The Fishman Fluence Thread

[mikelikesmetal]

Jackson actually makes a JS22-7 with soapbar cavities, so just to anyone out there, if you're looking to buy and mod this guitar, look into which model you buy , it'll make upgrading the pickups easier.

i bought a js227 about a year ago and i’m looking to upgrade the pickups. torn between a set of dave davidson’s signature dimarzios or a set of fishmans. my only concern is the actual swap itself. how do i know if i have the one that makes swapping to fishmans easier??

 

[elkoki]

i bought a js227 about a year ago and i’m looking to upgrade the pickups. torn between a set of dave davidson’s signature dimarzios or a set of fishmans. my only concern is the actual swap itself. how do i know if i have the one that makes swapping to fishmans easier??

Just gotta look at your current pickups. Are they soapbar style or traditional? Soapbar pickups look like this. Most Fluence pickups come in soapbar and in the traditional look , so you'll be ok with most of their stuff just choose the correct one. But some Fluence's don't (at the time of writing this) like the Stephen Carpenter 7 string pickups and the Matt Heafy ones only come in a soapbar. So if you guitar isn't routed for it you will have to widen the pickup slots(like the guy above did). Personally I would make my pickup choice based around what could fit in it and avoid modifying the body. I don't think Dimarzio makes any 7 string soapbars so if you have that type of pickup Dimarzio will be out of the question. Seymour Duncan does have all sizings though, just throwing it out there

 

[mikelikesmetal]

Just gotta look at your current pickups. Are they soapbar style or traditional? Soapbar pickups look like this. Most Fluence pickups come in soapbar and in the traditional look , so you'll be ok with most of their stuff just choose the correct one. But some Fluence's don't (at the time of writing this) like the Stephen Carpenter 7 string pickups and the Matt Heafy ones only come in a soapbar. So if you guitar isn't routed for it you will have to widen the pickup slots(like the guy above did). Personally I would make my pickup choice based around what could fit in it and avoid modifying the body. I don't think Dimarzio makes any 7 string soapbars so if you have that type of pickup Dimarzio will be out of the question. Seymour Duncan does have all sizings though, just throwing it out there

Just gotta look at your current pickups. Are they soapbar style or traditional? Soapbar pickups look like this. Most Fluence pickups come in soapbar and in the traditional look , so you'll be ok with most of their stuff just choose the correct one. But some Fluence's don't (at the time of writing this) like the Stephen Carpenter 7 string pickups and the Matt Heafy ones only come in a soapbar. So if you guitar isn't routed for it you will have to widen the pickup slots(like the guy above did). Personally I would make my pickup choice based around what could fit in it and avoid modifying the body. I don't think Dimarzio makes any 7 string soapbars so if you have that type of pickup Dimarzio will be out of the question. Seymour Duncan does have all sizings though, just throwing it out there

my guitar looks like this one. i’m not 100% sure but you seem like you know what you’re talking about. are these soap box’s or no?

 

[elkoki]

my guitar looks like this one. i’m not 100% sure but you seem like you know what you’re talking about. are these soap box’s or no?

Yeah those are soap bar pickups . As far as I know Dimarzio doesnt have any 7 string soapbar pickups .

 

[elkoki]

my guitar looks like this one. i’m not 100% sure but you seem like you know what you’re talking about. are these soap box’s or no?

to simplify it, this is the soapbar one https://www.guitarcenter.com/Jackso...ar-Black-1500000240740.gc?rNtt=js22-7&index=3

and this is the one with the traditional style pickups https://www.guitarcenter.com/Jackson/Dinky-JS22-7-DKA-HT-Arch-Top-Satin-7-String-Electric-Guitar.gc

Notice how the traditional style pickups have pickup rings and the soapbar ones are direct mounted into the body and are also wider. A problem people will make is buy the wrong type of pickup for the routes on their guitar. Just make sure you buy the right type and you'll be fine, you'll save time and won't have to deal with any hassles. I personally would not want to widen the routes or modify my guitar in any major way over pickups the way the guy above did. No offense to him

 

