LR Baggs Session DI

[guitaniac]

Originally Posted by Petty1818

Very true, that's a good point. To simplify things though, there will be compression within this pedal. I am definitely interested to hear it. Again, I feel as though demoes will not really showcase how much of a difference this pedal can make. I bet in a live setting a player will really notice the benefits of using the Session.

Its my belief that the Session DI should (if it works as intended) cause a very noticeable improvement in one's unprocessed (except for EQ adjustments) direct-from-pickup recorded sound. After all, it was the unexpected excellence of their studio recordings (according to Lloyd Baggs) which inspired them to create a portable device which could apply the studio tricks responsible for their better-than-expected recording results.

[Petty1818]

Originally Posted by guitaniac

Its my belief that the Session DI should (if it works as intended) cause a very noticeable improvement in one's unprocessed (except for EQ adjustments) direct-from-pickup recorded sound. After all, it was the unexpected excellence of their studio recordings (according to Lloyd Baggs) which inspired them to create a portable device which could apply the studio tricks responsible for their better-than-expected recording results.

There's no doubt that the Session will improve the tone of a pickup. All I am saying is that I don't believe it will be as dramatic of a change as something like the Aura that basically eliminates the piezo quack/tone and introduces a more mic-like quality. With that said, it's complete speculation at the moment. I am assuming that we should have a video or two within the next three days unless Baggs waits until after NAMM to release anything.

[Joseph Hanna]

Originally Posted by guitaniac

Its my belief that the Session DI should (if it works as intended) cause a very noticeable improvement in one's unprocessed (except for EQ adjustments) direct-from-pickup recorded sound.

I'm pretty certain Gary that the EQ will come from the multi-band compression and obviously be pre-set. This piece seems to follow in the footsteps of the Lyric in that the assumption from Baggs is many, many end users either can't or don't want to imbibe in the rabbit hole of tweaking. I tend to whole heartedly agree.

That said there will be some here that struggle with it because they approach the player vs product conundrum from a perspective of a round hole with a square peg. As an example what I discovered with the Lyric was the less and less I futzed with and the more and more I played "to it" The better it sounded. If I would have tried to bend and shape and EQ the thing to what I thought should be happening rather than simply adjusting my right hand and thought process, I would have abandoned it long ago.

This box will affect folks similarly.

[guitaniac]

As I understood Lloyd Baggs's comment, Joseph, the Baggs folks had already EQed to taste (and gotten the best sound they could) before turning things over to the studio engineer and his bag of tricks. That's why I was thinking the Session DI (which is supposedly designed to do what the studio engineer did) would be more of a post EQ thing. Perhaps you are right, however, as an "easy fix" device would certainly have a marketable appeal.

[Joseph Hanna]

Originally Posted by guitaniac

As I understood Lloyd Baggs's comment, Joseph, the Baggs folks had already EQed to taste (and gotten the best sound they could) before turning things over to the studio engineer and his bag of tricks. That's why I was thinking the Session DI (which is supposedly designed to do what the studio engineer did) would be more of a post EQ thing. Perhaps you are right, however, as an "easy fix" device would certainly have a marketable appeal.

Well..a studio engineer's job is to "react" to a set of sonic issues presented to him/her in any particular moment. No studio engineer (that I'm aware of) has tools of any nature that would work effectively across the immense diversities that make up acoustic guitar players. There can however be some general truths when it comes to live acoustic guitar pickups of which I suspect Baggs has addressed.

A multi-band compressor may indeed be the single most useful tool available for a live guitar sound but they're complicated and the thought of someone on a band gig tweaking a 4 segment multi-band compressor would send most to the looney bin. A pre-set multi-band however may not address specifics but I could see where it might be very, very effective.

Again however it would require a user to, on some level, surrender to those very pre-sets. Once someone starts pre-eq'ing and pre-compressing the baby gets thrown out with the bath water.

[guitaniac]

We already know that Fishman film UST-equipped guitars tend to work best with the stock Fishman Aura sound images, simply because those sound images were created using Fishman film UST-equipped guitars. Its quite possible that we'll be looking at a similar set of circumstances regarding the Session DI and the various Baggs pickups which they've employed in the development of the Session DI.

That said, I'm still very curious to hear some "before and after" (dry versus processed by the Session DI) sound samples with various guitar/pickup rigs. I'd also like to see the Session DI control settings which are used with each demo rig. I've already made that request, as a response to their latest Session DI promo video.

[Petty1818]

Originally Posted by guitaniac

We already know that Fishman film UST-equipped guitars tend to work best with the stock Fishman Aura sound images, simply because those sound images were created using Fishman film UST-equipped guitars. Its quite possible that we'll be looking at a similar set of circumstances regarding the Session DI and the various Baggs pickups which they've employed in the development of the Session DI.

