L.R. BAGGS PICKUPS
ELEMENT ONBOARD SYSTEM
INSTALLATION MANUAL & USER'S GUIDE
483 N. FRONTAGE RD.
NIPOMO, CA 93444
WWW.LRBAGGS.COM
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Package contents
2. Overview & cautions
3. Removal of previous system (retrofit only)
4. New installation woodworking
5. Strapjack installation
6. Preamp installation
7. Element installation
8. External controls
1 . P A C K A G E C O N T E N T S
one (1) Element undersaddle pickup
one (1) onboard preamp
one (1) strapjack harness
six (6) ½" black installation screws
six (6) fiber washers
one (1) flexible black preamp bezel
two (2) self-stick wire clips
one (1) preamp routing te mplate
2 . O V E R V I E W & C A U T I O N S
The L.R. Baggs Element Onboard is an onboard retrofit system that combines t he E leme nt u nd er sa dd le pickup with an a ll-d is crete cl ass A ba tt er yaccess preamp. The syste m is a d rop-in retrofit upgrade that is designed to fit in the hole used by s everal fac tory-installed syste ms.
We recommend tha t this system be installed by a profes si on al dealer/installer. We do no t provide ins ta ll at io n advice or supp or t for home or
hobbyist installations. Installers: please read the inst ru ct ions caref ully befor e proceeding. We will not be r es po ns ib le for any damage to th e guit ar
or personal injury r es ul ti ng f rom installation, improper installat ion, use or misuse of the product.
Before beginning a retrofit installation, be sure that th e sc rew ho le s in the preamp bezel (mounting flange) lin e up with the existing preamp
screw holes on the guitar.
For n ew i ns ta ll ations, th e preamp will generally fit in guitars with a side width of four inches or larger, assuming averag e lining and top thick ness.
Again, verify that these requirements are met b efore making any altera tion s to the guitar.
The preamp re quires a 9V batter y, which is not included in this packa ge.
Avoid unnecessary b en di ng o f th e El em en t pi ck up.
Installation over view : The recommended installation procedure is to begin by removing the o ld s ystem and /or performing any necessary
woodwor k. Then install the strapjack and preamp. Finally, the Element should be installed and teste d to e ns ure proper sound and string balance.
3 . R E M O V A L O F P R E V I O U S S Y S T E M (retro fit inst allations only)
Remove the entire preamp, output harness and pickup. You will also need to remove the old strapjack.
Most guit ar manufacturers incl ud e cross-grain reinforcement panels on solid wood guitars bene ath the preamp mount ing screw holes. If, upon
removing the old preamp from a solid wood guitar, you discover that th ere ar e no reinforce ment strips, we rec om me nd installing cross-grain
reinfor ce me nt shims under ne ath the screw holes to prevent chip pi ng t he wood on the guitar.
Once the previous sys tem is removed, proce ed to the strapjack installation (sect io n 5) .
4 . N E W I N S T A L L A T I O N W O O D W O R K I N G
4.1 Rout in g the preamp hole : Be a bs ol utely sure that the p re am p will fit inside the guitar a t its inte nded location before maki ng any cuts to th e
instrument! Guitars with a side width of less than four inches may be u na bl e to a ccommodate the preamp due to the size of the inte ri or l in in g.
For solid wood guitars (especially mapl e), we reco mm en d glui ng two 2.5” (63.5 mm ) x .5” (12.7 mm) plywoo d cross-grai n reinfo rcement pane ls on
the inside of the guitar body where the screw holes will be drilled. This preven ts the wood from splitting during the drilling process.
If you are un comfor ta bl e freehand-cutting this area using the en cl os ed paper template (as des cr ibed below), we recommend that you us e the
paper template to fashion a hard template out of masonite, Plexiglas or another suitable mater ial.
1. Choose a locati on on the side of the inst rume nt to mount th e preamp. Th e
flattest possible area jus t above th e wais t on the upper bo ut and below the
shoulder is reco mmen de d. Double-check to make su re the preamp wil l clear
all internal braces and o th er o bs ta cl es w he n in st al le d.
