Electrified My Martin D Jr!

[rmeyer7]

After much deliberating between pickup systems, I finally got my Dread Jr. stage-ready! I scored on an Anthem Tru-Mic system that was pulled out of a brand new but damaged Seagull (from Slightly Touched Guitar on Reverb) for only $209!

Tonight will be the maiden voyage using it at church. Been meaning to get a nice system in it ever since my wife got me the guitar for Christmas...3 Christmases ago.

[jricc]

Well that's cool rmeyer! Give us your report after church

[rmeyer7]

Originally Posted by jricc

Well that's cool rmeyer! Give us your report after church

For some reason I got no signal out of it when I plugged it in! I had already tested it with my acoustic amp at home and it worked just fine, but I had to rely on my old trusty workhorse (thankfully I brought a backup just in case).

[rmeyer7]

OK, now I need some advice/input. Has anyone experienced extremely low volume output from the Baggs Anthem TruMic system?

I'm talking about so little signal that, when plugging into a PA system, the gain for the channel had to be turned all the way up to maximum to get a usable volume.

The cables, DI box and channel on the mixer are all good (work perfectly with my other guitars, including one with the same Anthem system).

Any troubleshooting ideas are appreciated. Of course sending the unit back if it's defective is my last step but I'll do that if I absolutely have to.

[Goat Mick]

Originally Posted by rmeyer7

OK, now I need some advice/input. Has anyone experienced extremely low volume output from the Baggs Anthem TruMic system?

I'm talking about so little signal that, when plugging into a PA system, the gain for the channel had to be turned all the way up to maximum to get a usable volume.

The cables, DI box and channel on the mixer are all good (work perfectly with my other guitars, including one with the same Anthem system).

Any troubleshooting ideas are appreciated. Of course sending the unit back if it's defective is my last step but I'll do that if I absolutely have to.

That is odd. Was the level ok when you tried it out at home? My only other thought would be to use a powered DI like a Baggs Para DI.

[dnf777]

Im sure you tried a new battery? Connections? Cable? (I know, obvious, but those things still get us)

[rmeyer7]

Originally Posted by Goat Mick

That is odd. Was the level ok when you tried it out at home? My only other thought would be to use a powered DI like a Baggs Para DI.

At home I was using an amp, but I haven't yet compared how loud it is with another acoustic plugged in and the amp at the same volume. That will be my next test to see if there's a drastic difference in signal.

[rmeyer7]

Originally Posted by dnf777

Im sure you tried a new battery? Connections? Cable? (I know, obvious, but those things still get us)

Yep, tried those things. Also, other guitars worked as normal with the same instrument cable, DI box and XLR cable. It's just weird.

[slooky]

just curious about the Martin jr D you have? Why do you have custom beside it? Anyway is it possible the wires on the jack touching each other?

[rmeyer7]

Originally Posted by slooky

just curious about the Martin jr D you have? Why do you have custom beside it? Anyway is it possible the wires on the jack touching each other?

It was a very early version of the D Jr. with a sapele top. It was before that was a standard option, when they were almost all spruce tops. I think it was either GC or Sweetwater (don't remember which) that got sapele topped models as an exclusive custom model back then.

As for the volume issues...someone at the church messed with the DI box and set it to -20db. (May very well have been my 2 yr old, haha.) Weird because as I said, it still did work with my other acoustic. I wonder if the sound guy just had the gain cranked up so it seemed like it was working right... Either way, the D Jr. is now working perfectly and I used it Wednesday night with no issues.

[jricc]

Originally Posted by rmeyer7

It was a very early version of the D Jr. with a sapele top. It was before that was a standard option, when they were almost all spruce tops. I think it was either GC or Sweetwater (don't remember which) that got sapele topped models as an exclusive custom model back then.

As for the volume issues...someone at the church messed with the DI box and set it to -20db. (May very well have been my 2 yr old, haha.) Weird because as I said, it still did work with my other acoustic. I wonder if the sound guy just had the gain cranked up so it seemed like it was working right... Either way, the D Jr. is now working perfectly and I used it Wednesday night with no issues.

Great you figured it out!

[slooky]

great you got it figured out. Not sure about the custom part, Long and Mcquade in Canada had both options sapele or spruce tops when I purchased mine. I got the spruce top one.