LR Baggs M80 Magnetic Soundhole Pickup

Most Liked Positive Review

Great...for a sound hole pick up

I was extremely excited to put this pick up in my Alvarez-Yairi DY-69 with lacewood back and sides because of all the reviews I had read online about how it captured the characteristics of the guitar you are placing it in. I knew I did not want to alter my rare guitar so I knew I was going to have to get a sound hole pickup and just deal with the terrible sound that comes out of most of them. I installed it in about 5 minutes. I did not loosen the strings because I wanted to see how fast I could do it if I were in a live ?gig? situations for switching out batteries or changing over to the passive setting. Not nearly as bad as others have written but I can do it in less than a minute now without loosening strings. Now what amazed me, I have my amp propped up, I plugged in and turned it on but forgot I was plugged in while standing facing the speaker close enough to adjust the EQ and guess what?ZERO feedback and it wasn?t until I really cranked the volume did it barely tried to hum. My Gibson SG and my Fender Tele would not have been quiet for that long as I (ignorantly) stood in front of that amp before I remembered I was plugged in! I started playing and had to adjust because my strings were just way too close to the pickup and I kept whacking the M80 with my pick. Finger picking was spot on gorgeous and the M80?s ability to enhance the sound of finger picking was quite wonderful. I took it out for a gig that same weekend and could get plenty of volume from the sound guy even with a wedge monitor pointing at the guitar and me. However, with how low the finger board is on the Yairi, I could not keep my guitar pick from popping the M80 without really being painfully aware of where I was strumming. I regretfully ended up returning it because I cannot keep myself from smacking it and would rather focus on my music than worrying about how I was strumming. So in a nutshell, Guitar Design matters: The M80 is fantastic depending on how your guitar is designed. I have a Breedlove I tested it out in and it worked great but, that is because the design of the Breedlove finger board is further from the sound hole than the Yairi finger board, even though the Breedlove has lower action Pains of a Sound hole Pickup: . I did notice right away that my solid wood top was not flexing as much as normal because the sound hole pickup acted as another brace and that was something I had not thought of. I also had to figure out where to put my sound hole humidifier now that there was a pick-up in the way. My strap hole would still need to be drilled to fit the jack/strap button. Gains of a Sound hole pickup: Finger picking and percussive players dream come true! This is one of the best pick-ups I have heard for capturing finger picking and percussive style players. It is still a bit abrasive and boxy for us flat pickers. It would be great if there was a way to adjust the blend between the humbuckers. Would I recommend it? I would if you really wanted some volume especially in a full band setting, but I would recommend getting some sort of pre-amp also for all you pick players out there. I have always been a Fishman guy and even though this pickup did not work out for me, I really like the LR Baggs approach to it. The direction were very clear and they even added some tools and extra posts. I am pretty sure if I get brave enough to allow someone to alter my guitar, it will be for an LR Baggs because I really like the quality of this thing and the vision that they have for acoustic guitars. Hope this helps someone. Cheers!