Del Nilppeznaf Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 So, I've had my Bird a few weeks now and this morning I thought I'd see what the LR Baggs M1 active sound hole pickup actually sounds like, installed in her. ( I had purchased the pick up specifically with the Bird in mind... still considering whether to have installed professionally ) I thought I'd post the results in case anyone else is considering the M1, or other sound hole pick ups, for a Hummingbird. As you can see from the photo, because of the thickness of the Birds PG, the M1 has to sit on the small piece of body that is left not covered by said PG The reason being, if the M1 was to actually sit on top of the PG, it would not leave enough space between itself and the high strings without the strings hitting the pickup. This being the case, as you can see, the poles do not actually line up with the strings they are set for. I have glued a slim piece of cork ( cut from a wine bottle cork ) onto the top grip of the M1 to protect the finish, this took 2 attempts to get correct width of cork without the bass strings then hitting the pick up. All in all I am very pleased with the results. The M1 still sounds excellent ( I spent some time adjusting the poles to create the right balance and tone I was looking for ) even though the poles do not completely align with the strings. It seems the Hummingbird is the one guitar with the least amount of space available between sound hole and PG.( and the thickest PG ) ? I have seen a couple of pics where a bird has more, but most seem to have very little. I don't think this would be an issue for other models... correct me if I'm wrong. Anyway I'm happy :) As i said still debating whether to have her drilled and messed with.... still abit like a new baby at present maybe in a few months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buc McMaster Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Indeed the pickguard of the Hummingbird leaves very little real estate for the installation of a soundhole pickup. To my knowledge, all Bird guards have this placement.......it's part of the charm. I tracked down a Sunrise pickup for mine in case I ever want to hit an open mic night and it too sits kattiwompus because of the guard. There is, however, good clearance for the high E string on that side.......I guess the Sunrise is slimmer than the M1. I wired mine with about 15ft of cord for a temporary install, but unless a microphone is not available, I'll opt for a microphone on the guitar. The M1 is a great pickup. I used one in my SJ200WC with very good results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EuroAussie Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 I guess that also depends how sloppy on any day the Gibsons factory guys were and how far from the soundhole they decided to apply to pickguard ... as per a couple recent threads. Good to hear youre getting the results you wanted from the M1. For me it was a total disaster on my vintage Bird, tried two different M1a's and got the same phasey, magnetic tone even after the adjusting the poles and endlessly dickin' around with EQ. Settled for Fishman rare earth blend instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindboygrunt Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Indeed the pickguard of the Hummingbird leaves very little real estate for the installation of a soundhole pickup. To my knowledge, all Bird guards have this placement.......it's part of the charm. I tracked down a Sunrise pickup for mine in case I ever want to hit an open mic night and it too sits kattiwompus because of the guard. There is, however, good clearance for the high E string on that side.......I guess the Sunrise is slimmer than the M1. I wired mine with about 15ft of cord for a temporary install, but unless a microphone is not available, I'll opt for a microphone on the guitar. The M1 is a great pickup. I used one in my SJ200WC with very good results. kattiwompus :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buc McMaster Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Like that word, huh? Heck, I'm a southern boy and that kind of talk just comes natural. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Del Nilppeznaf Posted January 16, 2012 Author Share Posted January 16, 2012 Indeed the pickguard of the Hummingbird leaves very little real estate for the installation of a soundhole pickup. To my knowledge, all Bird guards have this placement....... Yeah, cheers Buck. regarding the Bird and guards, after some recent posts I had a look around the net to see if there was much difference in the PG placements on Hummingbirds. There seems to be very slight differences but most seem to leave very little 'real estate' as you stated. One exception i did notice tho seems to be from JoeM and his profile pic on this forum This seems to have substantially more sound hole showing than others. i have also seen a couple more with similar placement. Interesting,,, to me anyway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 I got a "Takamini" version-the same thing built under license only it is black. They aren't the best option for someone who is a dedicated acoustic player who is going to have a good system of amping acoustics for gigs-there are tons of better rigs on the whole. But those a seriously good pups, as you can plug them into ANYTHING and have a good sound that works for any rig, any room. They even sound good into an electric guitar amp. If I was going to show up and not know what I was plugging into, I can't think of anything that would be a hit or miss with that. Well, if the Bluegrass police are there, you will get busted. Either way, if you are going to put any pup in, you are likely going to have to drill at the strap button. