L.R. BAGGS PICKUPS
ACOUSTIC TIMBRE
INSTALLATION MANUAL & USER'S GUIDE
483 N. FRONTAGE RD.
NIPOMO, CA 93444
1. PACKAGE CONTENTS
One (1) Aco usti c T imbre Preamp
One (1) faceplate
One (1) Pre wi re d Strapjack Assembly
Two (2) self-stick wire clips
One (1) Ribbon Tra ns du cer
Fou r (4 ) bl ac k fl athead screws
2 . O V E R V I E W A N D C A U T I O N S
The Acoustic Timbre pr ea mp is d esig ne d for use w ith the L .R . B ag gs Ri bb on Transducer pickup o nl y. We can no t warranty th e unit wh en it is used
with other pickups.
The inst allat ion o f thi s sys te m i nvol ves d et ailed wood wo rki ng; the refore we r ec ommen d tha t thi s sys te m b e inst alled by a pro fe ssion al
de al er/in stall er. We do not provide inst al latio n adv ic e or sup por t for h om e or hob byist i nstal latio ns . A m et al rou ting tem plate d esign ed
specifically for this product is available as a separate item. Th is template only ou tl in es hole s for th e preamp controls and four mounting screws,
and is most ly recommended for u sers th at intend to use this system without the metal face pl ate (leaving the controls unla beled and protruding
through small holes in the wood for a m or e di sc rete appearance).
WWW.LRBAGGS.COM
Installers: please read the instructions care full y before pr oceeding, and be sure t hat this product will fit the gu itar properly b efore
making any altera ti on s to the instrument. We will not be responsible for any damage to the guitar or personal injury resulting fro m installation,
improper installation, u se o r mi su se o f th e produc t.
3. PREAMP INSTALLATION
1. Loc ate a suitable place on the side of th e guitar for the control pl ate. The area on eit her si de of the waist is usually a goo d choice. Before
committing to a location, be s ure to inspect t he i nside of t he g ui ta r for any obstructions ( braces, li ni ng, etc. ) th at m ig ht i nter fere with the preamp.
The side should curve no more than 1/16” over 3” at the chosen lo cation.
Note: There must be clearance ins ide the guitar to plug in the pickup cable aft er t he u nit is installed.
2. After deciding on the l ocat io n for the cont ro l plat e, hold i t firmly against the side of the guitar and m ark the cent er of e ac h of the four holes in
the corners of the plate with a pointed objec t. Cover the drilling areas with maski ng t ap e an d dr ill a 1/ 16 ” ho le i n ea ch o f th es e pi lo t ho le s.
3. If you will be using th e faceplate, create a paper template for th e cutting area that is roughly the same shape and siz e as the whi te roun de d
rectangle on the faceplate bene ath the L.R. Baggs l ogo. If y ou are un comfor ta bl e cutting w it ho ut a fi rm guide, cre ate a paper t em pl ate and use i t
to c ut a guid e from plexiglas or another suit able material. Installers that prefe r to no t attach the face pl at e should order a metal cutting template
for this pro du ct (ava il ab le separate ly ). To use this template, attach it firmly to the side of the guitar using the #4 x 1/2” shee t metal screws and
spacers (prov ided with the template).
4. Chuck a 1 /8 ” cutter in a Dremel router (with base ) so the shank, not the blad e, of the cutt er will contact to template w he n the rou ter base is in
contact with the template in ro utin g po si ti on .
5. Ease the router, making a pl un ge to full depth, into the center of each slo t to avoid cu tt in g the template. Then carefully remove al l the wood
within the slots using the sides of the template slots as rou ti ng g ui de s.
6. Remov e th e temp late and d ri ll t he fou r 1/16 ” ho les ou t to a new size of 1/8”. Be careful here as t he se h oles a re n ear th e outs id e of t he p la te a nd
mistakes will not be covered up by it . De -bur r the inside and outside of the sl ot s and holes with sandpaper or a fi le. Re move the masking tap e
carefully.
7. We strongly recommend that cross-grain re in forcing braces be add ed to the inside of the guitar. Scrap spruce or mahogany of approx imately
3/16” x 3/8” w il l do nice ly. These shou ld be glued on the inside of th e guitar just ab ove and below the prea mp box and should extend across the
entire side from lining to li ni ng.
8. Fit the control pl ate to t he curvature (if any) o f the side now. I f there is a curve in th e side, t he plate may be b ent to fit with the fabrication of a
simple jig. If the sid e h as a 1/16” cur ve over 3”, cut a 3/8” cu rve in a piece of 2x3 scr ap wood with a band saw. Use this jig, with a piece of paper
between the plate face and the jig, i n a vise to bend the plate. Do not bend the plate free hand as this will cause uneven curvature. Th is step
requires so me judgment bec au se the pl ate is rather resilient and mus t be over-bent to set it to the right cur vature. It is unlik el y that yo ur first
attempt will be perfec t; modifying the jig is essential to perfec ting t hi s.
