The Element is the pickup system that we stripped down to bare essentials. By removing every physical obstacle between the guitar and its film sensor, we built this system to correct a design flaw in most traditional undersaddle pickups, which depend on direct string pressure to compress the sensor. This is what leads to the notorious “quack” that acoustic guitarists constantly try to avoid.
Lloyd Baggs invented the Element with a beautifully minimalist design. The Element rejects spiky string attack, allowing it to mirror the actual movement and resonance of your guitar’s soundboard and capture the nuances of your instrument. With an all-discrete, Class A endpin preamp, it delivers a warm, “un-quackable” tone that cuts through a loud band mix.
By using a seamless “fingertrap” construction, where the braid of the cable is pulled over the pickup, the entire pickup became a single, unified, durable unit. With more than 1.5 million sold, it has become the definitive industry standard for reliability and performance
Because the Element sensor is entirely flexible across its broad surface, it sits inside the saddle slot like a direct link to the tonewood itself. It gives rhythm players in large ensembles the punch, presence, and feedback rejection they need without sacrificing the natural acoustic voice.
We designed the soundhole-mounted volume control and endpin preamp to be unobtrusive, without requiring permanent alterations or side-shaping cuts to your guitar. The all-discrete Class A circuitry turns on automatically when a cable is plugged into the endpin jack. By focusing on ultra-efficient, studio-grade component selection, the minimalist Element Active delivers 1,000 hours of continuous play time on a single 9V battery.
Instrument: Steel-String, 12-String (nylon-string version available)
Type: Undersaddle
Position: Undersaddle, Soundhole Controls
Active/Passive: Active
Preamp: Yes, High-Graded FET Input. All-Discrete, Class-A
Controls: Volume
Power Source: 9V Battery (1,000 hours)
Included: EAS pickup system, battery bag, wire clips, adhesives
U.S. Patent 7,157,640
