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L.R. BAGGS PICKUPS
MICRO E.Q.
INSTALLATION MANUAL & USER'S GUIDE
483 N. FRONTAGE RD.
NIPOMO, CA 93444
WWW.LRBAGGS.COM
1.PACKAGE CONTENTS
One (1) Micro EQ preamp
One (1) Ribbon Tra ns du cer
One (1) prewired stra pjac k as se mb ly
One (1) faceplate
Three (3) screw s
Two (2) self-stick wire clips
2.OVERVIEW AND CAUTIONS
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 suppor 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.
Use of t his prod uc t requires that permanent m od if ic at io ns be made to t he instrument; name ly, dr il li ng the side o f the guitar to accommodate the
preamp/faceplate, drilling t he tailblock for the st ra pj ac k, an d dril ling the saddle s lo t for the Ribbon Transducer. Verify that t hi s system will work
with your guitar and that everything will fit properly in their intended locations before making any mod ific ations!
The Mic ro EQ preamp is designed for use with the L.R. Baggs Ribbon Transducer pickups. We do not warranty or gu arantee per formance of the
Micro EQ system when used with another type of pickup.
3 . P R E A M P I N S T A L L A T I O N
1. The Micro EQ preamp doe s not have a pick up input jack. It will be nec es sa ry to sol de r the output of the pickup to the circuit board nea r the
output h arne ss. S ol de r the b raid ground wire to the re ctangular pad; t he signal w ir e inside the coax is soldere d into the hole next to i t. Now peel
the white backing from the copper shielding tape on the circuit board and fol d it s ec ur el y around the picku p in pu t connec ti on .
2. Loc ate a suit ab le place on the s ide of the guitar for t he con tr ol p late - - the area on either si de of the upp er w aist i s usually a good choi ce. Once
you have loc at ed a spot , cover that ge ne ra l area with maski ng tape. The straight long side of the pla te should be parallel with the back of the
guitar. B efore finalizing the location, be sure to inspec t the inside of the guitar for any obstructions (bracing, lining, etc).
3. Re place the plate on th e guitar in your de si red spot and mark the cent er of al l the holes and remov e the plate. There are two options you can
choose from to drill the holes fo r th e fa ce plate:
A) Drill the small screw holes 1/8" and the kn ob h ol es 3 /8 " us in g a brad point or For st ne r bit
or
B) Drill 1/16" pilot holes for all of the holes to be drilled, then, u sing a step drill bit, enlarge the s crew holes to 1/8" and the k no b ho le s to 3 /8 ".
4. We stro ngly recommend that two cross-grained rei nforcing braces b e added to the inside of any solid woo d g ui ta r. Scrap spruce or mahogany
approxi mately 3/16" thic k by 3/8" wid e will do nicely. These braces should be glued inside the guitar on eith er side of the preamp and should
extend across the entire side.
5. Prepare the guitar for the strapjack by dr il li ng a clean 1/2" hole i n the tailblock of the guitar using a step drill. It's a good idea to mask off the
area you are dr illi ng to avoid chipping the finish.
6. Fit the control plate to the cur vature (if any) of the sides. The plate may be bent to fit any curvature with the fabrication of a s im pl e jig. I f t he
side has a 1/16" curv e over 3", try cutting a 3/8" curve in a 2 " x 3" scrap of wood with a band saw. Use th is ji g (with a piece of pape r between the
face plate and jig) in a vice to bend the plate . Do not try to bend this plate by hand as th is wi ll ca us e uneven curvature. This step requires some
judgment b ec au se the plate ins spri ngy and must be ove r- be nt to set it in the ri gh t curvature. It is u nlik el y that your f ir st attem pt will b e perfect,
but modifying the jig is the key.
7. Remove the tape on the side o f the guitar. Po si ti on the preamp on the i ns id e of the gu it ar with the knobs th ro ug h the holes. Pl ace the plat e on
the outside of the guitar over the preamp and attach the two using the black flathead machine sc rews provided. This will sa ndwich t he s id e of t he
guitar between the preamp the the plate . Do not ove r-ti ghten as this can crack the side.
4 . P I C K U P I N S T A L L A T I O N
1. For o ptim um performance of this pickup, t he bridge slot must have a clean, flat surface fr ee of any debris or over-spray from t he finish. The slot
must be a minimum of .125" (1/8") deep but we suggest a depth of .187" (3/16") to avoid excessive sa dd le t il t (s ee f ig ur e 4) .
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2. I ns ta ll in g a .0 90 " pi ck up i n a .1 20 " sl ot is not recommended.
3. D o no t remove the black material that is affixed to the bottom of the pickup.
4. Avo id un neces sar y h ar d b endin g o f t he pi ckup. Repe ated re moval and
replacement of the pickup during the course of the installati on i s no t ad vi se d.
5. Do not use shims under the saddle or pickup as a re me dy for stri ng balance
problems or to adjust the action.
6. Fai lure to secure the loose end of the picku p under the bridge will prod uce
bizarre audio consequences and even tu al ly ruin the pick up.
fig. 1
7. The quality of sound, output level, balance and fee db ac k re si st an ce are all
determined by how well the pickup mates wi th the sa dd le and th e bri dg e.
Uneven or p ar tial contact between the saddle a nd the pickup wil l cause a
bo om y so un d with low outp ut , e xc es sive body sen sitivit y and p oo r strin g
balance.
