L.R. Baggs Anthem-SL Acoustic Guitar Pickup and Microphone

I installed this myself in my early 2000's Martin D-15 almost a year ago. While I was not in love with the guitar's un-amplified sound (as compared to a spruce top), I had an urgent need to deploy a guitar with a pickup pretty quickly. After quite a bit of online research and my personal experience with the K&K pure mini, I settled for this unit, as this checked the most boxes for me. Budget was a huge factor.Installation was straight forward and simple. I think it was about 45 minutes, including trimming up the bridge saddle. I'm not too squeemish about tinkering with guitars, but I think anyone with a basic skill level and familiarity with their guitar's construction and setup methods can get the job done.I mostly run direct to a pa with a little help from a BBE Acoustimax pre-amp. It took about 1 minute to adjust the blend to my preference and I don't think I have touched to onboard controls since the initial setup. Battery life is good as I have yet to swap out the original. I had some concern that there might be some feedback issues, given the internal microphone, but it has never been an issue, unless I get parked on stage a little too close to the sub (like 10 feet away). I had experienced a bit more feedback with the K&K and, therefore utilized a rubber soundhole cover/plug. One thing to consider is that I couldn't really utilize a soundhole cover with this setup unless I notched it to accomodate the onboard controls. Whatever- not an issue.The setting I typically play in is a church worship team. I can say that my rig can hold its own with any other guitar I have heard in this type of setting. It is a refreshing contrast to all the Taylors and Breedloves so common in a worship setting. It helps having one of the best live sound engineers in the industry, but even with other pa's and amateur sound guys, I am always happy with the way my guitar sounds. I have wondered what a different pickup system or pre-amp might sound like, but then again, my guitar sounds awesome! If it sounded incrementally better, nobody would notice.Long story short- this pickup worked for me. My specific guitar, my specific rig, and my specific use. It is affordable and not too difficult to install. In my view, it is a winner.

I purchased a used older Taylor 110e guitar. Though I liked the acoustic sound an the guitar played well, I really didn't like the included pickup.. I bought the Taylor to replace this Yamaha I used for many years that I bought in 2003. The pickup system in the Yamaha Had a microphone and I had really come a long way with Looping beats with my Looping pedal by recording different slaps and taps on the guitar. The microphone really allowed me to get a diverse set of percussive tones for this.. I did like the guitar quite a bit even though it was obvious that the microphone did experience Standing wave issues as well as Phase cancellation..I did much reading and found this pickup. It was relatively new. I took a chance on this version (This is a less expensive version of this pickup type) and have been extremely pleased.. The acoustic sound I get plugged in now is indeed more like my guitar unplugged and I will say that the design does allow for a higher gain before feedback.I think this pickup shines best when you are playing the guitar in a Solo or Duo act. I liked it so much, I bought a second one and put it in my less expensive acoustic Dreadnaught and as well, It made a mediocre guitar into a useful tool for playing out!I do recommend these pickups to many people..If you don't feel comfortable, have a luthier installed the pickup. I did install mine by myself but have some experience doing this sort of work and don't mind trying new things.. The directions were clear and concise.. I did need to use some stronger double sided tape to hold the microphone to the bridge plate.Best of all, it does really seem to prevent the issues of "Standing Waves" with it's design..I like soundboard transducers as well but really thought this was a good alternative..I will say though that it doesn't quite give me the same audio response on the back and sides of my guitar as I used to get with the Yamaha system (and "Body Noise" was actually a complaint for most people on my old Yamaha model but for my style of looping, it was really a plus) but enough to still allow me to get usable tones and the positive thing is that I have less feedback issues..

Sounds phenomenal on my Martin D-35. I had it installed so can’t comment on ease of installation. 9v Battery lasted 1 year with moderate use. Able to change bettery by just loosening strings.