2. Lay the enclosed paper template on the cho sen loc at io n and secure it with
masking tape on al l four edge s. With a shar p scribe put a dimp le in the cent er
of eac h of the screw holes an d then drill out the holes usi ng a #45 dri ll bit
(.082” or 2.08 mm). Cut out the area for the preamp carefully and slowly using
a ro ta ry cu tter with a sharp 1/ 8” cutting bi t. We recommend cutt in g just inside
the line s for t he initial cut a nd then cleaning u p the edges with a file. Remov e
th e temp late and clea n up a ny e xcess tap e resid ue with a s oft c loth and
naphtha.
4.2 Drilling the st rapjack h ol e: For proper installation, th is ja ck re qu ir es a
clean 1/2" hol e in th e tail bl oc k of the ins trument. Start by placing a piece of
masking tape on th e outside of t he instrument ove r the drilling area ( to avoid
chipping the finish), drill a small pilot hol e in th e tail block an d then follow
with a step dril l. Now proceed to the strapjack installat ion as de ta il ed in the
followi ng s ec tion .
5 . S T R A P J A C K I N S T A L L A T I O N
Remove the strap ri ng, retaining nut and one was her from th e end of t he jack.
Ther e sho uld s till be on e star lo cki ng wash er, one flat wash er and a nut
remaining on th e jack. Br in g the jack dow n through the so undh ol e into the
body and inse rt it into the pre- dril le d hole in the tail block. Using the inte rn al
nut (be sure to include the flat and sta r wa sher s) , set the proper depth tha t
will a llow the entire smaller th readed section to protrude f rom the instrument
(see figure 1). With the jack in p lace, la y th e remaining washer over the threads
and at tach the external re tain in g nut until it ’s tight. Finish by attaching the
strap ri ng (it sh ou ld cover the re ta in in g nut and w as he r) so a s not to crack the
finish of the instrument by asserting too muc h pressure. Now proceed to the
preamp installation in the fo ll ow in g se ction.
fig. 1
smaller
threaded
section
protrudes
fig. 2
fig. 3 fig. 4
dri ll b it
nor mal sadd le:
dri ll f loor
sho rt saddl e:
dri ll s ide wall
tail
block
extension
jew eler 's s crewd rive r
6 . P R E A M P I N S T A L L A T I O N
This preamp is designed for s id es that are . 09 0” to .165” thick and re as on ab ly flat or co nvex. The sk ir t of th e beze l may bottom out on guitars that
have especially thin or concave sides. This will prevent the bezel f rom seating completely on th e guitar’s side. If this happens, place the prov ided
fiber washers ove r th e pr ot ru di ng e nd s of t he s crews (inside of the guitar body) to space the preamp down into t he g ui ta r.
The beze l is made of a s pe ci al material that may be cold-formed by hand an d can be easily made to confo rm to the cur vature of the guitar side.
Simply bend the beze l by ha nd until it fits to the gui ta r side with ou t any gaps. It may help to ove r-be nd the bezel slightly in spots unti l it lies
flush on the guitar side's sur face.
1. Once the bezel has be en form ed, drop it into the exi st in g cut ou t and scre w the 4 provided sc rews into the hol es unti l they protrud e into the
guitar abo ut 1/16”. Do not enlarge the holes in the gui ta r! If you enlarge the holes, th e screws will not be able to hold the bezel in place to
position the preamp.
2. In se rt a b at tery into the battery compar tm en t (observe polarity!) and push the comp ar tmen t into the h ole until it click-locks into place. Insert
the prea mp into the guitar thro ug h the sound hole and place it into the opening in the beze l from inside of the guitar. Wiggle it until the screw
ends find the corr es po nd in g slots in the chassis. Center the preamp laterally (along the length of the s ide) in the bezel and star t t he screws into
the plastic. Hold the preamp firmly a ga in st the side so that i t does n ot “wa lk” as you tighten the sc rews. Before you tighten the screws completely,
be sure that the batter y compartment does not bind against the bezel when you open and close the compartment.
