Lr Baggs Voiceprint

[Petty1818]

I know this pedal has been discussed already, but I am wondering if there's a consensus or overall opinion on it? I have been on the fence with regards to purchasing it and I think I need some additional input before I pull the trigger. I love the functionality of this pedal and it's one of the only IR pedals I can think of that allows the user to eq just the IR, which is a big benefit. I am a fan of the Aura Spectrum, but the pickup only or global eq just isn't enough. I often want to eq just the image.

Now I will say that in most demos, the Voiceprint hasn't blown me away. It's not the best sounding IR out there and the piezo pickup seems to come through even on a 100% blend, but I do really want to incorporate IR's into my setup and as of right now, this is probably the most powerful option out there. I also love the fact that IR's can be created so easily. I am one of those guys who procrastinates when it comes to setting up mics etc.

I am not looking for my guitar only louder and I also will never use an IR at 100%. I just want something that will take a bit of the edge off of a piezo pickup and add in some mic-like qualities. In the venues I play, I often need a quick set up so I am very much considering a UST and K&K/Dazzo as I have two jacks. Not necessarily to blend them but to have two options in different sets up that I can apply IR's to. Just looking for some thoughts!

[Marty C]

Purchased one last month. I made many voiceprints with various guitars. Here are my thoughts.
The good:
- IR is easy to create. There are two methods and both seem to work well.
- The IR's do sound good and I seem to like them best around 70-80%
- The eq is great. Easy to use and effective
- The anti feedback is effective
- Worked best on cheap, UST
- Did well on my Anthem SL, but the SL doesn't really need it

The Bad:
- Noisy. I could not get the hiss out. Maybe I was doing something wrong or my pick up didn't have a strong enough output and I had to compensate with too much gain
- Hum. I had a nasty hum that I could not get rid of.
- It didn't do too well for my ES-2. Couldn't get anything I liked.

I ended up returning it and exchanged it for Venue DI. I think I just like knobs and simplicity. Something easier to adjust on the fly. Plus, I wanted something I could use with all my guitars, including the ES-2.

Just my experiences and I never played out with it. Just experimented with it in my music room. Might have been different/better once I got it out in the open. For me, I couldn't live with the noise. Sweetwater and LR Baggs were all in favor of letting be exchange it for a new one in case I got a bad one. I just decided to take a more simple route with the Venue DI.

[Petty1818]

Thank you, very much appreciated! Honestly, the noise was one of my main concerns. I have heard people demo the Voiceprint and have noticed the hiss. That was a worry of mine. I might hold off. I could still try it and return it, but something keeps me from getting it.

I remember watching an interview with Larry Fishman, I believe it was on Aaron Short's video, where he mentioned that the original Aura pedal allowed for the image/IR to be eq separately. Apparently they wanted to simplify future Aura technology so this went away. It's a shame because I still feel as though the Aura is the best option for using IR's, I just wish I could eq the images slightly.

[AeroUSA]

Originally Posted by Marty C

Purchased one last month. I made many voiceprints with various guitars. Here are my thoughts.
The good:
- IR is easy to create. There are two methods and both seem to work well.
- The IR's do sound good and I seem to like them best around 70-80%
- The eq is great. Easy to use and effective
- The anti feedback is effective
- Worked best on cheap, UST
- Did well on my Anthem SL, but the SL doesn't really need it

The Bad:
- Noisy. I could not get the hiss out. Maybe I was doing something wrong or my pick up didn't have a strong enough output and I had to compensate with too much gain
- Hum. I had a nasty hum that I could not get rid of.
- It didn't do too well for my ES-2. Couldn't get anything I liked.

I ended up returning it and exchanged it for Venue DI. I think I just like knobs and simplicity. Something easier to adjust on the fly. Plus, I wanted something I could use with all my guitars, including the ES-2.

Just my experiences and I never played out with it. Just experimented with it in my music room. Might have been different/better once I got it out in the open. For me, I couldn't live with the noise. Sweetwater and LR Baggs were all in favor of letting be exchange it for a new one in case I got a bad one. I just decided to take a more simple route with the Venue DI.

I didn't notice hiss but I do hear a faint hum from mine (like interference) that is only really audible with headphones and loud-ish volumes. Everyone I have asked about it says theirs is fine. I would be interested to know if anyone else experienced this.

