Gearank

The LR Baggs M1A is the active version of LR Baggs’s M1. Because of this, the majority of what was stated there is applicable here as well. To go ahead and reiterate, the M1 series is a soundhole pickup which combines the tone you generally expect to get from a soundhole pickup and a transducer. It definitely still has a portion of the more metallic attack you’d expect from a soundhole pickup, but it does reproduce more of your unplugged tone than many other pickups of this type.

Key Features

• Type: Soundhole
• Required Modifications: None
• Installation Difficulty: Low
• Controls: N/A

However, unlike the M1, this pickup is also active. The cool thing about this is that it essentially makes the M1A a play-and-plug unit. You’re never going to have to worry about not getting a good tone because of any issues with the unit itself.

However, there are a few reports that the M1A doesn’t have as much of an acoustic response as the passive M1. However, this is largely a matter of personal opinion. However, it is something to be aware of if you’re having a hard time choosing between this pickup and the M1.

You can see more options in our guide to The Best Acoustic Guitar Pickups.

Below is another review of the LR Baggs M1A

The LR Baggs M1A is an active soundhole pickup with a modified stacked humbucker design.

It features a suspended coil design which allows it to resonate in response to the guitar soundboard. The lower coil is also tuned to capture higher frequency resonance.

This distinct configuration results in a sound that's closer to the natural sound of acoustics, while benefiting from the convenience of soundhole magnetic pickup design.

It works similar to the LR Baggs M1, the main difference is that this comes with an active preamp, which runs on a 3V lithium coin cell for up to 1000 hours.

Key Features

• Type: Soundhole
• Required Modifications: None
• Installation Difficulty: Low
• Controls: N/A

Pros

Owners are pleased at how natural the resulting sound is, regardless of which guitar they put it on. There are reports of it working great with a wide variety of guitars, including a Taylor Big Baby, expensive Martin D-35, D-16 and more. Tone also gets a lot of thumbs up, described as having a genuinely woody tone that you normally wouldn't expect from easy to install soundhole pickups.

Cons

Those who prefer the sound of piezo pickups may find themselves unimpressed, although there are some who have change their minds after the LR Baggs M1A's sound grew on them.

Overall

This is a great pickup to get if you need to sound good on stage without having to mess with your guitar's construction.