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I'm going to be putting an LR Baggs Lyric pickup in the guitar I'm building right now, and I was wondering when the best time to install it would be. It would be a lot easier before I glue on the back, but would the vibrations from routers and other things damage it? Should I just wait until its all finished and do it through the soundhole? It seems like that would be very hard.

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"I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it."
Pablo Picasso

https://www.facebook.com/FenskeGuitars

Hi Peter:

The Bagg's Lyric is a huge hit these days and we are selling and installing them nearly three to one over all others. It's also a personal favorite of mine because it simply works very, very well with no down side.

I would install it after the instrument is completed but I would trial fit the control module to your sound hole interior just to make sure that what ever your scheme for sound hole supports may be that it's compatible with the Bagg's control module. Some guitars may have supports and bracing that may need to be creatively modified for the control module and this is true for any pup being installed in a Luthier built instrument.

The element is different from many pups in that it's a mic using Bagg's "tru-mic" technology that was developed for the flagship offering the Anthem (fantastic pup too!!). The mic gets stuck with the supplied double stick tape just forward of the pins and placement is not all that critical on these since again it's a mic picking up what it sounds like in the box.

We made a shop-made locator tool for these because we install around two of them weekly. It's also the only pup that we keep in stock because demand is so very high these days.

The locator tool is two 1" X 3/16th" pieces of delrin rod (dowels will work too) with a negative profile of the mic itself attached and the pins spaced for the pin holes. Plug in the guide from the underside of the top of course... and butt the mic against it and stick it down, er, up in this case and it's centered, and located the proper distance from the pins and string balls.

For the jack ream a 15/32" hole and the Stew-Mac reamer is great for this in so much as it has a flat spot for 15/32". Many folks go with half inch and then are relegated to having the jack loosen up over and over again throughout the life of the instrument.

The element is one of the easier pups to install on a finished instrument and a typical installation is a 20 minutes thing for us.

It also comes with a tool to adjust the bass to treble balance for what ever sound equipment it's being played through. Great pup!

Thanks Hesh. Good to hear you approve of the choice What distance forward of the bridge pins does the mic actually need to be?

_________________
"I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it."
Pablo Picasso

https://www.facebook.com/FenskeGuitars

Exact placement is not critical and Baggs says this too in their support literature. Here's a screen shot from their installation PDF and you can see that it goes in front of the pins. What is critical is to have enough space in front of the pins so that there is no chance of a string ball being in direct contact with the mic body. You can also see how with two faux pins and a small block of wood you can make a guide that plugs into the two center pin holes and has a negative of the mic body shape spaced to both center the mic and provide the distance that you want from the pin balls.

I've often though just stuck them in place sighting through the pin holes from the top for centering, orientation purposes. I very lightly stick it in the presumed place, remove my arm look with mirrors and then correct as need be and then stick it home.

Be sure to lightly sand the bridge plate and then wipe it clean too so that the double stick is effective.

Ok, thanks for the reply. I have read the installation text, but it wasn't too specific about that, as you say. I just wondered if you'd found a place for it that sounded best...

_________________
"I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it."
Pablo Picasso

https://www.facebook.com/FenskeGuitars

No we just stick them where the instructions say to stick them. Any balance issues can be adjusted with the trim pot and supplied tool.

I't likely that I have installed around 50 Lyrics so far since we are recommending them and many of our clients are pros who play out and/or record and make their living with their music. So far not a single issue with pup placement or balance.

I know that in the world of acoustic amplification we have never had it so easy prior and I too was keen to get out the silly putty and try other locations as well but trust me, you may be pleased as punch doing just as the instructions recommend.

I install K&K's before closing the box.
BUT
I can only do this because I use vacuum clamping for the bridge installation.
Any form of clamping which requires a caul on the bridgeplate would not work with early pickup installation.