[SpruceTop]

Originally Posted by Petty1818

Thank you, very much appreciated! Honestly, the noise was one of my main concerns. I have heard people demo the Voiceprint and have noticed the hiss. That was a worry of mine. I might hold off. I could still try it and return it, but something keeps me from getting it.

I remember watching an interview with Larry Fishman, I believe it was on Aaron Short's video, where he mentioned that the original Aura pedal allowed for the image/IR to be eq separately. Apparently they wanted to simplify future Aura technology so this went away. It's a shame because I still feel as though the Aura is the best option for using IR's, I just wish I could eq the images slightly.

Having had the original Fishman Aura Blender, and the newer Aura pedals and onboard Aura systems, I still feel the original Aura Blender sounded the best and offered the most tonal possibilities. Sadly, I sold it after buying a newer Aura pedal. I now have an Aura Spectrum DI and a ToneDexter that I haven't used in a couple of years. They're good pieces of kit but I'd rather try to get my tone through good pickups and good pickup placement.

[guitaniac]

FWIW, I’ve found the Optima Air to be much easier to use (dial in a pleasing sound) than the original Aura Blender. Perhaps it’s just more compatible with the particular UST-equipped guitar which I favor. The Enke designed UST is rather atypical.

The Optima Air’s weakness, as compared to the Voiceprint or ToneDexter (latest update) is that there’s no easy one knob means to counteract the feedback and/or tubbiness which occurs at higher sound levels.

Of course, the Ultra Tonic is the easiest solution of all as it controls its own tone at higher volume levels. If one likes the raw tone of the Ultra Tonic, then a good analog preamp would be the only “processor” needed.


I’ve been preoccupied with a family emergency, but do drop in to monitor the forum on occasion. Still wondering what happened to the LR Baggs mystery guitar that Charlie Worsham teased us with.

[JackB1]

I grew tired of trying to find a voiceprint that I liked. Every time you create one it sound way different from the last one, leading to an endless rabbit hole. And then there all the tweaking with the EQ and other stuff you can tweak. Also, the voiceprints always had that "airy - far away" sound to them which I don't like for live play. And they aren't cheap either. All that adds up to a no from me.

[Cuki79]

Originally Posted by JackB1

I grew tired of trying to find a voiceprint that I liked. Every time you create one it sound way different from the last one, leading to an endless rabbit hole. And then there all the tweaking with the EQ and other stuff you can tweak. Also, the voiceprints always had that "airy - far away" sound to them which I don't like for live play. And they aren't cheap either. All that adds up to a no from me.

Hi JackB1,

I suggest you check those videos
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL...hlLc9qSAGET1m5

Video part 7 illustrates standard IR with the « airy - far away » problem while videos 5 and 6 named « quackless » and « dry » illustrate two different approaches to IR in order to avoid this problem.

[jonfields45]

Originally Posted by JackB1

I grew tired of trying to find a voiceprint that I liked. Every time you create one it sound way different from the last one, leading to an endless rabbit hole. And then there all the tweaking with the EQ and other stuff you can tweak. Also, the voiceprints always had that "airy - far away" sound to them which I don't like for live play. And they aren't cheap either. All that adds up to a no from me.

Skipping the Voiceprint and creating the IR on your PC is very controllable and repeatable. You make the recording and then listen to it. If you don't like the mic recording, make another until you do. The IR targets that mic recording and if it is distant or boomy, then that's the IR you get. A great mic recording is not about the cost or technology of the mic. It is about about mic placement.

I would be happy to generate IRs for you which you could use on an inexpensive electric guitar cabinet IR pedal (I will send you several IRs for each recording with different IR/Bypass mixes built in). Send me 60 seconds of open position strumming, pickup left, mic right, try to avoid clipping, decent SNR. Send me a several and I'll run all of them. You can audition them on your PC using the (free) version of Reaper and its Reaverb effect.

Read the description on the YouTube video demo in my signature.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by Petty1818

I know this pedal has been discussed already!

Hi Petty
I have been following progress and upgrading my pickups about every decade for nearly 60 years.

I had already upgraded from just my K&K Pure mini plus internal mic to ToneDexter 2 years back, and nothing I've seen or heard from the Voiceprint has tempted me in the least to switch.

I'm getting amazing results, and great service and attention from James May (inventor of theToneDexter and forum member) the entire time I've used this amazing pedal.

