LR Baggs iBeam Active System User Manual

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L.R. BAGGS PICKUPS

iBEAM ACTIVE SYSTEM

INSTALLATION MANUAL & USER'S GUIDE

483 N. FRONTAGE RD.

NIPOMO, CA 93444

WWW.LRBAGGS.COM

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Package contents

2. O vervie w an d cauti ons

3. S trapjac k/preamp installat ion

4. i Beam inst allation: pin bridg e guitars

5. i Beam inst allation: non-pin b ridge gui tars

6. i Beam inst allation: classical /nylon string gu itars

7. i Beam removal a nd reposi tioning

8. B attery Bag inst allatio n

9. Volume control installa tion

10. Ot her applica tions

1.PACKAGE CONTENTS

One (1) iBeam pi ckup and vo lume co ntrol whe el p re-atta ched to the iBeam Ac tive Preamp One (1) Batter y Bag Three (3) self -stick wi re hold ers Two (2) ex tra adh esive str ips One (1) pin brid ge mounting k it ( not inc lude d with the iBeam Act ive Cla ssical)

2.OVERVIEW AND CAUTIONS fig. 1

Th e iB eam Act iv e Syst em pai rs t he a ward- wi nni ng iBe am b rid ge p late trans ducer with an all-discr ete, class A FET pream p b uilt into the end pin jack. A soundhole -mounte d volume cont rol pr ovides onbo ard volume adju stment with no cutti ng or drilli ng required. The sys tem is powered by a 9 volt batt er y, and should provide approximate ly 1000 hour s of use per bat tery. The batter y is not included in this p ackage.

We recommend that this s ystem be inst alled by a professional deal er/instal ler. We do not pr ovide install at ion ad vice o r su pport for home o r ho bbyist in sta lla ti ons . Ins talle rs: pl eas e rea d the ins tr uction s car efu lly before proc ee ding. We will not b e r esponsi bl e f or any damag e t o the gu it ar or pe rs ona l inj ur y r esult in g f ro m ins ta llati on, im prope r ins ta llati on , use or misuse of the pr oduct.

Simply pluggin g in the cor d will turn the iBeam Active on -- be sure to have your amp or PA muted, as there will b e a plug -in "pop." T he output imp edan ce is very low, and, at 600 ohms, the iBea m Active can drive any leng th of cable and be plugged into almost any outb oard gea r with full fre quency res ponse. The end pin preamp is p re-co ntoured to get the most from the iBeam, so very little out board equal ization s houl d be necess ar y. Howeve r, because the iB eam is top-se nsitive, an out board pre amp with phas e rever sal a nd/or notch filte r(s) , such as our Par a D.I. or Feedb ack M aste r, may be h elpful for c ontroll ing feedback (esp ecia lly i n loud playing situati ons).

The iBeam f its x-bra ced guitars with at lea st t hree inches of flat o pen space directly unde r the saddle (see fig ure 1). Ver ify that this r equirem ent is met before a lter ing the gui tar in any way.

The pee l-and-sti ck adhesi ve is the bes t way t o adhere the iBeam. I t wi ll h old the iBe am quite firm ly, but w ill allow the pick up t o be safe ly remo ved at a later tim e. Th e use of any adh esive o ther than the provided se lf-stick pads is n ot reco mmended a nd will void the warranty.

3.STRAPJACK/PREAMP INSTALLATION

Drillin g t he strapjack hol e: For p roper instal lation, this jack requi res a c lean 1/2 " hole in the tail b lock of t he instr ument. If t he guita r lacks t his

hole, start by placi ng a pie ce of mask ing tape on the outs ide of the inst rument over the drillin g are a (to avo id chippin g the finish), dril l a smal l pilot h ole in th e tail bl ock and t hen fol low wit h a step dr ill. Now procee d with th e install ation.

Remov e the strap ring, ret aining nut and one wash er fro m the end of the jack. There shoul d stil l be o ne star locking was her, one flat w asher and a nut remai ning o n the jack. B ring the jack down thro ugh the soundhole i nto the body and inser t it into the pre-dr illed hole in the tail block. Using the inter nal nut (be sure to i nclu de the flat and s tar wash ers), se t the prop er depth that w ill allow the entir e smaller threa ded section to prot rude

from the instrum ent (see fi gure 2) .

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With the jack in pla ce, lay the remain ing washe r over the threa ds and atta ch the external reta ining nut until it’s tight . Fin ish by attaching the strap ring (it should cover the retai ning nut and wa sh er). N ote th at asserting to o mu ch pr es sure m ay crack th e fi nish. Th en p ro ceed t o t he a pp ropri ate iB ea m install ation instr uc tions (pin brid ge, non- pin bridge or cla ssical/nylon) in the follo wing se ctio ns.

