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#1
08-20-2017, 03:26 PM
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Help w LR Baggs M80 tone
Hey guys,
Ive enjoyed the forum here to get great information, and have "lurked" here for a long time...This is actually my first post. Im hoping some of you here can offer your input... I just bought an installed a Baggs M80 into a fender Jimmy Dale Kingman dreadnaught. Its sounds much better than the fishman piezo that came w the guitar, but im hearing a peculiar "nasally" kind of almost scooped mids tone happening which i would really like to dial out if possible. Its kind of "there" all the time, but i notice it the most on the g and b strings. Ive adjusted the polepieces for a very even balance from string to string. Ive also tried switching from active (with the slight eq curve in this mode), to passive, which doesnt make a tremendous difference in what im hearing. Im running through a zoom g3 (for compression and eq) into a fender acoustic 100 amp and also into a small PA. I tried "searching" for the nasally bandwith with the g3's parametric eq so i could pull it back, but im struggling to isolate it and notch it out. I may call baggs and ask for their advice. I know how highly regarded the M80 is and i really want to like and keep it, but so far, this is really an issue for me. Does anyone else here notice this slightly "hollow" or nasal aspect of the M80's eq curve...or is it just me? Did i maybe get a dud? Any input or advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks! 
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#3
08-20-2017, 04:33 PM
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Thanks dcmey...
Strings are elixir 11- 52. New... i changed them when i installed the M80. I do have another amp... and a small yamaha stagepas600i PA. Other amp is a Fender acoustasonic. Both amps and PA are eq'd pretty flat, so Its definitely the pickup. I havent heard or read any clips or reviews where other owners or users of the M80 have mentioned this, which is why it was really surprising to me that mine seems to have this nasal quality to the eq curve. That's why i was thinking maybe i got a dud or defective pickup somehow. I have read one other forum comment somewhere from a guy that that said his brand new baggs M1sounded "bad". He returned it to baggs. They sent it back fixed and he loved it after that... so i dunno.
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#4
08-20-2017, 04:39 PM
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#5
08-20-2017, 06:33 PM
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Are your Elixer strings 80/20 or phosphor bronze?
In my experience 80/20 strings with mag pickups sound kinda like what you're describing. Make sure you are trying it with a set of phosphor bronze strings before you give up on the sound of pickup.
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#6
08-20-2017, 07:28 PM
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Have you adjusted the pole heights? I have my M80 in my Martin D15. It's really trial and error, but you can play with the distance between each magnet and the string.
I have tinkered quite a bit, and with my Baggs Venue preamp, it's my best acoustic live tone. Good luck. Don't give up on the pick up. It's a great live pup.
__________________
i got tired of updating my guitars.
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#7
08-21-2017, 06:43 AM
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Happy M80 user here. Thoughts.....
As mentioned Elixir are known to be potental problems with acoustic mags. I use standard EJ17. Don't assume your amp or pa will not colour the sound even when they are both eq'd flat. Advice, if you have a good pair of headphones, use them to build the patch on your Zoom from scratch. I use my M80 into a Line 6 HD500X with just some light tube comp and eq which then goes to FOH. I get very good results.
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#8
08-21-2017, 07:33 PM
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Yo OP,
Full-time musician here & happy M80 user in a Martin D18...the following has been my experience in tweakin' this pup with nice results: 1.) non-coated PB's like Martin M540 or John Pearse 600L work well with M80...choose one with thicker core rather then thin core strings. 2.) adjusting pole pieces makes a huge difference. 3.) slide pickup starting at closest to fretboard & slowly move back towards bridge until 5th fret harmonics come in. 4.) adjust mids on amp/or out board eg if available to dial in better tone...for a quick very usable and simple fix, the Boss AD-2 has a freq. adj to dial in the sweet spot of the M80. It also has the ability to add a touch of compression and resonance too. 5.) if amp has phase switch, try which position sounds better to you; beside busting feedback it does change the tone despite what some may say otherwise. * I don't pad my mounts because I like the percussive nature of this pickup, tho others may not and thus add a bit of felt or cork to reduce it. * I also use a Fishman Loudbox Performer which has some nice eq to help dial in the M80 via mid knob, anti-feedback/freq. knob and phase switch. Best wishes!
__________________
 NOLE TUNES & Coastal Acoustic Music one love jam!  Martin D18 & 3 lil' birdz; Takamine KC70, P3NC x 2 
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#9
08-23-2017, 10:34 PM
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Thanks very much gentlemen, for all your thoughtful input and advice.
To answer some of the points some of you asked about: -I'm using elixir phosphor bronze 11-52 -I have experimented with and adjusted the pole pieces and think everything is very well balanced with the loudness of each string all being even ... although, as you guys know, Baggs ships the M80 with no pole piece installed for the B string (the B and G strings are where I notice the hollow/nasally type of curve going on the most)... so maybe I will experiment with installing the B string pole piece or gently moving the pickup around... not sure if that will help or hurt. Im 99.9% certain the source of the hollow sounding mids is in fact the M80, because with the stock Fishman piezo that came with the guitar through the exact same rig, it sounded quacky and a bit unnatural, but it didn't have the unexpected nasally- ness (is that a word?) The only other thing I can think of, is that this is the first soundhole pickup I've ever owned. I suppose its at least possible that my ears are so "used to" the tonal characteristics of an under saddle piezo (unpleasant as they may be) that I'm just simply not accustomed to the way the M80 sounds since it picks up a lot of the body. Even if thats the case (and I don't think it is), I'm still unhappy with the tone. I'm definitely gonna stick it out and not give up on the M80. I will look into some of your suggestions and try to call Baggs and ask for their input before the weekend comes. If anyone else has any input, please feel free to chime in... Thanks again everyone
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#10
08-24-2017, 06:28 AM
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Help w LR Baggs M80 tone
I really like everything about Elixer strings except for one thing: that is that they don't produce much output from a magnetic pickup. With an M80 that means you are getting more body resonance and less strings. I ended switching to coated D'Adderios to give me a better balance between the magnetic and body resonance components of the sound.
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#11
08-28-2017, 11:07 PM
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Thanks again for your input gentlemen.
Just an update: After much experimentation and adjustment of the pole pieces...combined with running my signal through a TC Helicon play acoustic i picked up used for cheap... I have dialed out the nasal mid curve I was experiencing. To my surprise, I am really happy with the Baggs M80 now. I think I just wasn't used to a sound hole pickup that picks up so much of the body resonance of the guitar, and therefore didn't have a good frame of reference for it. I was wrongly expecting it would be an immediate improvement to my sound with little to no learning curve or adjustment needed... I was wrong, it just required some patience to get it sounding quite good. Happy camper now...
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#12
08-29-2017, 07:23 AM
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