LR Baggs Venue DI

116 Guitarist May 2010
LR BAGGS VENUE DI
£339
ACOUSTICS
I
t’s over a year since
Guitarist’s news team
spotted this neat, unique
product at the NAMM show in
January 2009. “Finally,” we
thought, “someone’s made a
preamp ‘tool-kit’ for the gigging
acoustic musician, not the
studio or live sound recording
boffin.” Why the long wait – the
unit only started shipping in
late 2009 – we don’t know but,
frankly, we don’t care. Our
initial instincts were correct: if
you gig with an acoustic guitar,
you need one of these.
Typically well-designed with
a small footprint, the unit runs
off a single battery or non-
supplied mains adaptor. Battery
life isn’t huge, but the battery-
check LED at least lets you see
what’s in the tank. We’d done
five two-hour gigs and two
lengthy rehearsals before we
changed battery just to be on
the safe side.
The unit boasts a high input
impedance (10 meg ohms), so
even instruments without
onboard preamps should
happily work here, and features
a five-band EQ section, with
sweepable low and hi mid-
range, each band with +/- 12dB
cut/boost. Feedback-busting is
catered for by a single-knob
Garrett Null notch filter
(proprietary to LR Baggs), plus
a phase switch.
Also onboard we get a
switchable boost function (you
can set your boost level via a
small rotary control on the
unit’s top edge) and onboard
tuner. The latter has a large ring
of green LEDs around its
circular display that meet and
introduce a red LED when
you’re in tune – the note is
clearly indicated by a red LED
segment display.
A simple FX loop is joined by
the ultra important DI output.
“This output is transformer-
coupled for maximum isolation
from noise and ground loop
hum,” says LR Baggs in the
comprehensive manual. “The
signal level is set at 0dBu and
will work into a 600-ohm or
higher input impedance, so you
have plenty of signal strength to
send down long cables. The
XLR output isn’t affected by the
volume control but is affected
by all other controls.”
In use
With all the EQs in their centre-
notched (flat) positions and the
notch filter switched out, it’s
easy to set your input level via
the gain control and clip meter.
The volume controls set your
output level and, with a lot of
EQ boost available, just keep
an eye on the input of your
destination amp. To our ears
everything sounds very clean
and the EQs very natural. The
notch filter and phase switch
are very effective, especially at
smaller gigs where you might
be closer to your backline amp
than you’d like.
The adjustable boost proved
invaluable – its orange status
LED always a godsend on a
dark stage – and the tuner is
sensitive, accurate and very
easy to see. Of course, if you’re
playing through a big PA, it’s all
you need along with a lead and
guitar – just point the
soundman to that DI and, trust
us, he or she will love you.
Verdict
Guitarist Gold Awards are
rare, but here’s one of the most
obvious and worthy awards
we’ve given out. We honestly
can’t think of anything more
the gigging acoustic musician
would need and everything
works perfectly, sounds top
drawer and it’s already a part
of our gigging set-up. Okay, it’s
not a cheap fix, but then no
quality units of its type are and
none of the others available
include an onboard tuner.
So, for us, it’s bye-bye
separate pedals and patch
leads and hello to improved
EQ, DI and superb feedback-
busting. Excellent.
LR Baggs Venue DI £339
A Guitarist Top 10 product from NAMM 2009 finally
arrives. It was worth the wait… by Dave Burrluck
The Rivals
Fishman’s Platinum Pro
(£199) outboard preamp
also features DI output,
notch filter and phase
switch, four-band EQ and
‘smooth’ acoustic
compression. Radial’s
PZ-Pre (£361) is very well
spec’d with dual inputs,
three-band EQ, dual-Q notch
filter, a high-pass filter and a
phase switch along with dual
pre- and post-balanced XLR,
tuner and more. Headway’s
EDB-1 (£199) is a dual-
channel preamp, ideal for
dual-pickup sources, and
has both XLR ins and
outputs, five-band
interactive EQ, high pass
filter, notch filter and more!
The Bottom Line
We like: Everything: a
fantastically practical design
We dislike: Nothing
Guitarist says: Whether you
see it as a pucker DI box with
extras or a preamp with all
the toys, if you’re a gigging
acoustic musician, just buy
one – you’ll thank us
LR Baggs Venue DI
PRICE: £339 (inc carry case)
ORIGIN: USA
TYPE: All-in-one full isolation DI,
preamp, EQ and tuner for acoustic
instruments
PROGRAMMABLE: No
CONTROLS: Bass, low mid, low mid
tune, mid hi, mid hi tune, presence,
treble, notch, gain (input), volume
(output) rotary controls. Phase
switch, battery switch
CONNECTIONS: 6.4mm input,
output, FX send and return. Balanced,
transformer coupled XLR DI output
POWER: 9V battery (approx 40hrs)
or 9VDC power supply (not included)
OTHER FEATURES: Switchable
boost with adjustable gain (0-9dB);
Tuner with Mute/Tune footswitch;
Battery check and input LED clip
meter; ground lift switch
WEIGHT (kg/lb): 2.2/1
DIMENSIONS: 194 (w) x 190 (d)
x 38mm (h)
RANGE OPTIONS: Other LR Baggs
preamps include the Para DI
(£199.95) and the Gig Pro (£124.95)
and MixPro (£224.95) belt-clip
preamps
Strings and Things
01273 440442
www.lrbaggs.com
Test results
Build quality
Features
Sound
Value for money
GUITARIST RATING
GIT328.rev_baggs 116 23/3/10 4:21:16 pm