LR Baggs Deluxe Acoustic EQ User Manual

L.R. BAGGS PICKUPS

DELUXE ACOUSTIC EQ

INSTALLATION MANUAL & USER'S GUIDE

483 N. FRONTAGE RD.

NIPOMO, CA 93444

1.PACKAGE CONTENTS

One (1) Deluxe Ac ou st ic Preamp
One (1) Pre wi re d Strapjack Assembly
Two (2) self-stick wire clips
One (1) Mini-plug
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 Deluxe Acoustic EQ is an a dd -o n onbo ar d preamp/EQ for He x an d LB6 Series pickups. Th e pr ea mp a nd four-band e qu al iz er a re d es ig ne d to b e
mounted on t he side of th e guit ar (prov id in g easy access to onboard EQ and volume controls), and provides approximately 300 ho ur s of use from
a typical 9-volt battery.

The in st allat ion o f thi s sys te m invol ves d et ailed wood wo rki ng; therefor e we recomm end t hat t his s ystem be inst alled by a pro fe ssion al
de al er/in stall er. We do n ot provid e ins ta llati on adv ice or supp ort for home o r hobby is t ins talla tions . A m etal routin g templ ate des ig ned
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).

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Installers: please read the in stru ctions c arefully before proceeding, an d be sure t hat this p roduct will fit th e guitar pr oper ly before
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.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.

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 product (available separately). Screw the template firmly to the side of the gu it ar usi ng the #4 x 1/2” shee t meta l screws and spacers
(provided with the te mplate).

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 he re a s thes e holes ar e near t he outside of the plate and
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 ” curve in a piece of 2x3 sc ra p wood with a band saw. Use this jig, with a piece of pa pe r
between t he plate face and the jig, i n a vise to b end the pl ate. DO N OT TRY TO BEND THE PL ATE FR EE HA ND AS THIS WI LL CAUS E UNE VE N
CURVATURE. This step requires some judg ment because the plat e is rather res il ie nt and must be over-bent to se t it to the rig ht cur vature. It is
unlikely that your first atte mpt wi ll b e pe rfect; modifying the jig is essential to perfecting this.

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. Solder the pick up wire to the mini-plug. The cente r of the coa xial cable fr om the pi ck up goes to the tip (center) and the shi el d goes to the
ground. Remember to put the barrel of the plug over t he p ic ku p wi re before you solder.

11. Position the preamp on the i ns id e of t he g uita r wi th t he s lide controls and knobs in the routed holes in the side of the guitar. Place t he c ontrol
plate on the outside of the instrument over the preamp, and screw it to the preamp using the black ova l- he ad m ac hi ne s crews provided.

12. Pl ug t he p ic ku p an d ou tp ut h ar ness into the appropriate jacks on the preamp.

13. Remov e the pick up from the slo t and rotate it on e tur n t o put a loop in the wire. Put the pi ck up back in its slo t. This lo op will keep the wire
from rattling or vibrat in g ag ai ns t th e in si de o f th e gu it ar.

14. Affix the output wire to the side in se veral places usin g self-stick wire clips to keep it from rattling. Install a 9V alka line batter y in the clip on
the back of the preamp and restring the guitar. You are finished!

4.USER'S GUIDE

The outp ut jack has a switch buil t into it to turn t he preamp on a nd off. When the battery is low (6 v) the light will flash to remind you to replace
the battery. This preamp will function down to 4V at whi ch t im e th e li ght will go out completely. D o no t le ave cord plugged in when not in use.

Caution: Before plugging or unplugging your guit ar be sure the volume of whatev er you are plugged in to is off! Th is will preven t a potentially
damaging turn on transient (pop) from hurting anything down line from it.

The Deluxe Ac ou st ic Preamp has a four-band equalizer with frequencies tailored to acoustic guitars. A t ypic al E Q st ar ting point is to boost the low
band a little, cut the mid, add a touc h of presence and bo os t the high ra ng es slig htly. Midrange is quite sensitive and most guitars benefit fr om
some cu t her e. Experiment to find the most effe ct ive frequency to cut by bo os ti ng the slider all the way and adju sting the mid tune knob until
you have fou nd the nast ie st frequenc y. Then pu ll the mid slider down until yo u get a pleasing sound. The o ut pu t leve l of the preamp is quite hot
and you may find t hat it can ove rd ri ve s om e amps, effects, et c. If you hear di stor tion , simply reduce t he volume un ti l it g oes away. Your gu it ar may
now be plugged into any PA, sound system, st er eo t ap e recorder, d ir ec t box, effec ts p ro cessor, wirel ess transmitter or guitar amplifier.

Con trols:

Low EQ band control: (100 Hz) Use to add or subtract the lo wer frequencies,

to add warmth or cut fe ed ba ck .

.8K

1.2K

1.6K

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B
A
T
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E
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Y

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Mi drang e C ontro l: (4 00hZ t o 1 .6k Hz) Sw eeps f rom th e up per wa rmt h
frequencies to the nasal ra nge of s ou nd.

Treble con trol: ( 10 kH z) Th e very highest fre quencies, “air ” or “frosting”.

Presence cont rol: (5kHz) “Sss” so un ds, cy mb al sizzle, brightness. Cut here a

little to remov e P.A. horn “glare” or b oo st to add life to a dull speaker.

Volume control: This controls the amount of sign al that get s out of th e box.
For the best system signal to noise ratio, we r ec om me nd that you run the
volume as high as you can w it ho ut c au si ng t he P.A. to distort.

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.4K

MID

0 0

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LOW MID HI VOLPRES

TUNE

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Deluxe Acoustic Equalizer

Battery status LED: Stays on when the unit is on and then fla sh es when the
battery is low. The LED will star t fl as hi ng w he n th e batter y reaches 6 volts. Wh en i t reaches 5 volts, i t wi ll s top flashing and fade away.

Mid tune control: Boost at .4k fo r mo re war mth, cut at .8k-1.6k for less nasal quality. M any acoustic guitars have a n excess 1kHz when amplified. A
3 to 6dB cut is often good here.