L.R. BAGGS PICKUPS
M1
INSTALLATION MANUAL & USER'S GUIDE
483 N. FRONTAGE RD.
NIPOMO, CA 93444
WWW.LRBAGGS.COM
1 . P A C K A G E C O N T E N T S
One (1) M1 soundhole magnetic pickup
One (1) prewired stra pjac k as se mb ly
One (1) 12' Mogami guitar cable
One (1) 3/32" Allen wrench
Two (2) spare 3/4" pole pieces
One (1) spare 3/8" pole piece
Two (2) self-stick wire clips
2 . O V E R V I E W A N D C A U T I O N S
The M1 is a passive soundhole ma gn et ic pick up that features outstanding bod y sen si ti vi ty with grea t war mth and presence. Its dual-coil design
employs L.R. B ag gs ' exclusive TriAxial Dynamic Technology to produce clear, rich tones that are resistant to feedback, no is e and hu m, with s tr in g
and body sound all in o ne. Th e M1 also features individually adjustable p ole pieces with sm oo th , threadless top s. Also in cl ud ed are two cables: a
22-inch prewired stra pjac k as se mb ly ( for permanent installations) and a 12-foot Mogami guitar cable (for tem porary installations).
The M1 will fit guitars with soundholes larger than 3.5" that are cente re d b en ea th th e s tr in gs . Ensure that this product will fit th e gui tar
properly before mak ing any al terations to the instrument .
The installation p ro cedure i s very simple; h owever, w e recommend that any woo dworki ng (fo r inst ance, drilling a strapjack hole ) be perfor me d by
a professional dealer/ inst al le r. We do not provide advice or support for hom e or hobbyist woodwork in g. Installers: please read the instru ctio ns
carefully befo re proceeding. We will not be responsible for any damage to th e guitar or personal in ju ry re sult in g from installation, improper
installation, us e or m is us e of t he p ro du ct.
3 . I N S T A L L A T I O N
3.1 Installation over view : There are t wo ways to install the M1, by using
ei ther of th e tw o pr ov ided cabl es. Fo r pe rmane nt i nstal latio ns, use the
strapjack harness. If the guitar does n' t have a hole in the tailblock, it will be
necessar y to drill one in order to use the strapjack.
For temporary or n on de st ru ctive installations, use the 12 -foot guitar cable,
which is d es ig ne d t o run out of t he soundhole directly into your outboard
gear. This is a high-quality Mogami c ab le ; using it w ill help ensure that the M1
so unds as goo d as w e in te nde d. The oth er p rinci pal advan tage of thi s
in stall ati on i s th at i t le aves t he i nst rumen t un alt ered. For per man ent
installations, p ro ceed to th e stra pj ac k inst ruct ions ; for temporary ins ta ll at io ns,
skip to the pickup installation in sec ti on 3 .3 .
smaller
threaded
section
tail
block
protrudes
3.2 Strapjack inst allation: If you plan to do a perm an en t inst allation, b e sure
to try installing the M1 in the soundhole befor e you drill the strapjack hole.
The M1 will onl y fit in a soundhole larger than 3.5" in di am eter. Also, a few
guitars have off-center soundholes tha t will no t allow the pole pieces to be dir ec tly under the strings. If you have one of these, plu g in th e M1
using the 12-foot cor d, a nd s ee h ow well it works before you alter your guitar.
For proper installation, this jack re qu ires a clean 1 /2 " hole in th e tail bloc k of the instrument. If the guitar lack s this hole, s ta rt by placing a p ie ce
of masking tape on the outside o f the instrument o ver the d ri lling area (t o avoi d chipping the finish), d ri ll a small p il ot hole in the tail block and
then follow wit h a step drill. Now proc ee d wi th t he i ns ta ll at io n.
Remove the strap r in g, retaining nut an d one wash er fro m the end o f the jack. Th ere shou ld still be o ne star locki ng washer, o ne flat washer an d a
nut remaining on the jack. B ri ng t he j ac k do wn t hrough the soundhole into the body and inser t it i nto the pre-drilled hole in the tail block.
Using the internal nut (be sure to inc lu de the flat and sta r washers), set the prop er depth that will allo w the entire smaller threaded section to
protrude from the instrument (see f ig ure).
With the jack in place, lay the remaining washer over the threads and attach the external retaining nut until it’s tight. Finish by attaching the strap
ring (it should cover t he r et ai ni ng n ut a nd w as he r) . Note that asse rting too much pressure may crack the finish.
