distance. So, any mounting scheme you'd use for a PAF-style humbucker will work with these, including the use of mounting rings or direct mounts.

However, you'll notice that the frame is somewhat thick. So, rather than just force screws through it, you may have to do some drilling to get the the holes to a dimension you can use if you want to direct mount them. No worries, though. It's just aluminum, so if you have a pet gerbil/mouse/rat, it'll have no trouble helping you out with a bit of nibbling. It's pretty soft stuff as metals go. All the other metals made fun of or beat up aluminum in school.

One concern I have with this part is it seems the holes for the mounting screws were threaded differently than the screws they they provided, so I'm going to have to dig around for a tap to fix that. I intend to call them and bitch about it. Seems like an impossible problem to have, but this ain't my first rodeo. I know it's wrong. I stopped cross-threading screws 50 years ago.

 

[alterbridgefan]

Well, they don't exactly give the little rascals away. At between $110-$150 apiece, you probably want to know you want one before you experiment.

Well, the single sized ones run a little below $100, and no one is saying you have to order two at the same time.

I as well. Maybe a demo even?

I love the look, and was considering a pair for the jag, but I'm opting to go with Roadhouse for this build, I think.

I'm a big fan of the appearance, too. The only downside would be if you had a guitar where the thing had to sit a little high in the saddle. They're not particularly attractive from the side. Plus, they're not quite as wide as a standard PAF-style humbucker, so you end up with about 1/8" more clearance on the sides of a standard mounting ring than you might expect. I think I may sheath the wiring in black so it's not so easy to see.

I think they would look cool with a custom cut guard. That would make the whole thing look a lot more clean.

Also, while I've got your attention, I should mention I've got an offset waist guitar coming up this month. Black Jazzmaster. No kukka bridge, no kukka pickups, no kukka tuners, no goofy brain-damaged control scheme. Now how much would you pay?

Yeah, I'm a slut  :icon_biggrin:

The true question is, how much are you willing to pay me to tell you I like it? :toothy12:

Black is one of my favorite colors this week, though. I've got a brand new fifty year old Fender Mustang I'm working on, and the combination of the amber neck, the worn black refinish, and the tort guard is just fantastic.

 

[DangerousR6]

I've always thought them to be curiously inviting, but as with Black Dog have been hesitant to buy any. I think hannaugh had some in one of her builds. Maybe she has some input on their output, so to speak... :icon_biggrin:

 

[bbl4ck]

I think hannaugh had some in one of her builds. Maybe she has some input on their output, so to speak... :icon_biggrin:

:laughing7: :laughing7: :laughing7:
Hannaugh  :dontknow: Any words of wisdom...

 

[Updown]

Hannaugh  :dontknow: Any words of wisdom...

This help .... http://unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=3606.msg194184#msg194184

Another post about these ... http://unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=9886.msg131771#msg131771

 

[bbl4ck]

Hannaugh  :dontknow: Any words of wisdom...

This help .... http://unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=3606.msg194184#msg194184

Another post about these ... http://unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=9886.msg131771#msg131771

Well now, those reviews don't reflect so well on the sound.
Dang it, they look really cool, but it seems it was good that I have resisted them...
Thanks Updown for posting those links :icon_thumright:

 

[Cagey]

If they're as sterile as is purported, they may be a Good Thing for feeding a modeller or a synth or some kinda complex signal processing chain where you want as clean a signal as possible to start with. Sorta eliminates a variable, if you will.

 

[Fat Pete]

Cagey's customer is probably some crazy limey. $100 isn't much to try out a weird pickup to those strange folk.

 

[Cagey]

Could be. We're pretty spoiled here. The range of choice and availability is fairly wide, which makes competition fierce. Helps keep the price down where it belongs.

