L.R. Baggs Anthem Pickup

L.R. Baggs Anthem Pickup
List Price: $429.00
Anthem SL, List Price: $289.00
www.lrbaggs.com

Acoustic guitarists who play live typically had to make a choice between plugging in using a pickup that “sounded acoustic” or working within the confines of using a microphone. The L. R. Baggs Anthem provides a new option that combines both the pickup and an internally mounted microphone to achieve the best of both worlds.

Adding a mic with a pickup is not a new idea. In fact, L.R. Baggs was one of the companies that pioneered the idea. But for the Anthem, they developed a new type of microphone that is mounted on the bridge plate inside the guitar that sounds silky smooth. The mic is married to the Element undersaddle pickup that has already won high praises on its own. Both signals are sent to the just-inside-the-soundhole preamp that houses the separate blend and volume controls, phase switch, and battery check switch. The pickup alone sounds as good as any under saddle pickup can, but once the mic is blended in – that’s where the magic happens. Even with the maximum amount of mic dialed in, the pickup is still in the mix functioning as a low-end booster; so the sound never thins out, it only sounds sweeter. The Anthem sounds so good that you could use it to record direct and no one would be none the wiser: except for you, of course.

4 Comments

Leave a Reply
  1. Just recorded some songs yesterday (in a pro studio) and did exactly what this author suggests might be possible. I ran my guitar into two tracks simultaneously, one with a nice condenser mic and the other with my Anthem-laden acoustic guitar plugged directly into the board. Blended the two sounds for a very sweet, punchy sound that may very well make the final mix.

Leave a Reply

Holiday Gift Guide 2010