LR Baggs Acoustic Timbre - Manual (Page 2)

10. Position the preamp on the inside of the guitar with the slide controls and knobs in the routed holes in the side of the guitar. Place the control
plate on the outside of the instrument over the preamp, and screw it to the preamp using the black oval-head machine screws provided. This will
sandwich the side of the guitar between the control plate and the preamp. Do not over tighten as this could crack the side.
11. Remove the strap ring, retaining nut and one washer from the end of the jack. There should still be one sar locking washer, one flat washer,
and a nut remaining on the mid section of the jack. Bring the jack down into the soundhole 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 entire threaded brass section to
protrude from the end of the guitar. With the jack in place, lay the remaining washer over the threads and attach the external but until it's tight.
Finish by attaching the strap ring (it should cover the retaining nut and washer) carefully so as to not crack the finish of the guitar by asserting
too much pressure.
12. Affix the output wire to the guitar side using the self-stick wire clips. This will keep the wires from rattling during movement.
4 . R I B B O N T R A N S D U C E R I N S T A L L A T I O N
1. For optimum performance of this pickup, the bridge slot must have a clean,
flat surface free of any debris or over-spray from the finish. The slot must be a
minimum of .125" (1/8") deep but we suggest a depth of .187" (3/16") to avoid
excessive saddle tilt (see figure 4).
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.
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.
Uneven or partial contact between the saddle and the pickup will cause a
boomy sound with low output, excessive body sensitivity and poor string
balance.
Installation:
1. Remove the strings from the guitar. If you wish 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 bit needs to be
as large as the saddle slot will allow. Inspect the inside of the guitar and note
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 1 and 2.
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
1) lines up with the bridge top. Leave the saddle just a hair tall and finish
sanding the bottom by hand. It is best to do this against a machined flat
surface with fine sand paper. Use a straight edge with a strong light source to
inspect the flatness of your saddle.
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. 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 4).
A saddle that fits correctly in the slot will have a slight forward tilt under
string pressure (see figure 3). 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 bone. Using softer, more
flexible materials may cause the outside strings to be lower in volume than
the other strings.
fig. 1
fig. 2
proper saddle-pickup contact
(saddle lean exaggerated)
fig. 3
improper saddle-pickup contact
(saddle lean exaggerated)
fig. 4
fig. 5
fig. 6