The Fishman Fluence Thread

[lewis]

how does the Modern set compare to the high end Bareknuckle sets?

Like Moderns vs Blackhawks?
Or Modernvs vs Impulse etc etc?

Thinking changing everything over to Bareknuckles but the Fishmans still peak my curiosity and it could be cool to have them in at least 1 guitar. Just wondered if it would be worth it? Or if just getting everything Bareknuckle would still make more sense?

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

how does the Modern set compare to the high end Bareknuckle sets?

Like Moderns vs Blackhawks?
Or Modernvs vs Impulse etc etc?

Thinking changing everything over to Bareknuckles but the Fishmans still peak my curiosity and it could be cool to have them in at least 1 guitar. Just wondered if it would be worth it? Or if just getting everything Bareknuckle would still make more sense?

Never tried BKPs, so take my word with a huge grain of salt. Going by how people describe BKPs.

Voice 1: Blackhawks or Aftermath
Voice 2: C-pig

V1 of the Moderns is more of an EMG flavor than BKP flavor. And the V2 of the Moderns is lots of low end and treble, which most likely would be a ceramic Warpig. Another pickup I'd compare it with I'd HAVE tried is the Bill Lawrence (Bill & Becky/Wilde to be specific) L500XL.

 

[LeviathanKiller]

how does the Modern set compare to the high end Bareknuckle sets?

Like Moderns vs Blackhawks?
Or Modernvs vs Impulse etc etc?

Thinking changing everything over to Bareknuckles but the Fishmans still peak my curiosity and it could be cool to have them in at least 1 guitar. Just wondered if it would be worth it? Or if just getting everything Bareknuckle would still make more sense?

Getting these pickups hasn't changed my plans on getting a BKP Impulse set for my Intrepid Pro 728 and I don't regret just making the choice to purchase a set of Guitarmory Red Stone pickups yet either. These Fishman KMs are just different.

I don't feel like they play the same way my Bare Knuckle, Seymour Duncan, or any of my other brands of pickups do. If it were possible to reach a place where you have too much clarity, I'd say these pickups are maybe a step in that direction. These feel and sound a bit dryer than other pickups I have. The pronounced upper mids are partly why I'm sure and they seem wah-like at times (moreso than the BKP Juggernauts imo). No matter what voicing, these still feel like active pickups to me because the compression and dynamics are not the same as any of the passive pickups I own. I'd say the dynamics/compression are even a bit better on the Seymour Duncan Blackouts but the Fishman's clarity is miles beyond those. I don't like low gain stuff that much with these to be honest. I know without a doubt that they're better than the EMG 81/85 set I've owned in the past though. Voice 2 on the neck pickup is similar to the SD Sentient but the Sentient has more dynamic range and a nice compression when picking hard. The FF KM doesn't have the same amount of range or compression. That's the trait they have that makes them great at string-to-string volume/response. All of these observations are made just on the Keith Merrow set though.

EDIT: I should mention I'm not really surprised these have a lot of upper mids given the voicing that the Nazgul had which was basically Keith's signature pickup. I'm just surprised he went with something that kept that much upper mids (if not more) when he switched to Fishman.

 

[LeviathanKiller]

I'd really like to try either the Modern, or Classic sets. Does anyone have experience with both that can describe the differences? I'd really like a set with less upper mids or more lower mids.

 

[cip 123]

Never tried BKPs, so take my word with a huge grain of salt. Going by how people describe BKPs.

Voice 1: Blackhawks or Aftermath
Voice 2: C-pig

V1 of the Moderns is more of an EMG flavor than BKP flavor. And the V2 of the Moderns is lots of low end and treble, which most likely would be a ceramic Warpig. Another pickup I'd compare it with I'd HAVE tried is the Bill Lawrence (Bill & Becky/Wilde to be specific) L500XL.

Absolutely not the case.

Fluence are way more low mid focused than the aftermath, it doesn't have the shrill ear piercing tone of the aftermath. Don't know how it compares to the blackhawks.

