The Lace Helix: Sleek, Seductive, a Little Twisted

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The Lace Helix is one of the first instruments to be produced by pickup pioneer Lace Music Products. The southern California company designed the Helix to be a true 21st century instrument: stylish, innovative, and uniquely engineered.

If you had any doubt about that, you won't after you sight down the neck, which is twisted 20 degrees. A twisted neck? Yes, and for your own good. The turn follows the natural curvature of your hand, as it moves up and down the fingerboard, thus eliminating the stress that comes from twisting your hand around to chord a standard fretboard.

It's an innovation that you might not notice at first glance, but you will after playing the Helix for hours, with no elbow or wrist pain.

Lace's patented Dual Compound Split Radius fingerboard compensates for the twist in the neck, preventing the guitar from fretting out.

The locking Sperzel machines, in conjunction with the ABM bridge, keep the Helix in tune.

The Helix's design and execution has been met with much praise by the guitar industry, including two recent awards for excellence. Harmony Central ranked it number 8 in its 2000 Golden Axe Awards, praising its design and noting that the neck allowed for "better playability." Meanwhile, Gig Magazine presented the Helix with its "Prove It All Night Award," reserved for guitars that actually meet or exceed their promise. The magazine praised both the guitar's look and sound, comparing its tone to "playing a Strat on steroids."

The Helix comes in solid black, red, or blue, with a suggested retail price of $2,490. Two-tone versions are $2,750, while three-tone bursts retail for $2,950. Substitute pickups and an ABM tremelo option are also available.

Lace Music Products is located at 5561 Engineer Drive, Huntington Beach, CA 92649. The company can be reached at (800) 575-5223 or on the web at www.lacemusic.com.