The Fishman Fluence Thread

[cardinal]

Just thought I’d throw this out there. I have one guitar with the Moderns and like them well enough with the JCM 800 I’ve used for years, and was thinking of getting an 8-string set for another guitar that I’ve been unhappy with it’s pickups.

But damn I’ve started using an old Marshall Super Lead lately, and the Moderns in either mode sound absolutely terrible with that amp (various Duncans sound great). The Moderns are just super “crispy” for some reason. I had considered them fairly smooth with the JCM 800. Really surprised by how different they react to different amps.

 

[Flappydoodle]

Just changed the 9V battery in my KSE set-equipped guitar.

HOLY. SHIT. What a huge difference.

The thing is, the sound before the change was not even close to dead. I only changed because I think it's been about 6 months since I installed these.

With EMGs, the battery works until it stops. When the battery is dead, you get almost no sound. But it's pretty consistent throughout the lifespan of the battery.

But these Fishman pickups - now I’m wondering how often to change 9V batteries. Because waiting until they’re dead isn’t a good idea apparently, since they’ll gradually degrade in sound quality before that. Is it a voltage supply thing?

My other guitar has the Fishman battery pack, which I keep topped up every week or so - presumably that is delivering a more consistent voltage.

Has anybody else found this phenomenon with the battery?

 

[Strobe]

Just changed the 9V battery in my KSE set-equipped guitar.

HOLY. SHIT. What a huge difference.

The thing is, the sound before the change was not even close to dead. I only changed because I think it's been about 6 months since I installed these.

With EMGs, the battery works until it stops. When the battery is dead, you get almost no sound. But it's pretty consistent throughout the lifespan of the battery.

But these Fishman pickups - now I’m wondering how often to change 9V batteries. Because waiting until they’re dead isn’t a good idea apparently, since they’ll gradually degrade in sound quality before that. Is it a voltage supply thing?

My other guitar has the Fishman battery pack, which I keep topped up every week or so - presumably that is delivering a more consistent voltage.

Has anybody else found this phenomenon with the battery?

Yeah, but for me the "this sounds different" to "it's dead, Jim" period was not very long. Maybe a day from when it was noticeable to when it was dead.

Different batteries have different voltage outputs as they die. A nice thing about lithium (phone type) batteries is that the voltage stays a lot more consistent at the end of life. Different types of alkaline batteries behave differently, but they tend to drop off in voltage quite a bit towards the end.

That's a good reason to opt for the battery pack, but if your guitar already has a battery compartment it's tough to justify the $100 and soldering work - especially when you have 7 guitars with fluence pickups and only 3 of them have the battery pack. That would be $400 bucks, and it does not fit in everything.

 

[NoodleFace]

It's because 9V batteries have multiple cells and they don't all drain at the same rate. That means as the 9V battery ages and depletes you could be getting a much lower charge towards end of life.

My guess is the fishman circuits are much less forgiving to low voltage than emg.

 

[Flappydoodle]

Yeah, but for me the "this sounds different" to "it's dead, Jim" period was not very long. Maybe a day from when it was noticeable to when it was dead.

Different batteries have different voltage outputs as they die. A nice thing about lithium (phone type) batteries is that the voltage stays a lot more consistent at the end of life. Different types of alkaline batteries behave differently, but they tend to drop off in voltage quite a bit towards the end.

That's a good reason to opt for the battery pack, but if your guitar already has a battery compartment it's tough to justify the $100 and soldering work - especially when you have 7 guitars with fluence pickups and only 3 of them have the battery pack. That would be $400 bucks, and it does not fit in everything.

Oh interesting. So perhaps I was just lucky changing the battery now. I'll keep a closer eye on it this time.

Agree though - the battery packs are expensive, though plugging my guitar into the wall is quite novel haha

 

[Velokki]

I changed the EMG 81/85 set from my MH-1000ET to the Fluence Killswitch Engage set.

Been playing them for a couple of weeks. Not really gonna write a proper review, but the Fluence set whips the EMGs ass on every front possible. The clean tones particularly are something I could never get with the 81/85 set. It has 3 voices, unlike other Fluence sets. The single coil sounds really cool too.

