Volume settings on Anthem

[Dennis]

I have just had an Anthem installed in my 1965 Martin D18 and, having always been an acoustic finger-picker, I’m a “newby” when it comes to pickups, amplifiers and the various controls.
I am now playing in a (LOUD) Classic Rock Band where my acoustic guitar solos must be heard above the other instruments.
I was using an LR Baggs Element but found that feedback at high volumes was a major problem so I upgraded to the Anthem. (Which sounds awesome !!)
I am playing through a Fender Acoustasonic SFX acoustic guitar amp and would appreciate any advise on the optimal settings to obtain maximum volume without risk of feedback.
Could you please explain the correlation between the “Volume” setting on the Anthem, The “Gain” setting on the amp and the “Master Volume” setting on the amp ?
Should the Anthem volume be set high and then the volume controlled from the Master Volume on the amp, or should the amp’s volume be set high and then controlled from the Anthem ? And, what roll should the Gain on the amp play ?
I would appreciate any advise on this or a link to where I might find more information.
Thank you for your help.......and for a great product !

[Brian Hudson]

"Use the 1/4" line/inst input next to the mic input. Dial the Treble and Bass down to ONE. You can also plug into the effects return jack on the back of the amp, but volume is pretty low. Avoid the mic input. It's pretty harsh and "peaky". You can get okay results using the instrument channel also by dialing the EQ and all other settings on this channel down to ONE. That includes the "string dynamics" and feedback notch controls. "


I read about this settings somwere.May be it will help you.

[Dennis]

Hi Brian;

Thanks for your suggestion but those steps didn't really solve the problem.....the resulting volume was much too low.

I had sent the same question to the LR Baggs Technical support, though, and received the following reply from Bryan McManus....

Hi Dennis,

The best I can suggest regarding settings is how to achieve the best signal-to-noise ratio.

It’s not uncommon for an instrument signal to pass through multiple stages, each with their own adjustable gain. For the best signal-to-noise ratio, it’s important to distribute that gain wisely, applying more early than later in the signal path.

Since you have the Anthem system and a Fender Acoustisonic amplifier, you are dealing with one gain stage after the guitar.

Keep the output level from the guitar’s system at full in order to send the strongest signal from that point forward. Then, lower the master volume at the amplifier and begin turning up the channel gain on the amp. Turn it up while hitting the strings as hard as you’re likely to in a performance setting. Turn up the gain until you begin to hear a little break-up or overdrive to the heavier pick attack. When you hear that mile overdrive, back the gain off until it just goes away. This should be the most gain you can apply before overdriving. From there, adjust the master volume on the amp for the level you want.

If you, for example, passed the signal through an external preamp placed between the guitar and your amp, you would set the gain at that device using the same method and the same at each subsequent stage with adjustable gain.

The more gain you can apply without overdrive early in the signal path, the less you need later in the path. The less gain you apply later in the signal path, the less noise or interference you’ll be boosting.

We aren’t able to make effective recommendations for setting EQ."

His suggestion seems to have solved the problem beautifully !!

I've been playing at home at a very high volume and getting no feedback at all. I'll see what happens at band practise tonight, but I'm optimistic the problem has been solved.

Thanks, again, for your suggestions.

Dennis

[captnzila]

hello all ive recently purchased a lr baggs model semi accustic bass it was made in the mid 90s so im not sure exactly what the name of the pickup system is. the problem im having is that the volume from string to string isnt consistant mainly e to a and have tried lots of diffrent settings still cant get a hold of the issue. anyone have this issue thank you in advance David Dobbs.

[Caleb_Elling]

Hi David,
If you call or email our support team at 805-929-3545, or [email protected], we'll see what we can do to help you identify and diagnose your system.