This new soundhole pickup offers both feedback suppression and amplified sound from one unit.
Cypress, CA (January 19, 2017) -- Lace Music Products is introducing the new, Aluma Disc magnetic pickup for acoustic guitar.
Building upon the Lace patented ācurrent drivenā technology, Aluma Disc offers the player a pickup which offers both feedback suppression and amplified sound in one unit. As natural feedback occurs through many playing situations, the Aluma Disc covers the entire soundhole area while also acting as the magnetic pickup for the guitar.
Based on patented Alumitone technology, which uses an initial ācurrentā rather than voltage design, the pickup is the soundhole feedback suppressor in simple terms.
An elegant design with simple installation gives the Aluma Disc a true acoustic tone without any noise or feedback. Conventional magnetic designs would incur a large coil as part of the pickup, whereas the Aluma Disc coil is designed with 95 percent less copper wire. The Aluma Disc winding weighs a mere 3 ounces, thus defeating the chance of coil feedback and eliminating outside noise completely.
The Aluma Disc will be available Spring 2017. The suggested retail price is $128.99.
For more information, see the Aluma Disc and all other Lace pickups at lacemusic.com or facebook.com/lace pickups.
For more information:
Lace Music
From heavy flatpicked strumming to delicate fingerstyle, the L.R. Baggs M80 soundhole pickup is a worthwhile investment that represents a pretty sweet value for any application.
Though theyāve become a more common sight again in the last decade, magnetic soundhole pickups for acoustic guitars were, in many quarters, regarded as verging on obsolescence. But before undersaddle pickups ruled the roost, chrome DeArmond soundhole pickups were used by bluesmen like Lightninā Hopkins, folkies like John Renbourn, and such rockers as Neil Young (check the iconic gatefold image in the After the Goldrush LP). And Dean Markleyās inexpensive soundhole units were many acoustic playerās first pickup and remain a fixture among indie acoustic players on a budget.
While soundhole pickups like DeArmonds werenāt exactly accurate, they did impart warmth to an amplified acoustic sound that was in many ways lost when piezo pickups came into vogue. And while undersaddle pickups are great for capturing the detail of fingerstyle technique, they can sound downright gnarly in the strum-heavy contexts of pop and rock. In recent years, few companies have done more to resurrect the magnetic pickup than L.R. Baggs. The newest evolution of their soundhole line, the M80, capitalizes on the many design merits of the companyās successful M1. But itās a considerably more body-sensitive unit with switchable active/passive circuitry that represents a significant step forward in terms of sonic sophistication and versatility.
Deceptively Clever
If you dig the old-school look of a soundhole
pickup, thereās a lot to like about the
M80. The vaguely trapezoidal, crĆØme-colored
pickup housing simultaneously evokes
the look of a DeArmond and a Gibson
P-90. The brown center section is home
to the pickupās pole pieces, which are easily
adjusted with an included hex wrench.
A small blink-and-youāll-miss-it button
that you can use to test the batteryāand
four very small LEDs that indicate battery
strengthāare situated on the bass side of
the pickup housing. The volume control,
which only works in active mode, is on the
housingās treble side. And while itās unobtrusively
placed, having to reach across all six
strings to make a volume adjustment can be
tricky business in a performance situation.
The battery and passive-to-active switch are
mounted on the underside of the pickup.
And while itās wonderful that you can switch
from active to passive mode depending on
your performance situation, it can be a challenge
to get your hand deep enough into the
soundhole to actually switch modes.
Installation of the M80 is so simple (provided your soundhole is adequately sizedāif not, youāll want to have a pro guitar tech take you through the process) that youād be forgiven for assuming thereās not much to the device. But as the unitās significant depth suggests, thereās some rather interesting technology at work. Like the M1, the M80 is a humbucker with a noise-cancelling coil thatās, in effect, suspended and therefore more sensitive to body vibration. The M80ās second coil is even more completely and effectively suspended and separated entirely from the coil bobbin to lend even greater sensitivity.
Soundhole Sonics
Detractors in the acoustic community tend
to dismiss magnetic pickups as inorganic
and āun-acoustic.ā Given that any pickup
system renders an acoustic instrument very
distinctly non-acoustic, that assertion is
pretty subjective. And the M80ās remarkable
warmth and sensitivity are bound to help
close the perceived gap between the natural
sounding qualities of undersaddle or dual-source
systems and magnetic units.
Ratings
Pros:
Moves adroitly between heavy strumming and fingerstyle
applications. Delightfully rich and brimming with
ambience and overtones while remaining feedback resistant.
Switchable between active and passive modes.
Cons:
Hard to activate passive/active switch on the fly.
Awkwardly placed volume control.
Tones:
Versatility:
Build:
Value:
Street:
$249
L.R. Baggs
lrbaggs.com
Fundamentally speaking, the M80 has a beautifully airy quality and immediacy thatās reminiscent of a good dual-source system. Whether youāre flatpicking arpeggios or engaging in nuanced and even quiet fingerstyle work, the pickup delivers a very natural ambience. This touch sensitivity and dynamic, lively quality is doubly apparent with the active mode engaged. And the bump in output that accompanies a switch to active mode makes very detailed and delicate picking on high strings exceptionally present and rich with overtones. If youāre at all inclined to use reverb on your acoustic signalājudiciously or liberallyāthe almost atmospheric overtones from the M80 make the Baggs and a reverb processor a beautiful match.
One of the real strengths of magnetic pickups is how forgiving they can be in aggressive strumming situations. They arenāt plagued by piezo quack and arenāt nearly as prone to feedback as undersaddle pickups. Married with the harmonic richness of the Baggs humbucker voice, these qualities made the M1 a hit among high-profile rock strummers like Tom Petty and Jeff Tweedy.
The M80 does all of this beautifully too, but with the same airiness that you can hear when you use the pickup for say, delicate fingerstyle. Itās a great sound for capoed work and 12-strings, and in these contexts, the M80 reveals high harmonic content almost like a dual-source system.
The Verdict
At just over a hundred bucks more than a
passive M1 and about 70 bucks more than
an active M1, some players might debate
whether or not they should spend the extra
bread. The simplest answer: The M80 gives
you both pickups in one, with the benefit of
an appreciable extra airiness and ambience
that makes it the superior pickup in Baggsā M
line. Guitarists who exclusively engage in flatpicked
strumming in a loud band may in fact
prefer the simpler and less expensive M1. But
if your gigging life finds you moving between
detailed and technical fingerstyle and rollicking,
locomotive strumming from night
to nightāor even in a single setāthe M80
is a worthwhile investment that represents a
pretty sweet value for any application.