Martin 00-15M - would the lyrics sound good with this?

[Elessar [Sly]]

I have a Martin 00-15M and I am in need of a pickup for it. My attention has been drawn to the LR Baggs lyric microphone for acoustics. Would it work well in this small bodied mahogany guitar?

I have been asked to play a festival and I need to make a decision very quickly. Any help is much appreciated

EDIT: Does this work well in a band with another acoustic guitar on a completely different pickup? - first question is more important.

[Caleb_Elling]

Hey Sly,
The Lyric usually sounds really nice in smaller bodied guitars, so it should be a good match for your 00-15M. The Lyric tends to sound exactly like the guitar does unplugged, which may or may not be ideal for every player.

In a band situation, I personally prefer the Anthem SL over the Lyric. The Anthem SL has the added advantage of an undersaddle pickup to carry the low frequencies of the guitar. So it tends to sound a little more "punchy" in a full band mix. For more "acoustic centered" music, the natural sound of the guitar is exactly what you want. In a full band, the natural sound of an acoustic guitar can get lost sometimes, depending on what other instruments you are playing with.

So it really is a matter of preference. The Lyric will give you an extremely accurate sound, and pairing it with a good preamp/EQ unit will make it even more versatile. The Anthem SL still sounds very natural, but has a little bit of extra low-end authority to help stand out in certain situations. It's also a little more naturally resistant to feedback at higher volumes. You really can't go wrong with either option though.

[mono morello]

The Lyric is no good for small guitars. It's Pre preset EQ is awful. Harsh and exaggerated mids. You'll have to dial extreme eq reduction on about 1K frecuencies.
Go with the Anthem if it's not too late.

[Caleb_Elling]

The Lyric is no good for small guitars. It's Pre preset EQ is awful. Harsh and exaggerated mids. You'll have to dial extreme eq reduction on about 1K frecuencies.
Go with the Anthem if it's not too late.

Hey mono,
I don't know that I completely agree that the Lyric is no good for small guitars. I've talked with several LR Baggs customers who have installed the Lyric in OM and Parlor guitars with great success. I have a 0-size guitar that I absolutely love. It is pretty mid-heavy, acoustically, so I definitely understand how the Lyric might not translate as well using the recommended mic placement from the manual. For people that I've talked to who put the Lyric in small guitars, they almost always have to try a few different placement options before landing on one that really does the guitar justice.

The Lyric does have a preset EQ, and understandably, it will not be ideal for every guitar in the world. However, just like any vocal or instrument mic, it will sometimes need to be EQ'd more specifically depending on what it is amplifying and where. You can't always expect that a Shure SM57 will use the exact same EQ settings on a Parlor guitar as it would on a Dred, especially with the exact same mic placement. The SM57 has a curve built into it that makes it work well for a lot of applications, but it does still need fine tuning to get it optimized in most situations. The Lyric is the same way- mic placement (in the guitar) will change the tone, and EQ can be a necessary tool to get a consistent tone from room to room.

I've definitely seen the Lyric have difficulty translating from one guitar to another, but it has never been directly related to one body style or another.

[Caleb_Elling]

Also, for what it's worth, I have the Anthem SL in my 0-size guitar, and I absolutely love the sound. No disagreement there.

If I get the chance, I might try out a Lyric in it, to see what I can come up with.

Stay tuned.

[Caleb_Elling]

For anyone paying attention, I had some time last week to try the Lyric in a couple of small bodied guitars.

The first guitar was my Recording King RP-06, spruce top. The second guitar was a Gibson J-165. The RK has a very punchy mid-attack, as well as a rolled-off low end...very parlor-ish. The Gibson has a very distinct "boxy" tone, very much like an old blues guitar, but with a heavy low mid-range. The old strings on the guitar further added to the more clunky sound of the guitar. It was actually really fun to play.

With both guitars, the mic placement mentioned in the manual was fairly mid-heavy in it's response. I also tried placement directly to the top, in front and behind the bridgeplate. On the RK, the placement behind the plate was the most balanced. It actually sounded great! All of the unique acoustic qualities of the guitar came through in the amplified sound. The low-end was very accurate, and the mids were well balanced. The highs were easily matched with the Lyric's onboard Presence control. Overall, it has an excellent tone.

On the Gibson, the mic placement off of the plate on the soundhole side worked the best. Again, all of the unique qualities that you could hear in the acoustic sound were there in the amplified signal.The Lyric very accurately matched the tone of the instrument.

So I will say again, I think that the Lyric is actually an excellent option for smaller-bodied guitars. However, the placement is likely going to have to be altered from the placement recommended in the Lyric's installation manual. The manual's recommended placement is still the most consistent placement option for acoustic guitars, as a whole, but it seems to be less consistent in this particular instant.

I hope that this is helpful.

[Caleb_Elling]

RP06 Lyric.jpg

Here's a picture of the inside of the Recording King RP-06 with my Anthem SL installed. Placement 1 was where the Lyric sounded best in the Gibson. Placement 2 was the placement that worked the best in the RK.