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 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.
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 and tone controls and endpin preamp to be completely unobtrusive, without requiring permanent cuts into the side of your guitar. The circuitry is entirely discrete and turns on automatically the second a cable is plugged into the endpin jack.
Building on the streamlined Active system, the VTC adds soundhole-mounted treble tone control and a proprietary, built-in analog compressor focused below 400Hz. This studio-grade system reflects the true dynamics of your guitar, delivering the warmth and balance of a professionally mastered studio record to your live performance.
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, Tone
Power Source: 9V Battery
Included: EAS-VTC System, Battery bags, wire clips, adhesives
U.S. Patent 7,157,640
