Best Pick Up for a Larrivee?

[shawnishere]

Is LR baggs the best pickup for a Larrivee? I had past experience with it and it sounds awesome. Wondering if there's a better pickup system

[Michael T]

Personally, I like the simplicity and natural sound of the K&K with a XLR preamp.

[musicrowscott]

I have experienced playing Larrivees with Fishman Aura , LR Baggs Imix and LR Baggs Anthem...Love either of the Baggs! The Anthem is brand new, but so far in the 4 venues I've been plugged in, have been very happy with it. Thats in my OM-03 MT, not sure I'd like it as much in my D-10...sometimes I need a little more control over bass and treble depending on the room so I am very happy with the Imix for that one.

Cheers,

S

[Biggs]

My favorites are the Baggs Element and/or Fishman Matrix through a Fishman Aura Spectrum.  Without the Spectrum they are decent p/u's but with it, they take on a who new character.  I know a lot of folks don't like UST's but, using them through this simple pedal, has made a noticeable improvement in my overall sound.  Half the fun is experimenting with the EQ, blend and compressor settings. 

[eded]

Personally, I like the simplicity and natural sound of the K&K with a XLR preamp.

I'm a K&K fan.

Ed

[carruth]

I like K & K too.

[kennykoa]

Larrivee D-05E with its IMix Notch System dialed to full Element with guitar's output routed through a Fishman Aura pedal--any of them!

Regards,

KennyKoa

[tuffythepug]

The term " best" is, of course subjective.   I think the K & K pure western mini works perfectly in my 000-50.   But I'm reasonably happy with the LR Baggs M-1 passive that I use on my OM-03R.  That's two completely different approaches to acoustic amplification and I like them both for what they are.   The K & K is by far the most natural sounding to my ears.
I run both of these through a Baggs DI pre-amp.   I've never used a Baggs internal pickups but they have many fans here on the forum.      I like either of these systems better than the Fishman UST that I used to use.

[Wannabee]

   I use an LR Baggs active I-Beam in my L03SP.I don't see how anything could sound any better.

[Glennd]

I have only tried or heard one system in a Larrivee so the experience is thus limited. I have a Fishman Blend in an LV-10. SOunds great and good deal of flexibility, played straight to a Carvin PA.

[greentrees]

My new-to-me C-9 has the Aura pro, and for owning it only 3 weeks, I'm in love with this pickup.  I assume you guys know what it's about.  I called Larrivee yesterday and talked with one of the staff in the California shop, and he had some great things to say about the Aura.  For my guitar, it duplicates these 4 mics:

AKG D790  Close  B-Band UST 
Audio Tech. Pro 35X  Close  B-Band UST 
Carvin MK319  Close  B-Band UST 
Shure SM57  Close  B-Band UST

I did some more tracking with the AKG image today and must say it's incredibly solid.  I'm a fan.  We did one track with a Rode condenser/pre-amp'd mic, and the a 2nd layer with the AKG image through the onboard Aura pickup, they blended very nicely.

[bluesman67]

LR Baggs is real nice but K&K Pure Western Mini would be my preference, IMO...have had both.

[geodr]

What's the consensus on the LR Baggs M1A?

[cohenj]

I'm probably breaking from the rest of the gang, but I thought I'd put my two cents in.  My D-50 has a Fishman Matrix III and I run it through a Radial Tonebone Z-Pre, which I find to give me the cleanest most natural sound and the best routing and EQ options.  Not what's typical I guess, but it works well for me.  I use it live and in the studio.

[Strings4Him]

This is a good post, since I was wondering about the following.

Should I buy the standard Larrivee acoustic-electric with the factory-installed unit?

Or, should I have one installed on one of my acoustics?

It seems from the responses that most of you decided to have one installed.

[rvf263]

   I use an LR Baggs active I-Beam in my L03SP.I don't see how anything could sound any better.

I have a L-03SP also and just love this guitar. Even though I have it up for sale right now, I'm really hoping some of my other gear sells so I can keep it and install some type of pickup system.
I'm glad you posted about the LR Baggs active I-Beam
Do you have any recordings available of your L-03SP with the active I-Beam?

Thanks!

[Wannabee]

     @rvf263,  I will try to post a link for you to hear it.   

http://psalmsixtysix.com/html/tim_edington___friends.html

   This is me singing/playing with my friends Dian and Cristina,and my friend Ronnie playing some lead licks in the background on his Tak.Let me know what you think

[rvf263]

     @rvf263,  I will try to post a link for you to hear it.   

http://psalmsixtysix.com/html/tim_edington___friends.html

   This is me singing/playing with my friends Dian and Cristina,and my friend Ronnie playing some lead licks in the background on his Tak.Let me know what you think

Thanks!

[maLavvo]

I have an L.R. Baggs M1A and tried it on an OM-03, Tak 12 String and on a Taylor GA4.  It sounds pretty natural. Now it stays permanently on the Tak 12.   

I just installed an L.R. baggs iBeam Active (under saddle) on my Taylor, amazing sound as well.  Just decided to do an under-saddle for a cleaner setup not like the M1-A which is a soundhole pick-up.  The advantage of the soundhole pick-up, I can easily move it around from guitar-to-guitar without much hussle.

Now I have left 1 guitar without a pickup, considering my good experience in the LR Baggs models, I might try the anthem one or just go for the K&K who has been a very popular pick-up here in the Forum..

[canoe65]

Since early this year , I've been using a Dean Markley ProMag Plus XM model soundhole pickup.

I definitely didn't want to drill any holes and I didn't want 15 feet of instrument cable hanging out of the soundhole.

The XM model fits tightly into my L-03 soundhole, but the 'grips' are cushioned and leave no marks on the edge of the soundhole.

The XM has a short (about 18 inches) pre-wired cable that ends in a 1/4" jack housing that attaches to the guitar end strap button.

I only play 'plugged in' when I'm playing with my Church Folk Choir ... and I run my patch chord through a big bass amp ... this amp isn't being used by any other players in the choir ... it sounds pretty good.