Baggs Lyric

[cotten]

Originally Posted by Ron Potkul

...THANK YOU for all of your contributions that you share with everyone here on the acoustic guitar forum. You are a kind and giving person and I for one don't think people give you the thanks and appreciation you truly deserve. Again, THANK YOU!!...

POST OF THE WEEK!

I agree, Ron. Doug is THE expert on such things, and we are so very fortunate to have him sharing his findings here with us!

THANKS, DOUG!

cotten

[Andy Howell]

Your samples will be interesting Doug.

I listened to the direct samples from Baggs and compared them to the direct samples of the Anthem and the i Beam. I was surprised at how much more I preferred the lyric to the anthem, both mic only and 50/50. Mind you I was even more surprised how good the ibeam sounded through my monitors.

I would be interesting to compare the lyric, the Anthem and the K&K Trinity combo!

[huggernaut]

Really looking forward to reviews on this.

Was thinking about the K&K Pure Mini but maybe I'd be better off with something like this.

[Doubleneck]

It's such an easy install, I will probably buy it and see for myself. It's so intriguing it is hard to resist. Steve

[wood nacho]

Gryphon Strings has posted a demo/review.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48I5vsXNo2k

[David Eastwood]

Does anyone have any concrete information about price for the Lyric yet?

I'm thinking (from what I've seen and heard so far) that one of these would be a very attractive addition to my little old Martin 0-16NY....

[guitaniac]

Originally Posted by wood nacho

Gryphon Strings has posted a demo/review.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48I5vsXNo2k

Thanks for the heads-up, Chris.

[leftycajun]

Originally Posted by eatswodo

Does anyone have any concrete information about price for the Lyric yet?

I'm thinking (from what I've seen and heard so far) that one of these would be a very attractive addition to my little old Martin 0-16NY....

I asked baggs on their forum and was told $199
Should be available after NAMM.

[Bogie54]

They were passing out a demo CD for the Lyric today at NAMM....but I didn't take one

[huggernaut]

Yeah, Sweetwater had it posted for $199 before.

[fotofantom]

Thanks for the link Wood Nacho. Not only does the Lyric sound real nice, but I learned a new fingerpicking tune.

[Doug Young]

I finally got some free time to explore the Lyric this morning. I added samples to my pickup tests (sample 124), and made some other demos as well. Here's some sound samples, then I'll add some impressions and thoughts:

First, a demo of various playing, with a mic track recorded at the same time for reference:
Lyric
Reference Mic - Schoeps

(Note, don't get confused, the talking will be identical on both of these. Keep track of which file you're playing, or - if you don't care to check out the reference recording - just listen to the Lyric recording)

Demoing the effect of the presence control

Comparing the Lyric to a DPA internal mic

EDIT: New sample in a different guitar Lyric in a Martin OM

The bottom line is that this is the closest thing I've heard to "just like my guitar, only louder" in an internally installed pickup. It's really obvious that the Lyric is a mic - it responds like a mic, which is both good and bad:

Good:

• The decay and response characteristics are exactly like your guitar - this is a big part of what makes a pickup sound natural or unnatural.
• Plenty of "air"
• Picks up body percussion, etc
• First pickup I've tried that actually sounds good when strummed.
• Seems quite feedback resistant - I played louder than I'd ever want to play both thru my studio monitors and a combo amp, with no feedback at all.
• Good enough sound to record with

Things to watch for:

• Really picks up everything, sounds of handling the guitar, string squeaks
• Somewhat ambient sounding, as you'd expect - even an external mic has this effect
• Really needs a good sound system to sound its best - I've never gotten a good sound thru a combo amp with any mic, and this is no exception
• Undoubtedly will sound/work differently in different guitars

I haven't played a gig with this yet, but my impression is that I wouldn't be happy with the amount of ambience in the sound. If you check out the DPA vs Lyric demo above, it's easy to hear how much less "inside a box" the Lyric sounds - and the DPA works great live with a little EQ and as added air to another more direct pickup. But I still hear more ambience or "distance" than I'd personally want for most gigs - it comes down to not really wanting "just like my guitar" for live amplification, *unless* i have a great PA system. I could be wrong tho, I'll look forward to trying it. But I'm thinking that blending the Lyric with another pickup that can provide a more direct sound could be phenomenal, so that's probably the next thing I'll try.

[royd]

thanks Doug. It does sound good.

There was a lot of talk about the Lyric at NAMM yesterday among some of my friends, especially as becoming the microphone part of a multi-source setup. It will be interesting to hear in that usage.

[Doubleneck]

Probably not a fair question but since it is a mic I wonder it I could install it in a Doubleneck acoustic with two bridges? It's carbon fiber so there is no bridge plate, and I could position it in the center? Probably will have to give it a try. The MiniFlex is currently my best option. Works well cause not bridge specific. Steve

[guitaniac]

Thanks, Doug.

I especially appreciate your first hand observations, and the fact that you took the trouble to make a couple of recordings (the presence control demo and the comparison with the DPA mic) which cover new ground.