K&K Pure Mini & LR Baggs (almost) straight comparison

Andyjr1515 · March 2020

Hi All

There have been a number of discussions relating to the Pure Mini and LR Baggs Anthem, including when I was trying to decide which system to use in a Dreadnought Acoustic build.

The guitar was for a pro-musician I know, Matt Marriott (amongst many other things, he does some of the demo videos for Faith acoustics and Laney amps).

There is a build thread in the 'Making and Modding' section with all the details but, in summary, in the end I fitted BOTH the Pure Mini and the Anthem and each with its own jack output so he could choose which one, based on the venue, band/solo mix and sound system to use or even mix the two by using both feeds into separate amp or mixer desk channels.

And he's just done a couple of videos, first video using the Pure Mini and second video using the Anthem.

Now, it's not - this time round - an exact comparison. Yes - the sound system is identical and in both cases it is the direct feed from the relevant pickup and an additional external mic. But there is a difference because the first one is capo 5 and the 2nd one is no capo.

I will try to get him to do a more direct comparison sometime, but here are the two videos to be going on with.

By the way, he did comment that the Anthem was more tricky to set up because of its relatively low output, something he tells me is 'apparently well known in the business'. Sounds nice, though...

Pure Mini

https://youtu.be/8SCNbnmBY2Y

Anthem

https://youtu.be/OFt0PxnpdTo

These being hard times for musicians, I'm sure he would appreciate a 'Like' if you do

ICBM · March 2020

Liked

.

The K&K sounds much better to me there. It's far more natural and balanced - the Anthem has too much boom on the low-end, and still the distinctive tizzy piezo attack.

Would it be possible to ask him to record the exact same piece with the two outputs recorded separately at the same time? And preferably with no room mic, or as little as possible if it just sounds too dry without.

Andyjr1515 · March 2020

ICBM said:

Liked .

The K&K sounds much better to me there. It's far more natural and balanced - the Anthem has too much boom on the low-end, and still the distinctive tizzy piezo attack.

Yes - I agree (and thanks

)

ICBM said:

Would it be possible to ask him to record the exact same piece with the two outputs recorded separately at the same time? And preferably with no room mic, or as little as possible if it just sounds too dry without.

Yes - I will be asking him to do just that. It's the advantage of having the two output arrangement. One of the very few times where we can do a comparison where simply everything is equal other than the pickups themselves!

mbwhite · March 2020

that would be great @Andyjr1515 ;
Thank you, these are the two pickups I'm considering for my D18

Andyjr1515 · April 2020

mbwhite said:

that would be great @Andyjr1515 ;
Thank you, these are the two pickups I'm considering for my D18

I've asked Matt to do that, @mbwhite It may be a week or so before he gets to it - hopefully not too late for your decision.

(but if you're in a rush and want a sneak preview, it's pretty much sure to be the K&K

)

Funkfingers · April 2020

ICBM said:

Would it be possible to ask him to record the exact same piece, with the two outputs recorded separately, at the same time ... with no room mic

This.

It might also help to include some plectrum style playing and a bit of vigorous strumming to hear how each pickup copes with the wider dynamic range.

ICBM said:

the Anthem has too much boom on the low-end and still the distinctive tizzy piezo attack.

Precisely why I ditched my Anthem SL and replaced it with the Lyric (Tru-Mic only) system.

WindmillGuitars · April 2020

Hard to beat a K&K in my opinion - I still think it's the most natural sounding pickup out there.

ICBM · April 2020

Anchorboy said:

Hard to beat a K&K in my opinion - I still think it's the most natural sounding pickup out there.

As well as one of the simplest, most reliable, least complex and invasive to fit as well.

It’s just very frustrating that there are some guitars it won’t fit, including my Gibson...

Cirrus · April 2020

ICBM said:

Anchorboy said:

Hard to beat a K&K in my opinion - I still think it's the most natural sounding pickup out there.

As well as one of the simplest, most reliable, least complex and invasive to fit as well.

It’s just very frustrating that there are some guitars it won’t fit, including my Gibson...

What's the issue, bracing under the bridge?

ICBM · April 2020

Cirrus said:

What's the issue, bracing under the bridge?

There's a tooling jig hole right in the middle of the bridgeplate where the G/D sensor would need to go. It seems to be a feature of some modern Gibsons, my CJ-165 had it too. Both made in 2008.

Lewy · April 2020

ICBM said:

Cirrus said:

What's the issue, bracing under the bridge?

There's a tooling jig hole right in the middle of the bridgeplate where the G/D sensor would need to go. It seems to be a feature of some modern Gibsons, my CJ-165 had it too. Both made in 2008.

Same with my J45 TV. Annoying! Ended up having to go with a Lyric.

Howdy, Stranger!

Categories

In this Discussion

Become a Subscriber!

K&K Pure Mini & LR Baggs (almost) straight comparison

Comments