Do not overt ight en the screws. This will cau se the bezel ends to li ft from the side. Exc es s ov er tigh te ni ng may eve n cause the screws to cut
through the bezel. I t is h el pf ul t o watch the edge of the bezel as you tighte n; stop when it seats nicely against the wood.
3. Plug the strapjack wir e into the preamp's rig ht -h an d socket, and secure the wire inside the guitar with the self-stick wire clip provided. Then
proceed to the El em en t in st al lation instruc ti on s in t he following sec ti on .
7 . E L E M E N T I N S T A L L A T I O N
7.1 Installation note s: For optimum per formance of the Element, t he br idge sl ot mu st have a clean, flat sur face free of any debris or over-spray
from the finish. Th e sl ot m us t be a m in im um o f .1 25 ” (1 /8 ”) d ee p, b ut w e su gg es t a de pt h of at least .187" (3/16”) to avoid excessive saddle tilt.
The commonly-known 50/50 rul e ap pl ie s: The a mo un t of saddle visible above the brid ge s urface (with pickup i ns ta ll ed ) sh ou ld be no greater tha n
the amount of saddle in the slot beneath the bridge surf ac e; otherwise the balance and ou tp ut o f th e pi ck up m ay suffer.
7.2 Short saddle note: The first 1/8" of the Element pickup is not active. If you do not have a minimum of 1/4" of saddle beyond the hi-E string, you
may experience low output on this string. To remedy this, drill a small horizontal hole in the end of the slot to extend the pickup further under
the saddle (see fi gu re 2). To drill this ho le wi th ou t disrupting the floor of the saddle slot, place a small jewe le r' s screwdriver under the tip of the
drill bit. On shor t sad dl es we also advi se that th e pic ku p e xi t hol e be drilled into the end wall of the sad dl e slo t rather than the sl ot 's floo r (se e
figure 4) to likewise extend saddle/pickup contact at the exit end. Again use the jeweler's screw dr iver to protect the saddle floor as you drill.
7.3 Inst al lation: Remov e the strings from the guit ar. To duplicate the st ri ng height exact ly, sc ri be a line along the fr on t edge of t he saddle where
it extends above the bridge. The line will later be used as a guide when remov in g material from the bottom of th e saddle to co mp en sa te for the
thickn es s of the pic kup (.037” total). Re move the saddle to drill the hole for the pickup. T he drill bi t needs to be as la rge as the sad dl e slot will
allow.
Inspect the inside of t he guitar and note the p osit io n of the br aces in relation
to the saddle sl ot . Dri ll at either end of the slo t on the side that wi ll ena ble
you to avoid all braces as you p en et ra te t he top, as shown in f ig ur e 5. Blow o ut
the slot with compressed air and check fo r re ma in in g de br is.
Import ant: R ou nd the inside of the hole w he re i t meet s the bo tt om o f th e slot
with a small, sharp k ni fe or small fil e to avoi d pinching the picku p as the
saddle lies on it.
Feed t he pick up into the slot from inside the guit ar with eith er 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 the location of the hole on the inside of the guitar.
fig. 5
Th is view de pic ts the br idg e a t a n a ngl e t hat isl eve l w ith th e
gu itar to p an d p erp endi cula r t o t he sadd le slot . No te t he roun ded
ed ge w here th e ho le h as been dri lle d.
drill bit
slot
bridge
Import ant: The f it of t he saddle i n the s lo t is the single most important factor
in this installation. It is cru cial that the bottom of the slo t and the lower
surf ace of the sadd le be f lat to make even contact with t he pickup. The sa dd le
sh ou ld fit loos ely eno ugh i n th e slo t that it c an be pul led out with y ou r
finger ti ps. It wi ll the n ha ve a sli ght forward lean when the strings are under
te ns ion . It is a bsolu tely n ec essar y to co mpens ate for thi s slig ht lea n b y
sanding a ti lt i n the bottom o f the sadd le s o it still sits flat on the p ic ku p wh en
the stri ng s are at ten sion (see figure 6). If th e sadd le is too tight, binds at al l or
is too loose, this will have a negati ve effect on the string balance and output.
