L.R. Baggs Active Element (Single Volume) plus Free Fitting

A Great, natural sounding pickup. The chaps at Richards Guitars fitted this beautifully to my Dowina GAc and it takes nothing away from the aesthetics of the guitar. The sound is very natural. I have tested this through a variety of amps and processors, from inexpensive busking amps to higher end stage PA. I have tested it dry through the PA desk as well as through a pedalboard with a smidgen of reverb and chorus. The sound remains natural and acoustic. It simply amplifies the natural sound of your acoustic guitar rather than electrify it. Tone control is - despite everything positive - very basic. You could call it moving from bass to treble, or from Dull to bright. However, on a high end acoustic, this high end pickup should not need to be adjusted more than a few cents here and there anyway. It sounds perfect right in the middle zone.
Very happy with this pickup and if you have used cheaper pickups which you thought "did the job", as I have done, you will be mightily surprised.
A great choice.

Outstanding service and a huge improvement to my Taylor 414, thanks to the LR Baggs Anthem. A first-class experience from start to finish. Highly recommended!

Great experience with the Furch Blue guitar set up well with new LR Baggs Anthem SL. Sounds brilliant right off the bat. Walnut back and sides gives the guitar a warm sound. Guitar sounds brilliant with sound port. Delivery was great. Thank you Richards!

I purchased a Fursch acoustic from Richards (great service and price why go anywhere else?) and in the knowledge that I could upgrade it with a decent pick up. They recommended and fitted an LR Braggs Anthem which sounds first rate 0 - easy to match and very neutral. Thanks again guys !

The guitar sounds amazing through our Fishman amp, it's certainly opened up a new chapter in our playing .

Great pickup and expertly fitted

I have the LR Baggs Element VTC on several of my guitars, which in my opinion is probably the best of its type currently on the market. The inbuilt compression sets it apart from others I've tried, and it does produce a fairly accurate tone of your instrument. It's certainly very lively and the only pedals I use with thus are the LR Baggs Session DI and their Align reverb unit, which kill off piezo 'quack' and add warmth.

Chris does a wonderful (and very speedy) job of installing this pickup, and I'd strongly recommend that you use his services rather than try a DIY job at home...drilling that big hole in the lower bout is no joke 🫣

I generally prefer passive pickups, as I'm not a big fan of that 'piezo quack', but the Element VTC has a much cleaner tone than most piezos, and has some nice inbuilt compression that really smooths out the tone.

As a singer I find the Anthem a bit superfluous because I usually have to turn the tru-mic down to help avoid feedback, which leaves me effectively with an Element VTC, so if I'm going for an active pickup, this delivers.

The best in the business.

My 3rd experience with Richard’s Guitars and even though I need to travel 2hrs to get there, the service is excellent. The team are very responsive with queries and all work is completed to a very high standard.

Excellent Excellent Excellent

Great service from Richard’s this was installed FOC on my new Furch Yellow Delux couldn’t be happier all around.

Staff very helpful and FURCH baritone purchase was straight forward and a brilliant guitar.

I'd recently bought my first guitar from Richards Guitars (An Auden Emily Rose) which is a delight to play, however my interest in Dowina guitars was piqued whilst waiting for technician Chris to make a couple of adjustments to the Auden.
Jake - yes Jake, it's your fault (!) - casually pointed to one model as he walked by, saying "THAT is an awesome guitar". I tried all of the range, plus some other brands, but every time I came back to that same guitar - a Dowina Padauk Master Deluxe, with torrefied Swiss Moon Spruce top.
There was - is - nothing quite like it. Each and every note is thick, clean and powerful; the sustain is beyond words - longer than I can hold my breath. I contacted Erika at Dowina regarding one of two things and she was so helpful, a genuinely lovely person.

I revisited Richards Guitars after a short period of research and reflection, and spent a couple of hours trying everything in the shop, but this Swiss Moon Spruce-Padauk really was special. This is probably the last word in guitars for me; it does what my 3 main stage guitars do between them, and I am so grateful to the guys at Richards for their exemplary service - nothing is too much trouble, and they are happy to leave you be in a magic wonderland of incredible instruments. I would like to thank Richard for having the inspiration and courage to look for Dowina, for building such a relationship with the decent people there who make these amazing guitars, and of course for making them available to us.

One day Richard I would love to shake your hand - you have brought such incredible tone into my life, after do many years of big brand mediocrity.
I will be playing this guitar in concert at two gigs on Merseyside in early May, and it's going to be a joy to be able to have it's superb tone as part of my signature sound; friends who have seen it have been blown away by the power and clarity that comes from its understated, but still beautiful, appearance.

Awesome piece of kit - L R Baggs are simply the best acoustic pickups out there. Expertly fitted by Richard’s Guitars.

So helpful with a friendly, efficient service. Can highly recommend.

A great guitar with a nice setup! I live in The United States and found that Richards service is beyond compare and you would be hard pressed to find the brands he stocks in the big dollar stores we have in the USA.

thanks
great service

This pick up was fitted by Richard's Guitars to a Furch Blue G CM guitar that I purchased from them. Richard's Guitar did an excellent job with the fit and the LR Baggs system matches the excellent tone from the guitar really well.

Great sounding pickup.
Had it installed on an Eastman Es1 SS I purchased as part of the same order and the workmanship is flawless.

GOOD SOUND QUALITY THANKS RICHARDS GIUITARS

Great fit with little jane

The best sounding acoustic guitar pick up you can get.

Thanks to a neighbour of mine who recommended Richards Guitars ,I contacted them myself for advice and recommendations and was instantly taken by their fabulous reply to my lengthy email message . Both Jon and Jake made some very good recommendations and thanks to Richard stocking a number of great quality left hand guitars ( a rare thing in a lot of stores sadly ) , I arranged a visit to sample three guitars . The welcome I received by Jon and Jake was fantastic and I was treated like royalty ! Nothing was too much for them and I was given an amazing education on acoustic guitar construction by Jon, who had learnt a lot from Richard himself when he joined the company . The electro-acoustic guitar I had planned on buying which had been set up by Chris the guitar technician was lovely, but on trying the next guitar which was purely acoustic and a make I had never heard of but recommended by Richard, a Furch, and £1100 , sadly out of my price range, “spoke to me” !!! The sound from this guitar was what I had been wanting to hear all my life and made the 170 mile round trip from Windsor very worthwhile indeed when Jon informed me that it was second hand and they were selling it on behalf of the owner for £700 !
It got even better when Jake informed me it came with a top quality sturdy gig bag too ! I needed a pick up fitted which meant leaving the Furch with them but I returned a fortnight later to collect it in person and drop off my old electro-acoustic guitar for a replacement pick up and full professional set up by Chris. My new Furch has been played in the music group I attend locally in Windsor on a regular basis and while a mere strummer guitarist ,the comments by my other guitar players and our audience has been truly delightful . I would recommend Richards Guitars to anybody on the lookout for a new guitar and especially if you happen to be a lefty like myself as the choice was amazing . Richard should be proud to have such a great team with Jon, Jake and Chris who are all passionate about guitars and genuinely interested in their customers too . A truly wonderful experience and one I will never ever forget . My Furch is truly beautiful and worth every single penny and as a retirement gift to myself , the best present I have treated myself to.
Thank you Richards Guitars

When you've bought a great guitar, that you wish to use through an amp, then you buy the best pickup and preamp that fits it. So I did!!!

I don't know much about pick ups & electronics but obviously the team at Richards guitars do, went with their recommendation at the sound is excellent

Does what it’s supposed to do

Excellent pickup. :)