Thumbs up for LR Baggs Venue DI

[Kerry Brown]

If anyone plays an acoustic on stage I highly recommend the LR Baggs Venue DI. It's a little pricy but it is amazing. I recently bought a Yamaha LL16 based on it's acoustic performance. I tried to use it at a few bar jams and open mics. It sucked ass plugged into a PA or even into a passive DI box. I bought it at Long and McQuade who have a 30 day return policy. On day 29 I was in the store to return it and get something else. They took me into the rental section and plugged me into a PA so they could hear the problem. They were willing to let me trade up but recommended I try an active DI box. We went into the acoustic room where I tried different DI boxes. The Venue was expensive but I liked the idea of the effects loop and the boost feature. Last night I played in a bar jam. The venue was amazing. It was very easy to dial in so that it was hard to tell I was using a piezo pickup. I usually play a few songs then head home. Last night I stayed until closing time. It was just so much fun playing a guitar that sounds this good. The boost feature was the icing on the cake. I'm going to have to brush up on my lead chops on an acoustic

 

[WavMixer]

 

[Kerry Brown]

Don't think anyone recorded the jam

 

[kevinpaul]

I love my Baggs acoustic pickup on my Martia D28. It keeps the original sound of a wooden guitar.
I never want an acoustic guitar that comes with electronics. I had an ibenhad and it sucked

 

[kevinpaul]

It had Fishmen pickup and the top got soft, the China flu for wood

 

[WavMixer]

Don't think anyone recorded the jam

Oh well, can't blame a guy for trying

 

[Col Mustard]

The Baggs Venue is an excellent choice.

AND there's been a whole lot of progress in amplifying acoustic guitars.
I'm now a fan of the TC Electronics "Body Rez" pedal. That's one I just
turn it on and leave it on. *grins

 

[Kerry Brown]

The Baggs Venue is an excellent choice.

AND there's been a whole lot of progress in amplifying acoustic guitars.
I'm now a fan of the TC Electronics "Body Rez" pedal. That's one I just
turn it on and leave it on. *grins

I like the demos. It's quite subtle but definitely makes a difference. Would you use this stand alone or with the Venue DI? If with the Venue would it go in front of the Venue, in the F/X loop, or after it?

 

[Col Mustard]

I have it right after the tuner on my board. (so that's first in line)
The signal goes to the reverb next, then chorus, then my Fishman ProEQ
(which is an earlier equivalent of the Baggs Venue). The Fishman ProEQ
has several excellent and useful tone shaping controls, including the sweepable
midrange, and it functions as a D.I. also, with an XLR out.

I've been using that Fishman D.I. for at least 15 years, maybe more. Can't recall when I first got it.
It's a problem solver for me.

I'm sure that the Body Rez pedal would function fine in your f/x loop, but my Fishman
doesn't have one. I think of it as shaping the tone before it gets to any of the other
devices.

And the Body Rez pedal is new to me, so I've only used it at a few gigs.
I've got mine set at about noon... and haven't tried more than that.
It's a pretty interesting effect IMHO.

 

[Kerry Brown]

I have it right after the tuner on my board. (so that's first in line)
The signal goes to the reverb next, then chorus, then my Fishman ProEQ
(which is an earlier equivalent of the Baggs Venue). The Fishman ProEQ
has several excellent and useful tone shaping controls, including the sweepable
midrange, and it functions as a D.I. also, with an XLR out.
View attachment 12726
I've been using that Fishman D.I. for at least 15 years, maybe more. Can't recall when I first got it.
It's a problem solver for me.

I'm sure that the Body Rez pedal would function fine in your f/x loop, but my Fishman
doesn't have one. I think of it as shaping the tone before it gets to any of the other
devices.

And the Body Rez pedal is new to me, so I've only used it at a few gigs. But it's one I just turn
on and leave it on.

Thanks! Great looking setup.

 

[kevinpaul]

The few times I played the Martin with the Baggs pick up I plugged directly into the PA. At home or the recording at the monastery I run into my Line 6 pod. The recording of the Kyrie eleison and the Gloriain excelsis Deo by a mic onto a reel to reel. These pickups are very pure and true to the sound of each note. Reason is it has to be transferred on to paper. That guys job is hard enough.

 

[Col Mustard]

In a studio situation, there's no substitute for miking an acoustic guitar. We usually set up two
mikes, but sometimes three. That's the best sound there is.

But in a live situation, there's no substitute for a good pedal setup. Mikes are just too much
hassle for live performance in difficult rooms, whatever advantage there is in sound quality is lost
if you jump around, as every good performer should do. *Shrugs...

So using microphones for live performance binds the performer to the imaginary footprints
chalked on the stage, and a performer's stage presence suffers IMHO. My music partner is a total
luddite, and refuses to ever consider anything but microphones for his D-35. When the sound guys
get that right, it sounds great.... until he moves. Then he disappears from the mix, and complains
that he can't hear his guitar. I figure it's my job to make up for that, so I do the best I can using
the best pickup and pedals I can.

I did manage to talk my partner into buying a pair of new condenser mikes, so that we can mount them
on a spreader with one pointed at fret 19 and one pointed at the rear deck of his guitar. Sound guys who
know how to utilize this rig can get great tone and lots of presence out of his guitar, and the cone of
sound is bigger, so he can move a bit without disappearing. His old setup was not effective, I thought
because mic placement is critical when you only have one, and the sound hole makes feedback very
obnoxious.

My partner's mic setup is always the limiting factor in how effective our show can be. I tell the sound
guys, turn him up until the feedback level, and then balance my guitar and my bass and the vocals and
everything to that level, and that's all we can achieve. It's frustrating for me, and if you look carefully,
you'll see very few professional performers who don't plug in. There are still some diehards of course,
but they are getting fewer. Because the microphone rig is not always effective. Plugging in always is.
And given decent components, acoustic guitars sound excellent using this. I'm always listening...