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  #1  
Old 06-09-2011, 08:38 AM
bigsnaketex bigsnaketex is offline
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Default LR Baggs Anthem Pick Up

I'm sure there have been many discusions on the merits (good and bad) of the Baggs Anthem pick up......but I'm looking for some real world advice.

I am considering putting these units as standard on my guitars so if anyone has any good or bad opinions on these - please feel free to share!!

Thanks so much!!
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Old 06-09-2011, 10:01 AM
jennconducts jennconducts is offline
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For ME, it is the best option right out of the box. I have it in all three performance guitars. I've experienced better, but only in expensive, must do some soldering setups, like Laurence Juber's.
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Old 06-09-2011, 10:03 AM
K III K III is offline
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Is there any screwing or just glueing?
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Old 06-09-2011, 10:32 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by K III View Post
Is there any screwing or just glueing?
I have been accused of having no internal self editing ability. So, to prove to those people that I do have the ability to self-edit:

No comment.
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Old 06-09-2011, 10:48 AM
jennconducts jennconducts is offline
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Quote:
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Is there any screwing or just glueing?
No screwing.
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Old 06-09-2011, 12:14 PM
bigsnaketex bigsnaketex is offline
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and screwing is MUCH better than glueing..........
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Old 06-09-2011, 02:44 PM
jseth jseth is offline
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I had the Anthem SL installed in both my 6 and 12 string guitars... and I do like them a lot! They replaced older Fishman Matrix Natural's in both guitars. The Anthem is the first sort of dual pickup I've ever used for more than a few minutes; the sound is much more natural, to my ears, and much more dynamic/touch responsive.

Once I dialed in the mic/UST mix I like, I just run them straight into the base unit of my Bose L1 Classic on the "acoustic guitar w/ condensor mic" pre-set and it's a very workable sound. I've had no problems with feedback, certainly no more than I ever had with the UST's alone - and they were not very problematic. I really like NOT having to use a pre-amp or DI box, nothing else in the signal chain.

I know there are a number of folks on this site who extoll the virtues of the K&K PW mini soundboard transducers... and a few guys who have built their own "dual source" systems and they swear by them...

...but for a "plug in and play" system w/ no need for more outboard gear alongside, I like the Anthem... my opinion, of course!
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Old 06-09-2011, 09:28 PM
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I have and Anthem SL and I resist saying sound natural because that get used a lot. It sounds like my guitar, very full and balanced. I love the simplicity of the install, set the mic gain, and play. I've used it at couple of gigs and quite a bit of home testing it sounds great.
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Old 06-12-2011, 02:09 PM
bigsnaketex bigsnaketex is offline
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So it's thumbs up all around?!

Can you phase out the mic completely if needed?
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Old 06-12-2011, 03:15 PM
jseth jseth is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bigsnaketex View Post
So it's thumbs up all around?!

Can you phase out the mic completely if needed?
Bigsnaketex - It depends on WHICH version of the Anthem you choose.

The "full" Anthem has controls to affect the amount of mic level and the crossover point for the Element (UST)...it also has volume controls, led indicators for battery life, maybe even more control over the 2 pickups?

The SL (slim-line) version has a FIXED crossover for the UST, fixed at 250 hz and lower... it's a "soft taper" though, so the Element (UST) does affect some frequencies above 250 hz, albeit slight. There is a set-screw control for the mic level, to add or take away. The mic is a hard shelf at 250hz, so it picks up the frequencies from 250 hz and higher. Also, a volume control for the output...

The way that Brian (the tech at Baggs) explained it, the full Anthem would be if you think you will need to use ONLY the Element (UST) and need to have no mic, at all... like in a full band situation where volume is high and feedback a problem.

Thus far, I have no problem with feedback with mine; the 6 string will get a little "trigger happy" on the low A string if I'm sitting within 4 or 5 feet of the speaker and sub of my Bose - and playing at a high volume (way too loud for the room I'm in...). No apparent feedback from the microphone, however.

I'm quite pleased with the amplified sound of the Anthems... the one unhappy outcome of having them installed is that, somehow, they've changed the overall tone of my guitars when played acoustically. A slight loss of volume and a smoothing of tonal response... not a bad thing, but noticeable to my 60 year old ears! I've had my 6 string for 32 years, and I am very familiar with how it sounded BEFORE the Anthem; I have a room at my home that's my "unplugged" room, mostly tile and glass with an irregular shape. Acoustic guitars and voice sound GREAT in that room, and that's where I determined the change in my 6 string's volume and tone. So I'm quite certain of the change. If the darned things didn't sound so good amplified, I would have taken them out by now...