The only thing EMGs are useful for after these, is if you're trying to replicate famous tones from, let's say, 2005-2010 that used the 81/85 set. They have that certain sound. Fishmans are more sterile in a sense, and super accurate to transmit every ringing string. But man, I would personally never go back there anymore!

The biggest returns I see from recording - everything sounds clearer and better, and they're super versatile, too. If anyone's coming from the EMG world and is still hesitating, I would encourage to go for it.

 

[Rich5150]

I have a ESP Donais that i put a Modern set in, Picked up the rechargeable pack and dropped it in the battery cavity made my own cover plate to house the usb plug and no more 9v's.

I had to dremel a little bit off the inside because I'm a dumbass and didn't line up the usb correctly

 

[wakjob]

Just changed the 9V battery in my KSE set-equipped guitar.

HOLY. SHIT. What a huge difference.

The thing is, the sound before the change was not even close to dead. I only changed because I think it's been about 6 months since I installed these.

With EMGs, the battery works until it stops. When the battery is dead, you get almost no sound. But it's pretty consistent throughout the lifespan of the battery.

But these Fishman pickups - now I’m wondering how often to change 9V batteries. Because waiting until they’re dead isn’t a good idea apparently, since they’ll gradually degrade in sound quality before that. Is it a voltage supply thing?

My other guitar has the Fishman battery pack, which I keep topped up every week or so - presumably that is delivering a more consistent voltage.

Has anybody else found this phenomenon with the battery?

There's a dude on YT, channel called "Project Farm" that does pretty good testing of batteries.

If I remember right, the Lithium batteries will hold their peak charge the longest before puking out all most suddenly.

 

[MASS DEFECT]

Just changed the 9V battery in my KSE set-equipped guitar.

HOLY. SHIT. What a huge difference.

The thing is, the sound before the change was not even close to dead. I only changed because I think it's been about 6 months since I installed these.

With EMGs, the battery works until it stops. When the battery is dead, you get almost no sound. But it's pretty consistent throughout the lifespan of the battery.

But these Fishman pickups - now I’m wondering how often to change 9V batteries. Because waiting until they’re dead isn’t a good idea apparently, since they’ll gradually degrade in sound quality before that. Is it a voltage supply thing?

My other guitar has the Fishman battery pack, which I keep topped up every week or so - presumably that is delivering a more consistent voltage.

Has anybody else found this phenomenon with the battery?

I play live pretty much actively. Around 1 hour sets 3-4 times a week plus rehearsals and home practice. I change batteries every month when i didn't have the fluence rechargeable pack. With batteries they dont consistently put out 9v so you hear some degrading maybe 3 weeks into using them. Like some people say here, if you are not keen on using the fluence battery pack, rechargeable batteries are just as good.

I kinda know when my moders run out of juice. You here a very noticeable loss in treble and the bass gets squishy. Usually the bass is super fast and tight.

 

[diagrammatiks]

You can get rechargeable lithium ion batteries in an 9v size package now.

That’s pretty much all I use for my piezo guitars.

Just installed the Tosin set in my Strandberg 7.

They are interesting. I don’t know if they blow all my other pickups away but they are definitely different. Very clear and articulate to the point of almost being ice picky clean.

Super fast and mean under gain.

Much much better then the laces

 

[cardinal]

Just thought I’d throw this out there. I have one guitar with the Moderns and like them well enough with the JCM 800 I’ve used for years, and was thinking of getting an 8-string set for another guitar that I’ve been unhappy with it’s pickups.

But damn I’ve started using an old Marshall Super Lead lately, and the Moderns in either mode sound absolutely terrible with that amp (various Duncans sound great). The Moderns are just super “crispy” for some reason. I had considered them fairly smooth with the JCM 800. Really surprised by how different they react to different amps.

Well, just to follow up on this: I plugged the Fluence guitar in this morning and it sounded great with the Super Lead. Had the thick, smooth-ish sound that I would have expected. Not sure what wasn’t working before; I did a few circuit tweaks and readjusted the SL’s controls. But now I’m back to wanting an 8-string set since the 7-string set seems to work pretty well.

 

[cardinal]

Ok Fluence guys: is there a Fluence similar to the vintage mode on the Modern but with a bit more high end? Wondering is maybe that’s the Abasi or even the Open Core or Merrow? The actual modern mode is a bit more aggressive that I really want. But I like the big, full sound of the vintage mode. It’s just a bit “flat” or dull.

