Fishman Humbucking
Fishman Humbucking
We liked this one right away because the
“hearing aide”-style batteries are tucked
away nicely inside the unit, which requires
no fussing with bothersome wiring for
a bulky battery pack. Battery life is 240
hours according to the literature in the
box, or 300 according to the website. It’s
also quite compact: just under 4" at its
longest point and a mere 5/8" wide, and it
weighs in at 2. 5 ounces.
Fishman Blend
smooth and creamy; there’s no mid-range
bump, and the highs are natural and airy,
with woodiness to burn.
Street $300
fishman.com
L.R. Baggs M1
The lone passive pickup we reviewed, the
M1 had a microphone-like character that surprised us. This is due to the dual-coil design.
One coil is suspended, allowing it to be more
responsive to the body sound. An excellent
choice for non-permanent installation, Baggs
includes a cable with a 1/4" plug. This is the
only pickup we reviewed that detaches from
its wiring via 1/8" plug, so it can be easily
uninstalled and reinstalled. The big kudos
to Baggs in the design: the adjustment pole
pieces are not threaded above the pickup
face, so fingerstyle players won’t catch their
nails on the poles. We found it extremely natural and pleasant sounding, with warm mids
and breathy highs, though with the lower
output you may want a preamp.
L.R. Baggs M1 Active
The M1Active was by far the hottest of all
the pickups we reviewed. The pickup itself
is the same as the passive version, but with
a built-in, class-A preamp in that eliminates
the need for an external one. The battery
is a flat CR2032 and Baggs thoughtfully
includes a spare. According to the literature, battery life is 1000 hours or more, or
approximately 250 gigs, making it the bat-tery-life champion of the bunch. The battery
change is very quick and easy.
The mid-range was smooth; there was no
bump at the G-string. You could hear mid-range clearly throughout the spectrum. It
was slightly electric-ish sounding, but the
treble was good. It’s bright and sparkly
without being glassy.
Street $140
fishman.com
The high end is much more defined than with
the passive version, and the treble sparkles
nicely. Some of the amps emphasized the
mid-range a bit, but it was very smooth with
no distracting hump at the G-string. It was
incredibly even all the way across the strings,
with a warm and natural sound.
Street $169
lrbaggs.com
Fishman Blend
The basic unit is the same as the Humbucking
but with a gooseneck microphone attached,
dropping battery life to 110 hours.
Street $139
lrbaggs.com
Once again, we have to say it’s hard to beat
the combination of the magnetic pickup
and microphone. The response is extremely
L.R. Baggs M1 Active
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sound clips of the pickups
L. R. Baggs M1
