New pickup review: BGM Elevation

[stevecuss]

First, the usual disclaimer and context: I am not an endorser/receive no financial benefit from BGM. Also, I have installed and/or played pickups from Baggs, Fishman, B Band (EMF), Mills mic and K&K. My main guitar (Mcilroy AJ20) has a Baggs Anthem SL in it. I believe many companies offer good solutions and each solution has strengths and weaknesses.

So...I have a late 90's Breedlove Atlas that needed a pickup. The Breedlove has the bridge doctor installed, which is a giant post that fixes on the center of the bridge plate and it is a pinless bridge. Hardly SBT friendly.

I was considering the JJB when I came across an AGF post on the BGM Elevation. Similar concept as the venerable K&K, but less price and also some higher grade materials. The pickup came quick and I installed it, putting the middle transducer just on the sound hole side of the bridge doctor. Plugged it in. Great highs, but very flabby mid/lows. The bridge doctor was definitely an issue as it forces a location almost a full inch away from where it should be.

I connected with Ken at BGM and he very kindly offered to send a prototype of a brass based SBT. I won't bore you with the details, but I'll just say Ken's customer service went way above and beyond the call - he committed to helping me navigate this new territory to figure out the bridge doctor. I installed the brass prototype. More gain than the previous Elevation and much less flab in the low mids, but still too much flab for me, so I snipped the middle transducer wire and tied it off. I knew we had a 3rd option, which was a lower gain set Ken sent, if the snipping proved fatal.

The snipping did the trick. We run a fairly high end PA with Avalon u5 preamp, so our system doesn't hide problems. The Elevation does everything a pickup should: great balanced sound - crisp, good gain, plenty of presence and warmth, really good gain before feedback, good balance across the strings. We run a fairly hot system and the Breedlove played happily with no feedback and very loud levels. I actually had to cut some highs in the 5k range to cut some of the presence. And of course the elevation has no quack, no mud, no feedback issues. Also, to state the obvious, super light weight, no battery. Overall it is a home run.

I can't say enough about Ken and his customer service - he's the real deal. I'm now trying to decide if I want to sell the Baggs Anthem for an Elevation in my Mcilroy. I have always appreciated Baggs products, but the idea of this quality sound with no battery and, most of all no under saddle really has me intrigued. Website is: http://www.bgmelectronics.com for those interested.

Cheers

Steve

[KarenB]

Hi Steve.

Glad this worked out so well for you.

Some questions:
What's the bass like on your guitar unamplified?
You got the 1.3?
Do you use a preamp?
Do you think (this might be a question for Ken) the prototype of a brass based SBT might be better for all guitars?
How do you think this pickup would be for people who do tapping or other percussive sounds?

There are no sound clips on the website. Hopefully they'll get to that soon.

Thanks.

[stevecuss]

Originally Posted by Antaren

Hi Steve.

Glad this worked out so well for you.

Some questions:
What's the bass like on your guitar unamplified?
You got the 1.3?
Do you use a preamp?
Do you think (this might be a question for Ken) the prototype of a brass based SBT might be better for all guitars?
How do you think this pickup would be for people who do tapping or other percussive sounds?

There are no sound clips on the website. Hopefully they'll get to that soon.

Thanks.

Ant,

Bass is pretty average on this guitar. Great guitar for the money, but it is a budget MIK Breedlove.

- I got the E3 brass version (custom by Ken.) To my ear, it had a good bit more gain than his standard model and yeah, I don't see a downside the brass, so I think its a good model to offer if Ken is interested.

- yes to preamp: we ran it through the Avalon U5, but when my son played in the youth band, it was direct box into digital mixer.

- good for percussive tapping, IMO. I find it has a classic SBT type response and is crisp and engaging

Here is a sound clip if it helps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ql1e1kHIspA

[Vancebo]

I learned from Teddy, the maker of the Dazzos that materials is everything. The piezo material, wire, etc. Also In my other thread I started about the Dazzo, someone brought up the patents on each. I do not know how it works but we have 3 different disc shaped pickups on the market now. Can't imagine how much different sounding they would be.

[SimplyLuo]

Wow that demo video sounded really nice. Just straight into an H4n...

There sure is a diverse range of pickups on the market now. I really like the Japanese SBTs too, like the OVAL WITZ and Enfini pickups. Wish they had more of a presence in the USA.

[Petty1818]

It definitely sounds nice. I am just not sure how this pickup differs from the K&K pure mini? I know they advertise higher quality components but the pickup itself looks identical to the pure mini. I guess it's nice to have options, it just doesn't seem like anything new.

[stevecuss]

Originally Posted by Petty1818

It definitely sounds nice. I am just not sure how this pickup differs from the K&K pure mini? I know they advertise higher quality components but the pickup itself looks identical to the pure mini. I guess it's nice to have options, it just doesn't seem like anything new.

Petty,

Yeah, I'm not sure either. My friend has K&K in his Goodall and Collings and I'm blown away at how great they both sound. For the Elevation, its pretty stunning sound quality for the price for sure.

[El Conquistador]

I run K&Ks in a couple of guitars and then decided to try out this BGM on a back-up guitar. I am very satisfied with it. In addition to the 3 disc set, Ken actually sent me a 4 disc system for free just because I asked what 4 discs brought to the party.

If you need a less expensive system, I can wholeheartedly recommend BGM.

Steve

[dogdog49]

Originally Posted by El Conquistador

I run K&Ks in a couple of guitars and then decided to try out this BGM on a back-up guitar. I am very satisfied with it. In addition to the 3 disc set, Ken actually sent me a 4 disc system for free just because I asked what 4 discs brought to the party.

If you need a less expensive system, I can wholeheartedly recommend BGM.

Steve

Did you try the 4 disc system?

[Rexfordbridge]

You guys have peaked my interest. Can anyone compare the K&K, Dazzo, JJB, and BGM?

[SpruceTop]

Originally Posted by stevecuss

Ant,

Bass is pretty average on this guitar. Great guitar for the money, but it is a budget MIK Breedlove.

- I got the E3 brass version (custom by Ken.) To my ear, it had a good bit more gain than his standard model and yeah, I don't see a downside the brass, so I think its a good model to offer if Ken is interested.

- yes to preamp: we ran it through the Avalon U5, but when my son played in the youth band, it was direct box into digital mixer.

- good for percussive tapping, IMO. I find it has a classic SBT type response and is crisp and engaging

Here is a sound clip if it helps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ql1e1kHIspA

This is a typical fingerstyle pickup demo and it sounds nice, as does the performance, but doesn't really exhibit what the system sounds like under more aggressive playing or playing modes, e.g., with a flatpick or with fingerpicks. Do you have a demo featuring some moderate to heavy flatpick strumming?

[El Conquistador]

Originally Posted by dogdog49

Did you try the 4 disc system?

No, I have not had a need for it yet. But, next guitar I need a pickup for will sport the 4 disc.

Steve