Good luck! Let us know how it works out for you...

play on................................................ ...>

John Seth Sherman
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Old 06-12-2011, 04:13 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bigsnaketex View Post
So it's thumbs up all around?!
OK, I try my best not to post negatives, but, you ask an opinion, so, here is mine.

I have chosen not to go the Anthem route in my luthier built guitar and will use the K&K system instead. The reasons are:

1. The K&K is the least invasive system available. I simply am not comfortable attaching microphones and control panels to my guitars that builders have spent their hours and talent maximizing the responsiveness.

2. I do not like batteries inside my guitar.

3. Since 90% of my playing is unplugged, I am not comfortable placing a woven strip of fiber between my bone saddle and my carefully hand-fitted bridge.

4. I get glowing reviews of the tone of my K&K equipped guitars.

Please notice that none of my reasons are in any way a criticism of the Anthem's ability to produce good tone. I have only played one Anthem equipped guitar and honestly felt that it was not superior to the K&K system. If it is superior, my experience is that 99.99% of the audience will never hear that difference and is, therefor, simply not worth it to me.

So, I guess as in all things, it is not "thumbs up all around".

Good luck with your quest,
Steve

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Old 06-12-2011, 06:50 PM
Joseph Hanna Joseph Hanna is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by El Conquistador View Post
OK, I try my best not to post negatives, but, you ask an opinion, so, here is mine.

I have chosen not to go the Anthem route in my luthier built guitar and will use the K&K system instead. The reasons are:

1. The K&K is the least invasive system available. I simply am not comfortable attaching microphones and control panels to my guitars that builders have spent their hours and talent maximizing the responsiveness.

2. I do not like batteries inside my guitar.

3. Since 90% of my playing is unplugged, I am not comfortable placing a woven strip of fiber between my bone saddle and my carefully hand-fitted bridge.

4. I get glowing reviews of the tone of my K&K equipped guitars.

Please notice that none of my reasons are in any way a criticism of the Anthem's ability to produce good tone. I have only played one Anthem equipped guitar and honestly felt that it was not superior to the K&K system. If it is superior, my experience is that 99.99% of the audience will never hear that difference and is, therefor, simply not worth it to me.

So, I guess as in all things, it is not "thumbs up all around".

Good luck with your quest,
Steve

Steve
Yea Steve I think everyone expects/envisions different things from amplifying an acoustic guitar.

I do however want to point out that "sometimes" judging a pickup system is not singularly about comparing tone. I've made the argument from the first night I played an Anthem that it's strengths are NOT the age old impossibility of "my guitar only louder" but instead the Anthem is a very musical system that EXCELS at volume. I've said it before but it's the only acoustic PU that makes me want to turn up. That for me is refreshing!

I think you could make an argument that a K&K (particularly in low volume situations) is as acoustic sounding or more than an Anthem. It (the K&K) however begins to lose traction at louder volumes and that, in and of itself, is a deal breaker for some.

I'm not disagreeing with your position for sure but for the benefit of someone still trying to weed through this jungle it is an aspect of these systems that needs to be pointed out and is often not.

YMMV.
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Old 06-12-2011, 07:38 PM
phil volan phil volan is offline
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I agree with Joseph. I'm glad we have so many choices for a wide variety of player's needs. I've not had good luck with K&K at higher volume levels, but I admit at low levels they do have a natural acoustic quality. I guess for me all the playing live stuff that I do, plus the higher volume levels demands a UST like the Element in the Anthem. With my Bose T-1 mixer, Aura Spectrum and Tonebone Pre-Z, I've got tremendous tone-shaping capability. But I really only need the Bose these days. I'm amazed that the Anthem changed the tone of jseth's guitar. Sensitive ears are a great thing. I have them too, but I must admit that sometimes my perceptions are "psychoacoustic". Still...I don't doubt the possibility of subtle changes...
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Old 06-12-2011, 07:44 PM
bigsnaketex bigsnaketex is offline
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These are all great responses. I would always agree that anytime you put "stuff" inside your guitar, it will always effect the sound your guitar makes.

But the reality is that most folks play their acoustic guitars on a stage somewhere and they amplify them.

Therefore I find it vital to put the best electronics you can get!

I run K&K mini's in mine because my guitars run through a soundboard with a pro mixing the noise I make!

But folks that get up at a bar and serenade the rest of us need to amplify and control the sounds.

So keep the info coming!
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Old 06-20-2011, 02:48 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jennconducts View Post
For ME, it is the best option right out of the box.
Couldn't say it any more succinctly. Best sounding pickup I've used, and very simple / eary to use to. If you really like the way your guitar sounds acoustically, the Anthem is your best best because it will amplify the actual sounds of your guitar.
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