Best DI/EQ for LR Baggs Anthem?

[richie0801]

Hello guitar experts! I have a Martin D16. Love it. I installed an anthem and it sounds great. I still notice a bit of quack when strummed harder and recognize that it would sound better with tweaks of the eq.

Any di recommendations that would be ideal for this setup?

Thanks as always!

[pmarino]

I'm playing my HD-28 (and my J-45) with the full Anthem system. I love the tone I get through the Baggs Session DI. Even better is when I go first into the Fishman Platinum Pro EQ and then into the Session. Beautiful tone.

[richie0801]

Nice, I'll have to look into that combo. The Fishman Platinum Pro EQ looks very similar to the LR baggs venue!

[pmarino]

Originally Posted by richie0801

Nice, I'll have to look into that combo. The Fishman Platinum Pro EQ looks very similar to the LR baggs venue!

Yeah, I had both but kept the Fishman. I felt the tone was a bit nicer from it compared to the Venue, maybe because it's analog? The Venue is great, too. I imagine you'd be fine either way.

[jseth]

Richie - you haven't said what you are playing the guitar through? What sort of amp or system?

I have found that, with my two Anthem SL-equipped guitars, that getting the balance set correctly (for my ears) between the UST and the True-Mic is the FIRST thing to pay attention to, if optimal tone is your goal.

Brian, the tech at Baggs, advised me to set that balance SPECIFICALLY for the amp or PA that I'll be using most frequently, as opposed to just setting it to whatever amp is in the shop when you pick it up after the install (or perhaps that the tech who installed it used?).

I know a lot of people who say that it doesn't really matter much, and others who just go with whatever the setting was from the factory... but it makes a HUGE difference to my ears... so I have mine set for my Bose L1 Model II system and my AER Compact 60. The only adjustments I have to make are basic "tone control" tweaking, nothing fancy needed.

Another aspect that can be critical in affecting the tone of the pickup is setting the input gain correctly... the Anthem is not a very "hot" pickup, and if a soundman just leaves his input gain at a median setting, the pickup can sound really thin and weird...

With a proper gain setting and good balance within the parameters of the pickup itself, I've played through a number of different PA systems and my guitar sounded exceptional, with little or no eq needed!

Unless you absolutely need it, adding ANYTHING to your signal chain is not going to make things sound "better"... the simpler and more direct your signal chain, the more of the pure sound of the pickup is going to get to the amplifier/PA.

p.s. I spent about an hour talking with Brian at Baggs before I chose between the two Anthem systems available. According to him, the "full" Anthem is a whole lot more difficult to actually dial-in a great tone, simply BECAUSE there are so many ways to adjust and tweak the pickup within the pre-amp module thingie. He told me a lot of folks just don't take the time to fully understand what they've got and never even get a decent tone from it, at least not what's capable from that pickup!