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
Personally, I like the simplicity and natural sound of the K&K with a XLR preamp.
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
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.
Quote from: Michael T on September 25, 2010, 04:30:47 AM
Personally, I like the simplicity and natural sound of the K&K with a XLR preamp.
:+1:
I'm a K&K fan.
Ed
I like K & K too.
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
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.
I use an LR Baggs active I-Beam in my L03SP.I don't see how anything could sound any better.
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.
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.
LR Baggs is real nice but K&K Pure Western Mini would be my preference, IMO...have had both.
What's the consensus on the LR Baggs M1A?
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.
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.
Quote from: Wannabee on October 18, 2010, 09:34:56 PM
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!
@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
Quote from: Wannabee on December 01, 2010, 10:30:30 PM
@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!
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..
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. :bgrin:
Thinking about a used L-09E with the Baggs 2 stereo. I cant find a manual - what do I need to know? eg can I run it through my Radial DI and then to the mixer?
Jack
Thinking about a used L-09E with the Baggs 2 stereo. I cant find a manual - what do I need to know? eg can I run it through my Radial DI and then to the mixer?
Jack
There is a good discussion on preamps/DI on this thread LINK (http://www.larriveeforum.com/smf/index.php?topic=34677.0)
-Billy
Quote from: Strings4Him on November 22, 2010, 04:48:55 PM
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.
The baggs system in my lv03r was not properly installed by factory. I would recommend to have it done by a local tech, then you can choose the setup and complain if it's not good.
Quote from: frankhond on December 08, 2010, 01:49:29 AM
I would recommend to have it done by a local tech, then you can choose the setup and complain if it's not good.
Very good advice!
i put a jjb 330 in my L-03. great natural tone and sounds just like the guitar, only louder. isn't that what we all want? high recommendations to jjb pickups, and a great price too. i run mine through a LR Baggs DI and Boss tuner... Boss gets the ohms matched up when paired.
Quote from: Wannabee on October 18, 2010, 09:34:56 PM
I use an LR Baggs active I-Beam in my L03SP.I don't see how anything could sound any better.
:+1:
also the baggs imix no cuts are AMAZING
Here is a demo of the Anthem from Acoustic Guitar. How nice it is in a Larrivee. I have one now in my FIII and run it direct into a PA board or into a Crate amp. I like it both ways. I just have the basic Anthem without the balance control, but like it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNJwDq3OV6o&feature=feedrec_grec_index
PS: I would love to have one of these guitars in a 12 string version.
Another vote for the K&K pure mini. It's my favorite. I also had the K&K Trinity system in my Taylor 814C but I didn't care for the mini-microphone set-up and always kept it turned off and just used the three mini pickups/sensors. The K&K microphone did add some "air" to the sound but I had feedback problems and thought my guitar sounded better without it. The K&K preamp does improve the tone a lot - but I've heard other guitars with just the mini sensors run through a nice mixer and they sounded just fine. I've also used the Sunrise soundhole pickup and preamp and liked the tone I got...but I don't use it anymore. It's heavy and I think the top vibrates better without it. I also gotten good sound with the Fishman undersaddle Matrix Infinity run through the Fishman Aura Acoustic Imaging Pedal. But all that said, I've gone back to the K&K Pure Mini and K&K Pre-amp.
My D09 and L09 had factory installed UST (Fishman Acoustic Matrix), I have just had K&K Pure Mini installed into my JCL Re-issue and in comparison the K&K sounds a lot more 'acoustic' /natural, its a passive system and does not need the periodic 9v battery change either. I was pleasantly surprised at how good the K&K mini sounded, its also quite a cost effective solution at ~$80. I use it through my Roland AC33 and love it.
My vote for ease of installation & plug in & play is the LR Baggs Ibeam w/vol. control. Its real easy to install these pickups & everything is pre-wired & ready to roll. As with any bridgeplate pickup, location is crutical! Directly under the saddle gives a fast response & snap but i've had great sucess with attaching the Ibeam in closer to the ball-ends towards the back side of the saddle. It cuts down the mids a bit & keeps the bass tight & trebs nice & clear. Every guitar is different though so take the time to experiment for the sound your looking for...that's why Baggs includes an extra 2-3 Ibeam strips for re-location.
i have tried a few fishman rare earth dreadfull, it was single coil so couldnt stop the buzzing, then tried baggs M1 good sound but last year i bought the LR Baggs Anthem microphone/piazio pick up sounds awsome really good, you dont get that treble sound that so many guitars have it sounds like the nearest thing to micing the guitar up. The one i have is a 50/50 slpit and you can't alter the mic and piazio, but for a little more money you can get a fader version. My Larrivee is an 2000 L10.
Quote from: Garron on April 09, 2011, 08:22:05 AM
i have tried a few fishman rare earth dreadfull, it was single coil so couldnt stop the buzzing, then tried baggs M1 good sound but last year i bought the LR Baggs Anthem microphone/piazio pick up sounds awsome really good, you dont get that treble sound that so many guitars have it sounds like the nearest thing to micing the guitar up. The one i have is a 50/50 slpit and you can't alter the mic and piazio, but for a little more money you can get a fader version. My Larrivee is an 2000 L10.
I love the Baggs Anthem. I too have the lower priced model but you can still
alter the amount of mic/piezo. There is a very small phillips screw next to the
volume fader and that alters the balance to whatever you like. The more
expensive version just has the control readily available as fader.
I don't think any of the "standard" pickups JCL have used over the years are "best pickup for Larrivee" as such, merely good pickups that he used at some period of time for whatever reasons he had at the time. Mostly I guess it is around business economics. I do know that the switch from B-Band to Baggs was an "American content" - thing and not one being "better" than the other.
Fact is both those and the Fishmans are good pickups, and so are K&K, DTar, Sunrise, Highlander and a host of others too.
I think once one makes up your mind around a no-cut or Barn-door design, AST or UST or Mic or Magnetic and/or all the different combo's of those that are available, it is pretty much up to personal preference.
There are fans around here for each brand that was used before and the others mentioned.
For comparing, this is a very good resource : http://www.dougyoungguitar.com/pickuptests/
I prefer the K & K as well.
K&K trinity western for my C-10.
Installed them myself: piece of cake.
Had K&K in my Hofner HM-83 Classic: very natural sound!
Again installed them myself: piece of cake.
Have a 2004 Taylor 610-CE with ES. Doesn't come close.
Have a Cort CJ10X-12 with Fishman Stereo Blender with UnderSaddlePiezo and mic. Doesn't come close.
I am in for a J09-12 without electronics and will install K&K again without hesitation.
Have a Ricardo Sanchis Carpio 1A: consider K&K again.