The M80 is Lloyd Baggs' latest soundhole pickup. It's a big step up from the well-established M1/M1A design, with an impressively natural and more microphone-like sound, which makes it one of the very best soundhole pickups on the market.

The M80's built-in 3D sensor picks up the entire frequency range of your guitar's body and captures more of its acoustic soul than any single pickup ever created. The secret of the M80 is the patented floating secondary coil that acts both as a humbucking coil and a 3D body sensor. By deftly unlocking the secondary coil a robust full range signal is created as the body vibrates and the floating coil interacts with the magnets. The coil is tuned to respond to the entire frequency range of the guitar and the proprietary suspension allows each axis of the 3D coil to contribute, thereby adding enhanced richness and complexity to the sound. Finally, just the right amount of body signal is added to the string signal for an all-in-one pickup that will capture the character of your guitar.

The M80 offers you the option of either "active" or "passive" settings, essentially giving you two pickups in one. In active mode, the M80 engages a high quality, all-discrete preamp that is specifically tuned to optimize the M80's performance. With optimal noise cancellation and a higher output level, the active M80 can plug directly into a P.A. or acoustic amplifier without an external preamp. If your battery dies during a performance, you can continue using the M80 by switching to the"passive" setting and making the proper external adjustments. A battery check indicator is built into the top of the pickup, and there is also a thumbwheel volume control (active mode only)

The M80 is easy to mount across the soundhole using two fixing screws - the tapered ends of the pickup mean that it can be fitted to guitars with soundholes of different diameters. It can be used on any guitar with a soundhole larger than 3.55" in diameter. Connection to the endpin jack socket is is via a detachable lead. (Endpin assembly and lead are both supplied.) Adjustible polepieces allow the balance of individual strings to be adjusted - although the factory setting is usually spot-on. The M80 in active mode is powered by a 3v lithium battery which provides over 1,000 hours of playing time. It is neatly mounted in the bottom of the pickup - a separate battery compartment is not necessary.