LR Baggs M1 fitting and Black Angel

[pieterh]

Originally Posted by mt8

Thought about it for awhile, think I just might settle for an active pickup as I do not want the hassle/have the need for preamps and active DIs at the moment.

Top of my list at the moment is the M1 active and Fishman Rare earth hum bucker, though I have read a few threads on here complaining on the lack of pole adjustability with the fishman. Is the M80 worth the price jump as compared to the 2 above?

I’ve heard good things about both. The M80 can be run passive if needed though it has inbuilt eq etc when run with the battery. Check out the video reviews on their website - our very own Doug Young gives one!

For me it sounds a bit too magnetic and metallic but it might be exactly what you are after. The M1 - on the reviews - sounds pretty good too though!

[shufflebeat]

If you like magnetic pickups the m1a is great. Personally I dislike them intensely, possibly because I remember when mags were the only option and that unnatural clang did some lasting damage. I did buy the m1a to get me out of a hole a few years ago and it did the job really well. It has sat in the cupboard since.

One thing you should consider is that, no matter what people say, phosphor bronze and bronze strings don't work well with any mag pickup which only responds to the steel core of such strings, the winding doesn't register. The outcome is that the 1st and 2nd strings sing out loud but the others sound anaemic and distant in comparison.

This can be solved to a great extent by using steel strings, which are fine, or nickel bronze which have a more complex and interesting sound, particularly if you don't play really hard.

Hope that's useful.

[mt8]

Seems like the M1 is the most suited to my needs. If I’m getting a black angel and preamp, that’s more than enough to cover for an M80 but if I can save a few bucks when M1A is just as good, why not.

[shufflebeat]

Originally Posted by mt8

...but if I can save a few bucks when M1A is just as good, why not.

There has been some discussion about m1a Vs m80 and the consensus seemed to be that the m80 was worth the extra £$€¥. As I previously stated I'm not qualified to comment because they all sound like a bag of spanners to me but I'd recommend searching for those threads before spending to get a more rounded perspective.

[mt8]

Does anyone of you know how high does the pickup protrude? I like to play with thumb slap and was wondering if the strings would hit the pickup or if it would be in the way of anything.

[63telemaster]

Originally Posted by mt8

Does anyone of you know how high does the pickup protrude? I like to play with thumb slap and was wondering if the strings would hit the pickup or if it would be in the way of anything.

In that case I'd stay away from the M80 and the M1 / M1A and go with the Black Angel. The Baggs pickups are slightly higher than the BA (from memory) and the body sensing "feature" of them means that if your thumb hits the pickup you'll hear a BIG thump.

My preference from experience of each in live situations.....

1 BA.....by a long way!
2 M80 (passive mode)
3 M80 (active mode)
4 M1A

[mt8]

Originally Posted by 63telemaster

In that case I'd stay away from the M80 and the M1 / M1A and go with the Black Angel. The Baggs pickups are slightly higher than the BA (from memory) and the body sensing "feature" of them means that if your thumb hits the pickup you'll hear a BIG thump.

My preference from experience of each in live situations.....

1 BA.....by a long way!
2 M80 (passive mode)
3 M80 (active mode)
4 M1A

This is toough, the form factor of BA is perfect, small enough for me to install and remove easily but I need a preamp. As for the M1, would have to remove the wings but it’s an active pickup so I save on the preamp.m

Is the Black angel good even in a 1 pickup system?

[63telemaster]

Originally Posted by mt8

This is toough, the form factor of BA is perfect, small enough for me to install and remove easily but I need a preamp. As for the M1, would have to remove the wings but it’s an active pickup so I save on the preamp.m

Is the Black angel good even in a 1 pickup system?

Yes.

Personally I didn't like the inbuilt preamp in the Baggs pickups. I still had to use heavy eq settings to get rid of annoying and problematic frequencies. The BA sounds better straight out of the box and with just a little eq ing can sound very good indeed. I use a HX Stomp which is perfect for my needs.....or would be had the theatres not all closed back in March

[mt8]

I checked on their dimarzio’s website it says

Resistance
1.66 Kohm

Does that mean the pickup has an output impedance of 1.66kOhm? Isn’t that low enough for a passive DI? Think I’m not seeing something here