LR Baggs puts a new spin on acoustic pickup technology with the introduction of the Anthem, a feedback-cancelling microphone and undersaddle pickup equipped system.
With their latest acoustic pickup system, LR Baggs has developed what they call the Tru-Mic to combat what has been the bane of acoustic guitarists playing live - feedback. In the Anthem, the Tru-ic actually acts as the primary source of the output - basically everything above 250Hz, while the undersaddle Element transducer provides the bass below 250Hz.
A Look at the Tru-Mic
Traditionally, in a live situation, the mic inside an acoustic guitar cannot be turned up and it provides just a little authenticity to supplement the undersaddle pickup sound. The Anthem turns this around, with the Anthem providing most of the sound, and the undersaddle pickup supplementing the bass output. The Tru-Mic is light-weight and is recommended to be attached to the bridge plate by LR Baggs.
Accessible Controls
The Anthem provides a fixture mounted on the side of the sound hole for the controls. It consists of two main controls - the crossover mix between the Tru-Mic and the Element, as well as a main volume control. There is a reverse phase button which came in useful in a live situation where there was feedback. On pressing the phase button, the feedback went away - amazing.
The other button is basically a battery check which lighted up on being depressed. Fears of the Anthem control fixture dampening the sound board are uncalled for - after afixing the Anthem on the test Goodall guitar, I was not able to discern any significant change to the tone unlike other devices like the M1 soundhole pickup.
Sound
In a word - awesome. The Anthem is hands down the most authentic acoustic sound I've heard so far. With other pickups, I found that I had to adjust my playing style to suit the pickup - not with the Anthem. It basically reproduced my playing dynamics to a T. Never did I feel like I had to compromise my playing to suit the pickup. The sustain and the sound felt natural. I found that the sound changed drastically in response to different strings, showing that the Anthem really does pick up the guitar sound. In this review I tried first some John Pearse strings, then Newtone strings.
Here are some random sound clips of the Anthem.
Fingerpicking (Dry), 1/3 Undersaddle, 2/3 Tru-Mic
Fingerpicking plus Strumming(Dry), 1/5 Undersaddle, 4/5 Tru-Mic
Fingerpicking plus Strumming(Dry), Tru-Mic all the way down
Comparison - Anthem with Newtones (with Reverb)
Comparison - Anthem with John Pearses (with Reverb)
The Anthem was gig-tested at a wedding where the system had to be turned up loud enough to fill the ballroom. Even with the controls all the way to the Tru-mic side, there was no feedback. Whatever LR Baggs had done to the mic to cancel out the feedback, it worked.
The Anthem has been on the test guitar ever since - a testament to this reviewer's joy with it. LR Baggs has a winner with this one.