4 . i B E A M I N S T A L L A T I O N : P I N B R I D G E G U I T A R S

4.1 General posit ioni ng guide line s: The iBeam is a highly sens itive pickup;

th erefore, p lacement an d th e unique ch ar ac teristics of th e instrument are critical fa ct or s in producin g th e ou tstanding r es ults of w hich the iBeam is capable. A few mil limeter s in any di rection can have profou nd effe ct s on the qu al ity o f th e sound. Becau se e ve ry gu ita r is d ifferen t, we c an tel l yo u approximatel y where t he pickup sho uld be placed, b ut we can not provide an exact spe cificat ion.

The iBeam is desig ned to attach to the bri dge pla te direc tly und er the saddle line and generally parallel to t he s ad dl e, with the attached pe el -a nd-stick adhesive. Good result s sho uld be con sistently had by attac hing the picku p as sh ow n i n f ig ure 3 . Ho weve r, be cause ever y g uitar is uniq ue , you may b e rewar ded by searchi ng for the optimum l ocation .

In ge neral , pl acing th e i Bea m d irect ly und er the sadd le will provi de the great est se nse of im mediacy, impact, snap and “strin g” sou nd. Offsetti ng the pickup eithe r toward the sound ho le or towar d t he bridge pins in the area sh ow n in figure 4 will i ncrease the am ount o f “b od y” in th e so und an d general ly have a more mellow and hom ogeneous tone with less midrange. We have ofte n achieve d our very best resul ts by placi ng the p ickup as close to the string ball -ends as is pr ac tical and offse tting it about 1 to 2 mm toward the trebl e si de of t he s addle.

fig. 2

tail block

smaller

threaded

section

protrudes

fig. 3: p ri ma ry location

An alternati ve location that has often worked well, prov ided the x-braces are wide en ough, is to offset the pickup toward the front edge of t he bridge plate.

4.2 Pin bri dge install atio n (i nitial pla cement):

1. A ssemble the mounti ng fixture.

2. R emove the strings from th e pi n holes .

3. R each i nsid e th e ho le and feel aro und under the bridge to b e su re the

bridge plate is free from debris and obstruc tion s. If you are unsure, stick a mirror inside to inspec t th is a rea.

4. Place th e statio nary rod of the moun ting fix ture in the high-E b ridge pi n

hole an d adjust the movab le rod la terally in the slo t until i t drops i nto the lowE bridge pin hole as shown in figure 5. Tig hten the nut to secure the mova ble rod.

5. Place the adhe sive dots on the fixture ove r the s addle (see f igure 5), o ne on

each side of the big s lot. R emove t he adhe sive backing f rom t he dots a nd positio n the iBeam over the fixture in the desi red locati on. Stick the iBe am to the adh esive d ots on th e fixture a s shown in figur e 6.

6. Remo ve the fixture and iBea m tog ethe r f rom the bridge and remove the

adhesive backing from the b ottom sur face of the iBeam .

7. Ins ert the fixtur e hold ing the iBeam int o the guitar. Find the hig h and low E-

string brid ge pin ho les with the rod s on the fi xtur e.

8. Ins er t th e ro ds into t hese holes and then e levat e the fixture straight up until

the rods jus t poke out of the holes a bout 1/2". Gras p one o f the rods from the outside of the g uitar and h old it. Do not pull up yet. Wh ile holdi ng the on e rod, let go o f the fixture inside of t he g uita r and grab the other rod on the outs ide of the guitar.

fig. 4: a lternative mounting area

fig. 5

9. Now pull str aight up on the rods as sho wn in figure 7 to elevate the iBeam

until i t conta ct s the bri dge plate. Tug up on the rods to secure the pickup.

10. Pop t he fixture off the iBe am inside the guit ar and re move the fixture.

11. Press up firmly along the top surface of the iBeam, especia lly on the end s,

to secur e i t. I t’s usually a good idea to pre ss do wn on the bridge from th e outside of the guitar as you press up on the iBeam fro m the inside to e qualize press ure and a void cracking the top. Wig gle the iBe am front to b ack a lit tle as you p ress.

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12. Restr ing the g uitar and plug into your amp or PA. Now test the pickup

placement . I f th e so un d is satisfactory (see below fo r a de fi nition of this), secure the wire with a wire clip and t urn to t he Ba ttery B ag in stallat ion in section 8. If t he sound is u nsatisfactory, we encou rage you to experime nt w ith al te rn ative p la cements ( se e sec tion 7) . Do n ot test t he pi ckup placement without fir mly securi ng t he a dhes ive. With out completel y securi ng t he p icku p, the sou nd test wil l produ ce unre liable re sults.

