After months of anticipation, the latest acoustic guitar pickup has arrived from LR Baggs. They call it the Anthem, we call it the Awesome. The big deal with this dual source pickup is that it allows significant use of an internal microphone without the typical problem of screaming feedback when you turn up the volume.

The Anthem works by blending the high and mid-range frequencies from a proprietary noise cancelling soundboard mic with the low frequencies from the familiar under-saddle element. The result is a very accurate, responsive sound that faithfully represents the guitar it's installed in. No hollow boxy sound and none of that dreaded piezo "quack" when the strings are picked aggressively. I tried to get the guitar to feedback and eventually it did, but far past the threshold of any other internal mic I've dealt with and on a par with most under-saddle transducers.

To top it all off the price won't break the bank at $199 for the streamlined version, and $299 for the fully mixable version. If you want to try it out, come on in and give it a listen as we've installed one in a demo guitar. Of course our repair dept. can install one in your guitar for you and answer any questions you may have. Keep in mind that your steel string guitar must have a short drop in saddle (not a long vintage style saddle) since the element is installed under the saddle.

-Brian Michael
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Seen by many as one of life's necessary evils, acoustic amplification is always tricky business for tone fanatics. Thanks to industry giants LR Baggs and Fishman, however, the process keeps getting better through technological refinements that help acoustic instrumentalists be heard from stages both large and small. When the latest batch of their DI (direct input) boxes were unveiled earlier this year, I couldn't wait to try them out. In testing these three units, I used the same guitar (a mahogany and spruce Martin dreadnought equipped with Highlander under-the-saddle pickup) through the nifty new Vox AGA70 acoustic amp.
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One of the best kept secrets of acoustic music is the tone and depth of a low-tuned or baritone guitar. While it may seem as though this is a recent phenomenon, two of the most well-known acoustic tracks of the sixties used low-tuned guitars (The Beatles' "Yesterday" and "Sugar Mountain" by Neil Young were recorded on guitars tuned a whole step lower: low string to high string: D-G-C-F-A-D). Going back further, blues genius Leadbelly played a Stella twelve string tuned even lower yet (low to high: C-F-Bb-Eb-G-C). In more recent years, the late songwriter and sublime fingerpicker Elliott Smith experimented with many such low tunings, adding even greater depth to his powerful songs.
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