LR Baggs Micro Duet?

[dannyg1]

On a whim and because it was pretty inexpensive, I just bought a pickup called the Micro Duet. It's a dual source, mic and undersaddle (possibly has two mics on the mic channel though) stereo pickup. Other than what I can see in the pics, which are terribly bad, I can't seem to find much info. What I have found says that around 1985-95, it was very well thought of and used by some heavyweight names (not that that means a whole lot).

Anyone know if it sums to mono or anything much about it?

[MrErikJ]

I believe this is the old version of the Baggs Dual Source and it's a barn door preamp that controls a LB6 and mic? The LB6 is my favorite pickup, so I wish this system was still in production, but they transitioned to the Dual Source which used to be set-up w/the Ribbon Transducer (though many people replaced it with the LB6) and it now comes with the Element piezo.

I know Phil Keaggy still uses this system in one of his Olson's and I believe it outputs to mono with the preamp blending the dual sources together.

[Lawliet]

If there is no dedicated switch on the preamp, i think mono/stereo mode can be controlled by the cable that you use
I don't see micro duet, but I found MicroDrive preamp info, which is designed for the LB series. Sound like adding the mic makes it a duet version.
If you can let us know what it looks like we may confirm at least something

[dannyg1]

Here's a link to the auction and pics. I dont think it's a barn door, it's at least unlike any I've ever seen.

http://m.ebay.com/itm/L-R-Baggs-micr...=1745804953011

[Lawliet]

Ok. So the UST pickup is not original. I happen to find pics of an LB6 w/ miniplug and LB6 equipped microduet (seems to be). I also checked the microdrive thing which fonts, design and logo seems to match the time period. If I am correct, the trim pots on the preamp which says mix, controls each signal from hard pan(P) to mono (M). Therefore, the signal should be able to sum to mono.

[dannyg1]

Thank you for your excellent detective work. I still can't find anything of note on the thing though I did find a discussion on restoring a microdrive. Apparently the battery leads soldered to the main circuit board have a tendency to corrode badly. That seems to be the common culprit in their demise.

Since this pre is pretty obviously made to run an LB6, once I can confirm that I have it working, I suppose that I know what I'll be putting in my best stage guitar.

I'll post some photos of this when I get it. It'll be interesting to discuss what this pick up system is, or was.

[dannyg1]

So now that it's become clear that this pre mates exactly with the LB6, I gave a listen to this Doyle Dykes demo (a man who's possibly still mating his LB6 with the very same pre) and its pretty obviously a fantastic sounding system (if this demo is representative, its at least as good as any I've ever heard):

https://www.lrbaggs.com/pickups/lb6-...-guitar-pickup

mrErikJ, you say that the LB6 is your favorite, what can you tell me about it? Should I not attempt to install it myself? I can do unxersaddles and I can shape a saddle.

[fingeryoga]

Originally Posted by dannyg1

So now that it's become clear that this pre mates exactly with the LB6, I gave a listen to this Doyle Dykes demo (a man who's possibly still mating his LB6 with the very same pre) and its pretty obviously a fantastic sounding system (if this demo is representative, its at least as good as any I've ever heard):

https://www.lrbaggs.com/pickups/lb6-...-guitar-pickup

mrErikJ, you say that the LB6 is your favorite, what can you tell me about it? Should I not attempt to install it myself? I can do unxersaddles and I can shape a saddle.

Lb6 is my favourite pickup too , but install is intricate , in most cases a new saddle slot needs to be cut , best done by a professional.

[MrErikJ]

Originally Posted by dannyg1

So now that it's become clear that this pre mates exactly with the LB6, I gave a listen to this Doyle Dykes demo (a man who's possibly still mating his LB6 with the very same pre) and its pretty obviously a fantastic sounding system (if this demo is representative, its at least as good as any I've ever heard):

https://www.lrbaggs.com/pickups/lb6-...-guitar-pickup

mrErikJ, you say that the LB6 is your favorite, what can you tell me about it? Should I not attempt to install it myself? I can do unxersaddles and I can shape a saddle.

The LB6 is my favorite undersaddle style pickup (I don't have the Micro Duet system, no microphone in mine), thought it's technically an intra-saddle design. I like that it has enough output to run passively (if you prefer no batteries in your guitar), it has a clean sound that doesn't "quack" or distort as much as a normal undersaddle piezo (probably due to the instrasaddle design), and I think (and this is controversial) that it affects the sound of your guitar less than a normal piezo. Some will swear that the replacement saddle will affect the tone of your guitar, but in my experience, it's less affecting than putting a pickup in-between your saddle and bridge.

