What is the consensus on the Baggs Element?

[51 Relic]

I've got the Baggs Element in my J45 and find it works great I just don't over cook the volume control to keep the gain down and I get a great clear sound . Amp wise it really loves my Marshall AS50D rather than my AER Compact 60 . With my other guitars it's mostly the other way round . The TC Bodyrez is a good suggestion

[Davis Webb]

Originally Posted by 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.

Thank you for this. I will look into the DI.

[Perchman]

Scott, even though my Element VTC in my J35 is active and has the battery pack, I tried it with my FireEye and it made an amazing difference! My D55 has JJB 330 and the Element has some attack in its sound that’s more “immediate” if that makes sense? I’m much happier with the warmth that the FireEye adds.

[Charmed Life Picks]

Originally Posted by Perchman

Scott, even though my Element VTC in my J35 is active and has the battery pack, I tried it with my FireEye and it made an amazing difference! My D55 has JJB 330 and the Element has some attack in its sound that’s more “immediate” if that makes sense? I’m much happier with the warmth that the FireEye adds.

Perch, thanks. I'm not familiar with FireEye but their stuff looks pretty pricey. Which unit are you running from them?

Thanks Very Much. I'm gonna start another thread to hear about pickups around $100 or less.

But please do respond, Perch. Thanks again.....

scott

[Perchman]

Scott, I’m using the Red Eye, single channel. I love the simplicity of it. I got it to use with my JJB 330 because of the impedance issues. I loved the warmth and tried it with the Element and it had the same effect. If you’re certain your going to install the Element, and it doesn’t sound like you are, the Red Eye is a worthwhile addition. No, it’s not inexpensive though.

[Charmed Life Picks]

Originally Posted by Perchman

Scott, I’m using the Red Eye, single channel. I love the simplicity of it. I got it to use with my JJB 330 because of the impedance issues. I loved the warmth and tried it with the Element and it had the same effect. If you’re certain your going to install the Element, and it doesn’t sound like you are, the Red Eye is a worthwhile addition. No, it’s not inexpensive though.

Thanks for the tip, Perch. In general, I tend to spend more on the front end to get the best pickup I can buy. I often go into playing situations where I don't have time to set up DI's, pedals, etc. So plug and play tends to work best for me. Looks like a good box though. Perhaps down the road.

scott

[The Kid!]

Originally Posted by Charmed Life Picks

Perch, thanks. I'm not familiar with FireEye but their stuff looks pretty pricey.

It's all relative. Some people think that $40 for a single guitar pic is pricey, but for me, if it makes a noticeable difference to me, I'll pay it. Even if it only makes a difference to me.

Eventually you get into diminishing returns, but all of the little things add up. Pickups and pre's are an important part of the equation.

I too, tend to focus on the actual sound source, and try to replicate that, but everything downstream matters too.

Since I already have a Tonedexter, I was thinking about getting a Line 6 HX Stomp & a Red-Eye for a small grab & go board that will run Tonedexter profiles. I'd have wavemaps, FX, and a great pre.

A Tonedexter and a Red-Eye could also work and some cats have even rigged up rechargeable battery power for open mics. With the TD, you could make pretty much any pickup sound fantastic. It's not the simplest or cheapest solution, but it would sound amazing.

[rockabilly69]

Originally Posted by AndyC

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

I also don't like the Anthem at stage volume, it has been a pain to manage feedback, and sounds compressed. Which I hear with any LR Baggs system with a mic, especially the Lyric. Funny I was considering adding a K&K as a soundboard transducer as a dual source with my Mag-mic in my Weber Roundbody guitar, and EQ'ing the individual sources with my Grace Felix.

[rockabilly69]

Originally Posted by 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.

Some of the best players in the world, would disagree with you here! I've never seen any pickup system that doesn't need the help in some trying sound situations. And I can't think of a pickup system that wouldn't benefit from the Grace series of pedals (Felix and Alex), or the Empress Para EQ! Also, I have a Jam 200 and I like it for what it is, but without a little help from another cab (I use a Schertler Bass 200), I would say it has limitations for band use. But the DI is very good on these. And if you get the thing off the ground at ear height it makes a killer monitor.

[noledog]

Originally Posted by rockabilly69

Some of the best players in the world, would disagree with you here! I've never seen any pickup system that doesn't need the help in some trying sound situations. And I can't think of a pickup system that wouldn't benefit from the Grace series of pedals (Felix and Alex), or the Empress Para EQ! Also, I have a Jam 200 and I like it for what it is, but without a little help from another cab (I use a Schertler Bass 200), I would say it has limitations for band use. But the DI is very good on these. And if you get the thing off the ground at ear height it makes a killer monitor.

