Amplification question

[blindboygrunt]

I recently fitted a k&k to a martin and think it sounds great plugged in. No piezo part to them so hence no quack.

But it's still an electrical component so of course there's going to be a little loss of acoustic sound.

 

Ain't no way that it , or anything is going to make it sound exactly like it does with a mic.

But ,like Aussie says , all you can be is as close as you can get.

Even Neil young can't get his martin to sound like it does on record when he's playing live.

I'd rather deal with the slight loss of pure sound than hear the guitar volume messing around with any movement incurred while plying.

Unless you sit stock still on stage while playing .

 

There's also a bit of learning to adapting playing style while plugged in..

The guitar won't respond the same.

[Jesse_Dylan]

I recently fitted a k&k to a martin and think it sounds great plugged in. No piezo part to them so hence no quack.

But it's still an electrical component so of course there's going to be a little loss of acoustic sound.

 

Ain't no way that it , or anything is going to make it sound exactly like it does with a mic.

But ,like Aussie says , all you can be is as close as you can get.

Even Neil young can't get his martin to sound like it does on record when he's playing live.

I'd rather deal with the slight loss of pure sound than hear the guitar volume messing around with any movement incurred while plying.

Unless you sit stock still on stage while playing .

 

There's also a bit of learning to adapting playing style while plugged in..

The guitar won't respond the same.

 

Well, the Baggs Lyric is a mic. :) Just kind of a crappy one compared to a fancy, external mic, but hey--it's still a mic! I can see why some would prefer a SBT, or a UST with modeling, but to me, the natural sound and air on a real mic, whether just whatever one is lying around or a choice mic, is where it's at. But the nice thing about the Lyric is you get that without the fuss.

 

I think it all depends, but I've got my fingers crossed.

[Jesse_Dylan]

Hey - to be a realistic demo, you need to listen to a hack. Like Me ! Here's my Lyric.

 

Sounds fantastic to me, and I agree with EuroAussie--if I didn't know you were plugged in, I'd think you were just sitting there unplugged, playing and singing.

 

One thing that makes these hard to demo is that often the real guitar will bleed into what the camera or mic are hearing. The answer to that is, I guess, to either turn the amp up so loud you can't even hear yourself flatulate, or to run everything direct into a board or whatever, and cut everything except the Lyric. But then you hear the Lyric going direct into a board, and I think in order to sound best, it needs "air" (which is true of any pickup, I think), i.e. needs to be coming from a sound system or an amp or whatever.

 

Although there are videos of people recording with the Lyric, and it sounds fantastic. I think they are probably fiddling with the signal, though. I am not good enough at stuff to fiddle with signals. I just plug into a PA and play, or slap a mic in front of the guitar and play.

 

Maybe I should eventually just get an amp, plug into that, and control my own guitar volume. (The younger folks always turn my guitar up a little loud, and the older folks always have it way too quiet in the mix, ha!)

[duluthdan]

I think it sounds really good also Dan. Very, very natural tone. If you didnt tell me it was going through an amp I would have thought its straight from the guitar. Does the tone stay consisent once you turn the volume up, and are there there feedback issues with higher volume ?

 

How does it rate to the Trance Amulat Dan ?

 

So many good choice these days to get a great plugged in tone.

The Trance, in my book, performs better than the Lyric - I am about to install a Trance Audio "M" into the D-35. The lyric is a very nice option - but you need to watch your playing style, it picks up ll the bumps and knocks, the Trance, noyt so much. That being said... I just had a K&K Pure Mini installed on my J-50 which is scheduled to be delivered back to me tomorrow.

[Jesse_Dylan]

https://youtu.be/RJrENPvKns4

 

I can never get it to embed! But here is a pretty good demo of the Lyric. All we're hearing is the Lyric, 100% of the video. He's not using any kind of mic or anything, just recording direct. Sounds great for being a direct recording! He doesn't let us hear how the guitar sounds unplugged, unfortunately, to compare, but I am still convinced. I think you do lose a bit of the bass, but maybe one could just EQ the mids and trebles down some, then turn the overall volume up (heh). That might explain why the Hummingbird demo seemed to lose some of the honey tones.

