What is the consensus on the Baggs Element?

[Flemish guy]

Recently I joined a new band where I play acoustic while the other guitarist plays electric. i bought a Gibson j-35 Collector's Edition with the Element installed for this purpose (a great guitar).
I also bought a Jam 150 amp.
The sound I'm getting from this combination (just guitar straight into ch3 of the Jam) is Ok, Better than I expected but not earth shattering.
I was planning to change out the pickup but I'm not sure.
What do you guys think, what are your experiences with the Baggs Element? Should I keep it and maybe just buy a BodyRez or something or change to some other pickup?

[AndyC]

You can get a good sound with the element - and it's ideal in a band situation because its very feedback resistant.

I would think about a decent preamp in conjunction with maybe a BodyRes pedal and that should give you the control you need.

[Petty1818]

Originally Posted by Flemish guy

Recently I joined a new band where I play acoustic while the other guitarist plays electric. i bought a Gibson j-35 Collector's Edition with the Element installed for this purpose (a great guitar).
I also bought a Jam 150 amp.
The sound I'm getting from this combination (just guitar straight into ch3 of the Jam) is Ok, Better than I expected but not earth shattering.
I was planning to change out the pickup but I'm not sure.
What do you guys think, what are your experiences with the Baggs Element? Should I keep it and maybe just buy a BodyRez or something or change to some other pickup?

The Element is my least favourite UST but a lot of people like them. I find it has a very artificial high end. If I were you, I would just go for the Anthem. Your guitar already has the Element which is part of the Anthem so the installation should be very easy. Some people, including myself, notice a bit of a change to the unplugged tone with the Element installed but again, you already have one in there and you already like the sound of the guitar so installing the Anthem won't change anything. It's better than getting the Bodyrez. My theory is, always get the best sounding pickup first and avoid getting pedals to make an OK pickup sound better.

[Al Acuff]

Perhaps try an LR Baggs Session DI. It tames the annoying frequencies (quack, honk, and woof) with a multiband compressor and it fattens and warms the sound with analogue saturation.

It doesn't heavily process the sound. It's subtle, but after you play through it for a while you will not want to play without it. At least that has been my experience.

By the way, you want the gain to be flashing yellow and an occasional red is ok on the peaks. If you run the input gain lower it will not give you the full benefit of the compressor.

[jonfields45]

I use a Fishman ToneDEQ's compression to tame my Element based Mi-Si. So much depends on what you want to hear that you really need to audition the alternatives in-person. Between the Zoom AC-3 & A2, TC Bodyrez, Fishman Aura, Tonedexter, etc., sticking with a UST for its practical aspects (feedback resistance, consistency, lack of strange resonant peaks you only discover at the gig, etc.) and being finicky about genuine acoustic tone, has never been easier.

[Ed-in-Ohio]

Originally Posted by Flemish guy

...snip...Should I keep it and maybe just buy a BodyRez ...snip...?

In my experience the BodyRez can make a huge difference with the Element. That's worth a try before having surgery done on the guitar.

[AndyC]

Originally Posted by Petty1818

The Element is my least favourite UST but a lot of people like them. I find it has a very artificial high end. If I were you, I would just go for the Anthem. Your guitar already has the Element which is part of the Anthem so the installation should be very easy. Some people, including myself, notice a bit of a change to the unplugged tone with the Element installed but again, you already have one in there and you already like the sound of the guitar so installing the Anthem won't change anything. It's better than getting the Bodyrez. My theory is, always get the best sounding pickup first and avoid getting pedals to make an OK pickup sound better.

Personally, I would disagree re: the Anthem - but everybody is entitled to an opinion...!

[RustyAxe]

I have a Baggs Element VTC in my Breedlove Root OM/SRh. I have K&K in my others. I get consistently good comments about my tone with the Baggs, despite it being, according the collective "wisdom" in this forum, a cruddy UST.

What pickup works for YOU is largely dependent upon what work you want the pickup to do for you.

[Petty1818]

Originally Posted by AndyC

Personally, I would disagree re: the Anthem - but everybody is entitled to an opinion...!

Care to elaborate? My theory is that you can only do so much with the Element and spending more money on items like the Session or Body Rez seems like a waste. The Anthem will give a much more mic like tone.

[AndyC]

Originally Posted by Petty1818

Care to elaborate? My theory is that you can only do so much with the Element and spending more money on items like the Session or Body Rez seems like a waste. The Anthem will give a much more mic like tone.

I'm happy to share my personal experience of the Anthem, which I am sure is not the same as yours. I found the mic element particularly difficult to manage (feedback) at stage volumes, especially with a band - so you end up dialling down the mic and you're left with the element on its own. On the SL version of the Anthem (which some people rave about), you can't even do this - because there is an electronic crossover in the control unit which means that if you turn the mic down you don't get the full frequency response of the element. I think there probably IS a place for the Anthem in quieter, singer guitarist type gigs but the OP posed a question about playing with a band, and anything with a mic in the chain is going to struggle in a band situation. In my opinion....

If you're interested, I now have a dual sytem (Element & K&K Pure Mini) connected into a stereo TRS socket in the guitar. I also add a Seymour Duncan MagMic to this combination if the mood takes me

[NoodleFingers]

The AGF is a great place to come for good information and lively debate. But I'm not sure you'll find a lot of consensus here.

You might want to do a search on the ToneDexter. Many users here have been getting a very mic-like, feedback-resistant tone from USTs with this brand new pedal.

[aknow]

If you need a pedal to achieve a decent sound, other parts of your rig should be looked at. The Jam 150 has band limitations, I have one.

[Flemish guy]

Thanks for the informative replies all of you!
I was not aware that you could add half of the Anthem system with the Element, that looks like an option to explore.

Also I know that I will need to look for a decent preamp/EQ, the Session looks great but the price also I'm afraid...

Aknow, what do you mean by the Jam 150 has band limitations?

[guitaniac]

The consensus seems to be that the DTAR Wavelength is the best pure UST system that incorporates the Element transducer, and that the Anthem SL or regular Anthem are the best anything goes system choices which employ the Element transducer. You won't be able to simply add a mic to the Element system which you have, however. You'll need to purchase the complete Anthem SL or Anthem system.

[larren]

Originally Posted by RustyAxe

I have a Baggs Element VTC in my Breedlove Root OM/SRh. I have K&K in my others. I get consistently good comments about my tone with the Baggs, despite it being, according the collective "wisdom" in this forum, a cruddy UST.

Totally agree. I have a Tanglewood TW70 (all solid OM size) fitted with a Baggs Element, and also get consistently good comments on my sound, with a lot of guitarists asking what type of pickup I'm using. I plug straight into my desk, a Yamaha MG12XU, generally with tops and bottoms set flat, and the mids reduced slightly. I don't know why there isn't much love for the Element on here. They sound great to me, and to a lot of my friends and associates, some with 40+ years of pro level playing and touring under their belts.