A few things to be aware of if - unlike Mr. Breakstone and some other higher-volume installers - you may not be perfectly familiar with the Anthem, Anthem SL, and Anthem StagePro systems and installation quirks:
1. It is important to read the installation instructions, as the flexible, flat portion of the undersaddle pickup containing the piezo-laiden film (the pickup part of the component) is easily damaged if not installed with a 45 degree lead-out down through the bridge/top/bridge plate stack. Now that Martin has started installing Anthem systems in some models, we will have to see if they honor the Baggs installation instructions, or just take the short-cut and use the 90 degree connection provisions for Fishman-style, older technology USTs.
2. As the pickup portion of the UST in the Element and Anthem systems extends beyond the usual length of a saddle slot, the the lead-out must have a strain relief cable clamp or other fastening beyond the active part of the UST to allow that cable to rout from the underside of the bridge plate without tension. While this assures reduced stress on the piezo film in the exit bend, reducing the chance of excessive bending and potential damage, it also prevents excessive guitar body-generated noise from being added to the UST output where that component is being loaded in tension. While the rule of thumb for acoustic pickup installs was to avoid suspending or mounting any part of the system from top or back, we made an exception for that one cable clamp as a result of post-install checks and some of the audio artifacts heard.
3. It is important to educate the customer on how the Anthem, Anthem SL, and Anthem StagePro differ between models and from other systems on the market.
- The Anthem is nominally a mic system with an added UST for better low frequency response...recording engineers have told us that small diaphragm condenser mics can handle low, medium, and high frequencies well...just not all at the same time. The Anthem takes mid and high frequency from the mic and low frequency from the UST, playing to the strengths of each source by eliminating annoying quack from the piezo at higher frequencies and getting accurate mic input with so-called 'tunnel effect' filtered out in the preamp. The blend feature is not a mic < both > UST, but instead a UST >>> mic + UST with a variable level control for maximum mic level at the mic + UST end of the blend range.
- The Anthem SL fixes the mic-UST blend ratio in the preamp, but allows some tweaking on the tail-pin preamp board with a trimmer pot accessible at install.
- The Anthem StagePro variant is supposed to provide a true blend capability (mic > both > UST), subject to some minimal mic or UST signal at the ends of the range (if our testing was valid).
- These differences mean that most pros that run a primary and back-up instrument, or several instruments in different tunings in a single set may wish to go with one and only one model of the Anthem to avoid the need to make major adjustments at the pedal board or the mix into the house when swapping guitars between numbers.
4. There are (still...after years
![[headinwall]](./images/smilies/headbangwalluf8.gif "Mad")
) no dedicated installation instructions for the Anthem StagePro. Nor are there preamp cutout templates available online. Use the Anthem instructions for the mic and UST installs, and the hard-copy template provided in the Anthem StagePro kit for the cutout. I believe Mr. Stock scanned the template to make up a routing template and I likely have it somewhere in my files, but it really is best to get the preamp/control panel in hand before making holes in customer guitars, as it is smaller than most other side-mount units and you'll need to verify clearances and lack of interference in any case prior to committing to a mounting location.5. We found that players that were new to the Anthem pickups needed to invest some time in wringing the system out (instrument, pickup, pedal board, etc.) before gigging or laying down cash for studio time. The Anthems are brilliant pieces of technology, but the capabilities afforded beyond other pickup systems require some level of first-hand discovery, as the online, 'cookbook' resources remain quite scant.