 

In addition, I think in order to work inside a guitar, the Lyric mic has to listen primarily to the sound board. Perhaps it's not even hearing the back and sides at all. Just a theory. But I'd still rather hear "just" the soundboard of my guitar rather than just hearing a piezo crystal's interpretation of vibrations or a SBT's interpretation of the top vibrations. In my opinion, big difference between even a crappy mic and a really good SBT or UST. So if the Lyric is just a crappy mic that cuts some of the bass, I'd still be thrilled with it ha.

[duluthdan]

http://youtu.be/RJrENPvKns4

 

In addition, I think in order to work inside a guitar, the Lyric mic has to listen primarily to the sound board. Perhaps it's not even hearing the back and sides at all. Just a theory. But I'd still rather hear "just" the soundboard of my guitar rather than just hearing a piezo crystal's interpretation of vibrations or a SBT's interpretation of the top vibrations. In my opinion, big difference between even a crappy mic and a really good SBT or UST. So if the Lyric is just a crappy mic that cuts some of the bass, I'd still be thrilled with it ha.

The Lyric is far from being a crappy microphone - i think a lot of thought and science went in to the design of this little pick-up. The guitar is basically a big air pump. The make up of the various components - Top, Back& Sides, Bracing, Glue, Strings, pick , even the pins. I am convinced that even the length and density of fingernails, and the humidity in the air all conspire together to deliver the sound. I think the Lyric does a fine job of capturing all of this, and sending its signal down that little 1/4" jack. That being said... I do not think you are "settling" with a Lyric... and yes, I still prefer the Trance in the guitars I have tried them in, and heard them in. May not be the best for every guitar and every player, but so far so good in the JB 12 fretted, a slope custom shop SJ, and my old D-28. Soon one will grace the insides of my new D-35.

[MorrisrownSal]

Did I miss a NGD? D35? Yee Haaaa.

 

Or maybe you posted and I am in another world.

[duluthdan]

Did I miss a NGD? D35? Yee Haaaa.

 

Or maybe you posted and I am in another world.

I may have zoned out - been a weird few weeks. But yes - brand new "M" branded D-35. Regular model, not the full blown 50 year issue.

Soon to be "Tranced".

[aerohead]

1439539272[/url]' post='1685105']

 

There's also a bit of learning to adapting playing style while plugged in..

The guitar won't respond the same.

 

When I go from acoustic to plugged in its almost like I have to relearn all my material because my right hand is "10 lbs heavier" than my left, when I'm plugged in I feel like I need to play as if the kids are sleeping in the next room.

[Jesse_Dylan]

The Lyric is far from being a crappy microphone - i think a lot of thought and science went in to the design of this little pick-up. The guitar is basically a big air pump. The make up of the various components - Top, Back& Sides, Bracing, Glue, Strings, pick , even the pins. I am convinced that even the length and density of fingernails, and the humidity in the air all conspire together to deliver the sound. I think the Lyric does a fine job of capturing all of this, and sending its signal down that little 1/4" jack. That being said... I do not think you are "settling" with a Lyric... and yes, I still prefer the Trance in the guitars I have tried them in, and heard them in. May not be the best for every guitar and every player, but so far so good in the JB 12 fretted, a slope custom shop SJ, and my old D-28. Soon one will grace the insides of my new D-35.

 

Nice-looking D-35! That is the main Martin D that I never owned and probably the one I should have owned.

 

Yeah, I'm pretty darn excited about the Lyric. It is not a bank-breaker, either, so I could put one in other guitars if I wished, and I'd no longer have to cringe and whine and pout when I have to plug in and not use an external mic. What you said about the Trance, that it may not be the best for every guitar and every player, made me think about the Lyric. I wonder if it works better in bassier guitars? I read some people saying it was awful in their parlor guitars. Maybe that is more to do with size than bassiness, though.

 

If I buy a second Lyric, I might ask Baggs for some extra adhesive strip things (or just get some double-stick tape) and experiment with it in all my guitars and see if I can find what it seems to work best with. I'm curious if it will make bassy guitars sound less bassy, or if, rather, it is actually tuned more toward big, bassy guitars and perhaps that's why it was not so good in a parlor guitar.

 

Figured I can just try sticking it into whatever, leave the jack dangling out the soundhole, and after I'm done experimenting, get someone who knows what they're doing to install it for real if I can bring myself to allow a bigger hole to be reamed in my Hummingbird or M-36 for the endpin jack.