9. Prepare the gui ta r for the stra pj ac k by drilling a c le an 1/ 2” ho le in th e tailblock of the guitar usin g a step drill. It’s a go od id ea to mask off the
drilling area to avoid chipping the finish. Remove the strap ring from th e end of the jac k. There should still be a star washer and locki ng nut on
the middle of the jack . Put the strapjack into the pre-dr il le d 1/2 ” hole using the nut and star washer as a de pt h gui de. The jack shou ld stic k out
enough to tighten the st rap ri ng o nt o th e thre ad ed b arrel of the jack. On ce t he d epth i s se t and the barr el i s in the hole, screw th e strap ri ng ont o
the barrel until the assembly is tight. Use caution when tightening the strap ring so you don’t crack the finish.
10. Position the preamp on the inside of the guitar with the slide controls and knobs in the routed holes in the side of the guitar. Place the control
plate on the outside of the instrument over the preamp, and screw it to the preamp using the black oval-head machine screws provided. This will
sandwich the side of the guitar between the control plate and the preamp. Do not ove r ti ghten as this could crack the side.
11. Remove the strap ring, retaining nut and one washer from the end of the jack. There should still be one sar locking washer, one flat washer,
and a nu t rem ai ni ng on the mid section of the jack. B ri ng the jac k dow n int o the soundhole and through your pr e- dr il le d hol e in the tail block.
Using the internal nut (be sure to include the flat and star washers), set the proper depth that will allow the entire threaded brass section to
protrude fro m the end of th e guitar. With th e jack in place, lay the r em ai ni ng washer ove r the threads and attach the e xter nal but until it's tight.
Fin is h by attaching the strap ri ng (it should cover the retaining nut and washer) carefully so as to no t crack th e fin is h of the gu it ar by as se rting
too much pressure .
12. Affix the output wire to the guitar side using the self-stick wire clips. This will keep the wires from rattling during movement.
4.RIBBON TRANSDUCER INSTALLATION
1. For opti mu m per form an ce of this pickup, the bridge slot must have a clean,
flat surf ace free of any debr is or over-spray from the finish. T he slot must be a
minimum of .125" (1 /8 ") deep but we s ugge st a depth of .187" (3/1 6") to avoid
exc es si ve saddle tilt (see figure 4).
2. I ns ta ll in g a .0 90 " pi ck up i n a .1 20 " sl ot i s no t recommended.
3. D o no t remove the black material that is affixed to the bottom of the pickup.
4. Avoid un neces sar y h ard b endin g o f t he pickup. R epeat ed removal and
replacement of the pickup during the course of the installati on i s no t ad vi se d.
5. Do not use shims under the saddle or pickup as a re me dy for stri ng balance
problems or to adjust the action.
6. Fai lure to secure the loose end of the picku p under the bridge will prod uce
bizarre audio consequences and even tu al ly ruin the pick up.
7. The quality of sound, output level, balance and fee db ac k re si st an ce are all
determined by how well the pickup mates wi th the saddle and the bridge.
Uneven or p ar tial contact between the saddle a nd the pickup will cause a
bo om y sound with low o utput, excessi ve b ody sen sitiv it y and p oor str ing
balance.
Installation:
1. Rem ove the str in gs from the guita r. If you wish to dup licate the str in g
he ight exac tly, scri be a lin e a lo ng the fron t ed ge of t he saddle wher e i t
ex tends a bove the br idge. Th e l ine will l ater be u se d as a gui de whe n
remo ving materi al fro m t he bottom of the sadd le to comp ensate for the
thickn es s of t he p ic ku p (. 02 5" total).
2. Remo ve th e sad dle to dri ll the hol e for the pic ku p. The drill bit nee ds to be
as large as the saddle slot will allow. Inspect the inside of the guitar and note
the position of the brac es in relation to the saddle slo t. Drill at either end of
the slot on the side that will enab le you to avoi d all braces as you pene trate
the top, as shown in figures 1 and 2.
fig. 1
fig. 2
fig. 3
proper saddle-pickup contact
(saddle lean exaggerated)
fig. 4
3. Fee d the pickup i nto the s lo t from in si de the guitar wi th the yell ow side up.
Insert in g a toothpick or similar obj ec t through the hole from th e o ut si de is
helpful in finding th e location of the hole on t he inside o f the g ui ta r. S and the
bottom su rface of the saddle on a belt sand er until the scr ib e line (from step
1) li ne s up w it h the bridge top. Leav e the saddle just a hair tall and finish
sanding the b ot tom by han d. It is best to do thi s aga inst a mac hi ned fla t
surf ace with fine sand paper. U se a straight edge wi th a strong ligh t source to
inspect the flatness of your saddle.
