i-beam placement (positioning)

[rustychicken]

any helpful hints on placement?  i've got an L-09,,not playing gigs,,,,main use will be for recording (along with condensor mic).   noticed while playing through an ultrasound, it was kind of nasaly and a lot of bass feedback, so i think a repositioning will be in order. right now, it is installed in the normal recommended way.
i'm going to try and move the treble side toward the ballpins, but i don't know about cutting some of the bass out.
appreciate any suggestions.

[drathbun]

Looks like no one is tackling this one. I'll give it a shot since I have two iBeams and have installed them both twice.

Pull the iBeam off and use the appliance and the sticky pads supplied by Baggs to reinstall. This time, mark on the clear plexi appliance the position of the iBeam before you install it. Look straight down over the iBeam and the appliance to get a good view of the placement while it is over the bridge. Line up so it is closer to the treble side and a bit further from the bass. Put the whole thing back inside and lightly touch the iBeam to the bridge plate. Then reattach the strings and tune up. Play it.

If not enough bass or treble, move closer to the saddle. If too much, move further away. Check with a mirror to ensure the iBeam is not off to one side more than another horizontally. Then you can readjust by pulling the iBeam out (rock it back and forth towards and away from the headstock) and reposition on the appliance again using the line you made as a reference. Use a different colour marker to indicate the new position and do it again.

Before you reinstall each time, reach inside with a piece of fine sandpaper and sand the bridge plate smooth. That gets rid of any bumps or extraneous bits of the tacky foam pad. If the sticky pad is still okay, reuse it. If it is ragged or dirty, use another one. Once you have the sound you want, reach inside and press down evenly and firmly along the entire iBeam to seat it properly.

[rustychicken]

thanks drathbun,,,i tried repositioning last night.  should have done the marker thing you mentioned. twice, i got it too close to the ball strings.  it's pretty darn close if i place the middle of the i-beam over the middle of the saddle. i can't really imagine getting it any closer to the ball ends.
i ended up positioning it towards the treble side a couple of millimeters as suggested. it's still bassy and with  feedback through the amp, sounds fine through headphones though.  i'm out of sticky pads, so i'll order from Baggs and try again using your input.  thanks a bunch.

[drathbun]

How close to the amp are you playing? What kind of amp. I can play right beside my Fender Acoustasonic 30 with my L05 without feedback, but I'm playing at volume 3. If you have feedback problems, use a feedback buster. They are cheap and slide in and out of the soundhole effortlessly.

Doug

[rustychicken]

playing an ultrasound ag50d.  not real loud and not too close.  it's not a horrible problem, but definitely more noticeable than my other guitar with a K&K mini. it's an om as opposed to an L.  i'm not too worried about feedback because i'm not gigging, but it would be nice to know i could.:GRN> ordered some strips from Baggs and will play around some more.

[C-10thunder]

How close to the amp are you playing? What kind of amp. I can play right beside my Fender Acoustasonic 30 with my L05 without feedback, but I'm playing at volume 3. If you have feedback problems, use a feedback buster. They are cheap and slide in and out of the soundhole effortlessly.

Doug

Could that be the problem I'm having with mine I wonder? Maybe it's not placed right. I get a lot of feedback but only from the "D" string,which makes no sense to me. Maybe I'll try one of those soundhole covers.Never thought of that till you mentioned it.
Ron

[rustychicken]

C-10,,,now that i repositioned it, the feedback i'm getting is from the D string too.  i did cut some of the bass from the E,,,it's more balanced, but that D is sensitive.
i think the I-beam is better for recording situations in general anyway. that thing runs pretty hot, and a lot of reviews i've looked up, it seems to be a common problem.  the Baggs site even says it's for low volume settings and recording.
odd thing is the K&K sounds much more natural out of the amp than the I-beam, and the I-beam sounds better and more natural through a recorder with headphones. go figure.

[lestrouble]

I just finished installed a new I beam active on my new Cort NTL20.....hmmm it sounds so good like a high end guitar...very clean and quite.

[charliep]

Hmmm...... I put an I-Beam active in my Taylor 310. Installed it according to manufacturer specs using the little jig and it sounds great either through my Fender Acoustisonic SFX or through the house system at church. I do run it through a Baggs PADI with the amp and through the house system. Good luck!!
CharlieP

[lestrouble]

my Cort NTL20 rocks big time with Avtive I Beam during the church camp........