The optimum lo cation will deliver a sound th at is focused and tight, with prope r s trin g balance and good pre sence. It will cap ture enough of the string reson ance to be ar ticula te, b ut will be mellowed by a full and stron g body re so nance. Ul timat el y, it wi ll a ccu ra te ly c apt ur e th e disti nc t tone of the instrum ent. An uns atisfac tory location will often be charac teri zed by a woofy or nasa l tone, poo r st ring bala nce and a h igh sen siti vity to feedback .

5.iBEAM INSTALLATION: NON-PIN

BRIDGE GUITARS

5.1 General posit ioni ng guide line s: The iBeam is a highly sensit ive pickup;

th erefore, p lacement an d th e unique ch ar ac teristics of th e instrument are critical fa ct or s in producin g th e ou tstanding r es ults of w hich the iBeam is capable. A few mil limeter s in any di rection can have profou nd effe ct s on the quality of the sound. Becaus e e very guitar is unique, you may be reward ed by searc hing for the opt imum locatio n. Wi th non-pin brid ge guitars, it is unl ikel y that th e first s elected s pot will be i deal.

In ge neral , pl acing th e i Bea m d irect ly und er the sadd le will provi de the great est sense o f immediac y, imp ac t, sna p and “string” sou nd. Offsett ing the pickup either tow ard or a way from the s ound hole will increa se the amoun t of “body” in t he sound and gener ally have a mo re me llow and ho mogeneous tone with less m idrange.

5.2 Non-p in bri dge in stal lation (initi al pla ceme nt): Install ation on no n-pin

bridge guitars requires that you remove the sad dle, dri ll a small hol e in each en d of th e saddl e slot, an d inser t g ui de pins t o act a s a referen ce w hen locatin g the iBeam. The hol e locations will corres pond to the smal l slot s in the botto m of eac h end of the iBea m (see figu re 8 ). A goo d star ting plac e is to drill th e h ol es so tha t t he iBe am wi ll be ce nt er ed un der the E s tr ing s. You will ne ed an ins pe ction li ght , ins pec tion mirror, dril l, 1/1 6" drill bit, matchs tick s or tooth pick s, a nd a shor t penc il.

1. Drill a 1/16" hole through the brid ge at

both end s of the saddle slo t. I f the guitar alrea dy has a hol e i n the sad dle slot for a pi ck up, yo u may be able to use th is as one of th e holes. The mini mum distan ce be twe en t he h ol es sho uld all ow t he notch es in each end of the iBeam's base to nest o ver the protruding ma tches or to oth pi cks t hat you w ill i nse rt as a reference to place th e iBeam.

2. Press the ma tche s or toothpicks into

the hole s until the y just prot rude (1/ 16" to 1/8") into the gu itar. These will ac t as locatin g pins for determ inin g the i Beam 's place ment.

fig. 8

Th is t op-d own vie w de pic ts t he b rid ge w ith th e sa ddle re moved . The se p in h ole loc atio ns ap ply to a ll non- pin bri dges .

saddle slot

bridge

fig. 6

fig. 7

drill pin hole here

iBeam

bridge

tie block

3. Remove the adhesive backing from the iBeam and, holding the iBeam betwee n you r thu mb and two middle finge rs, use your inde x and litt le

fingers to loc ate the matches.

4. Hol d the iBea m at a sligh t angle away from the inside o f the guitar top, and, usin g the slot i n one end of the botto m of the iBeam, locate one of

the pro truding match es. Ro tate the othe r en d of the pic kup unti l you fin d th e ot her protruding match with the slot i n the other end o f the iBeam. Then very lig htly pr ess the a dhesive against the bridg e plate wit h just enou gh pres sure to hold it in place.

5. Once you have tac ke d the pic kup into place, inse rt an inspection mir ror into th e body to chec k the place ment of the pickup. After confir ming

that it is l ocated correc tly, r emove the gui de pins and press firmly with a l ittle rocking motio n over t he surface of the top of the pickup to secure it to the bridge plate. Be sure to apply an equal dow nward force to the top of the bridge when press ing up f rom the inside to prevent damage to the gui tar.

6. Res tr ing the gui tar and plug i nto you r amp or PA. Now test the pic ku p placeme nt. If the s ound is satis factory (see belo w for a def init ion of this ),

secure th e wire wi th a wire clip a nd turn t o the Batte ry B ag instal lation in sec tion 8. If the so und is unsati sfactory, w e encoura ge you to experi me nt w it h al ternative placements (see sec ti on 7). Do n ot tes t th e pickup placement wi th out firmly securi ng t he a dh es iv e. Without compl etely secur ing the pic kup, t he sound test wi ll p roduce unrelia ble results.