It doesn't have all the bells-n-whistles that the Voiceprint does, but it has the right ones, and they work well in concert whether I'm playing through an acoustic amp, a PA or both.

This is not a commentary on the Voiceprint. They are two different pickup enhancement systems, like Macintosh or Windows operating systems. They both have the same aims in mind…and depending on the user, probably two different customers.

[JackB1]

Originally Posted by jonfields45

Skipping the Voiceprint and creating the IR on your PC is very controllable and repeatable. You make the recording and then listen to it. If you don't like the mic recording, make another until you do. The IR targets that mic recording and if it is distant or boomy, then that's the IR you get. A great mic recording is not about the cost or technology of the mic. It is about about mic placement.

I would be happy to generate IRs for you which you could use on an inexpensive electric guitar cabinet IR pedal (I will send you several IRs for each recording with different IR/Bypass mixes built in). Send me 60 seconds of open position strumming, pickup left, mic right, try to avoid clipping, decent SNR. Send me a several and I'll run all of them. You can audition them on your PC using the (free) version of Reaper and its Reaverb effect.

Read the description on the YouTube video demo in my signature.

Thanks for the offer Jon, but I'm very happy with my current live sound and don't want to go the IR route. If it works for some people, great, but I'm very happy with my Anthem SL + my pedal enhancements.

[Petty1818]

Originally Posted by ljguitar

Hi Petty
I have been following progress and upgrading my pickups about every decade for nearly 60 years.

I had already upgraded from just my K&K Pure mini plus internal mic to ToneDexter 2 years back, and nothing I've seen or heard from the Voiceprint has tempted me in the least to switch.

I'm getting amazing results, and great service and attention from James May (inventor of theToneDexter and forum member) the entire time I've used this amazing pedal.

It doesn't have all the bells-n-whistles that the Voiceprint does, but it has the right ones, and they work well in concert whether I'm playing through an acoustic amp, a PA or both.

This is not a commentary on the Voiceprint. They are two different pickup enhancement systems, like Macintosh or Windows operating systems. They both have the same aims in mind…and depending on the user, probably two different customers.

Thanks, much appreciated! I agree, the Voiceprint demos haven't impressed me. I guess the ability to eq the IR itself is tempting, but if it's not creating great IR's to begin with then I guess that doesn't matter much.

I do have a Tonedexter as well. I think I just need to find a pickup that I like enough to begin with and then add some IR's to it. The K&K makes a lot of sense.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by Petty1818

Thanks, much appreciated! I agree, the Voiceprint demos haven't impressed me. I guess the ability to eq the IR itself is tempting, but if it's not creating great IR's to begin with then I guess that doesn't matter much.

I do have a Tonedexter as well. I think I just need to find a pickup that I like enough to begin with and then add some IR's to it. The K&K makes a lot of sense.

Hi Petty
The K&K Pure Mini is a great pickup paired with the ToneDexter.

All my guitars have had a K&K Pure mini plus and internal mic for the past 17 years, so if the ToneDexter has issues, I can plug into my backup preamp (a K&K dual source belt-pack preamp) and function quite well.

My obsession with sounding more like my guitar is just that, and the rig sounds fabulous either way.

[Mdfire]

I got a voice print last week and think its great. Have had the optima air and in my opinion it's not as good or easy to use as the VP.

Once I created the voice print images I have recorded a short segment into Garageband direct from the VP and used the fabfilter Pro Q3 plugin to identify rogue frequencies by doing sweeps. I then cut this freq with a narrow Q in the voice print app's eq. Really pleased with the results particularly on the K&K Pure Mini Pickup.

[chasapple]

Originally Posted by Marty C

Purchased one last month. I made many voiceprints with various guitars.



The Bad:

- Noisy. I could not get the hiss out. Maybe I was doing something wrong or my pick up didn't have a strong enough output and I had to compensate with too much gain

I've had the exact same experience, background hiss kind of noise, but only when making voiceprints with my anthem pickup guitar. Even on full element piezo blend position.

On my Martin guitar with a fishman matrix, absolutely no background noise of any kind. Totally perfect voiceprints that are super easy to create. So much easier than I experienced with ToneDexter.

I guess it's just a gain issue with the Anthem. I've heard other comments how the anthem has a quieter gain structure than other pickups.