The Fishman Fluence Thread

[washburned]

Does the bright guitar have a tone knob?

Running any pickup without the tone knob in the circuit makes it brighter. Even with the tone set on 10, it's probably still affecting the sound.

Yup 2 tone one 1 volume config so that shouldn't be a problem I don't think

Sometimes you just get a bright guitar. Guitars aren't 100% consistent.

Also TBH I stopped giving a shit about tonewoods. I've had mahogany Les Paul-esque slabs that were sharper than razors, and swamp ash guitars with maple necks that were dull and flubby.

But it's surprising to hear the Dev set is too harsh because, IIRC, it's one of the darker Fishman sets.

Maybe try the new Fluff bridge pickup? Judging by how Fluff described it and how it sounds in clips, it's probably the darkest, most rounded off Fishman pickup.

This seems to make sense since even the same types of wood have to vary from cut to cut. I might check those pickups out. Curious what most people think about the comparison of these various fluence flavors to the emg81/85. I think my goal is to essentially convincingly replace those but still get all the different tones the fishman provide. i.e. great single coil passive voices, low to mid range tones, and of course what the standard emg's do best which is high gain

Damn, surprised there's no hf tilt, thought it was on all Fishmans. So you can easily add a high cut to your Kemper or lower the treble side of the pu's.

You mean just lower the bridge pickup? I've tried that a bit, the high cuts too. Guess I just can't get around the tonal character of the guitar for every context

 

[Warmart]

You mean just lower the bridge pickup? I've tried that a bit, the high cuts too. Guess I just can't get around the tonal character of the guitar for every context

Yes, but just the treble side, I had to do that on a couple guitars to rid them of icepickiness. Then again, this just may not be the guitar for you bro, or maybe you need to put the 81/85 back in and call it a day.

 

[Chri]

Has anyone had any success in making Fluences sound a bit “looser”? That’s the best way I can describe it. This video does a good job displaying what I mean:



The 707 is comparatively bigger, whereas the Fluences in both voicings are tight to a fault IMO, and sound over processed. It’s not a 1:1 comparison but I’ve got the Abasi set in a guitar, and I’m trying to cop a tone and feel more similar to the 707s, or something else. I prefer much more traditional tones, and prefer passives 99% of the time, so I’m not digging the Abasis all too much for distorted rhythm tones. I love them for cleans and even leads, so I don’t want to ditch them outright.

I’m just spitballing/theorizing ideas at this point. I’m hoping some EQ before anything else in the chain could help, but don’t have my stuff in front of me to try, and don’t know when I’ll get the chance to really sit down and give it a go.

Edit: I’m not saying I want the tone he used in the video, just the overall characteristic of the pickup compared to the Fluence, if possible.

 

[lewis]

Has anyone had any success in making Fluences sound a bit “looser”? That’s the best way I can describe it. This video does a good job displaying what I mean:



The 707 is comparatively bigger, whereas the Fluences in both voicings are tight to a fault IMO, and sound over processed. It’s not a 1:1 comparison but I’ve got the Abasi set in a guitar, and I’m trying to cop a tone and feel more similar to the 707s, or something else. I prefer much more traditional tones, and prefer passives 99% of the time, so I’m not digging the Abasis all too much for distorted rhythm tones. I love them for cleans and even leads, so I don’t want to ditch them outright.

I’m just spitballing/theorizing ideas at this point. I’m hoping some EQ before anything else in the chain could help, but don’t have my stuff in front of me to try, and don’t know when I’ll get the chance to really sit down and give it a go.

Edit: I’m not saying I want the tone he used in the video, just the overall characteristic of the pickup compared to the Fluence, if possible.

I did.
What I done was, unplug them and plug in something else lol.

They're tighter than a Nun. It's just not possible to get Fishmans to feel and sound loose.

 

[cmpxchg]

Has anyone had any success in making Fluences sound a bit “looser”? That’s the best way I can describe it.

