Suggestion for setting it and forgetting it. (Lyric-Anthem)

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I have a Lyric or an Anthem installed in three guitars. I still puzzle over the adjustments switch that, on the Anthem, adjusts the balance between under saddle PU and the contact mic and, on the Lyric, raises a broad range of high end freq's.

This adjustment seems more "relevant" to the venue, amp., or P.A. being used, rather than to the individual sound of the guitar.

Here's what I now think.: Put a sound-hole cover "in" or on your guitar when you adjust the screw. This minimizes the double sound you hear from the guitar itself and the speaker cone you are using as reference. In my experience, this reduces the bass freq.'s I hear in the process, resulting in a slight reduction in the amount of mic and/or the amount of high frequency augmentation.

Putting in the sound hole cover, listening, removing it, adjusting the screw, re-installing the sound hole cover..............is of course, tedious.

BTW: I make my own sound hole covers from wood. I make them in heart shapes. This serendipitously leaves an opening where the Lyric/Anthem volume control is.

Cheers,

Brent

[Caleb_Elling]

Brent,
I think I should clarify first that if you have the Anthem SL, there is no blend control on that unit. The Lyric has an adjustable "presence" knob that controls the high frequencies, but on the Anthem SL, the screwdriver adjustment controls the "mic gain". Since the Anthem mic only carries the mid and high frequencies in the Anthem, the "mic gain" control will add or reduce those frequencies, in relationship to the fixed level of the undersaddle pickup. So adjusting that control on the Anthem SL does not change the blend of the mic and pickup.

The full version of the Anthem has a blend control (thumb wheel), as well as a "mic gain" control (screwdriver adjustment). The "mic gain" control will only make audible changes to the tone while the actual blend is set towards the mic side. With that said, I'll tell you how I set those controls for my guitars.

On the Anthem or the Lyric, I always use a full range PA system to set the screwdriver adjustments. A full PA will almost always be the most accurate reference point for your pickup system. Setting the controls to sound accurate in a full PA usually allows the guitar to translate much better to any other sound system, smaller or larger.

I've never needed to use a feedback buster, so my experience there is a little more limited. Generally, I've found that they dampen the high frequency response, and muddy the low-mids a little. So if you really plan on using a feedback buster, you will need to set your "default" settings with the plug installed. Adding and removing the plug might be annoying when setting the controls, but will likely be necessary in order to get the most "accurate" sound from the Anthem or Lyric. I usually play the guitar unplugged for a minute, and then turn up the volume on the guitar. I make all of the adjustments for the "presence" or the "mic gain", based on matching my amplified sound to the unplugged sound. This usually works as a really good "set it and forget it" setting for all of my guitars.

[Caleb_Elling]

Also, if you want to post some pictures of your heart shaped soundhole covers, we'd love to see them. They sound pretty interesting.