not happy with M1A on D28

whitewave · #1 12-27-2019, 03:19 AM

I'm not gigging at the moment, but when I bought the M1A I was playing both with an acoustic duo and with a loud rock band, M1A was an easy choice.
I love Lr Baggs products, but M1A is not for me, the tone I'm getting is too electric guitar like, I'd like a much more natural tone.
I've been considering alternatives in the last months and came finally to different conclusions.
First of all, I don't want to drill any hole under my bridge and less thing into the guitar the better.
I'm saying this because I like sample of the Anthem a lot, but for the reasons said I cannot consider it a viable option.

I have an Headway EDB-2, so a dual source system may be an option.
I have a K&K pwm on another guitar, it's a Recording King based on a 00028. I've had terrible low resonance feedback issues with, then I bought the Headway and everything was magically solved. I do like the K&K a lot.

Options I'm thinking about are:
1. keep the M1A and add a K&K pwm. Are they a good pairing? M1A may turn useful if I rejoin a rock band.
2. K&K Trinity Solo Mini. It's intriguing. I'd have the Pure mini on stage, and I could blend the mic in when the situation allows me to do so. I guess the Headway is a good pre for doing that. I love the fact that the aestethic of the guitar is not changed in any way
3. Schertler AG6 with the mic added. I'm in Europe, it wouldn't be crazy expensive, it seems a very good sounding product, but probably not too far from the M1A.
4. Lr Baggs Lyric. I'm not crazy about the 9 volt battery into my guitar, I don't like it at all actually. But it seems a good option, even if more expensive than previous ones

What do you think about these options? And am I missing something?

Many thanks.

aaron_t · #2 12-27-2019, 04:28 AM

James May Ultra Tonic! If you’re solving for feedback, want a natural tone and a minimal install (think K&K pure mini), it’s the one for you. I have one in my main axe and have been missing it so much playing my Taylor w/ miserable ES2 while it’s been in the shop. I had also installed one in a guitar I had since sold.

meb · #3 12-27-2019, 04:41 AM

I would try the AG-6/S-mic. imho, It is a leap over the M1A, and btw the
mini-plugs are compatible...i.e. you can plug it into your current endpin
jack/harness.

63telemaster · #4 12-27-2019, 06:36 AM

I never liked the M1A in my D28. It had a resonant peak in the high mids which made it sound very honky and was difficult to eq. The M80 was better in this respect especially in passive mode (bypassing the preamp) but still needed a lot of treatment to sound decent. The "body sensing" that Baggs promotes with these pickups often causes more problems than it is worth imho especially in a full on band situation.

I now use a Dimarzio Black Angel which is a much more balanced and natural sounding pickup. It still needs careful setup and eq but it's more a case of fine tuning the core sound than getting rid of problems with the sound. I've also heard good things about the Fishman Blackstack but haven't tried one.

PANDAPANDELO · #5 12-27-2019, 06:39 AM

Have you considered the Schatten HFN Passive? HUGE natural sounding, with an easy install.

whitewave · #6 12-27-2019, 08:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PANDAPANDELO

Have you considered the Schatten HFN Passive? HUGE natural sounding, with an easy install.

Yes I did, but frankly I don't see any major reason to prefer it over the K&K.
K&K is cheaper, I know how it sounds and I know my preamp work great with it. But, if I'm not wrong, Schatten HFN can be placed with an adhesive, so it's way easier to remove than K&K pwm.
I've listened to lots of sample on youtube, I like it, but I don't prefer its tone to K&K.

RockerDuck · #7 12-27-2019, 08:56 AM

An EQ pedal solves alot with the M1A I have in my Yairi.

rschultz · #8 12-27-2019, 05:27 PM

I’m in the process of adding the M1a to my k&k. Love the m80 I have. I’ll let you know👍

rschultz · #9 12-27-2019, 05:28 PM

By the way, M1a + Lyric won’t work in the same jack, one of them needs to be passive. Maybe the M1a can be passive if you take the battery out?!?

TheSaint · #10 12-30-2019, 06:58 AM

I've been using the M1 active for a few years now in a full band setting and have been very happy with it. It does exactly what I want.

This year I've been doing more duo acoustic gigs and experimented with some other FX units. That got me listening more closely to my acoustic guitar sound and I found that it was a bit 'harder' than I wanted. Not really sure how to better describe the sound, but it wasn't what I wanted in an acoustic set.

