Lace Introduces ActoTone Acoustic System
for Electric Guitars
 January 29, 1999
With the flick of a toggle switch,
a guitarist can now have his or her electric instrument sound more like an acoustic
flattop, courtesy of the ActoTone(TM) pickup system. The system is one of the
latest products released by Lace Music Products, a division of Actodyne General
in Southern California.
"It produces an acceptable acoustic tone and makes a Strat sound like
an entirely different instrument," said Don Lace Jr., whose father started
Actodyne General 20 years ago.
The
ActoTone is a passive system, which piggy-backs off the electronics already
in the guitar. Because of this, a guitarist never has to worry about a battery
pack to achieve the change in tone.
The one-inch black cube is installed by replacing one of the tone pots on a
three single-coil pickup guitar, a process that can be done in approximately
15 minutes, Lace said. Currently, the ActoTone is only available for guitars
with three single-coil pickups and was so designed because approximately 85%
of guitars are configured that way.
"You take off the pickguard, splice in the wires and you're all set,"
said Lace. "It's a very simple process and that allows the guitarist greater
versatility."
Asked how the product works, Jeff Lace, vice president of engineering, smiled
and said: "If I told you I'd have to kill you." The less whimsical
answer is that the system shifts and redistributes the frequency of the guitar,
causing amplifiers to read the electrical impulses as acoustic tone instead
of electric.
The suggested retail price for the ActoTone is $109.95.
Lace Music Products, a division of Actodyne General, can be reached at its
web site at www.agi-lace.com.
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