LR Baggs iMix User Manual
L.R. BAGGS PICKUPS
iMIX
INSTALLATION MANUAL & USER'S GUIDE
483 N. FRONTAGE RD.
NIPOMO, CA 93444
WWW.LRBAGGS.COM
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Package Content s
2. O vervie w an d Cauti ons
3. S trapjac k Install ation
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. E lement in stallat ion
9. i Beam gain control
10. Finis hing the installat ion
11. User's guid e (with controls dia gram)
1 . P A C K A G E C O N T E N T S
1 (one) iMix pre amp with pr e-attache d batte ry c lip
1 (one) stereo pre-wi red strap jack harness
1 (one) iBeam br idge plate transdu cer
1 (one) iBeam mo unting fixtur e kit (not included with the iBeam Cla ssical)
1 (one) Element undersadd le tran sducer
1 (one) Remote Contro l II soun dhole controller
1 (one) flat cab le for Remote Control I I
1 (one) Batter y Bag
4 (four) self -stick wi re clip s
2 (two) extra iB eam adhes ive str ips
fig. 1
2.OVERVIEW AND CAUTIONS
The L.R. B aggs iMix is an onboard stereo mixer that combines the iBe am
br id ge pla te tra ns du ce r and the Element und ersaddle pic kup with an alldiscrete, class A, int ernal pre amp. The s ystem includes a soundhol e-mount ed
volum e/mix control (t he Remote Cont rol II) a nd our Ba ttery Bag.
We recommend that this s ystem be inst alled by a professional deal er/instal ler.
We do not provi de insta ll ation advi ce or sup po rt for home or hobb yi st
in sta lla ti ons . I nst all ers : p lea se re ad th e in str uct ion s car efu lly bef ore
proce eding. We wil l not be responsi ble for any damage to the guitar or per sona l inj ur y resul ting from inst allation, imp roper ins tallation , use or
misuse of the pr oduct.
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 m aking any alt eration s to th e guitar.
If the space is to o sm all to accomm odat e the i Beam, do not c ut t he i Beam to fit a tight er s pace.
The p reamp req uires a 9 volt bat tery, whi ch is not i ncluded in this package.
There is a sma ll slit u nder the iBeam cap abo ut 1/2" from each end of th e pickup. D o no t poke an ything into the sl it.
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.
Avoid un necessary cre asing or ha rd bending of the El ement pic kup.
Install ation overview : The recom mend ed installat ion procedure is to begin by instal ling the strap jack and plugging it (along with the Remot e
Control II) into the corre ct prea mp sockets. Following that, the iB eam should be installed, connec ted and test ed to ensure optim um placement .
Then the Elem ent sho uld be instal led, c onnected and tested to ens ure pro per sound and str ing balan ce. The p reamp's g ain setti ng s hould the n be
adjuste d so that the iBeam's level m atches tha t of the E leme nt. Finall y, the preamp, Remo te Control I I and Bat tery Bag should be adher ed to t he
guitar and all w ires sh ould be sec ured with w ire clips.
Each pickup sh ould be instal led and tested as if it were the onl y source in the sys tem. Per fectin g the sou nd of each pi ckup ind ividually will
provi de the most rewarding overall bl end whe n you final ly turn the mix kno b
to 12 :00 and hea r th e two s ources together.
3.STRAPJACK INSTALLATION
Drillin g the strapj ack hole: Fo r pro per installati on, this jack requi res a clea n
1/2" hole in the tail block of the instru ment. If the guitar lack s thi s hol e, start
by pla cing a piece of mas ki ng tape on the outside of the inst rument over the
drillin g area (to avoid chipp ing the finish), dril l a small pilot hole in the tail
block a nd then follow wit h a ste p drill.
Remov e the strap ring, retaining nut a nd one was her from the end of the jack.
Ther e sh ou ld still be o ne star l ock in g was he r, one flat was he r and a n ut
remai ning on the jack. Bring the jac k down through the so undhole into the
body a nd ins ert i t into the pre- drilled hole i n the t ail block. Usin g the internal
nut (be sure to include the flat and star was hers ), set the proper depth that
will allow the entire sma ller t hreaded sec tion to protru de f rom the instrume nt
(see fi gure 2) .
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 washer). Asserting too much pressure may
crack the finish. Now brin g the preamp into the guitar (do not adhere it yet),
conne ct a battery, and plu g the strap jack cab le into the "output " socket. T hen
proce ed to the approp riate iBe am instal lati on instru ct ions in t he follow ing
sections.