[mikelikesmetal]

to simplify it, this is the soapbar one https://www.guitarcenter.com/Jackso...ar-Black-1500000240740.gc?rNtt=js22-7&index=3

and this is the one with the traditional style pickups https://www.guitarcenter.com/Jackson/Dinky-JS22-7-DKA-HT-Arch-Top-Satin-7-String-Electric-Guitar.gc

Notice how the traditional style pickups have pickup rings and the soapbar ones are direct mounted into the body and are also wider. A problem people will make is buy the wrong type of pickup for the routes on their guitar. Just make sure you buy the right type and you'll be fine, you'll save time and won't have to deal with any hassles. I personally would not want to widen the routes or modify my guitar in any major way over pickups the way the guy above did. No offense to him

are these soapbars? i always just thought that it was a pickup cover on my guitar.

 

[ExplorerMike]

to simplify it, this is the soapbar one https://www.guitarcenter.com/Jackso...ar-Black-1500000240740.gc?rNtt=js22-7&index=3

and this is the one with the traditional style pickups https://www.guitarcenter.com/Jackson/Dinky-JS22-7-DKA-HT-Arch-Top-Satin-7-String-Electric-Guitar.gc

Notice how the traditional style pickups have pickup rings and the soapbar ones are direct mounted into the body and are also wider. A problem people will make is buy the wrong type of pickup for the routes on their guitar. Just make sure you buy the right type and you'll be fine, you'll save time and won't have to deal with any hassles. I personally would not want to widen the routes or modify my guitar in any major way over pickups the way the guy above did. No offense to him

No offense taken, it was the hard way to go for sure haha. I think the same way you do normally but had bought that Jackson to mess around with and modify so I didn’t worry about it too much. Other than that guitar I’ll probably never do that again.

 

[elkoki]

are these soapbars? i always just thought that it was a pickup cover on my guitar.

No that's just a pickup with a cover. Soap bars have mounting holes basically on the body of the pickup. They're also called active mounts. https://www.seymourduncan.com/blog/latest-updates/78-string-soapbar-size-now-available

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

are these soapbars? i always just thought that it was a pickup cover on my guitar.

Soapbars are EMG 707-sized pickups. Basically those pickups that make installing proper passive-sized pickups an ordeal.

The one in your picture is just a covered pickup.

If you can't see tabs, they're soapbars.

 

[mikelikesmetal]

No that's just a pickup with a cover. Soap bars have mounting holes basically on the body of the pickup. They're also called active mounts. https://www.seymourduncan.com/blog/latest-updates/78-string-soapbar-size-now-available

Soapbars are EMG 707-sized pickups. Basically those pickups that make installing proper passive-sized pickups an ordeal.

The one in your picture is just a covered pickup.

If you can't see tabs, they're soapbars.

thanks for your help guys, saved me from buying the wrong size pickups!

 

[mikelikesmetal]

also can anybody tell me how the wiring works on pickups? do i have to buy a pickup that is specifically for being wired to a 1 vol 1 tone 3 way switch setup it will any pickup wire to any configuration? specifically for fishmans, that’s the pickup i’m probably going to go with, they seem very versatile and all the demos i’ve heard sound amazing!

 

[elkoki]

also can anybody tell me how the wiring works on pickups? do i have to buy a pickup that is specifically for being wired to a 1 vol 1 tone 3 way switch setup it will any pickup wire to any configuration? specifically for fishmans, that’s the pickup i’m probably going to go with, they seem very versatile and all the demos i’ve heard sound amazing!

All pickups can be pretty much be wired into any guitar . Most pickup companies have diagrams on their sites, Fishman included.

 

[mikelikesmetal]

All pickups can be pretty much be wired into any guitar . Most pickup companies have diagrams on their sites, Fishman included.

thanks a bunch, man, i appreciate the help

 

[SCJR]

Stupid question but has anyone ever covered any of their open cores? Was thinking about changing out the old Moderns for a JR set but I'd want to at least approximate how it looks now.

Would you have to solder the covers for these as you would on any passive pickup?