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Glad to see that you managed to make the M1 fit! By rotating the pickup, you should be able to line up the pole pieces with the strings. I'd probably rotate it counterclockwise so as to pick up the bass strings closer to the bridge. But, you could experiment. I typically mic my vintage guitars when gigging with them. But, when I play a noisy club, I take the M1, sometimes switching it between guitars on stage. I really like the sound of the M1, which may not be all that acoustic, but produces what I think is a nice, big, warm sound. Here's a gig I did a couple of years ago with my 1942 LG-1 in Liverpool, UK in a packed club on a Saturday night (a real thrill for me): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqkoZLfoB_A&feature=autoplay&list=UUjJr6YVvXfw5z-tgHwWszew&lf=plcp&playnext=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Del Nilppeznaf Posted January 16, 2012 Author Share Posted January 16, 2012 Glad to see that you managed to make the M1 fit! By rotating the pickup, you should be able to line up the pole pieces with the strings. I'd probably rotate it counterclockwise so as to pick up the bass strings closer to the bridge. But, you could experiment. I typically mic my vintage guitars when gigging with them. But, when I play a noisy club, I take the M1, sometimes switching it between guitars on stage. I really like the sound of the M1, which may not be all that acoustic, but produces what I think is a nice, big, warm sound. Here's a gig I did a couple of years ago with my 1942 LG-1 in Liverpool, UK in a packed club on a Saturday night (a real thrill for me): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqkoZLfoB_A&feature=autoplay&list=UUjJr6YVvXfw5z-tgHwWszew&lf=plcp&playnext=1 Great clip JT I was watching the Martin Scorcesse doc' about George Harrison, the first half and early Beatles years, and I pause to make a cuppa ..and voila there u are playing in Liverpool.. haha I have family in Liverpool..thats where my folks are from.. I thought u where in the US..for some reason.. where u just visiting I actually didn't think of rotating the M1 cheers I'll gig with it with just the lead dangling out the sound hole for now... works fine if playing seated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Great clip JT I was watching the Martin Scorcesse doc' about George Harrison, the first half and early Beatles years, and I pause to make a cuppa ..and voila there u are playing in Liverpool.. haha I have family in Liverpool..thats where my folks are from.. I thought u where in the US..for some reason.. where u just visiting I actually didn't think of rotating the M1 cheers I'll gig with it with just the lead dangling out the sound hole for now... works fine if playing seated Del, Thanks! I am in the states. But in 2009, I gave a talk at John Moore's liverpolnUniversity and, while there, plaed a gig. Keep us posted on the M1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drathbun Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Wow! Wonderful clip JT! Gotta love that Mancini "Peter Gunn" riff. Excellent playing and arrangement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Wow! Wonderful clip JT! Gotta love that Mancini "Peter Gunn" riff. Excellent playing and arrangement. Thanks, Drathburn! It was a very fun gig. I'd been invited to give a talk at the meeting of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music, which was held that year in Liverpool. I spoke, of course, on Gibson history, particularly about the WWII time period. So, I got a gig (Zanzibar Club) and took along a WWII Gibson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Morton Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 I guess that also depends how sloppy on any day the Gibsons factory guys were and how far from the soundhole they decided to apply to pickguard ... as per a couple recent threads. Good to hear youre getting the results you wanted from the M1. For me it was a total disaster on my vintage Bird, tried two different M1a's and got the same phasey, magnetic tone even after the adjusting the poles and endlessly dickin' around with EQ. Settled for Fishman rare earth blend instead. Just so everyone knows. The Pick guards are aplied where they are designed to. This may or may not be what the consumer thinks will look best, just what the current design is asking. As for the placement on the M1 it can be moved downward toward the middle of the soundhole and it can be secured without interaction of the PG. vvisually it does not look as nice but it does the trick. Some magnetics have a wider spread than others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Interesting! Are you guys using the passive or active M1? Also saw this one...I like the tortoise-shell look. Comes in active or passive. My link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Del Nilppeznaf Posted January 16, 2012 Author Share Posted January 16, 2012 As for the placement on the M1 it can be moved downward toward the middle of the soundhole and it can be secured without interaction of the PG. vvisually it does not look as nice but it does the trick. Some magnetics have a wider spread than others. Your correct Jeremy, the M1 can be placed at an angle to make the poles align with the strings.. as your self and JT stated. I was not thinking too laterally this morning. ( I would still like to have as much of the M1 in contact with the body as possible, to take best advantage of the vibration technology it employs, and by placing at an angle this is achieved ) That being said, i would say it is something to consider when thinking about adding a pickup to a Hummingbird. With the M1 anyway.. there really is only a little room for maneuver... but it does work. It sounds and looks great to me :) ( and I love this guitar Jeremy..thanks for all your help ) retrorod I'm using the active pickup Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Morton Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 I am glad you are digging the guitar! I had a good feeling about that one. Happy playing! JM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotto Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 I had an LR Baggs I-Beam installed in my Montana Gold J-200. I wanted a high quality pickup, with minimal drilling of my baby. I have been exceptionally pleased with the sound quality of the I-Beam in this guitar. Worthy of consideration for those who are in the market for a good pickup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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