Songwriter Standard pickup?

[tomcatter]

Hello,

 

I just bought a brand new Gibson Songwriter Delux Standard. To my surprise the mounted pickup is not a Fishman Ellipse Aura but a very simple one. In the sound hole there is only one control wheel for volume. No Fishman Aura control panel there! I don't know what kind of pickup this one is. I asked Gibson custom service and named serial number. They said they don't have record for this Guitar but sometimes for some reason the specs of the guitar could be changed.

 

Does anybody here own or has anyone seen a Songwriter with such a Non-Fishman pickup? This Songwriter was made in 2012.

 

I asked my dealer but got no answer yet. I am wondering if this is a real brand new guitar from Gibson factory or someone has changed the pickup afterwards?

 

I'd appreciate any info you can give me. Thanks.

[Jesse_Dylan]

A great majority of Gibson guitars these days come equipped with the L.R. Baggs Element undersaddle pickup. If I had the $$$, I'd feel safe to make a bet that that is what it is.

[tomcatter]

 

 

Hi Jesse, thank you for your reply. I also think that it could be L.R. Baggs. But all the Songwriter Deluxe Standard guitars have Fishman Ellipse Aura. I’m just wondering why Gibson used L.R. Baggs instead of Fishman Aura for this one? - Supposed, it was done in Gibson factory. Anybody here has ever seen a Songwriter Standard with L.R. Baggs or other type of pickup?

 

 

 

 

[Jesse_Dylan]

Had they stopped using it by 2012? It looks like some of the Studio models at least had the Element. Is yours perhaps the Songwriter Deluxe Studio rather than Standard?

 

It is a bit of a mystery... Maybe the previous owner preferred the Element for some strange reason...

[tomcatter]

Yes, it is really a mystery for me. That’s why I come here to ask.

 

My guitar is definitely a Standard, not a Studio. It has all the features of a Standard: headstock, fingerboard inlay, binding etc. except for the pickup. And this is a brand new guitar acc. to dealer. And it looks really like unused. No trace on frets at all. I even guess that the luthier of Gibson took a L.R. Baggs mistakenly and mounted on my guitar. So this is the only one Standard with Elements.

 

BTW, on Gibson’s website, the Songwriter Studio has Fishman in text but the picture below shows an equipment looks like L.R. Baggs Elements…

 

 

[Jesse_Dylan]

I wonder if Jeremy Morton would know? He is a Gibson Acoustic dude that pops in here from time to time, and when he's here, he is usually helping people out. Maybe you could send him a private message?

[tomcatter]

My dealer has contacted me and told me that this guitar is equipped with L.R. Baggs by Gibson. So it’s not modified by someone else. It is still strange for me why Gibson did it. I think I can ask Jeremy, maybe he can tell me more. Thank you for telling me about Jeremy.

 

Anyway, I’m thinking to give back this guitar. Not just because of the pickup. The main reason is that there is a wolf note on 3rd fret of low E string (the note G). It annoys me because G chord is one of most played chords and I like to have perfect rich sound of all bass notes. I just learned this term “wolf note”, it seems to be a common problem of acoustic instruments, and you can hardly get rid of it. :-(

 

 

[jimmyboy]

What year is your Songwriter standard?

I thought it was discontinued in 2012 and you were saying it was a brand new one.

[MorrisrownSal]

I have a Baggs element in one of my Gibsons, and the VTC in another. The VTC sounds pretty darn good.

[tomcatter]

@jimmyboy

 

Is Songwriter Standard discontinued in 2012? But on Gibson’s website you can still “buy now”. It would be a pity if it’s discontinued. But it’s true that you can hardly find a Standard one nowadays. Only Studios are available. I also hope that Gibson will make the Songwriter Custom without cutaway again which is acc. to the website out of production.

 

To your question: that Songwriter Standard I had (I’ve already sent it back to the dealer) was made in 2012 indeed. It is obviously unused, so it’s a new one. I don’t know why it pops up on the market just now.

 

 

 

 

What year is your Songwriter standard?

I thought it was discontinued in 2012 and you were saying it was a brand new one.