 

[elkoki]

Stupid question but has anyone ever covered any of their open cores? Was thinking about changing out the old Moderns for a JR set but I'd want to at least approximate how it looks now.

Would you have to solder the covers for these as you would on any passive pickup?

I may be wrong but I think that's not possible.. normally you ground the pickup cover onto the baseplate of the pickup, Fluence pickups have a pcb underneath them. Best ask Fishmans customer support .

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

Stupid question but has anyone ever covered any of their open cores? Was thinking about changing out the old Moderns for a JR set but I'd want to at least approximate how it looks now.

Would you have to solder the covers for these as you would on any passive pickup?

I may be wrong but I think that's not possible.. normally you ground the pickup cover onto the baseplate of the pickup, Fluence pickups have a pcb underneath them. Best ask Fishmans customer support .

Don't forget you'd need something to prevent the cover from vibrating and causing feedback. Double stick tape is reversable at least.

Also as for the ground issue, this would probably be janky and I don't even know if this'll work PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG!!!!, but you can PROBABLY tap off the ground prong on the 3-pin connector prong. Solder a small wire from the ground prong onto the pickup cover edge.

 

[PK317]

Does anyone here have Tosin Abasi set? I put it recently on one of my guitars and it has some weird "shhhhhh" noise. Not a ground noise, it sounds differently, more like a hiss. Also Voice 3 (coil split) seems to receive all the radio frequencies from around , I have a Tele with passive single coils with no shielding whatsoever, and it literally much quieter than Fishman. I will go over the wiring once again soon, just to check it, though I followed the diagram, checked all the ground continuity etc.
I don't have a lot of experience with active pickups, but I thought that it should eliminate all the ground noise and be pretty much silent. I could be wrong here, of course

 

[elkoki]

Does anyone here have Tosin Abasi set? I put it recently on one of my guitars and it has some weird "shhhhhh" noise. Not a ground noise, it sounds differently, more like a hiss. Also Voice 3 (coil split) seems to receive all the radio frequencies from around , I have a Tele with passive single coils with no shielding whatsoever, and it literally much quieter than Fishman. I will go over the wiring once again soon, just to check it, though I followed the diagram, checked all the ground continuity etc.
I don't have a lot of experience with active pickups, but I thought that it should eliminate all the ground noise and be pretty much silent. I could be wrong here, of course

I have them, they're silent on humbucking mode. Maybe you're having a wiring problem

 

[ExplorerMike]

Does anyone here have Tosin Abasi set? I put it recently on one of my guitars and it has some weird "shhhhhh" noise. Not a ground noise, it sounds differently, more like a hiss. Also Voice 3 (coil split) seems to receive all the radio frequencies from around , I have a Tele with passive single coils with no shielding whatsoever, and it literally much quieter than Fishman. I will go over the wiring once again soon, just to check it, though I followed the diagram, checked all the ground continuity etc.
I don't have a lot of experience with active pickups, but I thought that it should eliminate all the ground noise and be pretty much silent. I could be wrong here, of course

Double check your wiring, you may have missed a jumper somewhere. When I installed the MKH set a little while ago I installed everything according to the wiring diagram and it was very noisy/buzzy when I first plugged it in. Kinda like a high gain amp with no noise gate sort of noise. I went back over the diagram and realized I missed a jumper wire between the volume and tone pots. It was on the diagram in a spot where it was easy to miss it due to a bunch of other wires in the same spot. I soldered that last wire in and they are dead quiet now. Could be something like that.

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

Does anyone here have Tosin Abasi set? I put it recently on one of my guitars and it has some weird "shhhhhh" noise. Not a ground noise, it sounds differently, more like a hiss. Also Voice 3 (coil split) seems to receive all the radio frequencies from around , I have a Tele with passive single coils with no shielding whatsoever, and it literally much quieter than Fishman. I will go over the wiring once again soon, just to check it, though I followed the diagram, checked all the ground continuity etc.
I don't have a lot of experience with active pickups, but I thought that it should eliminate all the ground noise and be pretty much silent. I could be wrong here, of course

Unlike other actives, Fishman seems to recommend grounding the bridge. Make sure you did that.