It’s worth noting that the active version - the M1A - uses a 3V lithium battery, IE a smallish watch battery, not a full-size battery like most active pickups.
I already had a couple of preamps/active DIs, so the non-active M1 wasn’t a problem for me. But if you just want to get a decent level for direct recording, the M1A is the way to go, and cheaper than buying a separate preamp/active DI.
I just got my M1A a few weeks ago so I can’t vouch for the battery’s longevity. The info that came with the PU said that you could put a couple of hours a day on the battery and not have to change it for a year.
The battery is also located right on the PU itself so, if you can get it in and out of the sound hole, you can change the battery yourself.
The M1A clamps to the soundhole using two Phillips screws which are right there on the ends of the PU and easy to access. It took me about ten minutes to swap it from guitar to guitar (hey, I had to try in on my 12 string too). The biggest hassle was that I had to loosen one or two stings (2 or 4 for the 12 string) in order to maneuver the PU into place.
One other note - The cable coming off of the PU terminates in a female connector. You will need to plug a 1/4" guitar cabled to the connector to feed it to your rig. The terminating connector has the necessary hardware to become a permanent tail connector on your guitar if you wish to have it permanently mounted.
I’m giving mine a few tries on different guitars before I give it a permanent home.
On edit: Sorry if this sounds like a commercial for Baggs. I’m just trying to give Quasi as much info as he can get before buying something.
One other suggestion Quasi - if you’re going to have a tech do the work and make it permenant you might want to try a K&K mini or some other K&K PU. They get rave reviews, are virtually hidden from view (no battery) and they are cheaper than the Baggs.
Some of the best guitar playing I have ever seen. Julian Lage improvising on an old flat top - but playing fingerstyle, classical, jazz, bluesy stuff - just amazing, but really, really musical, too. Not just technically masterful - musically creative:
Dear Guys
I hope y’all aren’t gonna hate me because of all the work you did on my behalf, but “Mama” Dondra isn’t going for the $139.00 + installation price on the Baggs pickup, so I took another look and came up withthis one. It seems to get good reviews and it looks like something that i can do myself, right, just clip it in, and plug it in?
The other one is a Seymore-Duncan (Woody, I think it’s called)
Anyway, I want to say I appreciate all the help I get here, and I apologize for all the work y’all did for me for naught. Y’all are the greatest bunch of pickers I ain’t never met an d I totally mean that.
Meanwhile, about “Rocksmith”: I wish they made a Rocksmith for Dummies manual. Because keeping it within the game really limits what one can do. Other than that though, I’m still having a great time with the game, and have even bought “In A Gadda Da Vida” off Steam. Needs more classic rock too!
Thanks again, guys!
Your pal Quasi
Wow, I don’t usually go for olympic level players, but that is beautiful. Here’s a non-mobile link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=watch-vrec&v=gIZb7mBfDJA
Anyone know what happened to E-Sabbath? Just wanna know that he’s okay, because he’s been MIA for quite a while in this thread.
Thanks
Q
Yeah, I was wondering as well. Last I looked he hadn’t posted since January this year.
I think I’m going to rewire my son’s Jagmaster, which he no longer plays. I thought I’d try dropping a couple of GFS “PAF” humbuckers in it and decent caps/pots and see what that’s like. I could probably get at most $100 for the guitar, so why not have fun with it?
I’ve reached out with an email address I had…
Good luck with the Jagmaster. How’s the Les Paul sounding with the new electronics?
It sounds awesome. I did screw up a couple of things, enough that I’m going to take it all out and do it again. Also, get this: that weirdo static thing I posted about (rub the guitar body and you get static noise at the amp) is still there! It lessened quite a bit, but not gone. The only thing I didn’t rewire was the switch, so when I get motivated and redo the LP, I’ll pull new wire and put in a new switch. If that doesn’t do it, I’ve got nothing. And yes, the control cavity is now shielded and grounded. Weird, huh?
Secondly, when I rewire I think I’ll kill the volume mod, at least temporarily. It’s weird getting so much treble when you turn down; the guitar gets a little too sweet sounding IMO. I’ll try without for a while. I may also compromise and experiment with the pf value of the cap on the mod and see if I can tone (ha!) it down a bit.
Thirdly, now that I can finally get decent tone out of the LP, I’m going through an adjustment period with actually having a decent 4-knob, 2-humbucker guitar, which I haven’t had in a very long time. I’m so used to single coils it’s taking time to figure out how to approach this again, it’s so different from all my recent experience tone-wise. But it’s darned fun!
I heard from E-Sabs via email; he’s fine but very busy.
Cool on your LP; no clue about the static, but good luck with your further mods. And yeah, effective V and T’s change the game. The middle both-pickup position will have a versatile spectrum where you blend the V’s and T’s across both pickups. Have fun.
Well, please tell him his thread says hey. 
And to please come back! I hope I haven’t said anything to offend him.
Q
Aw man! He looks like he’s in love with that thing! I subscribed and watched a few more of his vids. He’s amazing. Look at those fingers stretch!.
Thanks, WordMan!
Quasi
A Frenchman’s interpretation of an old Arthur Smith tune calledGuitar Boogie.
It’s an oldie, but I hope you guys enjoy this man’s work. Freechet has more stuff on Youtube.
Have a great weekend!
Quasi
Cool, thanks!
I just ran across this – a guitar tone podcast, with an episode specifically about vintage vs modern wiring, (also stock vs upscale parts), including A/B comparisons using the same guitar, amp, and pickups with new vs old wiring setup. Some of the differences were subtle, but some were really stark IMO. There’s high quality samples on the page so you can do your own comparison. Cool stuff! Guitar Tone Network – iCastAudio
FYI, for some reason in Chrome the audio samples on that page don’t show up for me, where they worked fine in FireFox, go figure.
Status: hating the Kluson tuners on my Les Paul. Hate hate hate. Gotta replace those suckers. Also the G string likes to get hung up on the POS stock nut, even after I rubbed some graphite in there. I haven’t had a guitar nut replaced before; what materials are well thought of? Tusq? Something else? Also, this LP responds to temperature changes way more than any other guitar I own; I would have expected the opposite given the freaking heavy construction.
Re the G-string / POS stock nut issue. Before you replace said nut, consider having someone knowledgeable and with the proper equipment apply a file to the G slot on the nut. Unless you have your heart set on paying to replace the nut.
I agree with the advice on the nut. But if you are set on replacing it, most repair shops can get you a natural bone nut for less than the synthetics. I put one on my 70’s Epiphone when I broke the plastic one with slide tunings. OTOH, I’ve always hated Klusons. Schaller is the safe bet, and it’s what I would replace them with as soon as the first one breaks.