Lyric?

When will the lyric be available? I'm about to buy a new guitar and need a pickup. I loved the anthem, but
the lyric sounds like it might be better for me. Don't want to put in an anthem and have the lyric come out in a month or two, but I really can't wait too long to put a pickup in the guitar.
Thanks

Hey Smalls,
The Lyric is scheduled to start shipping towards the beginning of February, and it will sell for $199. Not all of our dealers have pre-ordered yet, but we will have online dealers who will have stock shortly after the ship date. You can also talk to your local LR Baggs dealer about getting a Lyric pre-ordered.

Well, I might as well broach this topic first, Caleb.

Is Lyric an updated improvement of the Anthem (doing away withe UST which, to some ears, muffles the acoustic sound ever so slightly, and the minor hassles of installation and adjustment), or a compromise product that simply gives better better sound than anything else except Anthem?

Might it reach feedback level sooner; thus limiting it to lower volume applications?

If it's as good as Anthem, then there is no need for Anthem anymore.

I'm a big Anthem booster. So this inquiry is not meant to "flame" in any way. Just an inquiry from an interested fan and customer.

Brent

Brent,
The Lyric is definitely based on the Anthem. It doesn't have the UST, so it isn't as resistant to feedback at higher volumes. It's feedback resistance is better than soundboard transducers, but not quite as good as under-saddle transducers. So for a standalone mic, it is much more usable than any other mic designed for live use.

So the Anthem maintains the feedback resistance by its under-saddle pickup, and the Lyric is easier to install and sounds more well-rounded and, in my opinion, more natural.

The mics in each system are different too. The Lyric mic capsules are tested for a certain set of parameters that match the Lyric preamp. The Anthem mics are tested for qualities in the same way, but for the Anthem preamp.

I hope that helps.

I suppose a lot of folks are curious about this new system. I'm a fingerstyle player, solo gigs only. I play through a PA, and soon to buy a Fishman 220 for a more portable alternative. So, low volume (at least from where I sit) therefore feedback is not an issue. I've been playing a guitar with a RTS II in it, which as I understand has been preempted by the Element Active system. I play through a Venue DI. But...as I read through the overwhelming variety of choices of pickups/ transducers/ mics on the Baggs site I'm beginning to think that my style would be better served by something like the Lyric.

That said...in February I should take delivery of my new (to me) Santa Cruz custom H-model all-mahogany guitar. The guitar will be used for living room play and for gigs as I described above (solo fingerstyle). If you were to recommend a pickup for me...would this be it? Or would I be better served by a different system? Too many choices and I ned the guidance (and expense and ease of installation is not an issue - compared to the price of the guitar the pup will be negligible regardless).

I'm waiting for the Lyric as well. I have an Anthem in my Martin M36, and just acquired a 68' Gibson J-45 - no rush, but I'll eventually be installing a pick up in it. I'm wondering how a sound hole feedback buster will affect the tonal qualities of the Mic.

I love the Anthem, but I'm currently employing a Fishman Aura to add a little transparency to the UST sound of the Element portion.

L.R. Baggs rule in the pickup area - I wonder why they never decided to go into the Microphone Modeling racket like the D-TAR or Aura?

texasdw,
The Lyric should go very well with your new Santa Cruz. Your playing situation is more than ideal for feedback resistance too. The Lyric is more feedback resistant than most Soundboard pickups. So even if you were to play in front of a larger audience with a floor monitor, the Venue should give you the ability do so while still controlling your feedback resistance. The Venue and the Lyric are an amazing pair.

Thanks Caleb. I'll definitely give you some follow-up and let you know how it goes. I'll be looking forward to availability of the Lyric then.:):)

seratone,
We actually have a Lyric installed in a J-45 here in the shop, and it sounds beautiful. FeedbackBusters do tend to muffle the acoustic tone of the guitars a little, so that will come across in the amplified sound. As far as it actually cutting the amount of feedback, I can't say if it will help or not. It may be worth a try though.

As a company, I think we're trying to stay away from the whole "modeling" thing. We're really more interested in getting "your guitar" to sound like itself, and not like a digital model. So I don't foresee us going down that road any time soon.

I'm currently waiting to be able to 'pre-order' the Lyric for my 68 J-45. Baggs products are distributed by Yorkville in Canada so I'm not sure how well it will adhere to the 200$ projected price tag. Yesterday I picked up an Element for 150 to put in my 'beater backup' - 1975 Guild D-25m. My guitar fixing guy was attempting to put a used Fishman Matrix pre-amp and a Fishman OEM pickup in it I had kicking around and ran into ground problems. Perhaps I should have waited a few months...

Speaking of the Anthem - I have an 'SE' installed in my new Martin M36. I haven't played out with it yet but from what I'm getting through a Mackie board with headphones is incredible (touch of Aura and Verb) - the problem is, the previous owner seems to have poked the balance adjustment screw in too far (I read about this risk on the Acoustic Guitar Forums). The blend fader seems to be glued to the inside of the sound hole rather than velcro'ed, making it impossible to adjust the blend without taking the strings off. (You can't really adjust the blend without strings...)

Can this thing be taken off using an exacto knife? as in, with the installation kit did it come with flexible adhesive option?

Id like to re-install it further into the guitar so it won't get jostled by a feedback buster.