Fishman Fluence Modern Humbucker -any updates, it's been a couple of years

Re: Fishman Fluence Modern Humbucker -any updates, it's been a couple of years

It is a guitar that truly represents the best in everything the word guitar conjures up. Congratulations.


It comes with a Floyd Rose??

ohsnap-17397_zpse13da686.jpg
 
Re: Fishman Fluence Modern Humbucker -any updates, it's been a couple of years

Humo(u)r does not always travel very well.
 
Re: Fishman Fluence Modern Humbucker -any updates, it's been a couple of years

nor has anyone





I, for one, found the text that Frank sent me after seeing that to be quite humorous. :clap:

Well, maybe I'll just order one with a pizza paint job, Floyd Rosen Tremelot and GFS Dream 90 pickups.

On a different subject, the fishman moderns I installed have a unique characteristic. The neck pickup is noticeably louder than the bridge pickup. Seems odd that an a5 would be louder than a ceramic...and yes I installed them properly. I have gone from 500T/496R (with high output bridge and mid output neck) to Seth Lovers (fairly equal output between bridge and neck) to these Fishmans with a higher output neck. Relearning volume adjustments is a bth for an old fart like me.
 
Re: Fishman Fluence Modern Humbucker -any updates, it's been a couple of years

Try adjusting the pickup height(s). Since they still act magnetically similar to regular pickups, I can only assume that the height will affect the strength of the field at the strings...lowering the neck pickup and/or raising the bridge should help balance the two.
 
Re: Fishman Fluence Modern Humbucker -any updates, it's been a couple of years

Yes the pickups are about the same volume as one another. The neck seems louder of course because the vibration pattern is larger there, just like what would happen to old Gibsons with two matching PAF's.

But the other thing to try is the -6dB gain terminal. It lowers the neck gain (in Voice 1) by 6dB. This will totally shift the balance between the two pickups. And for those who like the Ceramic in the neck, Alnico in the bridge, the inverse is true as well.
 
Re: Fishman Fluence Modern Humbucker -any updates, it's been a couple of years

Well, maybe I'll just order one with a pizza paint job, Floyd Rosen Tremelot and GFS Dream 90 pickups.

haha! now you're talking. are you more of a Chi-town deep-dish man or a NY-slice sorta guy? we'll get you hooked up with the legendary Dennis Kline. and GFS does put out some stuff worthy of mention.



On a different subject, the fishman moderns I installed have a unique characteristic. The neck pickup is noticeably louder than the bridge pickup. Seems odd that an a5 would be louder than a ceramic...and yes I installed them properly. I have gone from 500T/496R (with high output bridge and mid output neck) to Seth Lovers (fairly equal output between bridge and neck) to these Fishmans with a higher output neck. Relearning volume adjustments is a bth for an old fart like me.

I like the overall vibe of the alnico so much that I loaded my guitar all-alnico. in my case, it didn't seem louder than any of the bridge options I tried as much as about-the-same....which might be/seem louder than many of the other neck pickups on the market. I'd start with masta's suggestion and adjust the overall height.
 
Re: Fishman Fluence Modern Humbucker -any updates, it's been a couple of years

Yes the pickups are about the same volume as one another. The neck seems louder of course because the vibration pattern is larger there, just like what would happen to old Gibsons with two matching PAF's.

But the other thing to try is the -6dB gain terminal. It lowers the neck gain (in Voice 1) by 6dB. This will totally shift the balance between the two pickups. And for those who like the Ceramic in the neck, Alnico in the bridge, the inverse is true as well.

Put the gain terminal in and all is well...another happy ending.
I don't like to lower the pickup height because years off experience has demonstrated that the closer I can get the pickup to the strings the better definition I get. And for some reason that is something I really hear.
 
Re: Fishman Fluence Modern Humbucker -any updates, it's been a couple of years

I don't like to lower the pickup height because years off experience has demonstrated that the closer I can get the pickup to the strings the better definition I get
???. Define "definition".
 
Re: Fishman Fluence Modern Humbucker -any updates, it's been a couple of years

+1

When I first installed a Twangbanger pickup, I hated how it sounded until I tried setting it much further from the strings than my initial guess.
 
Re: Fishman Fluence Modern Humbucker -any updates, it's been a couple of years

 
Re: Fishman Fluence Modern Humbucker -any updates, it's been a couple of years

???.Define "define".
Ok, I was trying to be gentle.

Your statement:
"I don't like to lower the pickup height because years off experience has demonstrated that the closer I can get the pickup to the strings the better definition I get"

My statement:
"What in Peter's name are you talking about????

