L.R. Baggs Mixpro

The knobs are small but the manual explains the function of each control very well. An access hole for some of the pots inside would be nice so you don't have to take it apart to make some adjustments.

I'm using a martin D-15 with the baggs M1 and ibeam (both passive. Battery on guitar + potential battery acid leaks = very bad) I always plug into a well set up sound system, either my church system or my studio monitors at home. I found I need to reduce the bass on the board about 6dB to prevent boominess.
This preamp definitely colors the sound but it does so in a way that makes acoustic pickups which typically sound harsh and electric sound much more natural and acoustic, I'm guessing by comparing it to a very flat preamp that there is a built in eq with a big boost in the <125hz range, a mid cut around 500-1.6k
I haven't noticed any change in overall volume (as noted by a previous reviewer) by panning from one pickup to the next, if the gain settings are correct you should hear a smooth transition from one to the next.
This preamp is not good for the ibeam passive pickup, in fact it is not good for the active version either. There is just too much eq in the ibeam active's endpin preamp, combined with the mixpro's coloring it muddies up your sound and makes it overly crispy. also, both active and passive the ibeam introduced a 60hz hum. The hum is not even half as bad with the ibeam active, the passive version is unuseable. I have plugged the ibeam passive into several quality preamps at guitar center (and a nice presonus tube pre at home) and had no hum so the problem is not my installation/wiring. If you are listening Baggs people, please suggest a fix.
Bottom line, It makes my m1 sound great with minimal eq at the board through my studio monitors at home. Not exactly like the guitar but it's still a good tone.

It broke before my first gig (church service) that I played in. I set my guitar down to go make an adjustment at teh sound board and it fell and mashed in the treble knob, cutting off all sound output. I e-mailed tech support who called to discuss the problem and they sent me a new treble pot no charge. I installed it and it works perfectly.
(low reliablity rating ONLY because the mini pots are very fragile if it falls just wrong. Anything I travel with should be able to handle a few drops)

Tech support is a little slow because of the high volume of emails, but it was only about 4 days from the time they called until i had the mixpro working again.
The fact that they were very helpful with this problem, even though the fine print in their warranty says they didn't have to do a d*rn thing to help me, says a lot about their company and their commitment to satisfying their customers.

This particular setup seems to really shine with fingerpicking. Strummming gets a little more harsh and electric sounding, but I think that is more due to the way the pickups work rather than the preamp. If it was lost I'd probably get one of the 2 channel preamps from K&K, since they have separate tone controls for each channel (are you listening LR Baggs?) or else a Para DI for the extra eq and fx loop. (If you're still listening lr baggs, consider a rack mount version of the para di, or better yet a two channel rack mount version)

I can't see how anyone would have trouble using this unit. It has a clip for your belt, pocket, strap, piercing or whatever. There are controls on top and bottom of the unit, plus internal trim pots and switches. You can check the details on their function at www.lrbaggs.com, like I had to since my unit came with no manual.

All pots are centered and with the exception of the volume knob, rather small. The mix control on the underside of the unit is particularly hard to adjust while the unit is mounted.

By the way, this pan pot is non-linear. When you turning clockwise past 12 o'clock, it boosts one channel without cutting the other, and visa-versa.

Opening the case to make adjustments or change the battery is easy, but performing these procedures is not. You have to force the battery into its clamp. I worry that I may crack the board or sever the leads on the battery terminal. Poking around at those little switches inside is also rather troublesome.

Once you have suffered this rite of initiation, and have it properly setup, it will be hard to find a way to make this baby sound bad.

I have been searching for a good preamp for the Fishman Archtop Piezo I put on my Tacoma last year. It sounded terrible through my amp, or direct into consoles/mixers. I was using a Trace Elliot Acoustic EQ for a while, but that was bulky, sounded flat and took too long to tweak. Originally I had intended to get a Boss AD-5, but I saw that Mixpro was cheaper, easier to use, and fit inside my guitar case.

And the sound...
It is such a natural sound nobody even complimented me on it, because
the guitar sounds exactly the way it should. Bright, but not harsh. Not a lot of coloration, so the midrange sounds like an acoustic, not an electric. Plenty of warmth and bass you can feel without feedback. Picking nuance and subtle harmonic details all come through. Fingerpicking is something I didn't like to before, but with this kind of tone it has become ectasy.
Playing through even a cheap PA yeilds a good sound, but I felt that through a guitar amp the sound was too colored.

With the guitars stock passive floating EMG humbucker, the sound naturally becomes more acoustic sounding. I am still trying to decide if this is a good thing, since I want to get electric archtop tones, too. Blending it together with the piezo gets all kind of interesting, sometimes gorgeous or even ethereal tones.

The construction in and out is solid. I often forget that it is clipped onto my belt, so when I put my guitar down, I unintentionally yank it off and it hits the ground. On one such occasion, the volume knob popped off with fragments of the plastic shaft still inside. The unit still functioned though, and I could even use the volume control, partially. I have since had that replaced with a tougher steel-shafted pot.

I have only had it for a month, so I can comment on long term performace, but I'm glad I have my Trace Eliot EQ for backup.

Nice website.

I play in a hip-hop band which is basically jazz/funk bassed but sometimes requires unpredictable style shifts into pop, rock, folk, reggae or even classical. My band mates seem to like the sound, or at least prefer it to my VG-88.

In my 15 years of playing, this is one of the best purchases I have ever made, along with my G&L Legacy and H&K Tubeman. This is now as indispensible as those pieces, and I would definitely get this or another Baggs product if I lost this one.

There is one strange thing. The unit pictured and described on the box was quite different from what came inside. For example , the box said it featured a stereo output jack, and a tube-emulator, but no mention was made in the manual of them. The mix control was also larger. All of these are features I would have appreciated.

IIf someone knows anything about this, or has a version matching this description for sale, please contact me.