Does an LR Baggs LB6 affect the acoustic performance of a Ralph Bown OMX

[uecnot]

I have just acquired a superb Ralph Bown OMX with an L R Bagga LB6 passive pickup installed. An experienced guitarist suggested to me that this would detrimentally affect the acoustic performance of the guitar. Anyone have any experience?

My dilemma is that I am trying to achieve the most natural sounding amplified sound whilst retaining the best acoustic sound. I am struggling to find the best amplified acoustic sound with respect to a pre-amp and don't wish to commit to a new pre-amp until I have determined which pickup system I will be using.I am a solo guitarist/vocalist in small venues.
Help again!!

[swsman]

Being that pickup is a saddle in itself - to an extent it might. To really know what difference or if there is any, maybe look into having a new bone saddle made for the guitar, record it with LB6 in place, or have someone play it for you. Then, swap over to new bone saddle and repeat. That should give you an idea if any of the sound was robbed from the guitar.

Hope this helps you.

[Doug Young]

The LB6 is made is of micarta, which is a fairly soft material. In my experience it has a pretty substantial impact on the sound. Whether it's a good or bad impact is a matter of opinion, you might even prefer it, you just never know. Bob Colosi was making custom LB6s with bone, but I seem to recall he's not doing that any more.

[uecnot]

Originally Posted by Doug Young

The LB6 is made is of micarta, which is a fairly soft material. In my experience it has a pretty substantial impact on the sound. Whether it's a good or bad impact is a matter of opinion, you might even prefer it, you just never know. Bob Colosi was making custom LB6s with bone, but I seem to recall he's not doing that any more.

Doug if you were intending to keep the guiatr for some time would you retain the LB6 pickup or go for something better. I have been utterlly frustrated for the last 3 months looking for the right amplified sound from my guitar in a live environment. I want a simple set up for my guitar and vocals that sound good.

You kindly responded to my post re the DPA 4099G mic which I subsequently tried but alsa - feedback so I am back to square one!!

I beleive the Bown OMX is THE guitar for me (great for picking and strumming) but I now need to sort out the pickup and preamp/EQ side of things without investing a lot of money to try equipment out.

Your advice would be much appreciated.

[Doug Young]

Originally Posted by uecnot

Doug if you were intending to keep the guiatr for some time would you retain the LB6 pickup or go for something better.

Personally, I'd probably avoid the LB6 if I was installing a new pickup or getting a guitar made, because to me the acoustic tone is slightly "squishy" for lack of a better word, but it does sound nice plugged in. Your ears might hear it differently, of course, it's all a matter of taste. And if I came across a guitar with one already installed, and I liked the sound, I wouldn't worry about it.

I guess the question is, do you like the acoustic sound of the guitar as-is, and is the pickup working for you? If so, leave well enough alone :-) You could also try blending the 4099 in with the LB6, using however much of the mic you can add in without feedback.

If you'd like the guitar to sound better acoustically, you could at least try swapping out the saddle and see if you prefer something else acoustically. If you do, you'd have to decide if it's worth it to keep up the search for a pickup that works for you.

[uecnot]

Originally Posted by Doug Young

Personally, I'd probably avoid the LB6 if I was installing a new pickup or getting a guitar made, because to me the acoustic tone is slightly "squishy" for lack of a better word, but it does sound nice plugged in. Your ears might hear it differently, of course, it's all a matter of taste. And if I came across a guitar with one already installed, and I liked the sound, I wouldn't worry about it.

I guess the question is, do you like the acoustic sound of the guitar as-is, and is the pickup working for you? If so, leave well enough alone :-) You could also try blending the 4099 in with the LB6, using however much of the mic you can add in without feedback.

If you'd like the guitar to sound better acoustically, you could at least try swapping out the saddle and see if you prefer something else acoustically. If you do, you'd have to decide if it's worth it to keep up the search for a pickup that works for you.

Thanks, Doug. I'll take the guitar back to Ralph and have him install a new bone saddle and verify the difference acoustically between that and the LB6.

If I find I need a new pickup would a "dual source" pickup give me the most natural guitar sound? (I returned the DPA 4099 without buying it)

[Doug Young]

Originally Posted by uecnot

Thanks, Doug. I'll take the guitar back to Ralph and have him install a new bone saddle and verify the difference acoustically between that and the LB6.

If I find I need a new pickup would a "dual source" pickup give me the most natural guitar sound? (I returned the DPA 4099 without buying it)

Dual source gives you more options. You can blend the two sounds in all kinds of ways, which may give you a more complex sound that comes closer to the complexity of an acoustic sound. You can also use dual source to give yourself more options, like a pickup that sounds great when you play quiet, and another that is less feedback prone in loud situations. If one of the dual sources is a mic, you have a better chance of getting a more "natural" sound, but of course there's the risk of feedback.

[Saguache]

When I purchased my preowned Olson SJ it had the LB6 in it. The orig owner told me it didn't sound as good as an older SJ he had and thus the sale. When I got it home I sent the LB6 to Colosi for an exact dimension custom bone saddle. Deffinately a huge improvement. I'm investigating re-electrifying it but I won't be using undersaddle pickup.

[guitom]

Originally Posted by Doug Young

Bob Colosi was making custom LB6s with bone, but I seem to recall he's not doing that any more.

It's true Bob Colosi is not longer customizing the LB6. He told me that sometime in the last year or so.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by uecnot

Doug if you were intending to keep the guiatr for some time would you retain the LB6 pickup or go for something better.

Hi uecnot (my hand is in the air asking you to call on me)...

I played my Olson with an LB-6 for 11 years total; 5 as a single source and 6 more combined as half of an LRBaggs Dual-source rig (with the preamp inside the guitar).

Then switched to K&K dual sources, and my luthier custom built me a saddle (the LB6 requires the slot to be widened because it is deeper than a normal saddle) and it made a huge difference in the acoustic aspect of the guitar…which I didn't realize could be improved!

I'd recommend switching it for bone.

[Yrksman]

I'm the person who suggested to the OP that he change the LB6. It was my past experience with an Olson SJ that led me to that view. I had the LB6 installed (pre K&k) and noticed the sound seemed poorer but I was gigging a lot at the time and satisfied with the electrified sound. The current owner of that guitar switched to a K&K Pure Western Mini and a bone saddle, at my suggestion, and is delighted with the improvement. That is both in the acoustic sound of the guitar and the sound of the K&K versus the LB6.

[larryb]

Originally Posted by Doug Young

The LB6 is made is of micarta, which is a fairly soft material. In my experience it has a pretty substantial impact on the sound. Whether it's a good or bad impact is a matter of opinion, you might even prefer it, you just never know. Bob Colosi was making custom LB6s with bone, but I seem to recall he's not doing that any more.

Actually, Bob is making the LB6 with bone saddle again. John Buscarino also has the LB-6 with bone saddle custom made for him as well. He installed one on the Cabaret (nylon string crossover) that he built for me and it works great.

[Doug Young]

Originally Posted by larryb

Actually, Bob is making the LB6 with bone saddle again. John Buscarino also has the LB-6 with bone saddle custom made for him as well. He installed one on the Cabaret (nylon string crossover) that he built for me and it works great.

That's great news!