Anthem seems vewwy quiet

[Father John]

I have a Composite Acoustics Cargo guitar with a Fishman Matrix VT. I also have a Martin D-28CW which is an absolute monster, into which I had an Anthem installed. I'm making this post because my Martin with the Anthem generates a MUCH quieter signal into my pre than the Cargo with the Fishman.

When I run the Fishman into my pre (a Venue DI), I set the pre's gain to about 3.5 to just avoid clipping (per the Venue DI's lights) with the Fishman's volume pegged. But when I swap out the guitar and use the D-28 and the Anthem (with volume pegged and a fresh battery, battery check shows five lights), I have to turn the Venue DI's gain all the way up.

Now when I do it, the Anthem sounds awesome. Even with the Anthem set to max mic mode I get excellent feedback rejection onstage. But I'm surprised the signal from the Fishman is so much hotter than the signal from the Anthem.

The biggest issue is that I have to reach down and turn that gain knob when I switch guitars, I can't just whack the A/B and go. Of course I could turn down the Fishman's volume but it seems odd to throw away good signal and replace it with more pre; I'd rather get the Anthem UP than turn the Fishman DOWN, if only because I've been taught to send all the signal down a wire I can to increase S/N.

I have done the obvious. Good batteries in both. Same cable in both instances, no A/B box. I've tried both Phase positions, and different mixes of mic/element, and all along the volume's travel. And as I said, the Anthem sounds great (I've had compliments on it). But is it intended to be so much quieter than the Fishman Matrix VT?

Thanks for any feedback!!

[Father John]

SO I just found the thread "Anthem Volume Issues." I guess I'll just see if I can solve my problem by turning down the Fishman; a lower output from the Anthem doesn't appear to be anomalous.

[Bryan McManus]

Hi Father John,

We at LR Baggs are aware and acknowledge that the output of the Anthem system is "low-ish." When compared to some pickup systems known for strong output, such as some competitors' systems and our own Element Active, it can appear less than another system. The trick is not to compare its output to anything else. If it sounds great, it's most likely normal.

Here is a brief explanation of why the output is what it is: The specially-tuned crossover in the Anthem circuit imposes a sharp low-cut on the Tru-Mic signal as well as a [not as sharp] high cut for the pickup signal when the system is adjusted to use more Tru-Mic above the crossover. The circuit design required to achieve the highly effective crossover circuit, that which is responsible for such a natural sound at such high volumes, was not able to be manipulated for higher overall output from the system without lowering the signal-to-noise ratio.

So, the end result is a system that sounds more like your guitar, can do so at high stage volumes without feedback but that has a lower average output than some other popular systems.

[Father John]

Bryan, thanks very much for the helpful explanation. I really love the Anthem's sound. Now that I know this signal level difference is by design, I can decide how to cope. The volume twist isn't that bad...

[zhong]

Hi,

I'm using the full anthem pickup in my taylor coupled with a PADI, and have been getting great sound through my church's PA.
Recently, I just bought a venue DI, and also noticed that I've to push the gain to max, and the clip bar only indicates 2 green bars - suggesting that the signal is very low...

May I ask what's the optimal gain setting for the anthem then?
Should I keep it at max on the venue for optimal sound, and adjust my board accordingly?
Or to just keep it at 12 o'clock and adjust my board accordingly?

Also, if I were to max the gain and then toggle the boost switch - would that still boost the signal?
Would there be distortion/ noise issue?

Or would you have a suggestion how I can get the best out of the venue and anthem combo?
Many thanks!

Cheers,
Zhong

[Bryan McManus]

Hi Zhong,

Are you setting the Anthem's output volume to full?

Where did you set the Para DI's input gain for the Anthem signal?

Please reply here, to [email protected] or by calling 805-929-3545

[zhong]

Hi Zhong,

Are you setting the Anthem's output volume to full?

Where did you set the Para DI's input gain for the Anthem signal?

Please reply here, to [email protected] or by calling 805-929-3545

Hi Bryan,

I've set the Anthem output volume to full (anyway I also noticed that the volume doesn't really vary much when I wheel it from zero to max, if any)
The gain of my anthem mic is adjusted to about 80%

When I'm using the PARA DI, I usually set the gain to about 7 o-clock and the volume at 12 o'clock...
When using the Venue DI, I've to push the gain up all the way to max to see only 2 green bars...

Cheers,
Zhong

[zhong]

Also, another query

My anthem's volume knob does not really effect much difference in the volume of the pickup... it's more of from 0% volume straight to 100% across the dial and not like 50% when I turn the knob halfway... do I have a faulty set?

[Bryan McManus]

Also, another query

My anthem's volume knob does not really effect much difference in the volume of the pickup... it's more of from 0% volume straight to 100% across the dial and not like 50% when I turn the knob halfway... do I have a faulty set?

Thanks for clarifying. The lack of readout from the Venue DI's VU meter is a bit suspect. We have an Anthem in a low-line Martin and I tested it through a Venue DI yesterday. We were able to get the Venue DI's VU meter to go red.

If you have access to either an Anthem installed in another guitar or, even better, another Venue DI to compare to yours, it would be the best way to find out if either your Anthem or Venue are acting out of character.

[zhong]

Hey Bryan.

I tried out my venue DI on a couple of different guitars.
My EQ is set to 9 oclock for the bass, a couple of cuts for the mids as well, and the treble and presence at 12 o'clock
Similarly, with the gain maxed, I was only able to at most get it to the orange zone in the VU metre.

THEN...
I set the EQ flat, and viola, I'm getting a clearer reading...
I further tried pushing the EQ past the 12 o'clock on most knobs and am able to get the guitars to clip at around 1 o'clock position for gain...

So, am I right to say that the EQ does affect the VU metre in that sense?

Other than the reading... I am getting fantastic sound with the Anthem and Venue combo on my taylor
Extremely dynamic and quack-less/ natural tone. Very quiet through the P.A. in terms of noise too...
The only qualm I have is the lack of phantom power but it's understandable with the feature set.
What I do to save battery juice is to unplug it whenever I'm off stage in church, the transformer within the venue is so solid that I do not get the "pops" I usually do with other DIs (including the original PADI)

In any case, thanks for your assistance thus far and thumbs up to you guys!

Cheers,
Zhong

[Bryan McManus]

The EQ will affect the VU reading. If you optimize the gain with the EQ at flat, and then you boost some of the EQ bands, you will then be more likely to clip or overdrive at the center frequency of that EQ band.