 

[Strobe]

Ok Fluence guys: is there a Fluence similar to the vintage mode on the Modern but with a bit more high end? Wondering is maybe that’s the Abasi or even the Open Core or Merrow? The actual modern mode is a bit more aggressive that I really want. But I like the big, full sound of the vintage mode. It’s just a bit “flat” or dull.

Not sure what you mean - the two modern voicings are the active voicing and the passive voicing. Both are pretty modern sounding, although the resonant peak is a little higher on the passive with a little more low end (that is ever so slightly looser). As I hear it, the passive voice has more pick attack. The active voice has more midrange girth while being a little smoother.

I am not super familiar with the Merrow set, I do not own them and have only heard clips. I own most of the other sets. If you can find a guitar with the classics, give it a try. They are still my favorites of the bunch particularly in voice 2. I prefer a brighter tone than most. The Merrow neck is the same as the classic, the Merrow bridge is probably closer to your ideal if you want more low end than the classics (based on clips).

I would stay away from Tosin set if you want brighter. It's very similar with a different low-mid character.

 

[cardinal]

Not sure what you mean - the two modern voicings are the active voicing and the passive voicing. Both are pretty modern sounding, although the resonant peak is a little higher on the passive with a little more low end (that is ever so slightly looser). As I hear it, the passive voice has more pick attack. The active voice has more midrange girth while being a little smoother.

I am not super familiar with the Merrow set, I do not own them and have only heard clips. I own most of the other sets. If you can find a guitar with the classics, give it a try. They are still my favorites of the bunch particularly in voice 2. I prefer a brighter tone than most. The Merrow neck is the same as the classic, the Merrow bridge is probably closer to your ideal if you want more low end than the classics (based on clips).

I would stay away from Tosin set if you want brighter. It's very similar with a different low-mid character.

Sorry, I guess I mean that I’m looking for something like the “passive” mode of the Modern pickup, but with a bit more cut. The “active” mode is a bit too scooped or aggressive or something for my taste.

 

[lewis]

Considering how many are reporting how quickly Fishmans drain batteries, Im going to by habbit just put a new battery in every say 2/3 months

 

[Flappydoodle]

Ok Fluence guys: is there a Fluence similar to the vintage mode on the Modern but with a bit more high end? Wondering is maybe that’s the Abasi or even the Open Core or Merrow? The actual modern mode is a bit more aggressive that I really want. But I like the big, full sound of the vintage mode. It’s just a bit “flat” or dull.

KSE set?

Voice 2 (passive voice) is like the modern, but with a much larger low end, less gain, but still lots of attack.

And the KSE pickup in both voicing is brighter than the modern.

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

Considering how many are reporting how quickly Fishmans drain batteries, Im going to by habbit just put a new battery in every say 2/3 months

They last 300hrs on one battery, vs the 1800 w/ blackouts and 3000 w/ emgs. So uh, yeah, they're a fucking hog.

 

[MASS DEFECT]

Sorry, I guess I mean that I’m looking for something like the “passive” mode of the Modern pickup, but with a bit more cut.

That would be the Will Adler set. Its Voice 1 is exactly what you describe.

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

Also my experience with the Moderns is the complete opposite of how you're describing.

V1 is EXTREMELY midrangey, not a lot of bass, and a rolled off high end with some string attack
V2 Is super scooped, lots of low end/low mid growl, and a very present high mid/high end pick attack

In my experience, the V2 of the Classics remind me of V2 of the Moderns, just with more mids and growl and less extreme low end.

 

[KnightBrolaire]

Also my experience with the Moderns is the complete opposite of how you're describing.

V1 is EXTREMELY midrangey, not a lot of bass, and a rolled off high end with some string attack
V2 Is super scooped, lots of low end/low mid growl, and a very present high mid/high end pick attack

In my experience, the V2 of the Classics remind me of V2 of the Moderns, just with more mids and growl and less extreme low end.

your description pretty much mirrors my thoughts on V1/V2 of the moderns.
V2 of the moderns is hands down my favorite, V1 is just too clanky and thin sounding for a lot of my riffs.