Insert th e saddle in th e slot and note how much mater ial must be removed to
compensate for th e thic kness of the pickup. Remove the saddle and sand its
bottom surface on a belt sander unt il the scri be line is just above the bridge
to p. Fi nis h sand ing th e bott om by h and. It is b est to do t his ag ainst a
machined flat sur face wit h fi ne sandpaper. Use a straight edge with a strong
light source to i ns pe ct t he f latness of your saddle.
Insert the pic ku p al l th e way into the slot, pla ce the sad dl e on top of it, and
temporarily secure it with a piece of tape. Secure the wire with a w ire clip as
close to the exit hol e as is p ract ic al , with a one- to two-inch se rvice lo op.
Failure t o secu re the wi re may produce bo om in es s and feedback. Now restri ng
the gui tar, plug the pick up wire int o the pre am p' s left -h an d socket, an d plug
into your amp or PA. Co nf ir m that the EQ controls are at t he ir default positions
and test t he Element , p aying ca re fu l attention to s tr ing bala nce. If the s ou nd is
satisfactory, the installation is complete. If not, re ad o n.
String balance problems are al mo st alw ays th e re su lt of an uneven interface
between the bottom of the saddle and the saddle slot. If the str in g bal an ce is
uneven, ch ec k th es e su rfaces to ensure that they are both completely flat.
Tip: A segmented packaging knife blade is a useful too l in determining the
flatness of the saddle slot . Break off only enough blade segm ents so as much
bl ade fits into the sl ot as po ssibl e. Bri efly use a back -and- forth sc rapin g
motion to see if the sl ot bottom sc ra pe s evenly. Any high or low spots wi ll be
readily a pp arent. A minor low spo t in the slot m ay be compensated for by
shims und er the pickup; however, for gaps over .005" or mul tipl e gaps, we
recommend rer ou ti ng t he s lo t.
Be sure to review the con tr ol s, which are e xp la in ed i n th e following sect io n.
guitar top
brace
fig. 6
proper saddle-pickup contact
(saddle lean exaggerated)
fig. 7
1
2
4
8 . E X T E R N A L C O N T R O L S
Caution: Do not remov e th e batter y from the preamp while plugged in.
1. Phase inv ersion: This inverts the signal p hase. If you are e xperi en cing
feedback, this is the first tool t ha t sho ul d be used. Howe ver, depending on
your position in relation to the speaker(s), pre ss in g th is but to n may have no
effect or even ma ke the pro bl em worse. Also, p hase inversion is of little use if
you are movi ng around the stage. The re is no way to pre di ct before hand
whether or not you are in the cor rect p ha se s et ti ng w it ho ut u si ng t hi s bu tt on .
2. Battery gauge ligh t: When the battery light dims, it is tim e to replace the
ba ttery. To ch ange th e batte ry, sim ply p re ss th e to p of the pr eamp to
disengage the click-lock access. This will pop out the batter y compar tmen t.
3. Volume cont rol: This a dj us ts t he p reamp volume.
4. Notch filt er: This k nob is us ed to cancel guit ar body r es on an ce fee db ac k. If, after u sing the phase inversion, feedback p er si st s, rotate t hi s knob
(when the gu it ar i s feeding ba ck ) unti l it cance ls t hat frequenc y. Th is will be obvious when i t happens; the fi lt er w ill "g ra b" t he p ro bl em f requency
and eliminate it. With this control properl y se t, you should discover t hat you can play significantly louder without feedback. When all else fails and
you are still not loud enough, you can turn down the bass and even increase the tre bl e for more "cut."
5. Treble and bass con trols: These controls adjust the level of high and low frequency out pu t.
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