L.R. Baggs Premier Acoustic Guitar Pickups, Preamps and Accessories

L.R. BAGGS

A long time ago when founder, Lloyd Baggs was a hippie and a young college graduate, having abandoned his career as a classical cellist, he turned his attention to the guitar. His friend and fellow fly fisherman, Christopher Parkening, was playing the classical guitar and that looked like a whole lot more fun.

In 1973, Lloyd began his guitar making endeavors by buying, modifying, refinishing, retuning and then returning old Gibsons and Washburns. After noodling around with some fine old instruments, the L.R. Baggs fine-handmade-guitar-and-guitar-repair business was launched. After Lloyd finished his first guitar in a Berkeley, California garage, he took it to his guitar idol, Ry Cooder, and received his first commission.

During the recording of Ry Cooder's "Bop Till You Drop" album, the L.R. Baggs transducer pickup was inspired. There in the recording studio was an exact Takamine copy of the guitar Lloyd had built for Ry, with a transducer pickup system. After recovering from the shock of seeing an exact copy of his instrument (as an aside, the current Takamine headstock is the headstock that Lloyd designed for his handmade instruments), Lloyd became intrigued with the wonderful possibilities of the piezo ceramic transducer pickup for the acoustic guitar.