Again C-Pig no, voice two is not as high gain as them. I don't really know how to describe voice 2 it's a nice sound. Not so much lower output but it reacts differently than voice 1.

IMO I wouldn't compare them to BKP, and they sound different than active EMG's. Best way to tell is to try them out yourself. I just had to state that I don't think they sound anything like those BKP pups.

 

[Strobe]

I'd really like to try either the Modern, or Classic sets. Does anyone have experience with both that can describe the differences? I'd really like a set with less upper mids or more lower mids.

You are definitely looking for the modern. They have a lot more lower mids and lows. Classics have a lot of mids to upper mids and are quite bright. I own both.

 

[TheShade0110]

I'd really like to try either the Modern, or Classic sets. Does anyone have experience with both that can describe the differences? I'd really like a set with less upper mids or more lower mids.

The Tosin set also has more low end than the moderns and are also quite a bit more versatile(which imo is usually the reason you want Fishmans).

 

[patdavidmusic]

I find it really hard to compare them to anything else,
for me the speed and clarity of the pickups is something I have never personally experienced before

I couldn't find anyone local in oz that had them so I had to order without trying them out but I am so glad I did,

If you can find a store even if it takes an afternoon to drive out to test them definitely do, they are so unique to play, eq sheets will only give you a tiny snapshot of the experience

 

[LeviathanKiller]

You are definitely looking for the modern. They have a lot more lower mids and lows. Classics have a lot of mids to upper mids and are quite bright. I own both.

The Tosin set also has more low end than the moderns and are also quite a bit more versatile(which imo is usually the reason you want Fishmans).

I will shy away from the classics then and look at getting the Modern set or Tosin set in the future. I like that the Tosin has the single-coil voicing I just wasn't sure if it was a bright set.

I find it really hard to compare them to anything else,
for me the speed and clarity of the pickups is something I have never personally experienced before

I couldn't find anyone local in oz that had them so I had to order without trying them out but I am so glad I did,

If you can find a store even if it takes an afternoon to drive out to test them definitely do, they are so unique to play, eq sheets will only give you a tiny snapshot of the experience

Dude, I almost mentioned this in each one of my posts about them so far but I thought "Speed? That's crazy. People don't mention speed when talking about pickups."
But yeah, I can't describe that feeling any other way! There's no sluggish-ness when playing them. It's really hard to describe but it's amazing.
And yes, clips and EQ sheets and everything are nice to let you know the sound of these but the way they play truly is a different experience that you won't understand until you play them.

 

[patdavidmusic]

I will shy away from the classics then and look at getting the Modern set or Tosin set in the future. I like that the Tosin has the single-coil voicing I just wasn't sure if it was a bright set.



Dude, I almost mentioned this in each one of my posts about them so far but I thought "Speed? That's crazy. People don't mention speed when talking about pickups."
But yeah, I can't describe that feeling any other way! There's no sluggish-ness when playing them. It's really hard to describe but it's amazing.
And yes, clips and EQ sheets and everything are nice to let you know the sound of these but the way they play truly is a different experience that you won't understand until you play them.

That's the best word I could think of to describe them the attack is the fastest I have every felt,

I should mention if anyone is in Melbourne, Australia you can certainly check out the guitar if you like

 

[Andrew Lloyd Webber]

I extend the same invitation from Antarctic Outpost 61.

 

[Albake21]

So I've been wanting to do a quick write up as I just received my Modern 7s and installed them into my new Mayo Duvell 7 a couple days ago. I've been searching for a certain pickup for a long time now, and I can honestly say, I believe that journey has come to a close. These pickups are just absolutely incredible feeling and sounding. They absolutely live up to the hype! By far their strongest point is the clarity. This is something that is super important to me when it comes to playing 7 string. As someone who uses all 7 strings to create huge chords, I can't ask for a better set up pickups. Now the problem with most pickups I've used are the trade offs. Every pickup that had good clarity, lacked bass and the growl/balls. Voice 1 of the moderns have such amazing growl to them while not losing any clarity. I also bought a 4 pack of rechargeable 9V batteries so I don't have to worry about that anymore (was always a pain with my EMGs). If anyone has any questions for me, let me know.