I spent many, many hours trying to find a solution, even getting to the point where I thought about trying other pick ups.

I had been reading some articles by electric players about how they back off the volume control on their guitar to obtain different sounds and thought it might also work for acoustics, so I tried it.

And it worked beautifully...

When I fitted the pick up, I naturally set the volume to maximum. But just taking a notch off the M1A volume control cleaned up the sound, making it much more 'acoustic'...

For information, my guitar goes through a Bose Tonematch and then to my Bose L1. I'm very careful about gain control and only use a little reverb and chorus, no compression.

So before think of any other solutions, adjust the volume first. You might save yourself a lot of time and money.

rschultz · #11 12-31-2019, 11:04 PM

Recently installed a M1a in a guitar with a k&k. Pretty good by itself, not ideal. But better than I expected. Adding an IR made it even better.

mondoslug · #12 01-01-2020, 04:24 AM

If it's in the budget, I'd bite the bullet and have the hole drilled & try an under saddle pickup. It's not the end of the world, you won't even know it's there.. YMMV naturally.

Quote:

Originally Posted by whitewave

I'm not gigging at the moment, but when I bought the M1A I was playing both with an acoustic duo and with a loud rock band, M1A was an easy choice.
I love Lr Baggs products, but M1A is not for me, the tone I'm getting is too electric guitar like, I'd like a much more natural tone.
I've been considering alternatives in the last months and came finally to different conclusions.
First of all, I don't want to drill any hole under my bridge and less thing into the guitar the better.
I'm saying this because I like sample of the Anthem a lot, but for the reasons said I cannot consider it a viable option.

I have an Headway EDB-2, so a dual source system may be an option.
I have a K&K pwm on another guitar, it's a Recording King based on a 00028. I've had terrible low resonance feedback issues with, then I bought the Headway and everything was magically solved. I do like the K&K a lot.

Options I'm thinking about are:
1. keep the M1A and add a K&K pwm. Are they a good pairing? M1A may turn useful if I rejoin a rock band.
2. K&K Trinity Solo Mini. It's intriguing. I'd have the Pure mini on stage, and I could blend the mic in when the situation allows me to do so. I guess the Headway is a good pre for doing that. I love the fact that the aestethic of the guitar is not changed in any way
3. Schertler AG6 with the mic added. I'm in Europe, it wouldn't be crazy expensive, it seems a very good sounding product, but probably not too far from the M1A.
4. Lr Baggs Lyric. I'm not crazy about the 9 volt battery into my guitar, I don't like it at all actually. But it seems a good option, even if more expensive than previous ones

What do you think about these options? And am I missing something?

Many thanks.

whitewave · #13 01-01-2020, 06:51 AM

Nope, I won’t drill my bridge. I used to have a piezo in another guitar, and promised to myself never again.

I took the M1A out of my guitar. I feel the guitar sounds now better than ever, but I admit it could be a wrong perception.
Your suggestion about lowering the volume force me to try again finding a good tone with the M1A.
I have the Headway edb2 but an Hx Stomp as well, i could experiment with IRs

mondoslug · #14 01-01-2020, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whitewave

Nope, I won’t drill my bridge. I used to have a piezo in another guitar, and promised to myself never again.

I took the M1A out of my guitar. I feel the guitar sounds now better than ever, but I admit it could be a wrong perception.
Your suggestion about lowering the volume force me to try again finding a good tone with the M1A.
I have the Headway edb2 but an Hx Stomp as well, i could experiment with IRs

I had an M1 & MiA, my guitars sounded better acoustically when they weren't on it. They loaded the top, it felt tighter not as drastic as a Sunrise of course but I noticed it. That is only my opinion though.

63telemaster · #15 01-01-2020, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whitewave

Nope, I won’t drill my bridge. I used to have a piezo in another guitar, and promised to myself never again.

I took the M1A out of my guitar. I feel the guitar sounds now better than ever, but I admit it could be a wrong perception.
Your suggestion about lowering the volume force me to try again finding a good tone with the M1A.
I have the Headway edb2 but an Hx Stomp as well, i could experiment with IRs

Try the M1A with your HX Stomp. The M1A already has a preamp so probably not necessary to use any of the HX preamps. Use the parametric eq block to zero in on offending frequencies and pull them out. You might then want to experiment with some IRs to add tone but be sparing, I've found that anything over 20% of IR mix is too much. EQ is your friend!