Any new feedback on LR Baggs Voiceprint?

[Villamarzia]

Originally Posted by AeroUSA

Yep. They just added Apple Watch remote control. This will be good for violinists that need to start the training remotely.

Ok, not really exciting

[Petty1818]

Originally Posted by Eucatastrophe

Glad it’s helped a few of you

I’m going to try the VPDI with the passive IBeam next. I know it doesn’t get much love but I actually really liked the tone I was getting from it in my McIlroy. Plus I’m a sucker for passive pickups. I’m thinking it’s going to sound pretty darn good

The IBeam gets a lot of negativity around here but it's one pickup I have always wanted to try, especially as part of a dual source system (most likely with a UST). I know a few singer-songwriters who use the IMix from Baggs (Element and IBeam) and their sound is always natural, warm and big. My buddy also owned a Crafter acoustic at one time with a Baggs pickup. I had to use it at a few shows and the tone was very nice. At that time I wasn't into pickups so I can't remember what was in it but I have also felt as though it was the IBeam.

[Eucatastrophe]

Originally Posted by Petty1818

The IBeam gets a lot of negativity around here but it's one pickup I have always wanted to try, especially as part of a dual source system (most likely with a UST). I know a few singer-songwriters who use the IMix from Baggs (Element and IBeam) and their sound is always natural, warm and big. My buddy also owned a Crafter acoustic at one time with a Baggs pickup. I had to use it at a few shows and the tone was very nice. At that time I wasn't into pickups so I can't remember what was in it but I have also felt as though it was the IBeam.

Cool!! Nice to hear you’ve thought well if it too!

At least in my McIlroy, I preferred the tone of the IBeam over the HFN Schatten and the K&K mini. Warmer and stronger bass than the Schatten and clearer than the K&K. With the VPDI I think it’s gonna be super.

[guitaniac]

Originally Posted by Petty1818

The IBeam gets a lot of negativity around here but it's one pickup I have always wanted to try, especially as part of a dual source system (most likely with a UST). I know a few singer-songwriters who use the IMix from Baggs (Element and IBeam) and their sound is always natural, warm and big. My buddy also owned a Crafter acoustic at one time with a Baggs pickup. I had to use it at a few shows and the tone was very nice. At that time I wasn't into pickups so I can't remember what was in it but I have also felt as though it was the IBeam.

I'm very fond of the super-glued iBeam in my old D28. While its great for strumming in a noisy setting, I do have problems with getting enough feedback-free gain for picking with bare finger-pads. I'm hoping that the Voiceprint's anti-feedback dial will be helpful in that I could just crank up that dial on the occasions that I'm boosting the level for bare-fingered picking (and crank it back down again when returning to strummed accompaniments). In any event, I really like the idea of notching down the problem frequencies rather than the entire low end.

[Petty1818]

Originally Posted by guitaniac

I'm very fond of the super-glued iBeam in my old D28. While its great for strumming in a noisy setting, I do have problems with getting enough feedback-free gain for picking with bare finger-pads. I'm hoping that the Voiceprint's anti-feedback dial will be helpful in that I could just crank up that dial on the occasions that I'm boosting the level for bare-fingered picking (and crank it back down again when returning to strummed accompaniments). In any event, I really like the idea of notching down the problem frequencies rather than the entire low end.

That I can fully understand. It’s kind of why I want to try an IBeam and UST set up with some IR blended in. Sounds complicated but I don’t want to make it too crazy.

By the way, Lr Baggs are going live soon (I think in thirty minutes) to showcase the Voiceprint.

[Eucatastrophe]

UPDATE...

IBeam Passive
Unfortunately I didn’t have luck here. The signal is so weak from this pick up that I couldn’t even get it to register during the voiceprint creation process. I had to run guitar —> Align Session—> VPDI to get enough gain. The result was OK. Not nearly as improved as the Lyric results last week. But I later remembered that I had my iPhone case on when I created the Voiceprint. It definitely impacts the mic negatively.

M1 Passive
The VPDI made the M1 sound amazing!! A little EQ went along way. A little bass reduction and a little treble boost and it sounded lively and huge. Not quite as true acoustic tone as the lyric but really close. I kept the blend around 60% and the anti feedback around 40%. I’m on the fence if I prefer this to the Lyric with VPDI. I think I slightly prefer the feel of the Lyric with VPDI. I’m not used to the feel of the Magnetic soundhole pu and the bass seems to sustain forever haha!

I’ve sent Caleb at LR Baggs an email about the IBeam so I’m looking forward to some possible solutions.

Up next is my running my 2018 Taylor 712e 12 fret with ES2. I loved my plugged in tone with it through my Baggs Venue and Session and Reverb. Looking forward to what the vpdi can do!

[Eucatastrophe]

Update 3.0
So I haven’t created a VP with my Taylor yet but I created another VP of my McIlroy with the passive IBeam and the Shure MV88.

The MV88 seems to be a success. It is more sensitive than the stock iPhone mic. So I had to decrease the input level to avoid clipping. However the end result was a bit more crisp voiceprint, most noticeably in the Low E and A strings. Still running the VP blend at about 60%, I also used less antifeedback to tame the bass boom.

To be clear, the MV88 helped create an excellent VP. Better? Maybe but that’s going to be a personal preference. Also the same result maybe be gained by adjusting the EQ and antifeedback a bit.

Personally I’d have to hear some recordings to really compare. Hopefully I can make that happen over the weeks ahead.

As for the IBeam. I really think it sounds fantastic with the VP, but it’s extremely low output doesn’t play well with the VPDI. To even get a useable volume I had use my Baggs Align Session as a gain stage. While the tone was fantastic, the white noise was just a bit too much. To be fair, I’ve noticed this when I was using the Venue before too.

So...I’m probably going to reinstall the Lyric. For now

[Petty1818]

Originally Posted by Eucatastrophe

Update 3.0
So I haven’t created a VP with my Taylor yet but I created another VP of my McIlroy with the passive IBeam and the Shure MV88.

The MV88 seems to be a success. It is more sensitive than the stock iPhone mic. So I had to decrease the input level to avoid clipping. However the end result was a bit more crisp voiceprint, most noticeably in the Low E and A strings. Still running the VP blend at about 60%, I also used less antifeedback to tame the bass boom.

To be clear, the MV88 helped create an excellent VP. Better? Maybe but that’s going to be a personal preference. Also the same result maybe be gained by adjusting the EQ and antifeedback a bit.

Personally I’d have to hear some recordings to really compare. Hopefully I can make that happen over the weeks ahead.

As for the IBeam. I really think it sounds fantastic with the VP, but it’s extremely low output doesn’t play well with the VPDI. To even get a useable volume I had use my Baggs Align Session as a gain stage. While the tone was fantastic, the white noise was just a bit too much. To be fair, I’ve noticed this when I was using the Venue before too.

So...I’m probably going to reinstall the Lyric. For now

Thanks for the update. I have the MV88 as well and was wondering about this. It's funny, sometimes I hear a demo of the VP and think it sounds incredible and other times I feel as though it sounds overly bright and thin. I do want to try it though! The best I have heard it sound is with the Anthem and Lyric.