At present I have three acoustic guitars. Two have pickups. I want to get a pickup added to the third.

The current state of affairs is
1) Morgan OM - when I bought it this had a Baggs Active Element system fitted.
2) Smoothtalker SSC2 - when I ordered this instrument Mervyn Davis offered an option of a Baggs Active Element installed during construction. I took that option.
3) Larrivee LV-05. This has no pickup.

The most straightforward solution is to go with the Active Element again. Then all guitars have essentially the same system and life is simple.

The Baggs AE is actually a very good system of it's type. But I have some reservations.
1) The under saddle systems never sound quite real. They are very bright, sometimes percussive and lack a little warmth in the sound.
2) The pickup gets all it's "input" from the saddle. So these systems tend to diminish the difference between instruments. The Morgan and the Smoothtalker sound VERY different unplugged. They sound much more similar plugged in - not identical, but the differences are quite significantly reduced. The tonal gap between the Morgan and the Larrivee is not as great, but it's there and I like it and I think that with the Baggs AE there will be no discernible difference between the two guitars plugged in.

So I am looking for something that gives a more natural sound and which allows the nuances of the individual guitar to come through.

Options would be
1) Microphone or microphone with something else
2) A bridgeplate pickup like the Baggs I-Beam
3) The Baggs M1. This is a magnetic humbucking pickup but with clever construction so that the 2nd coil is allowed to vibrate and thus, so the theory goes, picks up vibrations from the instruments top and thus provides a more natural sound.

Cons as I understand them are that both mikes and bridgeplate systems are more prone to feedback, and also pick up lots of surrounding noises (this may explain why I could hear Martin Carthy muttering "How the f... does this one go?" even though he'd stepped away from the vocal microphone).

The Baggs dual-source system looks interesting because the internal mic is not mounted on a gooseneck but installed on the back of the guitar using a foam block which, they say, reduces feedback and percussive noise.

McGibbons are recommending to me the Baggs I-Mix which combines the I-beam and the Active Element, and comes with a blend control so you can "pan" between the two pickups. (The dual source similarly allows panning between the mic and the other pickup - usually an Active Element).

Of course all of this may be overkill considering my ambitions for public performance.

Any thoughts?

I always lean to the dual systems with mic and undersaddle and a blending facility. Baggs use a decent ribbon transducer for the undersaddle and while they pick up mostly from the saddle, they do pick up a little of the character from the top. You get the best of both worlds - the feedback resistance of the undersaddle and the natural body sound from the mic, and you also have the ability to blend the two in the best ratio the specific situation warrants.

I used to rout the saddle slots lower and much closer to the top of the guitar to change the balance between the saddle/body ratio of ribbon transducers at the expense of a little feedback resistance. I also had some success using strips of wood glued to the bottom of the saddle - although this was primarily for live guitars and I doubt I'd experiment with a Larry used primarily acoustically (well, I would, but not on someone elses )

Another, completely different, route to go is an undersaddle only and a Fishman Aura Spectrum DI, which basically blends a convolution image of a similar guitar to yours with the undersaddle sound. These images are captured with a variety of high quality studio mics and preamps in a studio and there is a huge downloadable image library covering a wide variety of common guitars. If you're really exacting about your guitar's tone, you can even ship them your guitar to have them create an image of your exact guitar. A similar product is the D-Tar Mama Bear, but is more of a preset solution - dial in for the type of transducer you have, dial in the type of guitar you want it to sound like and play.

I gave my Nippon Gakki 12-string to Andy yesterday opting for a Baggs Dual Source. Although it is as an acoustic not comparable to a Morgan etc I did figure a 12 string deserves more than just an undersaddle.

Salesmen... if you must know I was there from 13h until my wife dragged me out about three quarters later.

Like I wrote, Dual Source since it is less expensive... 

Hey guys

I don't enjoy threadjacking. However my question is relevant..

So I have a Washburn that I love to bit. But the amplified sound is not so good. Are there any relatively cheap options to get a more natural tone out of it?

Atm it has B-Band under saddle ribbon mic... Described on the site as such


They can say what they want, but optimally I'd like to be able to blend the sound of that with a mic (For a nice sharp attack and a better tone). I am not sure if it'd be possible/feasible to try and run both... Also looked at the LR Baggs M1 Active pup which seems decent.

Plugged in, I want it stage ready as I plan to start gigging it by Feb...


Thanks guys and sorry to threadjack Bob.

I am not seeking the holy grail here, or even a golden one.. More looking for a better tasting poison Just need to lose that slight piezo sound.. How much did that iBeam system cost you if I may ask?

I do think that adding a preamp into the eqation will start to add up though so not TOO keen on that...