 

[Dan025]

i'm a little surprised stubhead hasn't posted here... i think he uses them. the thing that concerns me about them is the thickness of the aluminum. the highs could be attenuated by the skin effect, maybe, have to look up the math... they are supposed to have less top end though i'm not sure that's why. they are basically a single turn pickup. well two single turns in parallel. currents go through the aluminum i two counter rotating circles with a common side. current is picked up by a "current clamp" type transformer like some multimeters have to measure amps. the price is an example of marketing because with the less use of copper and iron i can't imagine they are expensive to produce. they must make a big profit margin on these. too bad sales probably aren't that great. i wonder if someone could produce a version of these without legal troubles. i mean they certainly are the first to do this but the principals that make it work are well known. is this the type of novel idea they can have exclusivity on?

there are so many cheap ways you can make the aluminum frame. it could be cast making the raw materials cheap with little waist, and on large scale production casting is extremely cheap. you could machine, or waterjet, or die cut the frames from sheet stock and form them in a press. or you could play with the design a bit making the frames completely flat to eliminate that secondary operation. i'm sure similar transformers are comercially available if you didn't want to wind you own....

 

[Cagey]

i wonder if someone could produce a version of these without legal troubles. i mean they certainly are the first to do this but the principals that make it work are well known. is this the type of novel idea they can have exclusivity on?

Are you kidding? You can almost patent used snotrags these days, and I'm not exaggerating. Originality, prior art and non-obviousness are out the window. I'm not sure we even need the USPTO any more. They could just hook a 1st gen iPhone running off a wall wart and attached to the 'net that's running a random number generator, and have it assign patent numbers as soon as the check for the application fee clears.

Anyway, Lace patented the alumitones. They say so right on the package. I'm sure it's an incredibly broad patent, too. Something along the lines of "A method and process of making electric guitar pickups out of non-ferrous metal", so they can sue the snot out of anybody who ever makes a pickup for the next 10,000 years.

 

[Dan025]

i wonder if someone could produce a version of these without legal troubles. i mean they certainly are the first to do this but the principals that make it work are well known. is this the type of novel idea they can have exclusivity on?

Are you kidding? You can almost patent used snotrags these days, and I'm not exaggerating. Originality, prior art and non-obviousness are out the window. I'm not sure we even need the USPTO any more. They could just hook a 1st gen iPhone running off a wall wart and attached to the 'net that's running a random number generator, and have it assign patent numbers as soon as the check for the application fee clears.

Anyway, Lace patented the alumitones. They say so right on the package. I'm sure it's an incredibly broad patent, too. Something along the lines of "A method and process of making electric guitar pickups out of non-ferrous metal", so they can sue the snot out of anybody who ever makes a pickup for the next 10,000 years.

some things are so "grey" it seems more like it's a matter of how expensive your lawyers are. apple can be awarded 1 billion dollars over icon background because the iphone has square icons and samsung created a system where icons were given backdrops that are square to make them look more uniform. but they don't bother LG who has copied the samsung form including the samsung things that look quite "apple." i guess LG doesn't threaten apple enough. and at the same time google can defend themselves against oracle over similar "there stuff looks like our stuff" type claims.

i mean so many companies get around copyrights for making guitars by changing headstocks and morphing the body just ever so slightly.

the lines are so blurry, and who gets to decide where the lines are? i mean the transformer is a common object. they just strapped it to a metal ring with a magnet in the middle. how do they decide what to protect?

 

[hannaugh]

I think hannaugh had some in one of her builds. Maybe she has some input on their output, so to speak... :icon_biggrin:

:laughing7: :laughing7: :laughing7:
Hannaugh  :dontknow: Any words of wisdom...

Yeah, never agree to paint Don Lace's bedroom in exchange for pickups that aren't splittable.  :laughing7:

They sounded pretty good actually, they're just not for everyone.  I was using the wrong pots and other parts with them when I had mine, so I had some control issues, but dialed in just right, they were pleasant.  They're very transparent (for lack of a better word), which to some people = boring or without character, especially on clean settings.  If you want a really "HD" type of modern tone, they're not bad.  They'd probably be excellent if you're running effects constantly.  If you like vintagey tone, they're probably not for you.