L.R. Baggs Ctrl-X Guitar pickup

LR Baggs Control-X — Onboard Piezo Preamp and Mixer

The LR Baggs Control-X is an onboard preamp and mixer engineered for electric guitars fitted with a piezo bridge. Piezo saddles generate a low-level signal that needs active amplification before reaching an amp, and this unit is built specifically for that job while sitting inside the guitar's control cavity. By combining the piezo output with the guitar's magnetic pickups, the onboard mixer turns a single electric into a hybrid instrument capable of both amplified electric and acoustic-style tones. Installers route six individual saddle wires from the bridge down to the preamp, where the signal is amplified and routed alongside the magnetic pickups for smooth blending.

What Sets This Onboard Mixer Apart

Unlike generic acoustic preamps, the Control-X is designed from the ground up as a hybrid mixer. Its blend knob allows continuous crossfade between piezo and magnetic sources, while the included 3-way switch gives instant access to dedicated piezo-only, magnetic-only, or blended modes. Internal mounting keeps the stage rig cable-free and removes the need for outboard preamps during a performance.

Signal Path and Power

The onboard preamp brings the raw low-level output from each piezo saddle up to instrument line level before mixing with the magnetic pickups — an active gain stage that is necessary because piezo signals are too quiet to drive a guitar amp or DI directly.

• Power Supply: 9V battery — standard internal cavity power, easy to source and replace
• Purpose-built for LR Baggs T-Bridge (Tune-O-Matic) and X-Bridge (Strat-style) piezo saddle systems
• Signal Sources: Piezo saddles plus magnetic humbuckers or single-coils — accepts both pickup types for blending

Control Layout

Front-panel controls are designed for live performance, giving immediate access to blending and routing without menu diving.

• Blend Knob: Continuous rotary — sweeps from all-piezo through 50/50 to all-magnetic
• Discrete 3-Way Selector Switch for Piezo / Blend / Magnetic modes — reliable switching on stage

Installation

Designed for permanent internal mounting, the unit sits in the control cavity alongside the standard magnetic-pickup wiring. Six individual wires run from each piezo saddle down to the preamp input, which requires careful routing during installation.

• Mounting Location: Internal control cavity — keeps the rig tidy and outboard-preamp-free
• Battery compartment routed into the body — accessible through the rear cavity cover