The Fishman Fluence Thread

[slavboi_delight]

Should make a video of it and share. That would be cool

Was my first intention...but my pc has pretty much exceeded it's life expectancy and is not able to render a 2 minute video + audio file without crashing approximately 42 times.

 

[Flappydoodle]

Alright since i'm quarantined for the 4th time this year (bloody hell), and i'm desperately trying to beat some time, I've decided to do a little pickup shootout for myself.
I have tested a few actives through my DAW and if somebody wants the audiofile and/or DI i can provide them and of course tell you which ones i used. General question: Anybody interested in a blind shootout?

Sure. Why not make a new thread with the files?

 

[slavboi_delight]

https://www.sevenstring.org/threads/active-pickup-shootout.346255/
If somebody wants to join in

 

[Stuck_in_a_dream]

Ken just confirmed P90 Fluences coming soon.

 

[Jeries]

Just to follow up, I strummed a couple of simple chords with "voice 1" and "voice 2"

Then used FabFilter ProQ2 to EQ match and see the changes in the DI signal

View media item 3688
Voice 2 adds an unholy amount of low end, haha. +9-12dB at <100hz, which creates a serious rumble. And also that spike at 1-2.5k and then a big high end sizzle cut.

thanks for follow up - I was unclear maybe, I meant are you sure you have voice 1 and not voice 2 engaged (meaning a possible wiring mixup: maybe push is active and pull is voice 2(passive?) - because there are many many wiring schemes for these....im not implying you don't know what you're doing, but im just really surprised to not see the same results (mine was also wired by ESP custom shop itself, so I don't know if they really altered the configuration to the ESP preferred, which would tonally change the profile quite noticeably I would think.

there was a post on the ESP forum about this, and the question remained unanswered to this day if you find the cached version - and the question was: if the ESP custom shop wired this thing,[ according to the site, it has totally different wiring, and two different options engaged (including H/F),] it would be totally changed from the standard - and; pick up position is quite different than most other guitars with a double hum bucker in the middle and bridge, rather than neck and bridge - so maybe the ESP custom shop's B8 is not the "same" as a standard swap at as well.

two possibile things that crossed my mind as I read the reply - thanks for your time

How accurate do you believe in that filter/EQ VST tool? I mean do you trust them with home recording or is that a paid plug in? Ive seen it used before, but I don't know what program uses it.

and @Stuck_in_a_dream IDK if you care at all man, but the Duncan JB (and sh4) or something is the basis for the carpenter pickups in passive mode

 

[Stuck_in_a_dream]

@Jeries I thought the SD JB was the basis for tone 2 on the classics bridge pickup. I have never heard this before about the SCs, seeing that SC mostly (or only) plays 7 & 8-strings, I find it hard to believe, but nothing is impossible w/ SC , he's more intuitive than methodical imho.

 

[Flappydoodle]

thanks for follow up - I was unclear maybe, I meant are you sure you have voice 1 and not voice 2 engaged (meaning a possible wiring mixup: maybe push is active and pull is voice 2(passive?) - because there are many many wiring schemes for these....im not implying you don't know what you're doing, but im just really surprised to not see the same results (mine was also wired by ESP custom shop itself, so I don't know if they really altered the configuration to the ESP preferred, which would tonally change the profile quite noticeably I would think.

there was a post on the ESP forum about this, and the question remained unanswered to this day if you find the cached version - and the question was: if the ESP custom shop wired this thing,[ according to the site, it has totally different wiring, and two different options engaged (including H/F),] it would be totally changed from the standard - and; pick up position is quite different than most other guitars with a double hum bucker in the middle and bridge, rather than neck and bridge - so maybe the ESP custom shop's B8 is not the "same" as a standard swap at as well.

two possibile things that crossed my mind as I read the reply - thanks for your time

How accurate do you believe in that filter/EQ VST tool? I mean do you trust them with home recording or is that a paid plug in? Ive seen it used before, but I don't know what program uses it.

and @Stuck_in_a_dream IDK if you care at all man, but the Duncan JB (and sh4) or something is the basis for the carpenter pickups in passive mode

Hey, no worries. Actually, I don't know what I'm doing, so it's quite possible that voice 1 and 2 are backwards haha. That said, I am happy with my current setup on this guitar because the low end of "voice 2" is too much for normal riffing IMO.