I run mine passively into a TC Electronic Body Rez pedal and then into a Baggs Para DI and the sound is clear and natural. It's not "natural" in the same way as putting a mic in front of my guitar, but I think it produces a more natural sound than a Fishman undersaddle or a magnetic pickup. But, that's my preference and others would say differently. However, I would say listen to live Doyle or live 80s James Taylor and compare it to someone with a normal undersaddle like Dave Matthews and you'll hear a pronounced difference.

I definitely do not recommend installing it yourself, this is a job that is best done by a good acoustic luthier. If it's installed properly, it'll sound great and shouldn't change your guitar's sound. However, if it's not installed properly, everything could go to crap. It's worth the 50 bucks for an install.

Here's a clip of me using it through my Body Rez and into my Fishman Loudbox Mini.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BTITTPmh...=mrerikj&hl=en

[MrErikJ]

Also, I don't believe Doyle has used the Micro Duet in his guitars. When he was w/Taylor Guitars his signature model had the Baggs Hex pickups in it, when he went to Guild he started using the LB6 (which sounds a lot better than the Hex pickups did...) w/the Element barndoor preamp.

After Guild ownership changed, Doyle was left w/o a guitar deal and just bought a couple of Olson guitars and installed LB6s in both but these have the endpin preamps with the pinwheel volume control within the soundhole.

His new signature model Multiac w/Godin seems to have the LB6 in it and is paired with some sort of pressure mic/soundboard transducer that he can control via the preamp. The preamp is a variation on the Baggs Session system and has built in compression and saturation, a real nice feature for a piezo pickup.

Personally, if you don't have built-in compression, I don't recommend running the LB6 with an active endpin. A large part of the piezo "quack" as people call it is simply distortion or clipping at the preamp. Piezos produce much more signal than their preamp has room for when played hard. The LB series has enough output that you don't need an endpin preamp and you can run it into an outboard preamp or amp and use the gain settings to reduce such spikes. I especially like the Body Rez for as an effect pedal as its built in compression squeezes any piezo spikes into something manageable that won't overload my preamp or amps front-end. Remember, once a signal distorts it can only be un-distorted by turning down the preamp's gain. An endpin preamp rarely has this option, but the Dual Source and Duet have adjustable gain for the piezo I believe. The LB6 needs very little boost that early in the chain.

[dannyg1]

That's an impressive sound you're getting. Can you describe the action in the video? Is the foot pedal taking the body res in and out?

[MrErikJ]

Originally Posted by dannyg1

That's an impressive sound you're getting. Can you describe the action in the video? Is the foot pedal taking the body res in and out?

Yes, I start with it off and the amp EQ is set flat. The sound starts a little warmer and becomes brighter and clearer when I turn on the Body Rez, which I believe was set around 1 o'clock.

The Body Rez seems to engage some compression and EQs the signal and maybe adds some reverb. The intensity of that effect is increased as you dial it up. Personally, I think 1 o'clock is too much for my taste as I think too much midrange is cut at that level, but that won't be the case for all guitars. My Alvarez dread is Cedar on African Mahogany and has a very strong mid-tone, so I don't want to carve that all out. When I set it around 9-10 o'clock, that's good enough for most of my applications. However, if I had a mid-rangey pickup in a guitar that was more scooped sounding, like something with rosewood back & sides, the Body Rez will definitely help get that sound dialed in.

The pedal is a very nice shortcut to getting a nice pickup tone dialed in and I rather like it with the passive LB6. However, when I tried to use it with my dual source set up (I have a Pickup the World SBT in that guitar as well and I blend the two with a Baggs MixPro) it seemed to cause some sort of phase issue that I don't have otherwise. That's the result of the LB6 B & E strings being wired out of phase, but I don't experience that problem without the Body Rez. I'm not sure what's causing that issue, but frankly, I like the LB6 with the Body Rez so much I don't plan on even using the PUTW SBT anymore.

[dannyg1]

You're certainly getting a good sound in the video so, if its good enough...

Which PUTW do you have? I might be interested in it.

[ceciltguitar]

Hey Danny, FWIW, the battery clip looks like the one that I had in my guitar back in the day.

[MrErikJ]

Originally Posted by dannyg1

You're certainly getting a good sound in the video so, if its good enough...

Which PUTW do you have? I might be interested in it.

I have the #54 installed in my Alvarez (dual SBTs) and it's wired in stereo to a single jack w/my LB6. I control the blend with a Baggs MixPro.

It was a pretty good set-up, but I like the LB6 enough (especially w/the BR) that it saves me the effort of blending the two. The less gear the better, I suppose.

However, I really like PUTW's stuff. Great SBTs.