LR Baggs iBeam Active Acoustic Guitar Pickup and Preamp System

User installable. Ultra-quiet.

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Overall User Ratings

Overall:: 9 out of 10
Features:: 10 out of 10
Quality:: 10 out of 10
Value:: 9 out of 10
I Want It:: 10 out of 10
Sound:: 10 out of 10
Ease of Use:: 10 out of 10
Support:: 10 out of 10

"For Real Guitar Sound... GET THIS PICKUP!"

Overall:: 10 out of 10
Features:: 10 out of 10
Quality:: 10 out of 10
Value:: 10 out of 10
I Want It:: 10 out of 10
Sound:: 10 out of 10
Ease of Use:: 10 out of 10
Support:: 10 out of 10

User: a customer from sbcglobal.net

Submitted: 1/11/2008

Style of Music: Melodic Art Pop & Rock

Musical Experience: serious hobbyist, active musician, engineer, etc...

Location: SF Bay Area, CA

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Feature:
This came with everything you need (except a step drill bit). My guitar already had the proper sized endpin hole. I was replacing the awful Fishman (under the saddle) pickup that came with my new Guild acoustic. The I-Beam comes with the locator tool, the velcro battery bag, sticky hooks for hold the wires inside, and sticky volume control plate for just inside the sound hole (I put it a little more inside the sound hole so it wouldn't interfere with the soundhole cover for live shows. I can always control the volume with my compressor pedal.

Quality:
excellent quality. everything fits as it should...and it looks very well hidden.

Value:
a little pricey, but well worth it.

Desirability:
It is very desirable...if you are sick of the pezo sound or the fishman thinness... try the real sounds of LR Baggs...

Sound:
This is the best sounding pickup I have heard so far in my life. It makes your guitar sound like your guitar. just straight into an SWR California Blonde amp...or with a little compression... it sounds great. Also works good thru a distortion pedal!

Ease of Use:
easy to install...even though the instructions warn you to have a professional do it. I do have a lot of guitar repair experience, but even anyone with half a mind can do this :) I am living proof.

Support:
haven't had to use it, but the LR Baggs online resources are very helpful.

Overall:
I expect to use this pickup for as long as I have the guitar, and would buy another for future guitars.

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"Search no further than the I-Beam!"

Overall:: 10 out of 10
Features:: 10 out of 10
Quality:: 10 out of 10
Sound:: 10 out of 10

User: a customer from hotmail.com

Submitted: 10/25/2004

Style of Music: Contemporary Christian Music

Musical Experience: Parish Musician, Worship Leader

Location: Cleveland, OH, USA

Feature:
The I-Beam feautres an active onboard preamp in the saddle-jack, so a 9V battery is required. However, the unit comes with a nifty little "battery bag" that sticks to the inside of the instrument's body. My unit came with a volume knob that attaches to the rim of the sound hole for easy adjustment. There's no need for EQ control, reverse phase, etc. on this unit because 1) it sounds great flat, and 2) the isolation of the transducer itself avoids feedback very well.

Quality:
The wiring on this unit is very heavy and dependable. The strapjack itself is made of metal and the transducer shell and volume knob are light plastic, making them easy to install.

Sound:
After hearing Phil Keaggy's sound byte with the I-Beam on LR Baggs website, I immediately knew that it was the right system for me. Basically, the I-Beam reproduces what it "hears," so what you hear acoustically from your guitar is what you're going to hear through the I-Beam - even the smallest details. When I first installed it, I put on D'addario's XP 12 gauge acoustic strings and the sound was a little "boomy." - but again, it was heavy on bass acoustically with those strings too. In worship team rehearsal, however, I had to cut the bass back quite a bit. However, today I restrung the instrument with Marshall's SP 10 gauge acoustic strings, and it sounds absolutely perfect now. I suspect that at church on Thursday, I'll be able to reset the mixer to flat EQ. This unit sounds great live and on the recording front.

Overall:
I couldn't recommend another unit over the I-Beam. It's a guitarist's best bet for live/recording reproduction.

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"Best acoustic pickup I've heard"

Overall:: 10 out of 10
Quality:: 10 out of 10
Sound:: 10 out of 10

User: a customer from marysden.com

Submitted: 1/28/2004

Style of Music: Roots Rock

Location: New Orleans

zZounds has verified that this customer bought this product from us.

Quality:
Best money I've spent on my acoustic set-up.

Value:
great value

Sound:
This is deffinately the best acoustic pickup I've come across. Truely produces the sound of your acoustic guitar. Very little problems with feedback. It doesn't do a half bad job on recording either.

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LR Baggs iBeam System Customer Review

Overall:: 9 out of 10
Quality:: 10 out of 10
Value:: 7 out of 10
Sound:: 9 out of 10

Submitted: 2/11/2005

Style of Music: rock, blues, jazz, roots- rock, gospel

Musical Experience: Musician, recording artist/ engineer

Location: Louisiana

zZounds has verified that this customer bought this product from us.

Sound:
I have one of these pickups on each of my three acoustic guitars. I initially put one on my baby taylor and it made it sound so good plugged in that I had them installed on both of my Martins. It's the best pick-up you can find for the price and when you combine it with the lr baggs para DI you can really tweak the sound a good bit.

Overall:
I've been using I-Beam pick-ups for about 4 years now and will continue to use them.

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