L.R. Baggs Double Barrel: Installation Manual & User's Guide
Contents
1. DOUBLE BARREL INSTALLATION MANUAL amp USER S GUIDE CR agen 483 N FRONTAGE RD NiIPOMO CA 93444 WWW LRBAGGS COM TABLE OF CONTENTS Package Contents Overview and Cautions Strapjack Installation Pickup Installation Battery Bag Installation Microphone Installation User s Guide ee eT e 1 PACKAGE CONTENTS One 1 Double Barrel system assembly One 1 Battery Bag Two 2 self stick wire clips 2 0OVERVIEW AND CAUTIONS The Double Barrel system is an all discrete class A dual channel fig 1 tail block pickup microphone system that is built right onto a four pin strapjack It pairs a a the Ribbon Transducer with our own FET condenser mini mic and features SY Sa em independent buffered outputs for the pickup and mic channels The preamp powers the mic making phantom power from an outside source unnecessary Caution If you are running the outputs of the Double Barrel into a smaller threaded section protrudes preamp that provides phantom power for an onboard microphone be sure to turn phantom power off The Double Barrel circuitry is specifically tuned for the L R Baggs mini mic but an alternate non tuned mic input is also provided to allow the Double Barrel to be used with most other popular mini microphones Connections for alternative microphones are discussed in section 6 We recommend that this system be installed by a professional dealer installer We do not provide installation advice or support for home or h2. 125 1 8 deep but we suggest a depth of 187 3 16 to avoid excessive saddle tilt see figure 5 which illustrates excessive tilt 2 Installing a 090 pickup in a 120 slot is not recommended 3 Do not remove the black material that is affixed to the bottom of the pickup 4 Avoid unnecessary hard bending of the pickup Repeated removal and replacement of the pickup during the course of the installation is not advised fig 4 5 Do not use shims under the saddle or pickup as a remedy for string balance problems or to adjust the action 6 Failure to secure the loose end of the pickup under the bridge will produce bizarre audio consequences and eventually ruin the pickup 7 The quality of sound output level balance and feedback resistance are all determined by how well the pickup mates with the saddle and the bridge proper saddle pickup contact Uneven or partial contact between the saddle and the pickup will cause a saddle lean exaggerated boomy sound with low output excessive body sensitivity and poor string balance Installation 1 Remove the strings from the guitar To duplicate the string height exactly scribe a line along the front edge of the saddle where it extends above the bridge The line will later be used as a guide when removing material from the bottom of the saddle to compensate for the thickness of the pickup 025 total 2 Remove the saddle to drill the hole for the pickup The drill b
3. Likewise if the saddle is too loose it will have a substantial forward tilt when under string pressure causing it to make poor contact with the pickup see figure 5 low E high E fig 7 saddle bridge to preamp 1 guitar top p oi strapjack A saddle that fits correctly in the slot will have a slight forward tilt under string pressure see figure 4 It is necessary to compensate for this angle by intentionally sanding a slight tilt in the bottom of the saddle so that when it leans forward it sits flat on the pickup see figure 3 The saddle material can be a key element in curing string balance problems This pickup responds most favorably to a rigid saddle material such as Micarta or bone Using softer more flexible materials may cause the outside strings to be lower in volume than the other strings pressure sensitive adhesive amp wire clip If you are replacing the saddle prepare the bottom of the new one as explained above see step 3 Place it in the slot and scribe the same line on the front of it like the original saddle To duplicate the action lay the old saddle on the new one match up the scribe lines and trace the shape of the old saddle onto the new one We recommend either bone or Micarta for your saddle Softer materials tend to sound overly boomy 4 Insert the pickup all the way into the slot place the saddle on top of it and temporarily secure it with a piece of tape Remove the backing from the adhesi
4. and listen to the mic signal through headphones Lay the guitar on its back and strum the open strings while you move the mic around inside the guitar with the wire tool A quicker way to determine the best mic placement is to run the mic signal through an EQ such as our Para Acoustic D I boosting the midrange around 700 Hz by approximately 9dB before listening to the mic Boosting the midrange frequencies will highlight the tones that are responsible for the midrange honk that internal mics can produce Increasing the midrange frequencies will likely result in an unsatisfactory tone but this temporary EQ setting is only for testing purposes As you move the mic around the the inside of the guitar you will discover that there are SEAT small midrange nulls where the honk is minimized The best placement will have the greatest minimizing effect on this sound Pickup 4 Once the best position has been selected look inside the guitar carefully note the position of the microphone and unstring the guitar Remove the Alternative mic connection i i i Bridge both solder pads with microphone from the guitar and stick the microphone to the velcro piece positive Wite Clean the area of any dust or debris peel the backing from the velcro and carefully adhere the mic precisely on the sweet spot On some guitars this area will be very small and a half inch movement in any di
5. cer with our proprietary internal FET condenser mini mic It has independent buffered outputs for both the pickup and the microphone which preserve these components fidelity and eliminates crosstalk The preamp powers the mic making phantom power unnecessary The preamp is built into our Strapjack Plus making it possible to have mono stereo and on off switching all in one jack Battery Life The Double Barrel provides roughly 500 hours of use between battery changes Alternative microphones can affect battery life The jack acts as the switch for the preamp so whenever the system is plugged in the battery is in use Change the battery when you begin to notice distortion in your signal during hard strumming The weaker the battery becomes the more noticeable this distortion will be The system can be used in either mono or stereo mode Mono By plugging in a standard mono cable you will automatically have the pickup signal by itself This is ideal for live situations when you don t have the time or resources to set up a stereo blend or when you simply want to plug and play The Double Barrel is engineered to get the best performance out of the Ribbon Transducer and should not require additional outboard equalization when used with a high quality PA The EQ available at the mixing board should be adequate to fine tune your guitar to the room s acoustics Stereo Access the stereo feature simply by plugging in a stereo Y cable The pickup signal wi