I think the EQ plugin is pretty good. It's from FabFilter who do make good stuff. FWIW, the stock plugin in Logic shows very similar results. It also totally corresponds to what I hear. I definitely don't have the best ears in the game either, but you really can't miss more than +6dB of low end haha

Are you using the 8 string version of the pickup? Maybe it's voiced differently to the 6 string.

Do you want me to measure the bridge to pickup distance and see whether the placement is different?

 

[Jeries]

@Jeries I thought the SD JB was the basis for tone 2 on the classics bridge pickup. I have never heard this before about the SCs, seeing that SC mostly (or only) plays 7 & 8-strings, I find it hard to believe, but nothing is impossible w/ SC , he's more intuitive than methodical imho.

Fellas I might be the one who is wrong - I am basing this from the wiring scheme manual from Fishman and the posts online, so who knows? His wiring scheme is the strangest, he doesn't use half of the tones in his signature profile (literally, I think he uses only voice 1 and 2 for the bridge selection and that is selected by his pickup selector instead of a push/pull pot - if I read it right. That is very strange to me.)

@Flappydoodle = yes, I am using the 8 string. Sorry - that makes a difference now doesn't it. On top of the wiring. So forget the comparison altogether, don't trouble yourself. Plus, are we accounting for (alder body, maple neck, ebony fretboard, neck thru construction, double carbon graphite plates PLUS the wiring scheme is the "ESP preferred"according to the manual) differences as you said? Not till now lol So its all good, sounds like Stuck_in_A_Dream knows much more than I do actually, so please take that in mind

 

[Flappydoodle]

Fellas I might be the one who is wrong - I am basing this from the wiring scheme manual from Fishman and the posts online, so who knows? His wiring scheme is the strangest, he doesn't use half of the tones in his signature profile (literally, I think he uses only voice 1 and 2 for the bridge selection and that is selected by his pickup selector instead of a push/pull pot - if I read it right. That is very strange to me.)

@Flappydoodle = yes, I am using the 8 string. Sorry - that makes a difference now doesn't it. On top of the wiring. So forget the comparison altogether, don't trouble yourself. Plus, are we accounting for (alder body, maple neck, ebony fretboard, neck thru construction, double carbon graphite plates PLUS the wiring scheme is the "ESP preferred"according to the manual) differences as you said? Not till now lol So its all good, sounds like Stuck_in_A_Dream knows much more than I do actually, so please take that in mind

Sure thing. Actually my guitar is an ESP M-I (6 string) with alder body, maple neck through, ebony fretboard. So it's fairly close. I suspect there's a difference simply in the wiring, and I would imagine the 8 string version would be tweaked. What I'm calling "voice 2" would be totally unusable on an 8. It's already so much low end on a 6 haha

 

[Stuck_in_a_dream]

^ ...which brings a question that always intrigued me, why Fishman only mentions the peak freq for the 6-string version? Is it the same for all versions? Could that work?

 

[Jeries]

^ ...which brings a question that always intrigued me, why Fishman only mentions the peak freq for the 6-string version? Is it the same for all versions? Could that work?

I do know the Carpenter has a higher peak, I think about 150hz (750 total) vs the modern which is 600khz......does that help your question at all?

 

[Stuck_in_a_dream]

Kinda, but I thought that other pickup manufacturers like DiMarzio & SD change their 7 & 8-string pickups' peak frequencies, otherwise they'll respond & sound like poop on the low strings. In my understanding that's why they might sound a bit different than their original 6-string versions. I'm not seeing that communicated by Fishman though, all their support docs show the same exact peak freq. regardless of the pickup version, am I correct in assuming there's something off here?

 

[TyT]

@Dayn
Thanks for sharing.
I have an RG2228 and the Tosin Fluence pickups just arrived.
Any advice on which switch is best for the upgrade. The instructions mention a 5 way super switch and the otax 5 way switch. Is one switch easier to install than the other on a 2228?
Also the coil tap. Did you get that to work with the supplied push pull pot that comes with the pickups? I think two are included with the pickup set (I haven’t checked yet)
I think they just replace your existing pots.
Any advice you could offer would be awesome.
Thanks

 

[slavboi_delight]

@Dayn
Thanks for sharing.
I have an RG2228 and the Tosin Fluence pickups just arrived.
Any advice on which switch is best for the upgrade. The instructions mention a 5 way super switch and the otax 5 way switch. Is one switch easier to install than the other on a 2228?
Also the coil tap. Did you get that to work with the supplied push pull pot that comes with the pickups? I think two are included with the pickup set (I haven’t checked yet)
I think they just replace your existing pots.
Any advice you could offer would be awesome.
Thanks

If you have the 5 way switch you can wire them to be split in position 2 and 4. Plus a push/pull to switch the voicings overall. Or have 1 P/P determine the voicing and the other one being the splitting option if you have a 3 way switch. I think the 3 way is stock on the 2228 right?