 

[LeviathanKiller]

So I've been wanting to do a quick write up as I just received my Modern 7s and installed them into my new Mayo Duvell 7 a couple days ago. I've been searching for a certain pickup for a long time now, and I can honestly say, I believe that journey has come to a close. These pickups are just absolutely incredible feeling and sounding. They absolutely live up to the hype! By far their strongest point is the clarity. This is something that is super important to me when it comes to playing 7 string. As someone who uses all 7 strings to create huge chords, I can't ask for a better set up pickups. Now the problem with most pickups I've used are the trade offs. Every pickup that had good clarity, lacked bass and the growl/balls. Voice 1 of the moderns have such amazing growl to them while not losing any clarity. I also bought a 4 pack of rechargeable 9V batteries so I don't have to worry about that anymore (was always a pain with my EMGs). If anyone has any questions for me, let me know.

Would you care to record and drop a link for a DI track for us (me)?

 

[Albake21]

Would you care to record and drop a link for a DI track for us (me)?

Sure thing!

 

[Albake21]

Here you go. To be honest, I have never recorded a DI before so I just recorded a dry signal from me Axe FX through my interface. Sorry for my horrible playing, I just quickly recorded some riffs from a new song I'm writing. I only have access to Voices 1 and for now but I'm going to install a mini toggle eventually to enable Voice 3.

http://www.mediafire.com/file/521rwbuaoidxgx6/Fishman Modern 7.rar

For those curious, this is my Mayones Duvell 7 (NGD in my sig) tuned to Drop G#

 

[LeviathanKiller]

Here you go. To be honest, I have never recorded a DI before so I just recorded a dry signal from me Axe FX through my interface. Sorry for my horrible playing, I just quickly recorded some riffs from a new song I'm writing. I only have access to Voices 1 and for now but I'm going to install a mini toggle eventually to enable Voice 3.

http://www.mediafire.com/file/521rwbuaoidxgx6/Fishman Modern 7.rar

For those curious, this is my Mayones Duvell 7 (NGD in my sig) tuned to Drop G#

Thanks man!
Yeah, it seems the Moderns are more balanced than my KM set. Not as harsh in the high end and they have more/better bottom end.

I made DIs kinda similar to yours. I used the same tuning on my top 3 strings for the bridge DIs.
I took the liberty of renaming your files the same way I named mine so people can load them up in a player side-by-side and know which is which. I also re-uploaded them to MediaFire along with mine because I try to never delete anything there that I share on SS.org. I put a read me in your zip and mine as well giving credit and indicating the guitars, their specs, tuning, and recording method as well.

Fishman Fluence Keith Merrow 7 set DI tracks
http://www.mediafire.com/file/vheq39yc8w3rh2n/Fishman_Keith_Merrow_7_DI_tracks.zip

Fishman Fluence Modern 7 set DI tracks (courtesy of Albake21)
http://www.mediafire.com/file/4ms1qs0h1yxi6mp/Fishman_Modern_7_DI_tracks.zip

Note: For anyone find themselves here via search, if these links don't work, feel free to message me and I can get them to you.

 

[SnowfaLL]

Are you saying the KM set neck is harsher in the high end?? I was considering trying them, but if thats the case, I dont think I would. My issue with the Modern set is mainly with the neck pickup, just being kinda "average" - and maybe its because I'm used to such rounded-glassy neck pickups (my fav is Liquifire and Air Norton) - the Modern is like most BKP's for me, in that I dont really dig it. I was considering trying the Classic once the open core 7s come out, but I still doubt it will solve that area for me to get a Liquifire-like sound.

Sounds like the Tosin's special voice 3 might have been the trick, but EMG sized housing for 7 strings kinda kills that for me.

