Baggs latest and greatest

[Dave Bagwill]

Pretty exciting for me - I don't like pickups much, I do love microphones, and an internal mic-only setup without the drawbacks of earlier internal mics really gets my attention. One of our forumites just purchased one and I hope to get a report from him after he's had a chance to try it out.
Has anyone else here tried one personally?

[ken cierp]

I looked on line and researched that mic a little, listened to a lot of samples -- might be me, but I think it clips frequencies, perhaps overtones -- maybe just my old ears? Have not heard it in person yet.

[Tim Benware]

Not me but I wouldn't mind hearing one live. I use the K&K pure mini ($91). I do recommend the LR Baggs Para Acoustic DI paired with the mini when using it in a group setting if a preamp is needed. Would be interesting to see how the Lyric pre-amp compares. If favorable it would be a cost savings over the K&K/Baggs combo (91 + 169 = 260).

[John Link]

OK, I'm the one who purchased a Lyric. It is for a guitar that had good sustain when tapped out, even before finishing. I decoupled it as much as I dared around the perimeter and applied the finish, thinking it was a good candidate for amplification. After all, isn't sustain what electrics are all about? So, in my mind, it was destined for amplification.

Anyway, the folks at Elderly convinced me a Fishman Natural II would be just the right thing for it so I bought one. But the thought of drilling a hole in the saddle slot and (mainly) placing a piece of metal under the saddle never caught hold and so I did not install it and put a conventional end pin in the instrument, even. Seemed too likely to affect the sound when not in use and it is not easily removed. Still have the Fishman.

Then the new mics and other "hangers on" came out and the only effect they could have on sound is the slight amount of weight hanging from the bridge plate. There is nothing between the saddle and bridge. I anticipate that, in a blind listening test, few if any would be able to tell the difference in sound after the Lyric is "installed". How good it sounds - or not - when "on" is another question.

It is curious that Baggs won't guarantee it unless an officially approved dealer installs it. Guess you have to go through factory training to learn the ins and outs of double stick tape. But of course, there is the gizmo that adjusts "presence" too. It moves both CW and CCW. Seriously, that might require using one's ear and taste. It, in theory, has potential for making a difference between the "on" and "off" sound. And I suppose different folks might have different desires with that regard.

Once the Lyric is installed, I'll see if I can recruit someone who knows how to play to do with and without comparison clips.

It cost $200 with a cable and clip on tuner thrown in.

[mike-p]

I've got the trance audio setup that Jackson Browne and others promote. It's pricey but pretty outstanding, paired with an AER it's the best sounding amplified setup I've heard.

[ken cierp]

Back on track -- the Lyric is a microphone not a transducer with processor. I am sure you could pre-amp and process the crap out of the signal, I think the point would be does it make the instrument sound exactly the same only louder?

[John Parchem]

I always thought that the big on stage guys want to remove most of the sound that we try to put into an acoustic guitar; one of the reasons Ovations were popular on stage. The big concert sound guys want a clean signal that they can play with outside to make it sound like they want. When I listened to the description of the signal processing in the clip they are removing sound that they find unwanted. Compression limits dynamic range, filtering different frequencies probably are removing overtones. I do get trying to cancel out the box. The guitar sound in the clip did not sound very good at all to me but it is hard to judge a utube.