THE FIRST FENDER BASS DESIGN, IN
1951, had a body much heavier and larger
than a normal solid-body guitar, so Leo
Fender gave it cutaways for better balance.
In doing so, he locked in what would
become a traditional look for almost all
electric basses in the future. Since that
time, many bass manufactures have stuck
to some form of this conventional look,
but occasionally a company pushes the
envelope of design with a mass-produced
instrument, and such is the case with Lace
Music’s Helix basses.
Primarily known for their innovative
pickups, Lace Music stepped into instrument
design back in 2008, using their own
Alumitone pickups in the “L” bass (Soundroom,
March ’08). At the 2009 NAMM
show, I dropped by their “Lace Mobile
Sound Room,” a groovy 1950 Silver Streak
trailer, and gave one of their newer bolton
neck basses a spin. It was nice, especially
for the money ($420 street).
With the Helix neck-through line of
basses, however, Lace changed the place
of manufacture (Indonesia instead of
China) and doubled the price. So, with a
fretted and fretless 5 string in hand, I put
the new version through the paces.
GETTING PHYSICAL
Let’s talk body. The shape of the Helix gestures
back to the 1978 Ovation Magnum,
especially in terms of the upper horns. Like
the Magnum, the Helix also sports a
mahogany body and unconventional knob
design. Known for its warm and thick tone,
mahogany has a rich heritage in basses
(Gibson’s ’53 EB-1 was made from
mahogany, for example), and the neckthrough
design of the Lace basses may add
to the wood’s long sustain. In terms of aesthetics, symmetry is the name of the game
here. The body’s shape is mirrored in its
headstock and even in the truss rod cover.
The newest versions of the Helix are
made in Indonesia, a move that makes it
possible to manufacture a neck-through
bass for under $1,000, but the construction
of the bass left a little to be desired
in terms of attention to details. The test
model fretted 5-string had several blemishes
in the finish, and the lines between
the laminate in the neck were uneven, giving
its accents a painted-on look.
Although both models required quite a bit
of adjustment, for the most part I was able
to dial them in; the action, however, must
be kept at medium to high to avoid fretbuzz
if you tend to play aggressively.
SOUNDING OFF
The Helix sports a pair of Lace’s signature
pickups, the Bass Bar Alumitone, which
feature zero noise, ultra-wide frequency
response, and light weight. Overall, the five
strings weighed a mere 7.6 lbs, thanks in
part to pickups that use 95-percent less copper
wire then standard pickup designs, need
no pre-amp, and only weigh around 3
ounces each. Lace pickups rely on “currentdriven”
technology only available through
Lace and are passive (check out the March
’08 review for more on this intriguing pickup
design). The low string on both basses felt
a bit loose for my taste, but the B string was
throaty, with good presence. Favoring the
front pickup control, I got a muddy, tubby
sound, but bringing in the rear pickup made
it punchy enough to cut through a mix. Still,
as a whole, these basses’ tones were a little
on the dark side, although I could get a bit
more distinction thanks to a tone knob that
doesn’t play around; the Helix’s tone control
provides much more cut than the typical
circuit.
These two basses share all the same
features, woods, and electronics, except
for the twisted “H” inlay that is found on
the fretted version. Unfortunately, both
basses also shared a common problem:
dead notes. Each test bass had areas on
its neck where notes lost their resonance.
Also, both basses exhibited another perplexing
phenomenon. Playing the octave
on the “G” string, and those immediately
surrounding it, produced a particularly
wolf-y note that seemed to fluctuate in
and out of tune. It would be nice to see
these issues addressed in the next model
so that players aren’t required to avoid
certain areas.
In the end, I applaud Lace for pushing
against convention in their design. The
basses excel at dark and dubby tones and
have an interesting midrange texture and
personality, but for this kind of money I
look forward to a better construction.
LACE HELIX
Helix Neck-Thru 5, Neck-Thru 5 Fretless
Street Neck-Thru 5, $829; Neck-Thru 5
Fretless, $829
Pros Artsy design, interesting pickups, and
excellent thick and dubby tones
Cons Some dead notes on neck
TECH SPECS
Weight 7.6 lbs.
Made in Body, Indonesia; pickups and
assembly, U.S.A.
Warranty Five years limited (bass); lifetime
limited (pickups)
Contact www.lacemusic.com