Better now? ;)
 
Re: Fishman Fluence Modern Humbucker -any updates, it's been a couple of years

In my experience, both Funkfinger and leevc5 can be correct. With a humbucker, the magnetic field is low as the north and south poles (or blades) are attracted to one another. It's also a little more fully developed because there are return paths underneath as well, so the whole thing is more contained. There is less chaos. Seymour usually likes his Humbuckers right near the strings, often I do as well. I just get a little more sense of immediacy and sensitivity. Of course the output increases but unless the magnetic field is audibly distorting the string vibrations I usually like it close.

On a Twangbanger, the first thing of note is you're missing the metal Tele bridge plate. Vintage spec ones are a magnetic steel, so they are broadening the magnetic field and pulling it down. Jerry Donahue had some Strat pickguards routed out from underneath to insert a metal plate for this purpose. Without that, the flux pattern is not the same. But also its Alnico poles. For single coils with Alnico poles, the magnetic field shoots out the top, is opposed by the neighboring pole pieces, and therefore isn't really fully developed until you get further away. It's all subjective but that design is better a little further from the strings.
 
Re: Fishman Fluence Modern Humbucker -any updates, it's been a couple of years

In my experience, both Funkfinger and leevc5 can be correct. With a humbucker, the magnetic field is low as the north and south poles (or blades) are attracted to one another. It's also a little more fully developed because there are return paths underneath as well, so the whole thing is more contained. There is less chaos. Seymour usually likes his Humbuckers right near the strings, often I do as well. I just get a little more sense of immediacy and sensitivity. Of course the output increases but unless the magnetic field is audibly distorting the string vibrations I usually like it close
You're talking about a humbucking, bridge p'up isn't it Frank? If you do the same thing with the neck p'up, it gets muddy and overpowers the bridge p'up, especially in 24.75"-scaled, 22-fretters like a Les Paul.

As a rule of thumb, IME, the bridge p'up gets its "sweet spot" somewhere between 2.2mm and 2.8mm. Taking that as a starting point, just to balance the output, the neck p'up (in the case of a set like the '59) balance out somewhere between 3.2mm and 4.0mm. From that point then you look for the "sweet spot" as well. It's easier to avoid the "muddy neck" syndrome on 25.5"-scaled guitars and even easier on 24-fretters.

In guitar setup, there's no "one-size-fits-all" setting.

Maybe all well-known setup concepts don't apply to Fluences because of the technology behind'em? As long as I can't find'em in my country, I wouldn't known for sure.

HTH,
 
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Re: Fishman Fluence Modern Humbucker -any updates, it's been a couple of years

Probably more like 6-7 of us.



Will you be at this show this weekend? If so drop me and line.

Trying to figure out logistics for it I'm trying to make it happen. I've got two business trips next week so I feel bad just leaving my wife to go to the show so I'm working on something for her too.

Drop you a line on Twitter or email?
 
Re: Fishman Fluence Modern Humbucker -any updates, it's been a couple of years

Trying to figure out logistics for it I'm trying to make it happen. I've got two business trips next week so I feel bad just leaving my wife to go to the show so I'm working on something for her too.

Drop you a line on Twitter or email?

Groovy.
 
Re: Fishman Fluence Modern Humbucker -any updates, it's been a couple of years

You're talking about a humbucking, bridge p'up isn't it Frank? If you do the same thing with the neck p'up, it gets muddy and overpowers the bridge p'up, especially in 24.75"-scaled, 22-fretters like a Les Paul.

As a rule of thumb, IME, the bridge p'up gets its "sweet spot" somewhere between 2.2mm and 2.8mm. Taking that as a starting point, just to balance the output, the neck p'up (in the case of a set like the '59) balance out somewhere between 3.2mm and 4.0mm. From that point then you look for the "sweet spot" as well. It's easier to avoid the "muddy neck" syndrome on 25.5"-scaled guitars and even easier on 24-fretters.

In guitar setup, there's no "one-size-fits-all" setting.

Maybe all well-known setup concepts don't apply to Fluences because of the technology behind'em? As long as I can't find'em in my country, I wouldn't known for sure.

HTH,

???,Define ""sweet spot"".
 
Re: Fishman Fluence Modern Humbucker -any updates, it's been a couple of years

???. Define "definition".

In all fairness, I do owe you an answer. It is this:
I have a theory(probably a pup 101 theory) (don't know if it is right or not but my ears say it is) that each of those screws on a pickup create a little magnetic field that can pickup the vibration of the string closest to it. So if I set up the guitar so that each of these screws is as close as possible to the string without resulting in buzz or distortion I can optimize the output of each string so that it is clearly defined when I play it along with the other strings. On the opposite end of the spectrum if the pickups are lowered and away from the strings the small fields created by each screw blend into one large field and the string that vibrates the most gets the highest output and the result is a mushy rather than defined sound. And I will not define mushy, you should be able to figure that out on your own.
 
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