LR Baggs Anthem (full) or LR Baggs SL

[Mr Blues]

I have heard great reviews on the LR Baggs Anthem . What about the fixed postion LR Baggs SL .?

Is there a lot of differeence between the two?
I know you have more scope and options of blending between the two with the full anthem.
Or is the SL good enough to do the job?
You pay less with the SL?

Whats your thoughts?

Dave

[jseth]

I have the SL in both my Mark Angus 6 and 12 string guitars; they are the ones that I use on stage...

I spent a lot of time on the phone with Brian, the tech at Baggs, before I put these in my guitars 4 years ago or so... at that time, the SL would only let you control the balance between the UST and the True-Mic portions of the pickup, AND, the UST was set with a crossover network that ONLY reproduced frequencies below 140 hz. (Those are low bass notes)

I was just over at my local shop and, in speaking with the owner/guitar tech, he showed me the package of a new SL that specifically says you can adjust the level of the microphone - and the same tech (who is a good player and very knowledgeable) told me that the UST portion now covers the full spectrum of frequencies NOT just the bass...

In essence, what that means is that you could adjust the unit so that the ONLY part being used was the UST; this would be very useful if you were playing in a loud band where feedback from a microphone could be a problem.

Many of the people who have the "full" Anthem have it set up exactly like the SL version, thus negating any bonus of having the bigger, more costly unit.

Take the time to talk with the guys at Baggs about the Anthem; they will help you figure out which way is the best for you...

My advice would be to go for the SL version, IF you go with the Anthem system.... I have to say, though, having the Element under the saddle is definitely going to change both the volume and tone of your guitar when it's played acoustically... The Anthem is a great system if you gig and play out a lot... if you only play out infrequently, you may want to choose a different pickup, one that has less or no impact on the acoustic sound and tone of your guitar. You could have a K&K Pure Western Mini installed AND buy a K&K PURE XLR preamp for less that the SL would cost to buy and install, just as a reference.

Although I am not certain, I suspect that the impact of the Anthem on the acoustic sound of a guitar is more pronounced as the guitar in question is more highly responsive (read=expensive!), a guitar where the top is REALLY moving the sound out...

[teleamp]

I have the full Anthem in my 00-18V... Through some amps the sound is disappointing, but, through other it is just like my acoustic sound only louder...

I went with the full Anthem for its perceived versatility.

[simondylan]

Originally Posted by Mr Blues

I have heard great reviews on the LR Baggs Anthem . What about the fixed postion LR Baggs SL .?

Is there a lot of differeence between the two?
I know you have more scope and options of blending between the two with the full anthem.
Or is the SL good enough to do the job?
You pay less with the SL?

Whats your thoughts?

Dave

Hey Mr. Blues, I don't mean to be rude but disregard most of what jseth said. He's just mis-informed a bit. Nothing personal jseth.
I researched for a long time and currently use Anthem SL's on my main guitars. Here is the real scoop. The full Anthem (which I have also used but switched to the SL) gives you more on the spot blending features like going from 100% dry pickup, to what amounts to about a 70/30 mix of mic to pickup. Along with phase switch and bat check.
The SL is a set it and leave it mix so you set the mic level to balance with the pickup signal until you get a full tone. It has not changed since it's inception! check with the Baggs guys. Both systems use the cross-over circuit which crosses at 250 hz. Pickup carries all the lows, mic handles all the highs. Because of this and some other magic I don't quite understand the mic doesn't feed back! In fact in my experience I find the pickup will feed back in some situations but I never have feedback with the mic. Mics feed back at lower frequencies and they are all filtered out of the mic in the anthem circuit. I find the SL to be by far the best pickup system I've ever used as I've mentioned many times on this forum, and I've used most of them at one time or another. With the full Anthem I found I never wanted to reach for the blend knob to give myself more pickup! I set the blend to full, and dialed my mic level to sound just right at that position and never moved it or even wanted to. I didn't need the phase as I have that on my DI box, and also as it turns out the SL has a little more output than the full Anthem. With a little EQ I've never had a better sound.