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 and the uni que character is ti cs of the ins trument are
critical fa ct or s in produci ng the outsta nd ing results 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 of t he sou nd. Because ev ery g ui tar is d if ferent, we c an t el l you
approximatel y where t he pickup sho uld be placed, b ut we can not provide an
exact spe cificat ion.
fig. 2
tail
block
smaller
threaded
section
protrudes
fig. 3: p ri ma ry location
The iBeam is desig ned to attach to the bri dge pla te direc tly und er the saddle
line and generally parallel to th e saddle, w it h the att ac hed peel-and-stick
adhesive. Good result s sho uld be con sistently had by attac hing the picku p as
sh ow n in figu re 3. How ever, bec ause ever y g uitar is u ni que, yo u m ay be
rewar ded by searchi ng for the optimum l ocation .
In genera l, placing the iB eam direct ly under the sa ddle wi ll pr ovide the
great est se nse of im mediacy, impact, snap and “strin g” sou nd. Offsetti ng the
pickup either toward the sound hole or towa rd the bridge pins in the area
sh ow n in f ig ure 4 wi ll incre as e the am ount of “ bo dy” in the sound and
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.
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 hole and feel around und er the bridge to be sure the
bridge plate is fr ee from debris and o bstructio ns. If yo u 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.
fig. 4: a lternative mounting area
fig. 5
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 iBeam toge ther from the brid ge 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 Estring 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.
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 it. It’s a good idea to pre ss down on the bridge fro m the outsid e of
the guitar as you press up on the iBeam from the insi de to equalize pres sure
and a void cracking th e top. Wiggle t he iBeam fr ont to back a little as you
press .
12. Restring the guitar, c onnect t he iBe am to the p reamp's "iBeam" socket and
pl ug i nt o your amp or PA. Co nnect t he R em ote to the pre amp's "remo te "
so ck et, tur n the m ix wheel completely t o the iBea m, and test the p ickup
placement . I f the s ound i s satis factory (see b elow for a definition of this),
secure the wire with a wir e clip and turn to the E lement installa tion i n section
8. I f th e so un d is u nsati sf act or y, see s ec tio n 7. D o no t test the pi ck up
place ment without firm ly securin g the adhesive. Without complet ely securing
the pic kup, the so und test wi ll produce unrel iable results.
The opt im um l oc ation wil l delive r a sound tha t is fo cused an d ti ght, 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. Ultima te ly, it will ac curatel y c apture t he d is tinct ton e 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 .
fig. 6
fig. 7
5.iBEAM INSTALLATION: NON-PIN
BRIDGE GUITARS
5.1 Genera l p osit ioni ng guid elin es: The
iB eam is a high ly s en sit ive pic ku p;
th ere fo re, pl ace me nt and th e u ni que
ch ara cteri sti cs o f th e in strum ent ar e
cr itic al fa ctor s in pr oduc ing t he
outstan ding r esults o f which the iBeam is
ca pab le. A fe w mi lli meters in a ny
di re ction can have pro found effec ts on
the quality of th e sound. Becaus e every
guitar is unique, you may be rewarded by
searc hing for the optimu m locat ion. With
non-pin bri dge guit ars, it is unlik ely that
the fir st selected spot w ill be ideal.
In g enera l, pl aci ng the iB eam dir ec tly
un der th e s add le w il l p rov ide th e
gr ea test sens e of im media cy, impac t,
sn ap an d “st ri ng” s ound. Of fs et ting th e
pi ck up either toward or away from the
sound h ole will increas e th e amoun t of “body” in the sound and genera lly have a more mellow an d homogen eous to ne with les s midrange.
5.2 Non -pin bri dge inst allatio n (i niti al p lacement) : Ins tall ation o n no n-pin bri dge guita rs requir es that you re move th e saddle, dri ll a small ho le
in each e nd o f the saddl e sl ot, and inse rt gui de pins to act as a reference when loca ting the iBea m. The hole l ocation s wi ll corres pond to the s mall
slots in the bott om of each end of the iBeam ( see figure 8). A good starting plac e is to drill the h oles so that the iBea m will b e centered under the
E strin gs. You will ne ed an inspe ctio n li ght, inspection mir ror, drill, 1 /16" dril l bit, matchs ticks or toothpick s, a nd a shor t penc il.
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 the saddle 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.
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
drill pin hole here
iBeam
bridge
tie block
-9-
2. Pr ess t he matches or toothp icks into the holes until they just protr ude ( 1/16" to 1/8") into the guitar. The se wi ll ac t as locatin g p ins 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 insi de of the guit ar top, an d, u sing t he slot in one end of the botto m of the iBeam, locate one of
the protrud ing matches. Rot ate the othe r end of the pickup until you find the o ther protru ding mat ch w ith the other slot. Then ver y l ightly press
the adh esive a gainst th e bridge plate with just enou gh pres sure to hold it in place.
Loading...