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L.R. BAGGS PICKUPS
RIBBON TRANSDUCER
INSTALLATION MANUAL & USER'S GUIDE
483 N. FRONTAGE RD.
NIPOMO, CA 93444
WWW.LRBAGGS.COM
READ THIS FIRST
1. For optimum p er formance of this pick up, th e br id ge slo t mu st have a clean,
flat sur face f re e of any debri s or over-spray from the finis h. The slot mu st b e
a minimum of .125" (1/8") deep, but we suggest a depth of .187" (3/16") to avoid
exc es sive saddl e ti lt (se e fi gu re 6).
2. I ns tall in g a .090 " pi ck up i n a .120 " sl ot is no t re co mm en ded.
3. D o no t re move the b la ck materia l th at is af fi xed to t he b ottom of t he p icku p.
4. Avoid unn ec es sary hard bending of the pic ku p. Repeated rem oval and replacement of the pic ku p during the course of the installation is not
advised.
5. D o no t us e of s hi ms u nder t he saddl e or picku p as a rem ed y fo r st ring balance problems o r to a dj ust th e ac tion .
6. Fa ilure to s ec ur e th e loos e en d of t he p icku p un der th e br idge w il l prod uce bi za rre audio consequences and eventual ly r ui n th e pi ck up.
7. The quality of soun d, output leve l, balan ce and feedbac k res is ta nc e are all det er mine d by how we ll the pic kup mates with the sad dle and the
bridge. Uneven or pa rtial contac t bet ween the saddl e and the pic kup will caus e a boomy sound with low out pu t, exce ss ive body sensiti vi ty and
poor str in g ba lance.
INSTALLATION
1. Re move the strings from th e gui ta r. If you wish to dupl ic at e the st ri ng he ig ht exac tl y, s crib e a li ne al ong the front edge of the sad dl e where it
extends above the brid ge. T he line wil l later be used as a guid e when removing material from the bot to m of the saddle to compensate for the
thickn es s of t he p icku p (. 025" tot al ).
2. Remove the saddle t o drill t he hole f or the pi ckup. The dr ill bit needs to be as l arge as t he saddle slot w il l allow. Inspect the inside of the gu it ar
and note the position of the braces in relation to the saddle slot. Drill at either end of the slot on the side that will enable you to avoid all braces
as y ou penetrate the top, as shown in figures 1 and 2 . I mpor tant : Round the insi de of t he hole w here it m ee ts the bottom of the slot with a sm al l,
sharp knife or a small file to avoid pinching the pickup as the saddle lies on it.
3. Feed the pickup into the sl ot fr om insi de the gui ta r w it h t he ye ll ow side up. I nser ting a too th pi ck or simi lar objec t t hr ou gh th e h ol e f ro m the
outside is help fu l in finding the location of the hole on th e insid e of the guitar. Sand the bottom surface of the sadd le on a belt sand er until the
scribe line (from step 1) li ne s up with the bridge top. Leave th e saddle just a h ai r tall and finish sanding the bottom by hand. It is be st to do this
against a ma ch in ed flat su rface wit h fi ne san d pa pe r. Us e a st raight edg e wi th a s tr on g li ght so urce to in sp ec t th e fl at ne ss o f your s ad dl e.
Import ant: The fi t of the saddle in the slot is the sing le most important f ac tor in
this installation. I t is crucial t hat the b ot tom of th e slot and the l ower surf ac e of
the sa dd le be flat to m ake even contact wi th the pick up. The sa dd le should fit in
the slot l oose e noug h to b e able to be just p ulled out wi th you r fing er tips. I f it i s
too tight or binds at al l, this will have a negative effect on th e st ring bal ance.
Likewise, if the sa dd le is too loose, it will have a su bs ta nt ia l forward tilt when
under string press ure, c ausi ng i t to mak e po or contact with the pickup ( se e
figure 4).
A saddle that fits correctly in the slot will have a slight forward tilt under string
pressure (see figure 3). It is necessary to compensate for this angle by
intentionally sanding a sl ig ht tilt in the bo tt om of the sa dd le so that whe n it
leans forward it sits flat on the pickup (see figure 3). The saddle material can be
a key e le ment in curing string balance pro bl em s. This pic ku p responds most
favorably to a r igid saddle m at eria l su ch a s bone. U si ng s ofter, m oref lexible
materials may cause the outside stri ng s to be low er in volume th an the other
strings.
If you are re pl acin g the s ad dl e, prepare the bottom of the new one a s explained
above (see step 3). P la ce it in the slot and scribe the s ame line on th e front of it
like the ori gi na l sa dd le. To duplicate the action, lay the old saddle on the new
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one, match up the scri be lin es, and tr ac e th e sh ap e of the old sad dl e on to the
new on e. We recommend ei ther bone or Micarta for your saddl e. Soft er materials
tend to sound overly boo my.
4. I f you are installing a preamp with thi s pick up, do so now. If you are not
installing a preamp, solder the pick up wire direc tly to the ou tp ut jack and shield
the conn ec tion . Note: sl id e the jack barrel over the wire before soldering. So ld er
the center wire to the tip a nd the b ra id ed w ire to the s le ev e.
5. Inser t the pickup all the way i nt o the slot, la y the sadd le on top of it and
te mpora ril y se cure it wit h a pi ece of t ape. Re move th e ba cki ng f rom the
adhesive o n the e nd of the pi ck up hanging insi de the gu itar and atta ch it to t he
bridge plate or th e un de rsid e of the top as shown in figures 5 or 6. Be careful
not to place the a dh es ive over the bridg e pi n hole s.
proper saddle-pickup contact
(saddle lean exaggerated)
6. Choose a location for the wire clip between the pic kup and preamp se veral
inches away from the pi ckup. If there is a br ac e that the wire will cros s, make a
little slac k in th e wire so it does not touc h the brace. Secure the pic kup wire in
the wire clip and plug the pickup into the pream p (if applicable ). You can now
remove the ta pe from th e sa dd le a nd r e- st ring t he gui ta r.
improper saddle-pickup contact
(saddle lean exaggerated)
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