3.3 Pic kup installation: Begin by plu ggin g the str ap ja ck harness or the 12' ca bl e into the pickup. If yo u are using the 12' cable, loop the cord
beneath the pickup a nd p us h it i nto th e st ra in r el ie f re cess o n th e underside of t he p ic ku p until it p ops in to p la ce ( th e lo op b etween t he p lu g and
strain relief should be rat her tight).
Now l oo se n the clamp sc rews on e it he r end of t he pickup's top pl ate until the cl am ps are op en enough t o accommodate the guitar's top
thickn es s. Then sli de the pickup into the soundhole and tighte n th e sc rews. For small soundholes, it may be nec es sa ry to remo ve one or both
clamps, slide the pickup into place, then reattach the clam p( s) once it is correctly positioned. When reattaching the clamps, verify that they slide
into the slot that is molded into t he p ic ku p ho us in g.
Tighten the screws snugly, b ut don't overdo it -- this c an damage the p icku p or guitar f in is h. If you ar e conc er ne d abou t the possibility of the M1
damaging the instrument's fini sh , consider applying thin cork pads (not in cl ud ed ) between the clamp and guitar. H owever, note that the clamps
have been left unpadded to impr ove coupling between the pick up and gu it ar body. Because th e M1 reads the top reso na nc es that provide d ep th
and warmth, us in g co rk p ad s may dampen this sensitivit y an d ad versely affect the pickup's responsiveness.
For permanent inst al la ti on s, be sure t o secure th e wire wi th the two self-stick wi re clips provided (this is import ant because o f the p ic ku p's body
sensitivity).
4 . U S E R ' S G U I D E
4.1. Package conten ts explained: In add it io n to the pickup, cables and wire clips, the box also contains a 3/3 2" Allen wren ch and thre e spare
pole pieces. The Allen wrench is included for pole piece adjustment (see section 4.3); spare pole p ie ces have been provi de d in t wo sizes.
4.2. Plug ging in : Th e M1 will plug into practically anything with go od results. Low impedance i nput s such as thos e found on mixing board s will
flatten the sound and reduce the pickup output. High impedance devices such as ac ti ve direc t boxes will capture all of the M1 's n ua nces. Our Pa ra
D.I. partners well with the M1 due to its high impedance, clean gain and EQ capability.
Note that the leng th and qu al it y of your cord will have a large influence o n the sound. This is be ca use pass ive magn et ic pickups interact with the
cord c ap ac it an ce to c reate a frequency peak that i s a distinctive pa rt of the tone. Long cords move this peak f re qu en cy downward, and c reate an
edgy, " el ec tric " tone with more midrange. Short, low-capacitance cords move the peak upward, creating an airier, m ore acoustic-sounding tone.
These are simply genera l gu id el in es ; experiment with different cables to determine the best match for your guitar and equipment.
4.3. Expe rime nt with pole piece heights: The pole p ie ce s on the M1 are preset for bronze acoustic strings, but this is just a star ting pl ac e. The y
are adjustable w it h the 3/32 " Al len wrench s o yo u may obta in the optimum balance an d tone. The he ig ht o f th e pole pieces relative to the s trin gs
will h ave a profound e ffec t on the sound and bala nc e of the pickup. Raising the pole pieces will incre ase the outp ut of the s tr in gs ; low er in g them
will decrease th e outp ut. Fo r the most powerf ul and ar ti cu la te s ound we reco mm en d sett in g the pole piece s as close to t he strings as i s pr ac tica l.
Low er in g th e po le p ie ce s wi ll d e- em ph as ize the direct s tr in g ou tp ut a nd e mp ha si ze the body sound.
We have provi ded two a dd it io na l 3/4" po le pieces f or use in the B and little E string positions with nickel or e le ctric g ui ta r strings, and o ne spare
3/8" pole piece for use w it h acoustic sets that have an unwo un d "G " st ri ng.
Note: When adj us ti ng the pole piec es down wa rd you wil l encounter additional resistance when you reach the bottom of the adju st me nt rang e.
Do not force the pole pie ces any further! This could damage the pickup permanently.
4.3. Mix ing with othe r sources: The M1 is intended to provide a comp le te sound from a si ng le passive pickup. However, you may still want to
pair it with another transducer.
The prew ired st rapjack harness ha s stereo output capability. You can connect the output wire from a mini-mic or another transducer to the ring
terminal of this jack. Th en r un a s te reo cord to the L.R. B ag gs M ixpro or your favor ite ou tb oa rd gear.
The M1 can easily be substituted for o th er sou nd ho le p ic kups in an existing two-s ou rce setup. As with all two-pickup setups, you s ho ul d
experiment with relative ph as e if p os si bl e. The two source s wi ll o ften mix m uc h be tter in one phase than the other.
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