A Piezo The Action
With the Fishman company approaching its 40th year, Ryan Fitzsimmons walks us through some of its most popular designs from the Infinity and beyond…
Next year will see Fishman in its 40th year of operation, and while the Matrix wasn’t Larry Fishman’s first pickup offering, it certainly proved to be his most impactful. “The Matrix is an under-saddle transducer pickup and has been the industry standard for decades,” Fishman’s Ryan Fitzsimmons tells us. “Larry Fishman spearheaded the development of the piezo. He brought it to a place where it was applicable to virtually any acoustic guitar. With its early adoption by the Martin Guitar company and some other partners, we really brought it to the forefront. You can’t beat its resistance to feedback and how well it performs in large scenarios. It’s loud, bright and present, and it cuts through the mix easily, even in a large group.”
“Soundhole pickups are very resistant to feedback and can also be installed temporarily”
When it comes to reliability and response, the guys at Fishman believe an active system is the way to go. “The Matrix is an active piezo and is always paired with an onboard Fishman preamp,” Ryan explains. “Our Matrix Infinity systems include a preamp that gives you the option of having a flat bass response or a bass roll-off. It also has a volume control and a unique tone control that specifically contours the midrange. The piezo pickup itself has not changed in 40 years – it’s the same element we started with – but the preamps have come a long way. As PA systems have become more complex and articulate over time, we’ve been able to change our preamp design to bring out more of the acoustic character of the guitar. We’re always trying to make our preamps work the best with whatever they’re going to be plugged into, and as PA technology has evolved, we have evolved, too. About three years ago, we introduced the current versions of the Infinity – the Matrix Infinity VT and the Matrix Infinity Mic Blend. Those two systems have our most recently voiced preamp, and we’re proud of it – we think it sounds fantastic.”
In addition to its classic Matrix UST pickup systems, Fishman is renowned for its leading-edge soundhole pickup designs. “A soundhole pickup has a magnetic element, and one of the nice things about that is that you get a slightly warmer sound,” says Ryan. “There tends to be a little less of those high-end transients you get with piezo pickups, which some people perceive as a mellower and more musical response. Some of the advantages are that they are very resistant to feedback and can also be installed temporarily, which a lot of people prefer, especially if they have a valuable instrument they don’t want to modify. They’re a great option if you have a guitar with any sort of floating bridge or where installing a UST might not be possible. Our Rare Earth pickups have one of the widest responses of their type on the market; they give you the most highs and the most bass – the most natural acoustic sound you’re going to get from an active soundhole pickup. We also have a passive soundhole pickup called the Blackstack, which works very well with electric guitar rigs for a vibey, old-school magnetic pickup sound.
“The Rare Earth [and value-priced Fishman Neo-D] soundhole pickups come in single-coil and humbucking versions. The single coil is brighter and has more snap to it, much like single-coil electric pickups tend to. It also has a touch more clarity and pop than the humbucker, which is a little warmer and deeper sounding. The humbucker is also more resistant to noise and is very quiet. Our humbucking Rare Earth is the most popular by far but the Rare Earth Mic Blend – which is the next level up – is fantastic. It is the best pickup on the market that you can install temporarily to achieve a truly world-class sound. It combines the warm bass and midrange response of our Rare Earth with a small gooseneck condenser microphone that lets you blend in more of the guitar’s natural airy top-end. It can be easily dropped into the soundhole without any modification whatsoever and will stand up to any other pickup on the market as far as response and sound quality goes. It’s incredibly natural sounding.”
“The piezo pickup itself has not changed in 40 years – it’s the same element we started with – but the preamps have come a long way”