Installation:
1. Remove the s trings from t he gui tar. I f you wis h to duplic ate the str ing
he ight ex actly, scrib e a line alo ng th e f ro nt edge of the sa ddle wh ere i t
ex tends a bove t he b ridge . The l ine wi ll l ater b e us ed a s a g uide w hen
remo ving ma te rial fr om the bo ttom of the sadd le to c ompen sate for th e
thickn es s of t he p ic ku p (. 02 5" total).
2. Remo ve th e sad dle to dri ll the hol e for the pic ku p. The drill bit nee ds to be
as large as the saddle slot will allow. Inspect the inside of the guitar and note
the position of the brac es in relation to the saddle slo t. Drill at either end of
the slot on the side that will enab le you to avoi d all braces as you pene trate
the top, as shown in figures 1 and 2.
3. Fee d the pickup i nto the s lo t from in si de the guitar wi th the yell ow side up.
Insert in g a toothpick or similar obj ec t through the hole from th e outside is
helpful in finding th e location of the hole on t he inside o f the g ui ta r. S and the
bottom su rface of the saddle on a belt sand er unti l the scribe lin e (from step
1) li ne s up with the bridge top. Leave the saddle just a hair tall and finish
sanding the bot tom by hand. I t is b es t to d o this aga in st a m ac hine d fl at
surf ace with fine sa nd pa pe r. Use a straight edge wi th a strong ligh t source to
inspect the flatness of your saddle.
Import ant: The f it of t he saddle i n the s lo t is the sing le most i mp or tant factor
in t hi s install at ion. It is cruci al tha t the bot to m of the slot and t he l ower
surf ace of the sadd le be f lat to make even contact with t he pickup. The sa dd le
should fit in the slo t loose enough to be ab le to be jus t pulled ou t with your
finger ti ps. If it is too tight or bi nd s at all, t hi s will have a nega ti ve e ffec t on the
string balance. Li ke wi se, if the saddle is too loose, it will have a substantial
forward tilt when under stri ng pres su re, causing it to make poor contact with
the pickup (see figure 4).
fig. 2
fig. 3
proper saddle-pickup contact
(saddle lean exaggerated)
fig. 4
improper saddle-pickup contact
(saddle lean exaggerated)
A saddle tha t fits co rr ec tly in th e slot will have a slight for wa rd tilt und er
string pressure (se e fi gu re 3). It is nec es sa ry to comp en sa te for this angle by
intentionally sanding a slight tilt in the bottom of the sad dl e so that when it
leans for ward it sit s flat on the pick up (see fig ur e 3). The saddle material can
be a k ey e leme nt i n curing s tr ing balance problem s. This pickup respond s
most favorably to a rig id s ad dl e ma teri al s uc h as b on e. Usi ng s of ter, more
flexible mat er ia ls may ca use the outside st ri ng s to be lower in volume than
the other strings.
If you ar e repl acing the sad dle, prep are th e bott om of t he new one as
explained above (see step 3). Place it in the slot a nd scr ib e th e same line on
the fro nt o f it like the o ri gina l saddle. To duplicate the act io n, lay t he o ld
saddle on the new one, matc h up the scribe line s, and trac e the sha pe of the
old sad dl e ont o the new one. We recommend eit he r bone or Micar ta for you r
saddle. So ft er m aterials tend to sound overly boomy.
4. Insert the pickup all the way into th e slot , lay the sad dle on top of it an d
temp orari ly secure it w ith a pie ce of t ape. Rem ove the back ing f rom t he
adhesive on the end of the pick up hanging insi de the guit ar and atta ch it to
the bridge plate or the underside of the to p a s s ho wn in figures 5 or 6. Be
careful not to place the ad he si ve over the bridge pin holes.
5. Choo se a l oc ation for the wire clip between the pickup and preamp several
inches away from the pick up. If th ere is a brace that the wire w ill cros s, make a
little s la ck in the w ire so it does no t touc h the brac e. Secure t he pickup wire in
the wire clip.
fig. 5
fig. 6
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6. Remove the st rap ring from the end of the j ac k. There should still be a star wa sh er and locking nut on the midd le of the jack . Put the stra pjack
into t he pre-drilled 1/2" hole using th e nut a nd star washer a s a d ep th guide. The jack s ho ul d stick o ut enough to tighten the st rap ring on to the
threaded bar rel of the jack. Once th e depth is se t and the b ar rel is in the hole, screw the stra p ring onto the barrel until t he assembly is tigh t. Use
caution when tightening the strap ring so you don't crack the finish.
7. Plug the connector end of th e output harness i nto the pre am p. Using the wire t ies provided, f asten the output and pi ck up wires to th e side of
the guitar.
8. Install a 9-vol t battery (not included) in the batter y c lip on the back of th e preamp. Be s ure to ob se rve t he po la ri ty. Make sure that the batter y
snaps in firmly, th en restring the guitar.
Note: The ou tp ut jack has a switch bu il t into it to tu rn the preamp o n and off. Do not leave the cord p lugged in when no t in use. Before plugging
in or unplugging, be sure to turn the volume down on your amp or PA -- this wil l preve nt a po tentially damaging transient (pop) from hurting
anything down the l in e from it.
The outp ut level of the preamp is quit e hot and you may fi nd th at it can over dr ive some amps, effec ts, etc. If you hear dist or tion , just turn down
your volume until it goes away. Your g uita r may now be plugged into a ny PA, soun d system, stereo, recorder, dire ct box, effec ts proce ssor, wireless
transmitter or guitar amplifier.
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