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of the ins trume nt. An u ns ati sf act ory locatio n will often be characteri zed by a woofy or nasal tone, poo r st ring bal ance

alternate placement range (light gray area)

fig. 9

and a h igh sensi tivity to feedba ck.

6. iBEAM

INSTALLATION: CLASSICAL GUITARS

6.1 Genera l p osit ioni ng guid elin es: The

iB eam is a hi ghly s ensit ive p ick up; there fore, pla cement is a critical factor in pr od uci ng t he o uts ta ndi ng r es ult s of wh ich the iBeam is cap able. A few mi llime te rs i n an y di rec ti on ca n ha ve pr ofou nd effects on the qu al ity of th e so un d. In sh ort , be cause e ach g uitar is diffe rent, we ca n tell yo u ap proxi mately where the pickup should be placed, but we can no t p rovi de a n e xact

saddle

(dark gray area)

specification. With classical guitars, i t is also unlikely that the first selected spot will be ideal.

The classical iB ea m ha s a tunnel i n the center of t he picku p des ig ned t o cle ar the middle fan brace. The tunne l is wide enough to allo w for s ome lateral movement of the pi ckup.

We suggest tha t you ini tial ly positi on t he p ickup so it is laterally c entered over the b race an d th at t he entire p ickup is offset towa rds (and para llel to) the tie block b y 2 to 5 mm. The i dea is to blend the d irec t stri ng sound with the s ound o f the body. T he more cen tered the pic ku p is under the saddle, the mor e string driv e and "snap" the soun d will h ave . Offset ting t he pickup towards the tie block or even towards the soun d ho le by a few millime ters wil l all ow more bod y sound to mix with the string soun d. If you des ire more pres ence fro m the bass str ings and wish to mell ow out the high stri ngs, c enter t he p icku p under the bas s strings and a ngle it so the center of the pic kup' s high stri ng e nd i s either in f ront or behin d th e saddle lin e by som e amo unt. The re verse angle will have more presen ce for the hig h str ings and less for bass. If you find tha t the small E stri ng does no t have enough level, offset ting the pickup la terally towa rds it will increase its vo lume.

iBeam default position

6.2 Classi cal install ation ( init ial pla ceme nt): Most classic al gu itars are fan brac ed. The most commo n bra cing is the Torres patte rn wi th 5

longitu dinal braces. The iBe am is notched in the middle of the pickup to stra ddle the middle fan bra ce and will fit most Torres-pattern-bra ced guitars. Classi cal bracing pat tern s vary, so before you proceed, check to ensu re tha t th ere is a total of 3" of clean , flat area betwee n th e two brace s on both sides of the center brace under the brid ge (see f igure 9).

Note: Do not trim the edge s of the picku p if you d o not have spac e between the bra ces for the pickup. This will both rui n the pick up and v oid the warra nty!

Install ation on clas sical guit ars r equires th at you re move the sadd le, dri ll a small hol e in each e nd of th e saddle slot , and inse rt gu ide p ins (matc hsticks or toothpic ks work well ) to act as a reference when placin g the iBeam. The hol e locat ions will corre spond to the small slots in the botto m of eac h end of the iBea m (s ee f igure 8). A good star ting p lace is to dril l th e guide pin hol es s o that the iBea m wi ll b e centered under the E strings . You will ne ed an inspe ctio n li ght, inspection mir ror, drill, 1 /16" dril l bit, wooden matchsti cks or toot hpicks, and a sho rt pen cil.

1. Drill a 1/16" hole throug h the bridge at both ends of the saddle slo t. If the guitar alread y has a h ole in t he saddl e slot for a pickup, you may be

able t o use this as one of t he holes. The min imum dis tance betwee n the holes should all ow the notches in each end of the iBeam's base to nes t ove r th e protr uding matches or toothp icks that y ou will ins er t as a reference to place the iB eam.

2. Press the matc hsticks or toot hpicks into the holes until they just protrud e (1 /16" to 1/8") into the guitar. These will act as locatin g pi ns for

deter mini ng the iB eam's pla cement.

3. Remove the adhesive backing from the iBeam and, holding the iBeam betwee n you r thu mb and two middle finge rs, use your inde x and litt le

fingers to loc ate the matches.