I've been going back and forth on Javier Fluences to replace my Moderns for a while to see if those work better. I have such a hard time with the Moderns. They don't sound bad, but something about the feel seems so off compared to all of my other guitars.

 

[BearOnGuitar]

Has anyone had any success in making Fluences sound a bit “looser”? That’s the best way I can describe it. This video does a good job displaying what I mean:



The 707 is comparatively bigger, whereas the Fluences in both voicings are tight to a fault IMO, and sound over processed. It’s not a 1:1 comparison but I’ve got the Abasi set in a guitar, and I’m trying to cop a tone and feel more similar to the 707s, or something else. I prefer much more traditional tones, and prefer passives 99% of the time, so I’m not digging the Abasis all too much for distorted rhythm tones. I love them for cleans and even leads, so I don’t want to ditch them outright.

I’m just spitballing/theorizing ideas at this point. I’m hoping some EQ before anything else in the chain could help, but don’t have my stuff in front of me to try, and don’t know when I’ll get the chance to really sit down and give it a go.

Edit: I’m not saying I want the tone he used in the video, just the overall characteristic of the pickup compared to the Fluence, if possible.

You can always make pickups sound tighter by using a boost pedal and lowering the bass control on the amp, but there is no way to make an already tight pickup sound fat and loose, which is why I don't like to use super tight pickups as a starting point. You can get better results by swapping the Alnico into the bridge position, which is quite a bit larger sounding and more dynamic. I personally find the Carpenter set to be the most passive like sounding and feeling set when used in v2, which is tuned to sound more fat and loose, and they increased the current draw on the bridge pickup, which helps to retain better transient response and picking dynamics. Out of all Fluence sets I tried these have the most passive like feel and dynamics, but are unfortunately only available in 7 and 8 string soapbars.

 

[Chri]

I did.
What I done was, unplug them and plug in something else lol.

They're tighter than a Nun. It's just not possible to get Fishmans to feel and sound loose.

I’m honestly contemplating getting a 707 to toss in the bridge since they go for dirt cheap used. They’re a direct swap with the pins, right? Just without the 5-pin Fishman uses.

The only issue there, is I LOVE the clean tones I get in position 2 with the Abasis. They’re so ridiculously pristine.

I've been going back and forth on Javier Fluences to replace my Moderns for a while to see if those work better. I have such a hard time with the Moderns. They don't sound bad, but something about the feel seems so off compared to all of my other guitars.

Personally, I don’t think the tone is bad. And for the record, it translates for mixing and recording insanely well. I just don’t vibe with it when I’m playing. They don’t feel and respond the way I want.

You can always make pickups sound tighter by using a boost pedal and lowering the bass control on the amp, but there is no way to make an already tight pickup sound fat and loose, which is why I don't like to use super tight pickups as a starting point. You can get better results by swapping the Alnico into the bridge position, which is quite a bit larger sounding and more dynamic. I personally find the Carpenter set to be the most passive like sounding and feeling set when used in v2, which is tuned to sound more fat and loose, and they increased the current draw on the bridge pickup, which helps to retain better transient response and picking dynamics. Out of all Fluence sets I tried these have the most passive like feel and dynamics, but are unfortunately only available in 7 and 8 string soapbars.

Lucky for me, I’m stuck using soapbars in this particular guitar until I fork out the cash for a proper multi-scale passive set. I haven’t even measured the angle yet, but I assume it’s similar to Kiesel’s for a 27-25.5” fan.

Ideally I’d love a Black Winter bridge and D Activator neck, but alas neither are produced in the format I need, nor am I in the position to custom order the BW or pay someone to mod the D Activator.

 

[lewis]

I’m honestly contemplating getting a 707 to toss in the bridge since they go for dirt cheap used. They’re a direct swap with the pins, right? Just without the 5-pin Fishman uses.

The only issue there, is I LOVE the clean tones I get in position 2 with the Abasis. They’re so ridiculously pristine.