That said, I'm still very curious to hear some "before and after" (dry versus processed by the Session DI) sound samples with various guitar/pickup rigs. I'd also like to see the Session DI control settings which are used with each demo rig. I've already made that request, as a response to their latest Session DI promo video.

I hope Lr Baggs posts some videos soon. I find that generally the best products are shown at NAMM on Friday and Saturday so it might still be a bit of a wait.

With that said, I still think the Session DI is quite a bit different than the Aura. I feel as though it will work with any pickup system by any manufacturer but will essentially warm up the tone and make it more studio quality. The Aura was specifically designed for the Fishman Matrix so it's a little more limited in that sense.

[akagilligan]

Wish price and availability was reported.

[guitaniac]

Thanks for posting the vid. It was especially nice to get some idea of what multi-band compression is and why its used. I never knew what to call it, but now I understand that the "smooth" control on my old Fishman Platinum Pro EQ preamp engages a selected-band compressor which suppresses a piezo quack-prone band of frequencies when playing hard.

On the subject of piezo quack, it sounds like an LB6 in that Olson that Doyle Dykes is playing. Some of the "crispy critters" (the sound of crinkling cellophane) are still apparent in the amplified sound, but its still a rather "phat" and pleasing sound. I can see how the Session DI would fatten up the relatively thin sound of the Tru Mic in the Anthem and Lyric systems. I'm not sure that everyone would want to fatten that sound, but I probably would. The saturation factor is undoubtedly one of the reasons why Ricky Scaggs's direct-from-Lyric recording sounded better to me than any of the Lyric-equipped guitars that I've worked with as a soundman.

[ntik]

how much is cost?

[dberkowitz]

I have to wonder about about their loose use of the term multiband compression. By definition, multiband compression at a minimum requires defining a frequency or frequency range as well as hard/soft, threshold, ratio, and makeup gain (if necessary). Looks like they've got a stacked pot with a sweepable frequency and a preset compressor that you can increase or decrease. Certainly a compromise, and not really multiband in terms of the ability to dial in what you need.

[akagilligan]

Sent a link to thread off to someone over at Baggs that helped me on something else. Maybe they'll post some info.

[akagilligan]

Wonder what it would have looked like had they added the saturation and "compEQ" to the Venue?

[Petty1818]

The video was definitely not great but at least we have something to hear finally. It does look like the Session DI is a lot like I had assumed. It doesn't seem to change the characteristic of a pickup, it just warms and fattens it up. For example, a UST is still going to have the "quacky" tone that we all know.

With that said, I think I am actually more excited about this DI than I was before. I can't tell you how many times I have wanted to warm up and fatten my plugged in tone but have been limited by eq. Turning up the bass will obviously give a lower tone but that to me isn't really fattening my tone. I have always wished that I could click a switch and have all of the strings fatten up without cranking the bass and getting nothing but a low and muddy tone. It seems as though this DI wil need to be auditioned in person to really hear and feel the results.

Lr Baggs posted a short video on their Instagram where two musicians are using a Taylor and fiddle. I am not sure what the pickups are but this could indicate that the Session was designed to work with any pickup, even ones not made by Baggs.

[Joseph Hanna]

Originally Posted by dberkowitz

I have to wonder about about their loose use of the term multiband compression. By definition, multiband compression at a minimum requires defining a frequency or frequency range as well as hard/soft, threshold, ratio, and makeup gain (if necessary). Looks like they've got a stacked pot with a sweepable frequency and a preset compressor that you can increase or decrease. Certainly a compromise, and not really multiband in terms of the ability to dial in what you need.

Two thoughts come to mind. First I do understand this to be a "by definition" multiband compressor. The parameters however are preset. I'm guessing that the moniker "comp/EQ" knob is a simplification as indeed as a multiband compressor's threshold is lowered (in this case lowered meaning the knob is turned up) the EQ curve changes dramatically.

The second thought that comes to mind is Baggs appears to be going down the road of the keep it simple mind set. The grand, grand majority of weekend warriors (who of course is Lloyd's demographic) haven't much of a clue about the nitty gritty of the more complex audio devices. Some struggle with basic and fundamental audio issues and ideas. Put an average weekend warrior on stage with a typical 4-band (or 3-band) multiband compressor and I'd think the options (and the anxiety that options create) and the somewhat complex parameters would ultimately do more harm than good. Obviously in this case a pre-set multiband is a very broad brush stroke but I suspect the frequencies and curves were selected in a manner to cover the most ground for the most egregious and notorious pickup anomalies.

As I mentioned to Gary earlier sometimes and for some folks there's far more sonic gains to be had by a simple setup and concentrating more on the right hand and then ultimately their performance, than by a complex stage environment.

I'm digging the idea of this box.