4. Hol d the iBea m at a sligh t angle away from the inside o f the guitar top, and, usin g the slot i n one end of the botto m of the iBeam, locate one of

5. Once you have tac ke d the pic kup into place, inse rt an inspection mir ror into th e body to chec k the place ment of the pickup. After confir ming

6. P lug in and test the pick up placem ent. I f th e sound is satisfactor y (see below for a defin ition of this ), sec ure the wire and proce ed to the Batter y

Bag install ation (sec tion 8). However, with c lassica l guitar s, it is like ly t hat the results will be less t han optimum at this positio n. If t his is t he case, we en courage you to e xperiment with alt ernativ e place ments (se e section 7 ).

Do not test th e pi ck up placemen t with out firmly securing the adhesive. Without comp letely securi ng the pic ku p, the sound tes t wi ll pro duce unrel iabl e resul ts.

The optimum locatio n will deliver a sound that is focused and tigh t, with p roper string balance and good presence. It will c apture enough of t he string reso nance to be ar ticulate, but wil l be mellowed by a full and str ong body resona nce. U ltimate ly, it will accur ately cap ture t he distinct ton e of the instrume nt. An unsatis factor y loc ation will often be character ized by a woofy or nasal tone, poor string balan ce and a high sensit ivity to

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feedb ack.

7.iBEAM REMOVAL AND REPOSITIONING

The adh esive use d to secure the iBeam is ver y strong. Onc e you sti ck it down, it will inc rease its grip ove r about a wee k’s time. If you wis h to experim ent with pla cement, it will be easier b efore the adhesive develops its full strength. To exp erim ent with pla cement, begi n by outlini ng the pickup in its cur rent position w ith a pencil; this w ill act as a refe rence of the init ial location. Next, plac e three fingers a long the length o f the back side o f the pic ku p. Pul l f irmly with even pressure towards the so undhole until the adh esive gives way. Rock it up onto o ne edge and then lif t up one end to pull the adhesive away from the bridge plate. Do not pull up on the cap. Becaus e the iBeam relie s on a clean conne ct ion with the guitar body, we do no t recomme nd reusing the adhes ive; i nstead, use a new st ri p.

To remove the adhes ive from t he bottom of the pickup, ro ll it off like car pet. After tacking the new pad to the bottom o f the pick up, use the edge of a pencil to pres s the adh esive firmly to the pic kup. We’ve include d two ext ra pads in the k it, and ex tra pad s are availa ble in pack s of 10 for $5.00. Be sur e to in spec t th e bridge plate for any adhesive resid ue befo re you reposit ion the i Beam .

Now rep osition and test the pic kup. Remember t hat mov ing the pickup towards t he s addle will increase pr esence an d st ring resp onse, wh ile away from th e sadd le will increase warmt h and body resp onse. If the soun d is satisfactory, secure th e wire and cont inue to the next sectio n. If not, conti nue repos itioning the iBeam as neede d until you find the prop er location.

8.BATTERY BAG INSTALLATION

Stick the double-s ided adhesive to an easily accessib le spot inside of t he guitar and sec ure the wir e with a wire c lip. The battery can the n be changed by ope ning the fl ap on the b ag a nd pull ing out the battery.

9.VOLUME CONTROL INSTALLATION

Fin d a comfor tabl e and convenien t plac e to affix the volum e control wheel at the edge of the sound hole; be sure the locat ion does not inter fere with any top b racing. Cle an the de sired pla cement area co mpletely, peel off the adhesive backing, and stick on ce. Secu re the wire near t he volume contr ol wheel with a wi re clip.

1 0 . O T H E R A P P L I C A T I O N S

10.1 Adding a secon d pick up: It is poss ible to add a second pickup to the iBea m Active; however, to avoid crosstalk, the second pick up must

have a low impedan ce outp ut. This requir ement essent ially eliminates everything but magnet ic pick ups (such as the M1). Do not use highimpedan ce pickups like the LB6 or Rib bon Transduce r with the iB eam Active Syste m. To use a passive magnetic pic kup with the iB eam Activ e, attach the magne tic to the ring chan nel (wi th t he M1, this wil l mean sa crificing one of its included c able s by de taching t he plug).

10.2 Us ing the G igpr o or Mixpro with th e iB eam Ac tive: The iBea m Active preamp has a bu ilt-in EQ cur ve. Both the G igpro a nd M ixpro pream ps

also have a b uilt-in EQ curve when the con trols are set at their defa ult positions ( 12:00). If you wis h to u se eit her of these outb oard p reamps with the iBe am Active, we recomm end that you reduce the amount o f EQ from the Gigpro or M ixpro to avoid d ouble equ alization . Turn the gai n control and bas s trim al l the way off and star t with bo th the ba ss and tr eble EQ k nobs in the 8 to 9 o'c lock posi tions, then a djust to taste.