Lyric experiences?

[PhilTheThrill]

Hello all.

I recently acquired a 000-28 MD and am looking to add a non UST pickup to up.
I don't gig but occasionally play with family and friends in smaller settings, and usually with a mixer (using my other pickup equipped guitars).
I've been interested in the LR Baggs Lyric as it seems to have some pretty good reviews. Does anyone have any potential experiences with it on a Martin Modern Deluxe or at the very least, a 000?


Thanks!

[Mobilemike]

More general Lyric experience here than specific to those guitars, but I found that when I played my Lyric-equipped guitars through a great sound system with a competent person running sound, they could sound incredible. Trying to run them through an acoustic amp or a below-par sound system and they sounded terrible.

Thats in contrast to something like a K&K, which IME generally sounds decent no matter what system it is played through.

I’ve now sold off all of my Lyric-equipped guitars FWIW.

-Mike

[Br1ck]

I had one in my M 36. No low end. It's in a drawer somewhere. Some people like them but I'm not one of them. Other pickups I've had and disliked were a Baggs Element and a K&K. Put the Element together with a Lyric and you basically get an Anthem. On its own the Element is quacky. The K&K needs more EQ than I ever want to deal with.

Pretty much why I have Dazzos in everything. A dual source with a mic as one of them can sound great, but entails a battery usually, and I don't want one in my guitar. The system in a Cole Clark is maybe the best out there, and if I gigged more, I'd buy one and live with a battery.

[martingitdave]

It's totally hit or miss. I've had some good installs and some bad ones. Some sounded very good with natural bass. Some installs sounded thin and honky in the mids. I think the LR Baggs HiFi is a good choice for a removable bridge plate transducer. I'm using one now.

[BlueStarfish]

I’ve got one in my primary guitar (an Emerald X20, which is an OM-sized guitar) and it sounds fantastic for what I do. For me it’s the pickup that sounds and feels closest to playing unamplified.

I’m using it for playing out with small all-acoustic groups, no drums or electric guitars anywhere close by. That’s a good situation for the Lyric. I could imagine with drums and electric guitars, it would pick up lots of stage noise and potentially even feed back a lot depending on how high you crank the stage volume.

Be aware that the Lyric is designed to deliver “my guitar but louder.” It won’t give you that hyped-up bass you get with a pickup. That’s why some people say it has no bass — it’s because they are actually looking for that hyped-up bass. If the sound-in-your-head you are chasing is “like an undersaddle pickup but no quack” then look at the Anthem instead. If the sound you are chasing is “like a stage mic, but from a pickup instead of a stage mic” then the Lyric is a great choice.

[stevecuss]

For what it is, it is VERY impressive - a microphone that is remarkably feedback resistant. We've used it in a full band situation with live drums and electric guitar amps and it sits so well in the mix.

BUT.

You can crank the bass all you want, baby, you ain't getting no more bass out of that thing because the preamp must have some hard gate that keeps all bass out of it.

Anthem gives you all the benefit of the Lyric with the needed bass of a UST.

[Petty1818]

I feel like there’s a bit of a misconception about the bass. The Lyric doesn’t lack bass. It’s not like it’s being eq’d out. It generally reflects the tone of the guitar. Most pickups just enhance the bass and we are all used to this.

[EZYPIKINS]

I installed a Lyric in a 000-15. Didn't really care for it.

Then again, I didn't really care for the guitar either.

My biggest complaint with the pickup was. It has a very weak signal.

[BDiamond]

Originally Posted by Mobilemike

More general Lyric experience here than specific to those guitars, but I found that when I played my Lyric-equipped guitars through a great sound system with a competent person running sound, they could sound incredible. Trying to run them through an acoustic amp or a below-par sound system and they sounded terrible.

This is my experience as well. I played at a wedding with an enormous PA and the lyric sounded incredible. It was a duo gig (guitar and keys). But then I took it to an open mic and plugged in to the Bose L1 setup and it was extremely weak, couldn't get enough volume or power.

Would not recommend for occasional usage. Takes too much fussing.

[Jinder]

Way too feedback prone, bass-light and short of gain to be suitable for any kind of professional use.

I had one in a Martin 00DB Tweedy, gorgeous guitar but the pickup was very unpredictable. I also had the Lyric Classical in a beautiful luthier built nylon string which was just horrible and totally unsuited to that sort of use. It couldn’t see any gain or stage volume at all (no exaggeration!) without becoming an unmanageable grenade of feedback. Had it reinstalled in various positions to try to combat it, but it was to no avail. It embarrassed me twice in professional settings and was just awful.

The standard Lyric would be fine in a dual source setup for a steel string (like the Anthem!!) but alone it’s not up to it in my opinion. The classical Lyric I wouldn’t recommend to my worst enemy.

[guitarman68]

Tried the Lyric years ago and did not like it.
My favorite is the Dazzo for simplicity (no batteries), awesome natural sound and surprisingly good feedback resistance. Pair it with a BOSS GE-7 graphic equalizer or a Triton Audio BigAmp Piezo D.I., and you have a simple but great sounding setup.

[Cuki79]

Originally Posted by guitarman68

My favorite is the Dazzo for simplicity (no batteries), awesome natural sound and surprisingly good feedback resistance. Pair it with a BOSS GE-7 graphic equalizer or a Triton Audio BigAmp Piezo D.I., and you have a simple but great sounding setup.

Hi Robert,

Do you prefer the BOSS over your sunnaudio preamp?

[Petty1818]

Not sure I get the lack of gain comments. I definitely never noticed this with the Lyric.

[SpruceTop]

I tried the LR Baggs Lyric in two different large-bodied guitars and didn't like it even when EQ'ed through a Venue preamp.

[guitarman68]

Originally Posted by Cuki79

Hi Robert,

Do you prefer the BOSS over your sunnaudio preamp?

OP said he performs in private settings, so I tried to suggest a wallet-friendly solution. SunnAudio is hard to beat, as is Grace Felix. But I tried BOSS GE-7 and also a plain active D.I. with my SBTs and could get a decent sound.
In fact, after installing a SBT, I always run it through a Countryman or Triton active D.I to see if my install sounds good - no bells & whistles. And if it sounds good, I hardly ever use the EQ on my Sunnaudio or Grace pres when performing. Maybe some HPF, depending on the venue, placement of the speakers, stage volume ...