L.r. baggs on vintage Gibson

Hi everybody, I'm going to buy a Gibson banner era guitar, I have to play it live and sure the best thing to do is Mike it, but it's very tricky, so I was thinking about installing an l.r. baggs microphone inside the guitar. Is there anybody who did this?
I'm afraid I'll have to enlarge the hole of the bottom strap button to fit the jack, if it's necessary I'll do that, but I wouldn't like to be the one who did that, do you know what I mean? :rolleyes

There is this item that could address your concern. Not exactly cheap but probably less than the value loss on your guitar if you enlarge the strap peg hole to fit a standard 1/4" output jack.

http://kksound.com/products/vintagejack.php

I have installed many different kinds of pickups (or mikes) (brands and models) and I've found that the L.R Baggs Lyric microphone (although a good idea to begin with) is not the easyest to use. The microphone being inside the guitar (instead of outside at a certain distance like a regular microphone) you need carefull equalization if you want to avoid sounding "boxy". I ended prefering the L.R.Baggs I.Beam. Easy to install, doesn't need a lot of EQ, great dynamic, and quite cheap. Easier to use. Combined with a cardioïd or hypercardioïd outside microphone (like a DPA 4099 or an Audio Technica ATM350) can give great results if you really care about your amplified acoustic guitar sound (and can afford, of course)
BTW, K&K Pur Mini and their accessories (preamps. microphones etc...) are products worth having a look at too IMO
I had good results with Fishman Rare Earth Blend as well.
I avoid ANY undersaddle pickup like the plague.

I agree with poor man"s burst, I have a 64 J45 that had a Lyric installed before I owned it. I had feedback issues when using it live.

I would avoid the Baggs Lyric it is ridiculously hard to EQ the sound of that pickup. It has two mid frequencies that typically need to be EQ'd out. I'm a J45 fan and I had one installed in my main gigger. Of all the pickups I installed (MANY), that was my least favorite. As for installing the strap button jack, I wouldn't sweat it if you bought that guitar to play as it's so much of a convenience. K&K pickups also don't do it for me either, they have a weird mid hump that IMNSHO doesn't work well with the Gibson sound and they are also picky about preamps with most people that like simplicity favor the Fire Eye, and those that care more about EQ'ing go for the Grace ALiX. I find they are good for strum applicatins as they are for fingerpicking. If you want least invasive, go with a soundhole pickup like the Duncan MagMic, DiMarzio Angel, or the Schertler Magneto, all three of these pickups sound pretty good for what they are. If a little bit of invasive doesn't bother you, try the B-Band XOM 2.2 it's a combination of a soundboard pickup (AST), and a UST, with an internal preamp that is featherweight and doesn't affect the acoustic sound of the guitar. This system has lived in three of my guitars for over three years (two of them Gibsons, a J100 Xtra, and my main J45), and that is a personal record! I play acoustic guitar for a living and I fought the pickup thing for a long time, now I don't even think about it. Good luck with the decision as I know it's trying. I would play your guitar for a while before I mounted anything in it. If you like the guitar, then worry about the pickup. But do you really want to gig a Banner Era?

Yes,i'd like to gig with it, it's definitely a player guitar, neck finish is worn off and the top show quite a lot of wear too, but it's in good health.
The vintage jack is really cool! Is it only usable with k&k pickups or even with an l.r. baggs or something else?

It is a stereo output jack, so it can be used as an output jack for a passive pickup or an active pickup (battery contact connected on the ring). Some systems have their preamp integrated in their output jack (like the L.R.baggs I Beam). You will need to modifie the preamp to use the Vintage jack. If you intend to install a stereo system (like a Fishman Rare Earth Blend, which has a magnetic pickup wired on one channel and a microphone on the second channel), you will need to do a mod to be able to switch the battery off.

My preference would be to use just a pure microphone. Suppose that I'll install an l.r. baggs lyrics, do you think I could install the Mike and the potentiometer inside the guitar, and use a vintage cable and then wire the preamp-jack input and the battery externally?

No. The Lyric preamp in its output jack has to be between the microphone and the Vintage Jack, as well as the volume controle and the battery, inside the guitar. There is not enough contacts on the Vintage Jack to do otherwise.

Looking on the net ,it seems you can...if you think about it you can cut the 2 wire of the Mike, connect them to the vintage jack (which is nothing more than a connector) then plug an 1/8" Jack into the guitar and go to jack/preamp and then you plug the 1/4" jack into the device and go to the PA.
Look at this:
https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/the...m/lr-baggs-lyric-on-an-authentic-t172527.html

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/the...yric-vs-l-r-baggs-m-t170865.html#.VlqE-esyfwM

Didn't you write in your precedent post that you would like to have the volume control in the guitar?

My priority is not to drill or enlarge any hole and being able to put a Mike in it. The dimarzio black angel and k&k pure mini do that just fine, but they are not microphones, they have that awful electrified acoustic sound. Does anybody have any experience with them?
I'd prefer to have the volume control into the sound hole, but If I can't it's not a big deal to me... I can always use a pedal.

I put a k&k transducer system in my j100. It’s the LEAST piezo sounding transducer I have ever heard. It’s loud enough to not need a preamp and sounds super solid.

Is it perfect? No. But it sounds really really good. Zero quack or icepick.

Have you thought about a dedicated external mic on a stand? The Neumann ksm handheld stage mic has amazing off axis rejection and sounds fantastic on acoustic guitars in live settings. I like it a bit better for vox but with a little too end rolled off it’ll sound great on your guitar.

If you paired that with some sort of pedal sized switch box (radial lehle etc) between the mic and foh you could effectively use the mic as a guitar pickup and tune etc without going through the mains.

Of course the external Mike on its stand would be my favourite choice, but it's kinda tricky... I need more a plug and play solution for everytime I'm in a rehersal room or playing in bars and small stages
I haven't decided the transducer yet, but I'll install a vintage Jack for sure