LR Baggs LB6 pickup

[bigbike4]

I am thinking of installing a pickup in my acoustic guitar. I want some pros and cons of the LB6. I know some of the pros use them so they must be pretty decent, since pros have money and access to all the best stuff. The LB6 is reasonable in price $90 but requires a small hole to be drilled, then the saddle that contains the pickups shaped and a larger hole to be drilled for the output port to be installed. Wire everything and whalla-done.

 

I am NOT interested in a soundhole pickup-they are ugly as sin, so please, no "you'd be happier with some sort of sound hole pickup"-won't even consider them.

 

Specifics I am interested in-does the LB6 add to or take away any sound from the instrument? Do you need a preamp or can you just "plug and play"? (once of course everything is wired up). Any actual user comments from those who have used them. Is there any BETTER or cheaper units that are saddle pickups that I should consider?

 

Thanks

Janice

[larryp58]

I just mic my guitars when playing live. IMHO, I get the "true" acoustic tone of my guitar. My SongBird Deluxe has the Fishman pickup in it, which I have used before. It really sounds good, but I only use it for certain songs ('70's acoustic rock). I would rather just use my Shure SM-27 condenser mic. The tone of the guitar just sounds better. A lot of folks here on the Forum praise the the K&K Western Mini (?). I'm sure you'll hear from them on this thread.

[dwolf]

I think you'll need a preamp of some sort. I have an LB6 in my old Chet Atkins SST. It sounds really fine through a Fishman Aura. That guitar has a preamp built in, with volume and tone controls. James Taylor used to use the LB6 when it first came out, but I'm not sure it's really state of the art anymore. Downsides in my experience-1. It can be finicky getting an even string to string output 2. The saddle and pickup are one unit--as opposed to an undersaddle pickup which would allow you to use a saddle material of your choice. If I were in your shoes, I'd probably go with something like the Fishman Aura ellipse--minimal modification, use your own saddle (likely will need to be trimmed a bit) and you have the Aura processing on board. The only downside to that is that with the controls in the soundhole, the use of a rubber feedback reducer is a little more complicated--will require some trimming. And, it's going to be a lot more expensive. I really like the Aura technology, and find it has helped my live sound a whole lot, but you'll need to consider how much you'll be playing "plugged in."

Dwight

[bigbike4]

I think you'll need a preamp of some sort. I have an LB6 in my old Chet Atkins SST. It sounds really fine through a Fishman Aura. Downsides in my experience-1. It can be finicky getting an even string to string output 2. The saddle and pickup are one unit--as opposed to an undersaddle pickup which would allow you to use a saddle material of your choice. If I were in your shoes' date=' I'd probably go with something like the Fishman Aura ellipse--minimal modification, use your own saddle (likely will need to be trimmed a bit) and you have the Aura processing on board. The only downside to that is that with the controls in the soundhole, the use of a rubber feedback reducer is a little more complicated--will require some trimming. And, it's going to be a lot more expensive. I really like the Aura technology, and find it has helped my live sound a whole lot, but you'll need to consider how much you'll be playing "plugged in."

Dwight[/quote']

 

 

What if I was to go with a belt mounted preamp-LR Baggs does make one of them as well. I thought about installing electronics in my acoustic, but cutting the side and installing the preamp is more than I really want to get into-cause if it ain't done right. . . it leads to a big hole in the side that needs fixin. The plus I am thinking about is that the saddle and pickup ARE one unit and once the saddle is cut to height/length and intonation checked it should be all good-shouldn't it?

 

I do not play plugged in much at all, I am more thinking about the future-a year or so down the road, but need to think ahead to plan for expenses as it were.

 

Thanks

Janice

[grOOved]

I'm familiar with the LB6 when I owned a Gibson SST in the past. The pluses - lots of volume with minimal feedback, very sensitive, not having to deal with a properly seated saddle. The minuses - did not sound natural (overwhelming "piezo" quacky-sounding), almost too sensitive to string vibration and not enough body movement.

 

There's definitely better sounding saddle pickups out there. The element active is my favorite for tone. In terms of road durability, it's hard to beat an LB6 though. It will cut, can be EQ'd easily, and will take effects well with minimal feedback.

[steverok]

Avoid the LB6. I was talked into installing one in my custom J-45 a couple years ago. It's a non-flexible metal pick-up glued directly to a saddle. The contact between this metal material and the wood of the bridge has to be absolutely "true" in order to achieve string-to-string balance. Upon installation, I had really poor balance in terms of string-to-string volume. Bewildered and desperate, I ended up sending the guitar to an excellent luthier. He tried to "re-true" the saddle slot, and couldn't get it to work properly. I ended up installing a PUTW I/O UST, and had much better and easier success.

[mking]

Like the one fellow said, the K&K mini western is a very good pickup. It attaches to the bottom of the bridge plate so it picks up what the top is getting. No quack, just a very good pickup. There is no modification to the guitar except the hole for the jack. However, you can get what is called the "Vintage Jack" which looks and is shaped like the strap end pin (really talking about a Martin here) and it fits exactly like the end pin that is inserted in the guitar. No glue or anything. I have this on my 1999 Martin HD-28V and it sounds natural. I use an LR Baggs Para DI but it is not really necessary. I just like the added flexability the Baggs offers.