Baggs anthem or fishman matrix blend

[crh2674]

Ok so after a lot of thinking and watching various videos and reviews on all different pickup and or mic systems I've decided to go with either the baggs anthem or the fishman matrix blend. Wondering if anyone could help me out with some thoughts on either one or both.

Thanks

Chris Hayes

[rokdog49]

I have the Anthem SL which is the similar but not exactly same as the Anthem. Both are dual-source system with a UST and a microphone.
I like mine and have an SL in three different guitars.
The Anthem has the "blend" feature which works a little differently than the SL. The SL is a simpler system, sort of a "set it and forget it" type of deal.
I have not heard the Fishman except on You Tube videos. Fishman makes good stuff. I have the Platinum Pro D.I./ EQ which is top notch.
I'm afraid I can't be of much help here, but I think either one would be a great choice.

[stevecuss]

Originally Posted by crh2674

Ok so after a lot of thinking and watching various videos and reviews on all different pickup and or mic systems I've decided to go with either the baggs anthem or the fishman matrix blend. Wondering if anyone could help me out with some thoughts on either one or both.

Thanks

Chris Hayes

I've had both and I vote the Anthem by a good margin. Baggs changed the 2 source game with their crossover, allowing the mic to do the heavy lifting, instead of just enhancing tone. With the Fishman, you'll never get more than 20% of mic in the signal in many settings, but with the Anthem you can use the mic even in a band setting - its pretty remarkable.

My beef with the anthem is how the UST can dampen unplugged acoustic sound. It was noticeable when I installed it, although honestly, it may well have come back over time, but it always bothered me.

But for 2 source systems, I think the Anthem is the best option on the market

[rokdog49]

Originally Posted by stevecuss

My beef with the anthem is how the UST can dampen unplugged acoustic sound. It was noticeable when I installed it, although honestly, it may well have come back over time, but it always bothered me.

But for 2 source systems, I think the Anthem is the best option on the market

I never really noticed the "dampening" effect. Maybe the install or just my bad hearing. I do agree that the the Anthem or Anthem SL is top notch.

[stevecuss]

Originally Posted by rokdog49

I never really noticed the "dampening" effect. Maybe the install or just my bad hearing. I do agree that the the Anthem or Anthem SL is top notch.

Yeah, I don't think it is across the board. I actually replaced a Fishman Matrix with an Anthem in my Mcilroy Jumbo which is a satin finish guitar with scads of overtones.

In my case, I installed it, strung it up and played it and thought, "whoa, where did my volume go?" The Baggs UST definitely dampened the volume compared to the Fishman UST. It was significant, so I googled it and that's when I found scores of folks who had the same issue. But here is what I also know: several people have installed Anthems with zero issue AND its entirely possible that once the UST settled over time, the projection came back slowly without me noticing, but it always bothered me enough to eventually move away from the Anthem to a SBT solution.

[rokdog49]

I just put two of them in two different dreads...both still loud.
I don't know?/

[Petty1818]

Originally Posted by stevecuss

Yeah, I don't think it is across the board. I actually replaced a Fishman Matrix with an Anthem in my Mcilroy Jumbo which is a satin finish guitar with scads of overtones.

In my case, I installed it, strung it up and played it and thought, "whoa, where did my volume go?" The Baggs UST definitely dampened the volume compared to the Fishman UST. It was significant, so I googled it and that's when I found scores of folks who had the same issue. But here is what I also know: several people have installed Anthems with zero issue AND its entirely possible that once the UST settled over time, the projection came back slowly without me noticing, but it always bothered me enough to eventually move away from the Anthem to a SBT solution.

I am still on the fence about this one. I had heard about the dampening issue but decided that the Anthem was the best option out there. I haven't liked the unplugged tone of my Taylor since installing it. Here's the thing though, the action was brought down a bit so that could be contributing more to the tonal/volume change than the UST. That part is often overlooked. I wonder how many people who notice a change, actually completely matched their original action after the install? Still, I might remove the UST some time and just add a temporary saddle at the same height to see if the tone is improved. I didn't notice so much of a volume drop, mine was more so a change in the bass response.

[rokdog49]

You may have hit on something here. My tech made sure the action remained the same by pre-measuring the saddle and putting everything back just like it was.
He told me if there were any issues, he would fix them. He has installed a lot of these and a lot of other systems.

[MrErikJ]

Originally Posted by stevecuss

Yeah, I don't think it is across the board. I actually replaced a Fishman Matrix with an Anthem in my Mcilroy Jumbo which is a satin finish guitar with scads of overtones.

In my case, I installed it, strung it up and played it and thought, "whoa, where did my volume go?" The Baggs UST definitely dampened the volume compared to the Fishman UST. It was significant, so I googled it and that's when I found scores of folks who had the same issue. But here is what I also know: several people have installed Anthems with zero issue AND its entirely possible that once the UST settled over time, the projection came back slowly without me noticing, but it always bothered me enough to eventually move away from the Anthem to a SBT solution.

My luthier/tech told me that he prefers the K&K Mini over the Anthem as it has the least impact on the guitar's volume. He said he measured the drop in volume due to the K&K being installed on the base plate at abut 3hz and the Anthem was more than that. That makes sense as it has not only a piezo element under the saddle (interrupts energy transfer from saddle to bridge) but a microphone glued to the bridge plate (will absorb bridge energy). He did give it props on sounding good, but he noted that it kinda sounds the same in each guitar. That's according to his ears, I can't verify. Personally, I don't care for the sound of the Element so I don't prefer the Anthem.

I'm sure quality of install will make a big difference, but it's far from an unobtrusive system.

[rokdog49]

Originally Posted by MrErikJ

My luthier/tech told me that he prefers the K&K Mini over the Anthem as it has the least impact on the guitar's volume. He said he measured the drop in volume due to the K&K being installed on the base plate at abut 3hz and the Anthem was more than that. That makes sense as it has not only a piezo element under the saddle (interrupts energy transfer from saddle to bridge) but a microphone glued to the bridge plate (will absorb bridge energy). He did give it props on sounding good, but he noted that it kinda sounds the same in each guitar. That's according to his ears, I can't verify. Personally, I don't care for the sound of the Element so I don't prefer the Anthem.

I'm sure quality of install will make a big difference, but it's far from an unobtrusive system.

The Anthem and Anthem SL are supposed to emulate the "voice" of each guitar and IMHO, they do that. I have stated that I own three different guitars with Anthem SL's in them and I can tell you they don't sound the same to me at all.