 

[LeviathanKiller]

Are you saying the KM set neck is harsher in the high end?? I was considering trying them, but if thats the case, I dont think I would. My issue with the Modern set is mainly with the neck pickup, just being kinda "average" - and maybe its because I'm used to such rounded-glassy neck pickups (my fav is Liquifire and Air Norton) - the Modern is like most BKP's for me, in that I dont really dig it. I was considering trying the Classic once the open core 7s come out, but I still doubt it will solve that area for me to get a Liquifire-like sound.

Sounds like the Tosin's special voice 3 might have been the trick, but EMG sized housing for 7 strings kinda kills that for me.

This is news to me as well but if you examine the product description on Musician's Friend or this release article it implies that only the bridge pickup is actually "Keith customized" and it is customized off of the Classic bridge. Meanwhile, the neck is just a stock Open Core Classic.

"When combined with the Classic Open Core neck pickup, Keith’s custom bridge pickup delivers an incredibly versatile range of tones for the modern guitarist."

Keith Merrow (KM) neck / Open Core Classic (OCC) neck - voice 1 is fairly dark imo. I greatly prefer voice 2 which was described in the product information as "A Fluence-exclusive neck tone, with unreal highs, vocal midrange, and tight lows.". So nothing special in contrast to the other sets there. When I talk about this pickup set without specifying bridge or neck, it's usually the bridge I'm talking about.

The Seymour Duncan Sentient neck is brighter than voice 1, but the KM/OCC set neck voice 2 may be ever so slightly brighter than the Sentient.
voice 1 < Sentient <= voice2 in terms of brightness

And to think I almost purchased a set of Classics. That would've been a mistake since the neck pickups are the same and the bridges are close too.

 

[Strobe]

@SnowfaLL Honestly, the Keith Merrow set sounds fairly close the the classic set to me. The classics are very bright, but I wouldn't call them harsh, they stop short of that. Based on the audio files that @LeviathanKiller linked earlier, it sounds the same. To my ears, it's just very bright. I have usually gravitated towards bright pickups - I find you can almost always dial it out at the amp, whereas it's harder to make a dark pickup much brighter.

Based on what you said about wanting a smooth neck pickup, I think the Tosin set might actually be better for you. It feels smoother to me on the neck compared to the moderns (I own both - actually, I own like 5 different sets of these, which is why I comment a lot on these threads). In my opinion, the moderns have a little bit of an edge for staccato rifffing (a little more grind), bu the Tosins feel more even to me, and I like them better for leads - they feel thicker. Both are heavy on the low mids. Just the Tosin set has a little more lower mids, and a little bit less of an upper mid spike. Both still have a lot of highs.

 

[LeviathanKiller]

@SnowfaLL Honestly, the Keith Merrow set sounds fairly close the the classic set to me. The classics are very bright, but I wouldn't call them harsh, they stop short of that. Based on the audio files that @LeviathanKiller linked earlier, it sounds the same. To my ears, it's just very bright. I have usually gravitated towards bright pickups - I find you can almost always dial it out at the amp, whereas it's harder to make a dark pickup much brighter.

Based on what you said about wanting a smooth neck pickup, I think the Tosin set might actually be better for you. It feels smoother to me on the neck compared to the moderns (I own both - actually, I own like 5 different sets of these, which is why I comment a lot on these threads). In my opinion, the moderns have a little bit of an edge for staccato rifffing (a little more grind), bu the Tosins feel more even to me, and I like them better for leads - they feel thicker. Both are heavy on the low mids. Just the Tosin set has a little more lower mids, and a little bit less of an upper mid spike. Both still have a lot of highs.

I just edited my post to include info about the set which apparently says that half of it actually is the same as the Classic set and the bridge is only slightly modified anyway.
So it's no surprise they're so similar!

I'm probably going to get the new Schecter SLS C-7 that comes with Moderns installed. I'll swap them out for the Tosin set if those aren't to my liking. If I decide the Merrow set is still worth keeping in conjunction with whatever ends up staying in the SLS C-7, then good deal, otherwise I'll either take them and the electronics out and just put some kind of passive set in that guitar or I'll just return the guitar and buy the old Nazgul/Sentient equipped one for $450 less and do a swap from there.