Personally, I don’t think the tone is bad. And for the record, it translates for mixing and recording insanely well. I just don’t vibe with it when I’m playing. They don’t feel and respond the way I want.

Lucky for me, I’m stuck using soapbars in this particular guitar until I fork out the cash for a proper multi-scale passive set. I haven’t even measured the angle yet, but I assume it’s similar to Kiesel’s for a 27-25.5” fan.

Ideally I’d love a Black Winter bridge and D Activator neck, but alas neither are produced in the format I need, nor am I in the position to custom order the BW or pay someone to mod the D Activator.

Well I used the EMG solderless kit with my Fishmans and that worked fine. Not sure about the other way around (fishman pots with EMG pickups) but I imagine it's the same?

Either way the 707s are fantastic

 

[PK317]

I've been going back and forth on Javier Fluences to replace my Moderns for a while to see if those work better. I have such a hard time with the Moderns. They don't sound bad, but something about the feel seems so off compared to all of my other guitars.

Javier's set is my second best now, after Abasi. It sounds looser than Abasi for sure, but I don't remember the sound of Moderns, had it long time ago, so cannot compare it.

 

[KnightBrolaire]

I’m honestly contemplating getting a 707 to toss in the bridge since they go for dirt cheap used. They’re a direct swap with the pins, right? Just without the 5-pin Fishman uses.

The only issue there, is I LOVE the clean tones I get in position 2 with the Abasis. They’re so ridiculously pristine.

Personally, I don’t think the tone is bad. And for the record, it translates for mixing and recording insanely well. I just don’t vibe with it when I’m playing. They don’t feel and respond the way I want.

Lucky for me, I’m stuck using soapbars in this particular guitar until I fork out the cash for a proper multi-scale passive set. I haven’t even measured the angle yet, but I assume it’s similar to Kiesel’s for a 27-25.5” fan.

Ideally I’d love a Black Winter bridge and D Activator neck, but alas neither are produced in the format I need, nor am I in the position to custom order the BW or pay someone to mod the D Activator.

buy regular sized passives, slap a soapbar cover on em.

 

[The Monster With .]

I’m honestly contemplating getting a 707 to toss in the bridge since they go for dirt cheap used. They’re a direct swap with the pins, right? Just without the 5-pin Fishman uses.

The only issue there, is I LOVE the clean tones I get in position 2 with the Abasis. They’re so ridiculously pristine.

Personally, I don’t think the tone is bad. And for the record, it translates for mixing and recording insanely well. I just don’t vibe with it when I’m playing. They don’t feel and respond the way I want.

Lucky for me, I’m stuck using soapbars in this particular guitar until I fork out the cash for a proper multi-scale passive set. I haven’t even measured the angle yet, but I assume it’s similar to Kiesel’s for a 27-25.5” fan.

Ideally I’d love a Black Winter bridge and D Activator neck, but alas neither are produced in the format I need, nor am I in the position to custom order the BW or pay someone to mod the D Activator.

Yeah it should work just fine. The power-ground-output pins on the emg's and the fishman's are the same.

 

[Chri]

buy regular sized passives, slap a soapbar cover on em.

I don’t have a reasonable workspace to do a baseplate swap properly for the fan, or even the baseplate itself.

 

[KnightBrolaire]

I don’t have a reasonable workspace to do a baseplate swap properly for the fan, or even the baseplate itself.

no baseplates needed. the covers are purely for aesthetics.

 

[Chri]

no baseplates needed. the covers are purely for aesthetics.

I’m honestly not even sure where to look for decent Multiscale pickups that aren’t boutique prices. I wish SD and DMZ would get with the program already.

I’m not super fond of Kiesel’s offerings, but it’s also been a hot minute since I’ve tried them.

Unless you’re suggesting that the pole alignment wouldn’t be too big an issue, like I’ve been lead to believe.