[Mr Blues]

Thanks guys you have inspired me. I took the plunge on got the SL.

I got it installed in my Sigma DR 45.

You guys are right it sounds lovely. The pick up is rich and fuill. what i like about it is that there is no boomy bass feedback and hardly any piezo quack.
In my other guitars i had one of those fishman Presys onboard preamps with treble bass and mids. But that made my guitar sound thin and metalic in comparison.

The SL is a different kettle of fish.

I am very pleased.

[Mr Blues]

Hi SimonDylan
Wow I never knew that the SL version had a touch more output.
t
Thats exactly what I wanted . The SL does have a nice hot output, I set the screw on 30% mic 70% UST.

Dave

[Mr Blues]

For some strange reason . When I used my new LR Baggs SL with my AER today it was sounding quite muffled.

I am hoping maybe its just a dodgy battery that was on its last legs when it fitted in.

There was no clear mids or highs. I am going to take it back to the guy who fitted it in for me to have a look.

Dave

[Strayslack]

Originally Posted by Mr Blues

For some strange reason . When I used my new LR Baggs SL with my AER today it was sounding quite muffled.

I am hoping maybe its just a dodgy battery that was on its last legs when it fitted in.

There was no clear mids or highs. I am going to take it back to the guy who fitted it in for me to have a look.

Dave

Just got the SL installed in my Martin. So what happens if the battery goes dead in the middle of a gig or church service? Seems like I'm screwed since I can't reach the battery without the strings removed or at least loosened quite significantly, right?

[dberkowitz]

That would be the case with most pickups except those with body battery compartments. Batteries don't die all that quickly unless you forget to pull the cable out of the jack. Don't leave it in, and you won't have to replace your battery too often.

[janmulder]

Originally Posted by Strayslack

Just got the SL installed in my Martin. So what happens if the battery goes dead in the middle of a gig or church service? Seems like I'm screwed since I can't reach the battery without the strings removed or at least loosened quite significantly, right?

It depends a lot on where you place the battery pouch. I changed the battery of my Anthem SL equipped guitar during the break in my last gig ... took less than a couple of minutes. The trick is to have the battery pouch in a place so that you can get to it with your hand/arm quite straight and almost parallel to the guitar top ... then you don't have to loosen strings that much. I can get away loosening only the bass E and A strings.

When I re-tune I make sure I pull the strings enough to bed them in on the winders/pegs. This makes sure they don't detune during the next tune.

I didn't really have to do the change but I thought I heard a little distortion in the amp when playing the last tune and to make sure it wasn't battery related I made the swap. Normally, I change the battery every string change with nanowebs and every few string changes with non coated strings. This way you should never have to do a battery change ... but really, I can't see what the fuss is about.

[dberkowitz]

I've been mounting them on the waist, near the top. Whose brainchild it was to mount it all the way up against the head block was likely a shrimp. It's just as secure, and easier to get to.

[rileyrg]

Very late to the show here but would the pick up under the bridge still function without a battery like a passive pickup?

[GuitarLuva]

Originally Posted by rileyrg

Very late to the show here but would the pick up under the bridge still function without a battery like a passive pickup?

No it would not. Any type of pickup that goes to an active preamp would have no output when the preamp battery dies.

[doublescale1]

With respect to the changing battery question - get the Lithium Ion 9volts - they will easily give you a full year (unless you never unplug the cord, that will keep the pickup on and drain your battery, leaving the cord in is on you) and change them out on your birthday (or the significant date of your choice), do that and don't worry about it. I've never had a lithium 9v die in less than a full year, usually 18 months and thats practicing plugged in at least 3 times a month for an hour, and open mic nights, or coffee shop sets every other month - the audio will begin to sound raggedy when the batt is dying.

[rileyrg]

Originally Posted by GuitarLuva

No it would not. Any type of pickup that goes to an active preamp would have no output when the preamp battery dies.

Thanks for your reply. Hmm. I'm wondering if I like having an active pickup. I don't think I do.