Takamine's Palathetic pickup is imo the best plug n play system that does not need any outboard gear to sound excellent...and I;ve played some difficult acoustic venues. I played 28 different venues last year and yes some are challenging, but the Tak handled it. In addition, the onboard CT4DX and CTP-2 & 3 preamps have remarkable mid frequency attenuation. I've tried many systems as a full-time pro, the Anthem is nice for some and I've heard some folks use it with great success for their style like AGF member Gary Roberts aka Groberts. That said, he does use some outboard gear. The Anthem does not work for me tho as I'm sure the Tak's aren't for others. I agree the Anthem needs outboard help to optimize it.The other system I used that had excellent plug n play that was not enhanced by outboard gear was the F1 Aura Plus I had in my Martin Retro, probably the most natural, authentic to the guitar model system I've heard.

[The Kid!]

Originally Posted by rockabilly69

Some of the best players in the world, would disagree with you here! I've never seen any pickup system that doesn't need the help in some trying sound situations. And I can't think of a pickup system that wouldn't benefit from the Grace series of pedals (Felix and Alex), or the Empress Para EQ!

Agreed. Even something simple like the red-eye is a noticeable improvement on pickups.

Originally Posted by noledog

Takamine's Palathetic pickup is imo the best plug n play system that does not need any outboard gear to sound excellent...and I;ve played some difficult acoustic venues. I played 28 different venues last year and yes some are challenging, but the Tak handled it. In addition, the onboard CT4DX and CTP-2 & 3 preamps have remarkable mid frequency attenuation..

They definitely have their fans, and that midrange control is so important, but Taks sound like Taks to me, and personally, I'm a fan of them in a band mix, but for me there are much more acoustic sounding acoustics out there. I feel similarly about Cole Clarks and Matons. I've seen Tommy Emanuel live a few times and I'm not crazy about his plugged in tone either.

The Tonedexter has been a game changer. Especially experimenting with different mics and placements. If you get a good wavemap, you can really get a killer sound of your actual guitar. There's some work and some trial and error, and I still use a Sunnaudio pre, but it's pretty incredible. It's also not very plug in and play, but it's part of my rig now and I gig a lot. Everything is always wired up all the time on my board.

[noledog]

Originally Posted by The Kid!

Agreed. Even something simple like the red-eye is a noticeable improvement on pickups.



They definitely have their fans, and that midrange control is so important, but Taks sound like Taks to me, and personally, I'm a fan of them in a band mix, but for me there are much more acoustic sounding acoustics out there. I feel similarly about Cole Clarks and Matons. I've seen Tommy Emanuel live a few times and I'm not crazy about his plugged in tone either.

The Tonedexter has been a game changer. Especially experimenting with different mics and placements. If you get a good wavemap, you can really get a killer sound of your actual guitar. There's some work and some trial and error, and I still use a Sunnaudio pre, but it's pretty incredible. It's also not very plug in and play, but it's part of my rig now and I gig a lot. Everything is always wired up all the time on my board.

That's why I included in my post (that you left out) about the F1Aura system. I used it along with my Taks and the F1AP definitely sounded not only more naturally acoustic, but like the Tonedexter, it sounds like the actual model; in my case it was a Martin 000-18e Retro. That said, the Taks tone works better for what I do tho in terms of what your saying, I agree the Tonedexter like the F1AP will achieve a more; "my guitar only louder" tone...but that's not what I'm after in my shows, I need a bit more if ya can dig what I'm sayin'. Btw, I love TE's playin', not tone so much and I like my tone from my Taks more than his tone from his Matons. They are different and I prefer Taks system over the Maton's I've demoed.

[The Kid!]

Originally Posted by noledog

That's why I included in my post (that you left out) about the F1Aura system. I used it along with my Taks and the F1AP definitely sounded not only more naturally acoustic, but like the Tonedexter, it sounds like the actual model; in my case it was a Martin 000-18e Retro. That said, the Taks tone works better for what I do tho in terms of what your saying, I agree the Tonedexter like the F1AP will achieve a more; "my guitar only louder" tone...but that's not what I'm after in my shows, I need a bit more if ya can dig what I'm sayin'. Btw, I love TE's playin', not tone so much and I like my tone from my Taks more than his tone from his Matons. They are different and I prefer Taks system over the Maton's I've demoed.

Cool man. I'd love to hear your setup.

[Charmed Life Picks]

Just wanted to thank everyone for your contributions. Been busy in the shop, but will respond soon.

Thanks Again,
Scott

[noledog]

Originally Posted by The Kid!

Cool man. I'd love to hear your setup.

Here's a live clip if ya wade thru the folks yakin' LOL! I simply run my Tak KC70 into a Loudbox Performer via a wireless...best if ya use earbudz in HD