Import ant: The f it of t he saddle i n the s lo t is the sing le most i mp or tant factor
in t hi s install at ion. It is cru cial that the bottom of the slo t and the l ower
surf ace of the sadd le be f lat to make even contact with t he pickup. The sa dd le
should fit in the slo t loose enough to be ab le to be jus t pulled ou t with your
finger ti ps. If it is too tight or bi nd s at all, t hi s will have a nega ti ve e ffec t on the
string balance. Li ke wi se, if the saddle is too loose, it will have a substantial
forward tilt when under stri ng pres su re, causing it to make poor contact with
the pickup (see figure 4).
A saddle t hat fits correctly in t he slot will have a slight forward ti lt under
string pressure (se e fi gu re 3). It is nec es sa ry to comp en sa te for this angle by
intentionally sanding a slight tilt in the bottom of the sad dl e so that when it
leans for ward it sit s flat on the pick up (see fig ur e 3). The saddle material can
be a k ey e leme nt i n cur ing string balan ce p ro blem s. This picku p res pond s
most favorably to a rigid saddle material such as bone. Usin g so fter, more
flexible mat er ia ls may ca use the outside st ri ng s to be lower in volume than
the other strings.
improper saddle-pickup contact
(saddle lean exaggerated)
fig. 5
fig. 6
If you a re replacing t he s ad dl e, prepare the bottom o f the ne w one as explained above (see step 3). Place it in the slot an d scri be t he s am e line on
the front of it like th e orig in al saddle. To d uplicate t he action, lay the old s ad dl e on the new on e, match up t he scribe lines, and trace the shape o f
the old saddle onto the new one. We re co mm en d ei th er b on e or M icar ta for your saddle. So fter m ater ia ls tend to sound overly boomy.
4. Inse rt the pickup all the way into the slot, lay the saddle on top of it and temporarily secu re it wi th a piece of ta pe. Remove the ba ck ing from
the adhesive on the end of the pickup hanging inside the guitar an d attach i t to t he b ri dg e pl ate or t he u nd er si de o f th e top as shown in figures 5
or 6. Be careful not to place the adhesive ov er t he b ri dg e pi n ho le s.
5. Choo se a location for the wire cl ip betwee n the pickup and preamp se veral inches away from the pick up. If there is a brace that the wire wi ll
cross, make a little slack in the wire so it does not touch the brace. Secure the pickup wire in the wire clip.
6. Plug the pick up into the preamp. If the p icku p has enough w ire, make a loop in it or attach t he wire platfor ms to take up the sl ac k and keep it
off the sides.
7. Install a nine-volt batter (no t included) in the clip on the back of the preamp. Be sure to observe pol ar ity. Hold in g the end of the batter y up
from the end of clip will as si st in cleari ng the rivets that ho ld the clip and mak e inser ting the battery easier. Make sure that the batt er y s naps in
firmly, t hen re-string the guitar.
5. USER'S GUIDE
The output jack has a switch built into it to tu rn the pre am p on and off. T he red LED mark ed batter y will come on an d stay on until you unplug
and when the battery is low (6V ) th e li ght will flash to remind you to rep lace the battery. Do not leave the co rd plugged in when not in use.
Caution: Before plu gg in g or u nplugging your g ui ta r, be sure the volume setting on your ou tb oa rd e qu ip me nt i s off. Th is w il l prevent a potentially
damaging transient (pop) from hurting anything down line from it.
The Acoustic Timbre has a four-band e qu al izer w it h frequencies ta il or ed t o acoustic g ui ta rs. A typic al E Q star ting point is to boost th e Low band a
bit, cu t the Mi d (usually between .8k and 1.2k), add a t ou ch of presence, a nd bo os t the High frequencies slight ly. The midran ge is quite sensitive
and most guitars benefit from some cut here. Experiment to find the most effective frequency to cu t by boosting the mi d sli de r all th e way an d
adjusting the mid tune k no b until you have found the nastiest frequency. Then just pull the slider down until you g et a p le as in g so un d.
The output level of th e pre am p is quite hot and you may find that it can overdrive some amps, effect s, etc. I f you hear distortion, just turn your
volume down until it goes away. Your guitar ca n now be pl ug ge d into any P.A., s ou nd system, stereo, tape re corder, direct box, effe ct s p ro cessor,
wireless transmitte r or g ui ta r am pl if ie r.
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