New Baggs IR pedal...

[guitaniac]

Originally Posted by jonfields45

The Matrix sounds better, it might have a jack these days for some Fishman products (screw terminals at least were the norm), but if the Matrix was inexpensive it is likely a knock-off.

The bottom-of-the-line Matrix still uses screw terminals...

https://www.fishman.com/wp-content/u...tion_guide.pdf

In this particular case, I'll just be using the UST to supplement the Lyric which I have in the same guitar. I'm confident that I could EQ a Sonitone transducer decently enough, but I strongly suspect that the Sonitone compromises a guitar's acoustic tone more than the Matrix. I'd certainly agree that the Matrix is more fragile and problematic. I'd be tempted to put an LB6 in the guitar if I thought the preamp could handle it.

[BluesKing777]

Back to the Baggs Soundscape....

Here is the challenge MAX :

One 1937 Gibson L-0 that I don't want to alter to add an internal pickup, so in goes the Baggs M80 and it is run to my Fishman Pro EQ for a cut and slash and burn. And after cuts, it isn't a long way from the sound of the Baggs Anthem in my Gibson Dove.... (I can't compare the Anthem and M80 in the Dove because the Anthem soundhole controls are in the way of a soundhole pickup install )

But anyway, the M80 eq'd is very good for singer songwriter sort of things, strumming some chords while singing, but that old electric guitar sound thing and a slight 'phasey' effect on the first string appears if we challenge it a bit more with some hard fingerpicked blues, for example.

I have run it to my Tonedexter but obviously I don't have a wavefile of the the Gibson, but used a Gibson LG3 file I have. The result is pretty good, really just sounds even more 'EQ'd'.......

I can't wait to see if the Baggs Soundscape improves the above....






BluesKing777.

[lppier]

Originally Posted by BluesKing777

Back to the Baggs Soundscape....



Here is the challenge MAX :



One 1937 Gibson L-0 that I don't want to alter to add an internal pickup, so in goes the Baggs M80 and it is run to my Fishman Pro EQ for a cut and slash and burn. And after cuts, it isn't a long way from the sound of the Baggs Anthem in my Gibson Dove.... (I can't compare the Anthem and M80 in the Dove because the Anthem soundhole controls are in the way of a soundhole pickup install )



But anyway, the M80 eq'd is very good for singer songwriter sort of things, strumming some chords while singing, but that old electric guitar sound thing and a slight 'phasey' effect on the first string appears if we challenge it a bit more with some hard fingerpicked blues, for example.



I have run it to my Tonedexter but obviously I don't have a wavefile of the the Gibson, but used a Gibson LG3 file I have. The result is pretty good, really just sounds even more 'EQ'd'.......



I can't wait to see if the Baggs Soundscape improves the above....













BluesKing777.

That guitar has a lot of vibe to it looks wise!

[guitaniac]

The Baggs NAMM rep, Mike, gives a little more detail about the Soundscape's anti-feedback feature in this video, starting around 3:25. If I understand him correctly, the anti-feedback knob controls the depth of three separate notches. I presume the particular instrument's "feedback profile" determines what the midpoint frequencies of those notches will be.

https://youtu.be/2LV4QblNju4

[Petty1818]

More videos have popped up but unfortunately they are all from NAMM so it's the same Bourgeois guitar with the Element pickup. I am less excited about the Soundscape than I initially was but I am eager to hear some real life experiences.

[Cuki79]

Originally Posted by guitaniac

The Baggs NAMM rep, Mike, gives a little more detail about the Soundscape's anti-feedback feature in this video, starting around 3:25. If I understand him correctly, the anti-feedback knob controls the depth of three separate notches. I presume the particular instrument's "feedback profile" determines what the midpoint frequencies of those notches will be.

https://youtu.be/2LV4QblNju4

one can also install a frequency analyser app on his phone and measure the frequency when tapping the bridge... then he/she can adjust his notch accordingly...

Also pedal with 3 notches controlled by one pot is something VERY easy to do with an axoloti board... it does not require any programming knowledge... and cost less than $100. (You can even add an 1024 pts IR onboard)

[guitaniac]

Originally Posted by Cuki79

one can also install a frequency analyser app on his phone and measure the frequency when tapping the bridge... then he/she can adjust his notch accordingly...

Also pedal with 3 notches controlled by one pot is something VERY easy to do with an axoloti board... it does not require any programming knowledge... and cost less than $100. (You can even add an 1024 pts IR onboard)

I don't doubt that other knowledgable people could do the same thing, but I give credit to the Baggs folks for making it part of a multi-function pedal and making it available to dummies like me. It should be a welcome boon to the many folks in need of a simple and effective deterent to feedback and/or overly muddy tone.

