LR Baggs Anthem in Martin HD-28V?

[PFDarkside]

I’ve got a Martin HD-28V from 2013 that’s really great. I’m thinking of adding a pickup to it. The K&K is a standard around here, but does it require the beltpack Preamp? I’ve listened to a lot of clips of the LR Baggs Anthem and it sounds great. Would the saddle design of the 2013 era HD-28V preclude me from installing the undersaddle portion of the Anthem? If so how does the Lyric compare to the K&K?

[martingitdave]

The anthem is not really compatible with the HD-28V. The long drop in saddle does not work well with a under saddle pickup. I have tried this install. Twice. And both times it was a mistake. You can give the Lyric a try. It is a nice mic for a dreadnought Martin. I install them on the back of the bridge plate, not under the saddle line. Otherwise, K&K IS your best bet.

[PFDarkside]

Originally Posted by martingitdave

The anthem is not really compatible with the HD-28V. The long drop in saddle does not work well with a under saddle pickup. I have tried this install. Twice. And both times it was a mistake. You can give the Lyric a try. It is a nice mic for a dreadnought Martin. I install them on the back of the bridge plate, not under the saddle line. Otherwise, K&K IS your best bet.

I thought I remembered reading that. Thanks for the feedback!

What are some good Preamp options for the K&K that give a realistic tone?

[jonfields45]

My turn to say it first, ToneDexter. At the other extreme, a Fire-Eye Red-Eye sounded good to me when I used it with a K&K.

[PFDarkside]

Originally Posted by jonfields45

My turn to say it first, ToneDexter. At the other extreme, a Fire-Eye Red-Eye sounded good to me when I used it with a K&K.

Wow, that’s impressive! How does it compare to the Fishman Aura?

And if I plan on using an acoustic amp, how much of a Preamp does the K&K need?

[Revy]

I use a K&K Pure XLR Preamp and I like it a lot. You can set it by your mixer or on a mic stand and use a balanced XLR out to the board. Runs on phantom power or battery. There was just one listed in the classifieds for $85, which sold.

Here's a link to one @ Maury's for reference:
https://www.maurysmusic.com/k_k_pure_xlr_preamp

[jonfields45]

Originally Posted by PFDarkside

Wow, that’s impressive! How does it compare to the Fishman Aura?

And if I plan on using an acoustic amp, how much of a Preamp does the K&K need?

ToneDexter vs. Aura: clear win for ToneDexter on tone. You do need a mic and have to train it so the Aura wins on ease of use.

If you are using an acoustic amp and don't need to plug your K&K into a mixer's 3K-10K ohm line inputs, then you don't need a preamp. HOWEVER, never ask about what you need on the AGF as it attracts hobbyists who need everything!!! Otherwise we would run the hobby dry pretty quickly :~).

[martingitdave]

Jon is right. If you want to most realistic mic-like tone, the ToneDexter is the clear winner. Some players want a different more "direct" sound and will go with a simple analog product like the Red-eye, which will basically clean and amplify, and match the impedance for the amplification system. But, it will only send what the K&K gives. Don't bother with Aura for the K&K. Some of us used it with success before ToneDexter was released. Now that ToneDexter exists, Aura is really just best for Fishman trasducers.

[Groberts]

I agree with everyone.

1. The Anthem won't work because of the glued in saddle on the HD-28V
2. The K&K is a mixed bag. It needs a good preamp. I tried the RedEye recently and while it may be great with the K&K, I was expecting to be a magic bullet and in my experience it was not. I still think my Baggs Anthem in other guitars (with drop in saddles) sounds way better than my K&K equipped Martin Outlaw 17 with the RedEye
3. Therefore the Tonedexter makes the most sense for K&K equipped guitars.
4. I've tried the K&K XLR preamp and I was underwhelmed. It helps, but meh. (IMO)

[rockabilly69]

Originally Posted by Groberts

I agree with everyone.

1. The Anthem won't work because of the glued in saddle on the HD-28V
2. The K&K is a mixed bag. It needs a good preamp. I tried the RedEye recently and while it may be great with the K&K, I was expecting to be a magic bullet and in my experience it was not. I still think my Baggs Anthem in other guitars (with drop in saddles) sounds way better than my K&K equipped Martin Outlaw 17 with the RedEye
3. Therefore the Tonedexter makes the most sense for K&K equipped guitars.
4. I've tried the K&K XLR preamp and I was underwhelmed. It helps, but meh. (IMO)

I was also underwhelmed with the K&K XLR preamp, and I've owned it along with the internal Trinity pre, which was a bit better, but still not good enough for me to keep it in a guitar. I also think the redeye/K&K combo that people rave about is good for low volume stuff but when the volume comes up on the big stages I think it falls short unless you've got a good EQ in the loop. And I've got the Anthem is one of my guitars and it easily sounds better than any K&K equipped guitar that I've owned (and many of the guitars I've bought came with K&Ks in them). So, I absolutely agree with all of your points here!!! My dislike of using most anything digital on stage has kept me from embracing the ToneDexter. IMO most digital items are too hard to adjust to changing conditions on the fly. For the one guitar that I still own with a K&K in it I like the Grace preamps best (Alix, Felix).

[PFDarkside]

Originally Posted by rockabilly69

I was also underwhelmed with the K&K XLR preamp, and I've owned it along with the internal Trinity pre, which was a bit better, but still not good enough for me to keep it in a guitar. I also think the redeye/K&K combo that people rave about is good for low volume stuff but when the volume comes up on the big stages I think it falls short unless you've got a good EQ in the loop. And I've got the Anthem is one of my guitars and it easily sounds better than any K&K equipped guitar that I've owned (and many of the guitars I've bought came with K&Ks in them). So, I absolutely agree with all of your points here!!! My dislike of using most anything digital on stage has kept me from embracing the ToneDexter. IMO most digital items are too hard to adjust to changing conditions on the fly. For the one guitar that I still own with a K&K in it I like the Grace preamps best (Alix, Felix).

So what would you do with an HD-28V?

[Dave L]

I was in a similar situation with a D18GE. The glue in saddle is a bummer. I don't like the K&K at all. Sold the guitar and got a regular D18.

[Jack Orion]

If your HD28v is from 2013 then it doesn't have a glued in saddle, it's a drop in saddle that's just longer than a regular one - if it has rounded ends it's a drop in and square ends are glued.

My OM28v has an Anthem in it and there's no issues with the install. I've been very happy with the sound for several years and always got compliments on the tone.

I have recently installed K&K Pure Minis in a couple of Collings - they took a little while to get the EQ correct as I found the K&K much more prone to low end feedback but now I use a Grace Felix to EQ both guitars, notching out between 100-200 seems to tame the worst of the feedback.

Compared to the Anthem I would say the K&K is a bit thicker sounding, with less air - I think the trebles are a bit more powerful but then it's difficult to say as my Collings have thicker trebles than my Martin anyway.

The Martin is due a refret, new nut and saddle at some point and I'm debating getting the K&K put in so that all my pickups match, but the Anthem is a great plug and play system that doesn't seem to need much EQ so I don't know about keeping it for 'quick setup' gigs...

[PFDarkside]

So is this drop in or glued?

[Jack Orion]

Originally Posted by PFDarkside

So is this drop in or glued?

Looks drop in to me - see that the ends of the saddle are rounded not square?