L.R. Baggs iBeam Active

Taylor 214 fitted with active I-Beam. Gibson G45 fitted with Fishman Matrix, Fishman Loudbox 100.

Simple installation. Hardest part was drilling 1/2" hole to accept the pre-amp jack socket - as I said easy.

Active pick up that needs patience to achieve a great sound but your patience will be rewarded with the truest amplified guitar sound ever

This pick up is hot - if you crank it using the sound hole volume control you wil get a horrible sound!!!
Care has to be taken when positioning the I Beam as all guitars are different and the smallest adjustment as to where the I-beam is placed make a huge difference. I struggled to get a useable sound until I played it through a Fishman G2 EQ into my Loudbox with the volume on I Beam quite low and presto! ...tone from heaven. I also play a Gibson J45 fitted with a Matrix pick up but amplified, the reproduction of the IBeam beats the factory installed Fishman Matrix hands down. I found I achieved the best sound by controlling the volume using the amp master volume and keeping the pick up volume control relatively low

It is by far the best acoustic pick up I have ever used (35 yrs).

I score it an 8 only because it does take quite a bit of experimentaion to optimize the pick up position for your guitar.

I-Beam Active, with built-in pre-amp

This was installed in my Gibson j-45 acoustic. Installation was a little tricky, but not too bad. It required drilling a half-inch hole in the area where the strap-button is.

I play live acoustic shows, and was looking for a way to up-grade my guitar, and get away from having to mic it. This was NOT the answer. Everything positive I read was wrong about this model.The output level was satisfactory, and that's about it. Muddy, distorted and quacky. This pickup is unsuitable for any acoustic guitar applications.

This was a complete waste of money and time. L R Baggs should be ashamed of themselves for selling this junk. It sounds muddy, distorted, no definition, completely ruining the sound of a nice acoustic guitar rather than capturing it. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS JUNK!

Active mounts under bridge plate. On board volume control.

Installed on a Larivee OM-3R and also on a 1970 Martin D-28

Output level is just fine since it's an active pickup. In fact, when you strum with a hard attack, it clips no matter how your trim is set on your P/A. That is a problem for some of my songs. On my lighter touch songs it sounds quite good. I use it with a Mackie P/A mixer and powered Mackie 450 speakers. The tone has plenty of bass and lots of really high end and lacks midrange. It sounds pretty microphonic in the smaller Larivee but not as much in the Martin. It will definitely pick up and actually accentuate the character of your guitar so you better like that before you put this in. I had to play with the position of it 5 times before I landed on the best sound. I have it lined up right under the saddle on the bass side and about 2mm off on the treble side and toward the bridge pins. This took away some of the overly bright sound on the high strings,. It still has a little too much but I started to lose presence on the other strings by moving it farther away from the saddle.

I would not replace this pickup. I would get a K&K pure Western. I have been at this for about 40 years and this is not my favorite pickup. I do think Baggs makes great stuff but this pickup is not their best. I also like the Baggs M-1 better but it is sort of a different animal altogether. They have fabulous customer service and I really like them as a company. I bet the I-Beam would be better if it were blended with the M-1. That could be a spectacular setup if you want the hassle of a stereo rig.

Bridge plate transducer, single coil, w/ preamp

1991 Santa Cruz OM

Awesome. Absolute and perfect image of acoustic tonal qualities.

For this model guitar it worked great. I also tried to install one in a D model but the shifted x bracing restricted the placement of the unit. I am in the process of installing an Active Element in that guitar now. So be aware of the amount of space needed for installation.

Installed it in a Seagull S-6 with no modification. Any reasonably skilled person can do this

output is plenty powerful. sounds natural. have used it in live situations both indooes and outdoors with no problem Play Christian Rock in one band and praise and worship at churches. If you want just straight ahead plug and play without butchering your guitar then this is it.