 

[KnightBrolaire]

I’m honestly not even sure where to look for decent Multiscale pickups that aren’t boutique prices. I wish SD and DMZ would get with the program already.

I’m not super fond of Kiesel’s offerings, but it’s also been a hot minute since I’ve tried them.

Unless you’re suggesting that the pole alignment wouldn’t be too big an issue, like I’ve been lead to believe.

pole alignment isn't really that big a deal ime. Aesthetically yeah it's nice when stuff lines up, but the magnetic fields of pickup poles are usually plenty big enough that it's not very critical to have them line up exactly.

If you want to do a baseplate swap all you need is a screwdriver tbh.

 

[PK317]

Unless you’re suggesting that the pole alignment wouldn’t be too big an issue, like I’ve been lead to believe.

I installed Javier set on multiscale. Well, look is not awesome, but ok, better than I expected. Soundwise, I personally did not hear any volume drops between the strings and don't feel any difference while playing (compared to regular guitars with perfectly aligned pole pieces). Maybe more experienced folks will notice some difference, but for me it works just fine.

 

[Chri]

pole alignment isn't really that big a deal ime. Aesthetically yeah it's nice when stuff lines up, but the magnetic fields of pickup poles are usually plenty big enough that it's not very critical to have them line up exactly.

If you want to do a baseplate swap all you need is a screwdriver tbh.

I installed Javier set on multiscale. Well, look is not awesome, but ok, better than I expected. Soundwise, I personally did not hear any volume drops between the strings and don't feel any difference while playing (compared to regular guitars with perfectly aligned pole pieces). Maybe more experienced folks will notice some difference, but for me it works just fine.

Good to hear on both accounts! Now I need to narrow down my choices. Fucking hell, this never ends

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

Has anyone had any success in making Fluences sound a bit “looser”? That’s the best way I can describe it. This video does a good job displaying what I mean:



The 707 is comparatively bigger, whereas the Fluences in both voicings are tight to a fault IMO, and sound over processed. It’s not a 1:1 comparison but I’ve got the Abasi set in a guitar, and I’m trying to cop a tone and feel more similar to the 707s, or something else. I prefer much more traditional tones, and prefer passives 99% of the time, so I’m not digging the Abasis all too much for distorted rhythm tones. I love them for cleans and even leads, so I don’t want to ditch them outright.

I’m just spitballing/theorizing ideas at this point. I’m hoping some EQ before anything else in the chain could help, but don’t have my stuff in front of me to try, and don’t know when I’ll get the chance to really sit down and give it a go.

Edit: I’m not saying I want the tone he used in the video, just the overall characteristic of the pickup compared to the Fluence, if possible.

I think the Stef set has more bass compared to the other Fluence Moderns. Otherwise yeah, you don't want a Fishman set.

Have you looked into the 57/66 set?

 

[Chri]

I think the Stef set has more bass compared to the other Fluence Moderns. Otherwise yeah, you don't want a Fishman set.

Have you looked into the 57/66 set?

Yeah, more bass in and of itself isn’t exactly the issue. Voice 2 in the Abasis is so bass heavy it’s almost tubby like a single coil.

I was actually thinking of the 57/66 set initially because I love them in my 6 string Horizon. I discounted them quickly though because of the pole piece issue, but as others have been chiming in, it may not be as big a deal even with multiscale.

Does anyone know if I could get one of the EMG TW sets and use that with the same wiring I have for the Fishman set? I’ve got it set up with a 5-way super switch, and 1 Volume as a push-pull. I’m lazy and getting this set wired correctly was hell

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

Does anyone know if I could get one of the EMG TW sets and use that with the same wiring I have for the Fishman set? I’ve got it set up with a 5-way super switch, and 1 Volume as a push-pull. I’m lazy and getting this set wired correctly was hell

From what I can tell EMG uses a completely different switching system. Fluence is more like your standard passive wiring. EMG's... isn't.