[martingitdave]

Originally Posted by Petty1818

More videos have popped up but unfortunately they are all from NAMM so it's the same Bourgeois guitar with the Element pickup. I am less excited about the Soundscape than I initially was but I am eager to hear some real life experiences.

The demos I've heard with this pedal sound like the Aura system with 25% image. That's a good tone for live performance, but not the mic like tone I would have expected from a ToneDexter competitor.

[Petty1818]

Originally Posted by martingitdave

The demos I've heard with this pedal sound like the Aura system with 25% image. That's a good tone for live performance, but not the mic like tone I would have expected from a ToneDexter competitor.

For sure. To me, it almost sounds more like that TC Body Rez pedal where there's more compression and eq applied. I think the Tonedexter is still the way to go for mic-like tones. However, I could see the Soundscape being a perfect match for the K&K pickup as it could add just a touch more of an airy tone. It could even make magnetic pickups sound a bit less magnetic.

[guitaniac]

Originally Posted by Petty1818

For sure. To me, it almost sounds more like that TC Body Rez pedal where there's more compression and eq applied. I think the Tonedexter is still the way to go for mic-like tones. However, I could see the Soundscape being a perfect match for the K&K pickup as it could add just a touch more of an airy tone. It could even make magnetic pickups sound a bit less magnetic.

A pretty cool demo vid would be a before & after comparison with all four basic pickup types: internal mic (Lyric), SBT (iBeam), UST (Element) and mag (M1). My suspicion is that it will work noticeably better with some pickup types than others. Be that as it may, I still think the Soundscape will be a very useful bargain at $400.

[BluesKing777]

Of course, they would all be unemployed if someone invented a new soundhole pickup that...gasp..sounds like your acoustic guitar.....

I mean, my Baggs M80 heavily EQ'd sounds good with strumming, but stretch out and...it soon becomes an electric guitar.

My Baggs Anthem sounds great strummed also and better and more articulate than some pickups for higher notes, but there is that underlying metallic sound and the mic is masking the quack of the Element really.

My Matons with the Maton Ap5-Pro system sound great, leagues ahead of the above, but to add a Maton pickup to my Gibson J50 would require a large hole near the bridge for the pickup system and a large hole on the upper bout for the controls....hmmm, I have considered buying a budget Maton with the pickup and.....>>>>>>>>>> (The J50 is just a plain 2002 model, nothing rare...hmmmmm).


BluesKing777.

[jonfields45]

Kind of interesting what we all hear in the Baggs demo of the Soundscape.

I hear best in class.

Others hear something close to the least improvement you could make on a UST.

I guess this is why there are nearly a hundred Tube Screamer options on the market!

[martingitdave]

Originally Posted by jonfields45

Kind of interesting what we all hear in the Baggs demo of the Soundscape.



I hear best in class.



Others hear something close to the least improvement you could make on a UST.



I guess this is why there are nearly a hundred Tube Screamer options on the market!

Indeed! We all hear differently and prefer different sounds at a live gig.

[cdkrugjr]

Originally Posted by jonfields45

Using a cell phone mic is a nice cost savings to the end user if it works well enough.

Josh Scott has touched on this on his JHS Pedals Vlog.

One of the points he makes was that all gear makers are buying the same devices, so what sets someone like Strymon or ToneDexter apart sonically from Behringer at the end of the day is their DSP software, apart from the plastic cases not holding up, obviously...

"All" you need to do to get sound with some arbitrary microphone is EQ around the characteristics of the microphone.

But as Josh points out, getting that right in Software is the difficult part.

[guitaniac]

Originally Posted by Petty1818

For sure. To me, it almost sounds more like that TC Body Rez pedal where there's more compression and eq applied. I think the Tonedexter is still the way to go for mic-like tones. However, I could see the Soundscape being a perfect match for the K&K pickup as it could add just a touch more of an airy tone. It could even make magnetic pickups sound a bit less magnetic.

In the case of the many K&K rigs which tend to be excessively bassy and feedback prone, a Soundscape Voiceprint would do the same thing that a ToneDexter WaveMap would do. It would yield a more even-toned representation of the guitar's acoustic sound. And if the user chose not to blend much Voiceprint into the signal, the Soundscape could still be used to eliminate muddiness and feedback in a much more precise and less compromising way than simply rolling off the entire bass end.

I happen to have an iBeam super-glued into my old D28. It amplifies very well at a low volume, but becomes problematic when I crank the gain for bare-fingered picking in a noisy setting. I'd love to see if the Soundscape could give me enough feedback-free gain for that scenario. I strongly suspect that it would, without rolling off the entire low end.