Baggs M-1 Trouble in OM-03

[bransonb]

I have a Baggs M-1 passive I run to a Para-DI in my Gibson Hummingbird. The M-1 worked perfectly in the Hummingbird right out of the box and I'm very happy with it. I now want to amplify my OM-03 so I transfered the M-1 to the OM-03, running the 12 ft cable out the sound hole to the Para-DI. I was surprised to get little or no output. The 6th string was hotter, but the sound people in two separate venues were unable to get a usuable signal and we had to mic the OM-03.

Before installing the strap jack in the Hummingbird I used the 12 ft cable out the sound hole to the Para-DI with excellent results. I've since restored the M-1 to the Hummingbird with internal cable and it again works perfectly. I'm using Martin phosphor bronze 4100 strings on the OM-03.

I'm wondering if the slightly wider string spacing between the OM-03 and the Hummingbird is the culprit, and if the pole pieces need adjustment for use in the OM-03. Reading back through old threads here I don't see any indication that anyone found this necessary. But for those of you using the M-1 in your OM-03 or other 1.75 nut width guitar, did you have to adjust the pole pieces to get a usuable output? Any other ideas? I do have an inquiry in to Baggs Technical Support but they haven't as yet responded. Thanks in advance.

[LaminateBoy]

I use the M-1 passive in my L-04 and it works perfectly. I suspect there may have been an issue with the way the pickup was installed on your guitar. Maybe a cable was pinched or the pin was not seated properly in the jack. I would give it another go.

[tuffythepug]

The M-1 passive pickup / para-acoustic DI combination works perfectly on my OM-03R.  It's installed the way your Hummingbird is set up.  Since my OM-03R is left-handed I did have to remove the pole pieces and reverse their sequence in order to have it sound corrrect.   String spacing had nothing to do with it.   I would suspect a loose connection or short circuit having to do with the way it was installed in the OM-03.  I'd check to make sure that the cord supplied with the unit is plugged all the way in when you have it connected to the M-1 in the OM-03.   since it has to undergo a pretty sharp bend to go out the soundhole rather than the endpin jack.  It might have just pulled out a bit when you made the bend.

[bransonb]

Thanks LB and tuffy for your replies. tuffy, I had searched threads and saw that you were
running the same rig so I was particularly happy you were able to respond.

I spent some time on the phone with Brian of Baggs Technical Support this week. He was
puzzled by my report as well. So I ran another test last night. I set up my M-1 in the OM-03
with the 12 ft. cable out to the Para-DI and into a bass amp. The pole pieces were in good
position under the strings and I maxed the gain on the Para-DI. It was definitely louder
than when I ran this test before. Loud enough for the amp to feed back in fact. (Caused by
the 5th and 6th strings, I believe, which sound hotter than the other four.) So I'm baffled
as to what was going on when I tried to play out with this rig. Remember the output wasn't
dead, just so low as to be unusable. I'm thinking the string alignment over the pole pieces
was not optimum. But in adjusting the positioning of the pickup last night I wasn't able to
misalign it. Oh well.

My plan now is to buy the OM-03 its own M-1 and cable internally to the strap jack. Then try
playing out again. If it works for you guys it's got to work for me. Thanks again.

[russski1]

Having a little hiss out of my baggs....

[bransonb]

Here's an update:

I purchased the OM-03 its own M-1 passive and installed it with the cable running internally.

The Larrivee endpin is a joy to work with, by the way. It's easily removed with an Allen wrench revealing a perfect 1/2-inch hole for the end jack. Should the OM-03 ever become pickup-less, the original endpin can go back on as it was the day I removed it. Great design.

Happily, the newly installed M-1 is producing the expected volume. I have no idea what was wrong when I transferred my other M-1 a few months back.

One interesting similarity to my earlier experience, though, is the 6th string again is substantially hotter than the others. In addition to the string imbalance, this results in way too much bass. I've backed off the 6th string pole piece so that it sits well below the pickup body but, so far, can only tame the response with help from the sound person. I'm not even able to roll off enough bass on my Para-DI to control it myself. Still a work in progress, I guess, and confounding because the M-1 in the Hummingbird was perfectly balanced right out of the box. But at least I am able now to perform plugged in and comments from the audience indicate the M-1/Para-DI/OM-03 rig sounds great.

Something else I find interesting: the rap on sound-hole pickups is they have a magnetic/electric sound, and I agree. But this is very easily rectified by scooping the midrange with an EQ. I've enjoyed excellent results running the M-1 with the Para-DI EQd this way in my Hummingbird. Surprisingly, though, the magnetic/electric pickup sound is not apparent with the M-1 in the OM-03. So except for rolling off the bass to try to temper the 6th string, I'm running the Para-DI EQ for the OM-03 flat.

Clearly, the M-1 becomes a different animal when installed in a different guitar.