Noego Posted March 3, 2021 Share Posted March 3, 2021 (edited) Hello everyone. New guy here. I have a few Gibsons and I have a question for anyone who can shed some light. I bought an LR Baggs Anthem because I want to bring out the low end of my SJ200. Such a sweet sound. There is a bracing in the way of where the control mounts just above the sound hole in playing position. Yet I see them advertised in SJ200s and videos of the Anthem comparing them with mics..on the SJ200. I brought it to my luthier and he said that the brace is in the way and I agree. He is a great luthier and I am not questioning him in anyway. He is a knowledgable guy in every way. I just want to know the whats up on this. Is there a version of the LR Anthem with the controls I don't know about? Has anyone here installed or had one installed the Anthem in an SJ200. Mine is a 92. Maybe they changed the bracing? Just want to do some leg work for the luthier too. Thanks Lou Edited March 3, 2021 by Noego typo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noego Posted March 4, 2021 Author Share Posted March 4, 2021 (edited) Got my answer. Apparently the SJ200 was redesigned in the last few years. So the brace system was moved to accomodate the pickup. Its going in my D18....sorry maybe its a bad word but not intentional. haha.. . Looking at alternatives now. Thought I would share. Edited March 4, 2021 by Noego added info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 (edited) Same thing has happened to me a couple of times....took a guitar to a luthier to get the Anthem put in and came home empty handed! The V shaped control has to fit between the braces near the soundhole bass string side: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Anthem--lr-baggs-anthem-soundhole-microphone-undersaddle-acoustic-guitar-pickup I ended up getting the dual source K&K Onboard system and then the outboard system as well for some other guitars. Love it, but cost a bomb!: https://www.kksound.com/products/trinity.php BluesKing777. Edited March 5, 2021 by BluesKing777 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneS Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 I encountered this with my J-100 several years ago. After some head-scratching, we decided to notch that brace and make the Anthem fit. I can see that would be Anathema! for some, but a) I couldn’t see a downside as far as structural soundness or sound soundness, b) it’s not a guitar I’ll ever get rid of (so not worried about downstream value, etc.), and c) I was in the middle of a recording project and using the Anthem in my J-45, so I was/am completely sold on that system, for recording and for live performances. No regrets, but to each her own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 (edited) My wife ran into this with her 1960 J200. Rather than modify the brace to accommodate the Baggs Anthem (which Mass Street Music did not recommend doing) she went with a Fishman Matrix Infinity. While it was obviously not her first choice she seems happy with it. Edited March 5, 2021 by zombywoof 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinder Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 2 hours ago, zombywoof said: My wife ran into this with her 1960 J200. Rather than modify the brace to accommodate the Baggs Anthem (which Mass Street Music did not recommend doing) she went with a Fishman Matrix Infinity. While it was obviously not her first choice she seems happy with it. The Matrix Infinity is a great pickup. I used them for a decade or so until I was very kindly gifted a Sunrise by Buc and had my head turned forever by the world of mags. I found the Infinity into the Fishman Aura 16 pre to be a genuinely great sounding rig. I prefer the unplugged tone of my guitars sans UST, and don't miss sorting the string balance issues that were always present at installation, but tonally they were-and are-very good. Even without the Aura they're still more than capable of holding their own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted March 6, 2021 Share Posted March 6, 2021 (edited) 1 hour ago, Jinder said: The Matrix Infinity is a great pickup. I used them for a decade or so until I was very kindly gifted a Sunrise by Buc and had my head turned forever by the world of mags. I found the Infinity into the Fishman Aura 16 pre to be a genuinely great sounding rig. I prefer the unplugged tone of my guitars sans UST, and don't miss sorting the string balance issues that were always present at installation, but tonally they were-and are-very good. Even without the Aura they're still more than capable of holding their own. Hey Jinder! Doing ok? The Tonedexter is a more modern version of the Aura, except you make your own sounds with a mic then save them. The ‘special people’ use to get their Aura custom sounds done at Fishman in a similar way but the rest of us got what they gave us! I have the Anthem in a couple of guitars (and a box of all the pickups I have tried and buyed....😶 The Anthem is just the Baggs Element undersaddle plus their TruMic on the bridgeplate to give some ‘real’. I like it, BUT, I have experimented with turning the TruMic off and making a Tonedexter sound with just the undersaddle and I like the sound way better. Smoother, more ‘real, like a mic recording. But the best ones with Tonedexter so far are plain old K&Ks. And no gouging of undersaddles etc. (Tonedexter has notch and feedback filters for the loud guitarist, though the Sunrise like Jinder’s is pretty feedback proof, except it doesn’t fit in a lot of my small body guitars...) BluesKing777. Edited March 6, 2021 by BluesKing777 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonard McCoy Posted March 6, 2021 Share Posted March 6, 2021 There is a slim version called the Anthem SL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted March 6, 2021 Share Posted March 6, 2021 (edited) 16 hours ago, Jinder said: The Matrix Infinity is a great pickup. I used them for a decade or so until I was very kindly gifted a Sunrise by Buc and had my head turned forever by the world of mags. I found the Infinity into the Fishman Aura 16 pre to be a genuinely great sounding rig. I prefer the unplugged tone of my guitars sans UST, and don't miss sorting the string balance issues that were always present at installation, but tonally they were-and are-very good. Even without the Aura they're still more than capable of holding their own. Hey Jinder. How are ya doing? Thanks for the tip on he Aura 15. I am pretty much un-schooled in these things. I will probably go ahead and buy my wife one. While it has been a while I believe the issue with the J200 was the tall finger braces on either side of the soundhole. Mass Street thought removing or in any way modifying them could weaken the top. And when Jim Baggett's people recommend something I do listen. By the way one of the coolest things at Mass Street is they have a guitar which has three or maybe four different pickup systems mounted in it. Not sure how they managed it but you can hear how they sound mounted in a guitar. That is why my wife originally wanted the Baggs Anthem. I do not recall though whether the Fishman was one of those installed or is what they recommended. Edited March 6, 2021 by zombywoof Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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