Definately would replace. In fact I was scouring ebay today for one for my 12 string when I decided to write this review. Playing since 1973//I was looking to buy a Taylor When I came across Seagull Guitars at Grannys Music Mall in OKC, The sound of the seagull for the money blew me away, hand made in canada by Godin. However an electric version was only offered with a cutaway guitar and I like the fuller sound of a non cutaway. So I bought a non cutaway and Added the LR Baggs. When I have new strings that havent dulled with age,( martin SP bronse phosphor currently) I would put this guitar up against a Taylor any day and It sounds way better than my pastors Japanese Martin. The guitar was 359 and the Lr Baggs was $150, Case was about $75, So for under $600 about a 1/3 of the price of a Taylor I have found a very pleasing set up. Bottom Line if you need to amplify your electric then Lr Baggs is the way to GO

Bridge plate transducer, single coil, active, preamp bolts to the butt of the guitar, no EQ, no tuner.

Model of guitar or bass: Gibson L-00
Position: Under saddle
Pickup being replaced: None
Other pickups on guitar: None
Artists using this pickup: NA
You musical style(s): blues and rock
Reason for pickup change: The guitar did not have a pickup. I like pickups in acoustic guitars because then I can tune them with my strobe tuner a little more easily.

Perceived output level: Not as strong as a Highlander but is more than adequate. I just turn up the amp a bit more fro this pickup.
Tone: Balanced. Sounds real, like the guitar when it's unplugged
Sonic evaluation: Loudbox Performer, Acoustasonic Jr.
For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: None

I had a problem with the install that was at least partially my fault. I emailed L.R. Baggs telling them that I liked the tonal quality of the pickup, but I had trouble with the threads on the preamp stripping. Baggs responded in less than 24 hours and told me to pull the pickup and preamp and send it back to them, no questions asked. They replaced it with a new unit. The second install went without issue and it sounds fantastic. Baggs also gave me a great installation tip. They suggested that I get a ????? brass or aluminum rod and shape the end of it like a ?? inch phone plug and then thread the rod through the body and attach the preamp to the rod. It was a great help in making this installation easy.

The major advantage of the iBeam System is that it is NOT necessary to re-cut the saddle to complete the installation. You can do this installation yourself. Unlike Fishman and Highlander, a luthier skill set and soldering skills are not required.

Highlander requires that a slot be cut with a router underneath the saddle for their pickup and they also require you to drill a hole to thread the pick up wire through the bridge into the guitar???s body cavity. As some of the Highlander pickup protrudes upward from the slot, it may be necessary to re-cut the saddle to compensate for the material added by the pickup in the saddle slot to keep the guitar???s action at the same height.

Fishman requires a flat surface for their under-saddle pickup placement and they also require you to drill a hole to thread the pick up wire through the bridge. Fishman pickups require that the saddle needs to be re-cut to compensate for the added depth of their pickup material.

Both Highlander and Fishman require you to solder the pickup wire to their preamp. The iBeam requires no soldering skills to install.

By comparison, the iBeam pickup is placed upon a cradle and raised into position. With the cradle tool Baggs provides with their iBeam System, it is very easy to attach the iBeam pickup directly underneath the saddle. The installation kit also has a Cordura battery bag that Velcros to the neck block and there???s even a volume control wheel that attaches to the sound hole with double-back tape for easy access.

Some of the reviews of this product suggest that this isn???t a good sounding pickup. They are sorely mistaken. I own a 1996 Taylor 714 Ced, which is the prototype for Taylor???s current production 714 model. It has a Highlander pickup and it is the best sounding acoustic guitar I???ve ever heard. The cedar top and rosewood back and sides are the best tone wood combination I???ve ever run across. I think it would smoke a pre-WWII Martin. I just don???t happen to have the $100K it would take to buy one and test this theory.

I can???t say that the L-00 is ???as good??? because ???as good??? is an apples to oranges comparison. These guitars sound different due to the L-00???s spruce top and mahogany back and sides. Also a L-00 is a grand concert size and the Taylor is a grand auditorium size. The L-00 through the iBeam is brighter sounding and it should be because of the guitar size and the tone wood used. So, I guess we could sum this up by saying that the L.R. Baggs iBeam System makes a L-00 sound like a louder L-00 when its plugged into either of my amps. You can't ask for more than that out of a pickup.

I think Baggs deserves special praise for their customer support. What they provided was the best customer support I have ever experienced in the music industry and I???ve been playing for over 30 years. I have owned dozens of excellent guitars from every major guitar maker and have never experienced the excellent service I received from Baggs. I???d like to see them expand their product line into amplifiers and guitars.