6. it needs to be improper saddle pickup contact as large as the saddle slot will allow Inspect the inside of the guitar and note saddle lean exaggerated the position of the braces in relation to the saddle slot Drill at either end of the slot on the side that will enable you to avoid all braces as you penetrate the top as shown in figures 2 and 3 low E high E fig 6 saddle 3 Feed the pickup into the slot from inside the guitar with the yellow side up Inserting a toothpick or similar object through the hole from the outside is helpful in finding the location of the hole on the inside of the guitar Sand the bottom surface of the saddle on a belt sander until the scribe line from step bridge 1 is just slightly above the bridge top Finish sanding the bottom by hand It is guitar top 7 best to do this against a machined flat surface with fine sand paper Use a s pressure sensitive straight edge with a strong light source to inspect the flatness of your saddle to preamp 5 adhesive amp wire or strapjack clip Important The fit of the saddle in the slot is the single most important factor in this installation It is crucial that the bottom of the slot and the lower surface of the saddle be flat to make even contact with the pickup The saddle should fit in the slot loose enough to be able to be just pulled out with your fingertips If it is too tight or binds at all this will have a negative effect on the string balance
7. ll be found on the tip contact and the mic signal on the ring This mode provides pristine all discrete class A buffered outputs for both the microphone and the pickup It is useful for quality recording and for achieving the optimum live sound You can use individual outboard EQ and effects for each channel For live work this will allow you to send just the pickup signal to the feedback prone stage monitors and allow more of the microphone in the main speakers for the ideal house mix Summed to mono This is an exclusive Double Barrel feature that will mix the pickup and mic together into a mono signal When used with our mini mic the summed mix will be approximately 2 3 pickup and 1 3 mic When using alternative mics the blend ratio and phase relationship between the two will change possibly causing the mix to be unusable
8. obbyist installations Installers please read the instructions carefully before proceeding We will not be responsible for any product or instrument damage or personal injury resulting from installation improper installation use or misuse of the product 3 STRAPJACK INSTALLATION 1 For proper installation this jack requires a clean 1 2 hole in the tail block of the instrument If the guitar has this hole proceed to step 2 If not start by placing a piece of masking tape on the outside of the instrument over the drilling area to avoid chipping the finish drill a small pilot hole in the tail block and then follow with a step drill 2 Remove the strap ring retaining nut and one washer from the end of the jack There should still be one star locking washer one flat washer and a nut remaining on the mid section of the jack Bring the jack down into the sound hole and through your pre drilled hole in the tail block Using the internal nut be sure to include the flat and star washers set the proper depth that will allow the smaller threaded section at the end of the jack to protrude out of the end of the guitar When the jack is fully seated in the tailblock there should be about 2 threads of the small threaded section remaining inside the hole 4 PICKUP INSTALLATION Notes 1 For optimum performance of this pickup the saddle slot must have a clean flat surface free of any debris or over spray from the finish The slot must be a minimum of
9. rection can make a Pickup significant difference Alternative microphones The preamp in the Double Barrel will work well with and power most popular e OE ed mini mic capsules that use two wire connections When using an alternative SARGE ela A microphone use the manufacturer s recommendations for wiring and placement To connect an alternative mic to the preamp unscrew the shielding cap from the preamp and carefully de solder the microphone Solder the positive wire from the new mic across both mic input pads Bridging these two solder pads as shown in figure 9 will defeat the contour for the L R Baggs mini mic and provide a flat input for the alternative mic Stock microphone Caution Use a pencil type soldering iron only Do not use a soldering gun Be careful when soldering excessive heat can permanently damage the solder pads Be sure to thread the mic wire through the shielding cap before soldering Make sure all of the wires are secured with the wire clips provided restring the guitar and the installation is complete Be sure to test the Double Barrel in both mono and stereo modes Plug in a standard mono cable and you should hear the pickup signal only Then use a stereo Y cable to test the split stereo function The pickup signal will be on the tip contact and the mic signal will be on the ring contact 7 USER S GUIDE The Double Barrel is a two channel microphone pickup system that pairs our Ribbon Transdu
10. ve on the end of the pickup hanging inside the guitar and attach it to the bridge plate or the underside of the top as shown in figures 6 or 7 Be careful not to place the adhesive over the bridge pin holes 5 Choose a location for the wire clip and secure the pickup wire 5 BATTERY BAG INSTALLATION Stick the double sided adhesive to an easily accessible spot inside of the guitar The battery can then be removed by opening the flap on the bag and pulling out the battery A wire clip has been provided to secure the battery bag wire to the inside of the guitar 6 MICROPHONE INSTALLATION The L R Baggs mini microphone is designed to be positioned on the inside of the guitar against the back and generally in the lower half of the guitar Figure 8 shows a recommended mic placement use this as a starting point 1 To position the mic fashion a simple placement tool out of a wire coat hanger or a measure of 12 to 14 gauge copper wire The tool should be approximately 1 1 2 feet long and have a U shape at one end for lightly gripping the small foam block that houses the mic 2 Attach the U shaped portion of the tool to the foam and position the mic on the back of the inside of the guitar If you haven t attached a battery yet do so now 3 Plug the guitar into a sound system with a stereo Y cable The mic signal is on the ring contact of the stereo plug To find the best location for the mic it is best to have the pickup volume completely off
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