L.R. Baggs AEG-1

An innovative acoustic-electric guitar that fuses Lloyd Baggs’ lutherie background with the company’s most advanced pickup system.

November 27, 2024

To most acoustic musicians who amplify their instruments, the name Lloyd Baggs is synonymous with great-sounding pickups and preamps. As one of the pioneers and leaders in the field, Lloyd’s company L.R. Baggs has had a significant impact on how we are able to use acoustic instruments onstage. But before deciding to dedicate himself to improving the acoustic guitar pickups that were available in the late 1970s, Lloyd spent several years as a full-time luthier, building innovative instruments that caught the attention of players including Ry Cooder, Janis Ian, Graham Nash, and others (check out this video of a Peghead Nation demo of a classical Lloyd Baggs guitar from 1982!). While designing pickups and electronics became Lloyd’s passion, developing custom pickup packages for leading guitar manufacturers put him in a unique position to keep an eye on contemporary guitar design. Lloyd says that he never stopped thinking about creating his own modern acoustic-electric guitar, but it wasn’t until the COVID lockdown of 2020 that he got serious about it. After many prototypes and experiments with all of the pickup options at his disposal, his first production guitar has now arrived. The AEG-1 is a thin-body acoustic-electric optimized for L.R. Baggs’ new HiFi Duet pickup/internal microphone system (check out our demo of the aftermarket version of the HiFi Duet!), and thanks to a partnership with South Korea’s Crafter Guitars, the AEG-1 is surprisingly affordable. I recently had a chance to check out the AEG-1 in the Peghead Nation video studio.

Although the AEG-1’s body has a vaguely dreadnought-like outline, it’s only about 2.5 inches deep, and while the soundhole is where you’d expect it, most of it is filled by what appears to be a wooden plug, surrounded by what could be called an “air rosette.” In addition, the guitar’s sides are made from a laminate wood that recalls certain mid-century furniture designs. In fact, the laminated poplar sides are the only outwardly visible part of the innovative superstructure that is crucial to the way the AEG-1 works. Routed from a large block of poplar laminate, the patent-applied-for structure combines a super-stiff rim with a center frame that connects a pocket for a Fender-style bolt-on neck with the insides of the rim’s waist, thereby relieving the top and back from having to support the neck. The AEG-1’s top has traditional scalloped X-bracing and is inset into the guitar’s rim, eliminating the need for binding or purfling. (Our demo guitar’s top is made of Engelmann spruce, but torrefied or regular Sitka spruce tops are also available). The Indian rosewood back is inset in the same way, and it also has traditional bracing. Allowing the top and back to vibrate freely is paramount to the AEG-1’s design, and because the rigid superstructure supports tension coming from the neck, both are fine-tuned for optimum tone, so there’s much less of a need to also consider structural strength than with traditional acoustic guitar construction. The guitar’s neck has a slim C shape, white binding, and original asymmetrical peghead. (For more details on the AEG-1’s construction, check out the description on the L.R. Baggs website!).

As for its electronics, the AEG-1 uses the same HiFi pickups and Silo microphone as the stand-alone version of the HiFi Duet system. Mounted to the bridge plate, these are combined with a custom-voiced preamp that includes a panel with controls for Volume, Mic, and Tone, as well as a push-button for phase reversal. Power comes from a nine-volt battery mounted in a compartment in the guitar’s lower bout, which includes a concealed control that fine-tunes the amount of Silo mic that can be added to the HiFi pickups by way of an included plastic screwdriver. A round access door secured with six screws in the back allows access to the pickups and mic, as well as a glimpse inside the guitar.

I was first intrigued by the AEG-1’s acoustic sound, which, while relatively quiet, was much richer than that of most thin-body acoustic-electrics. The sound produced by the HiFi Duet’s combination of bridge plate–mounted pickups and internal mics is much more dependent on the acoustic sound of the guitar than with systems that use undersaddle or magnetic pickups, so the AEG-1’s pleasing acoustic voice is definitely an important part of its amplified success. When I plugged the guitar into an AER Compact 60 amp, the guitar delivered tonal qualities similar to the aftermarket HiFi Duet I demoed (installed in a Bourgeois slope-shoulder dreadnought). It had a very resonant sound that was more dynamic than a typical undersaddle pickup, and it also had a somewhat less-direct string attack. In the video demo, I use a combination of an external mic on the AER and the direct signal, using an L.R. Baggs Session DI to split the signal. Because the sound of bridge plate–mounted pickups and internal mics tends to be more similar than different, I found that adding the Silo mic to the HiFi pickup signal was more a matter of changing the sound’s dimension than toggling between two different tones. It’s important to note that the Silo is added to the HiFi signal, rather than the onboard control moving from all HiFi to all Silo (there’s no way to only use the Silo’s signal). The system uses a sophisticated multi-pole crossover circuit that relies on the HiFi for low-end reproduction, even with the Silo mic dialed all the way in. This helps raise the feedback threshold and makes the sound more controllable at higher volumes.

Overall, the AEG-1 is a very cool guitar, and a unique addition to the field of dedicated acoustic-electric guitars. Considering that an aftermarket HiFi Duet system costs $449 plus the cost of installation, getting a custom-tuned version of the system in an advanced, purpose-designed guitar for $1,599 is a bargain, especially if you play in environments where you may not want to take your high-end acoustic. Today’s guitarists looking for an acoustic-electric instrument or easily amplified stage guitar have more choices than ever, but the AEG-1 certainly has the potential to satisfy many sophisticated players.

L.R. Baggs AEG-1 Specs

Thin cutaway body
Engelmann spruce top with scalloped X-bracing (Sitka spruce is also available)
Indian rosewood back
Composite poplar sides with internal frame structure.
African mahogany neck
Indian rosewood fingerboard
Indian rosewood bridge
25⅝-inch scale
1.7-inch nut width
Closed-back tuning machines with cream-colored buttons
Custom L.R. Baggs HiFi Duet electronics that combines HiFi pickups and a Silo internal microphone
Onboard volume, pickup/mic blend, and tone control
Made in South Korea
$1,599 street