 

[Jeries]

Kinda, but I thought that other pickup manufacturers like DiMarzio & SD change their 7 & 8-string pickups' peak frequencies, otherwise they'll respond & sound like poop on the low strings. In my understanding that's why they might sound a bit different than their original 6-string versions. I'm not seeing that communicated by Fishman though, all their support docs show the same exact peak freq. regardless of the pickup version, am I correct in assuming there's something off here?

Yes. You can find it in the literature. I am 100% positively certain the 8 string peaks at 750 whereas the regular modern ceramics are 600.

While I type this, I realize my memory may be a bit blurry on the EXACT accuracy of said respective numbers, but the profile [tonal] and frequency are not the same as the moderns at all - to put it quite simply there is a non-"V" formation in the scoop of the SRC, but it is scooped more like the EMG 81, as said by Fishman themselves, confirmed via call support. Pickup manufacturers don't like to liken themselves to similar companies, and EMG being the only active competitor on the market, Fishman is always hesitant to admit the sonic similitude to EMG, but Michael [I hope you don't mind me giving your first name, Mike, but why lie when people are looking for honest answers, and I omitted his last name, but anyone who knows Fishman staff knows who he is] confirmed the closes thing to an EMG 81 bridge profile would be (voice 2 if I remember but THAT is not certain, one thing out of all this info) of the SRC.

I was meandering through these posts and there was a very rudimentary diagram of what the profile was described to me as, and I hesitate to reproduce it based on the laughter at my last pictogram, but I will do it for your edification, since I am not withholding and people seem to truly be interested in knowing, not only you dude, but for instance, lewis has a great comparison thread almost going to which I can understand why people do go back to the original 81, which everything else seems to try to copy. Anyway, here is the graph and to me, it does match the 81 but it leaves more headroom and optional tone choices via the Fluence circuitboard, however you choose. Hope this helps, and please don't make fun of the "graph" I have no clue how to make proper visual art

 

[Dayn]

@Dayn
Thanks for sharing.
I have an RG2228 and the Tosin Fluence pickups just arrived.
Any advice on which switch is best for the upgrade. The instructions mention a 5 way super switch and the otax 5 way switch. Is one switch easier to install than the other on a 2228?
Also the coil tap. Did you get that to work with the supplied push pull pot that comes with the pickups? I think two are included with the pickup set (I haven’t checked yet)
I think they just replace your existing pots.
Any advice you could offer would be awesome.
Thanks

My tech set it up with Tosin's preferred 5-way wiring and using one of the pots for the voice switch. I'm certainly not a tech guy, but I looked at what the manual said was needed for the 5-way superswitch, then found one on Stewmac that looked the part. I think my tech said it was an awkward fit, but he got it going.

 

[TyT]

If you have the 5 way switch you can wire them to be split in position 2 and 4. Plus a push/pull to switch the voicings overall. Or have 1 P/P determine the voicing and the other one being the splitting option if you have a 3 way switch. I think the 3 way is stock on the 2228 right?

Hello
Awesome.
Yeah the three way is standard on the 2228.
I get the impression the 5 way switch gives more options with all the various voicings. I got the impression you couldn’t obtain all the voicings without the 5way.
@Dayne said he has the 5 way switch in his 2228 so wondered if one of the two mentioned 5 way switches was an easy trade for the existing 3 way switch.
Thanks for the idea. I can investigate that as well.

 

[Justaguitarist]

What´s the Fishman Fluence pickup that has the best coil-split in your opinion?

 

[juka]

What´s the Fishman Fluence pickup that has the best coil-split in your opinion?

I think all Fluence with a dedicated Voice3 have great "single coil" sounds. Depends on which flavor you prefer: Tosins should have the most modern, Open Coil Classics the most classic and Devins offer a Tele flavor.

 

[diagrammatiks]

Abasi. Followed by open classic/km