Fishman Transducers, Inc.
340-D Fordham Road, Wilmington, MA 01887 USA
Phone 978-988-9199 • Fax 978-988-0770
www.fishman.com
This article is intended to illuminate the finer points of fitting an under-the-saddle
piezo pickup. The positioning of a piezo element on or within an instrument is a chal-
lenging installation problem. Necessarily, the pickup is extremely sensitive, and accord-
ingly, its environment must fall within a small envelope to achieve full performance.
Problems are not always what they first appear to be, but the mysteries WILL BE
REVEALED to the perceptive. I have always been able to resolve balance problems by
checking and truing the surfaces that touch the pickup. Only rarely should any correc-
tive saddle "sculpting" (see “Drop-In Installations”) be required if the parts around the
pickup are correctly shaped.
The Fishman AG-125 and Martin 332 contain 6 piezo elements. For best perfor-
mance, each element must be located directly under each string - or in the 12-string,
under the center of each pair of strings. Yes, it MAY work if slightly misaligned or dif-
ferently spaced, but there's nothing like getting them right underneath! Our recommen-
dation is no more than .050" total difference between the outside string to string mea-
surement at the saddle and the spacing of the crystal elements within the pickup.
The Fishman Acoustic Matrix Pickup contains a multi-layer configuration of continu-
ous strips of sensing material. This continuous design allows the Acoustic Matrix to
sense the motion of the entire saddle, rather than small sections. The job of aligning
the strings with the piezo sensing material is eliminated with the Acoustic Matrix
pickup.
Please remember that custom length, string spacing or string number pickups are
available from Fishman Transducers. Do not hesitate to order a custom pickup if nec-
essary.
Also please note that the methods and techniques described in this article are
intended only for
professional repairmen and luthiers. Fishman Transducers cannot be
held responsible for any damages to your pickup or instrument that may result from
improper installation procedures.
The
Finer
Points
of
Undersaddle
Pickup
Installation
Adapted from an article by
Ken Parker; first published in the
12th issue of Guitarmaker -
The Official Newsletter and
Publication of A.S.I.A.
(Association of Stringed
Instrument Artisans)
Stock Pickups Available
without Special Ordering
STRING OVERALL
FORMAT
WIDTH
SPACING
WHL
LENGTH
THINLINE 332
3/32”
2.125”
.234”
2.625”
2.3125”
.183”
2.725”
2.375”
.234”
2.825”
4-STRING
2.125
.234”
2.625”
BACKPACKER
2.190”
.100”
2.500”
BACKPACKER
CLASSICAL
2.4375”
.150”
2.825”
AG-125
1/8”
2.125”
.234”
2.625”
2.155”
.234”
2.625”
2.00”
.234”
2.500”
AGX-125
2.3125”
.234”
2.725”
B-30 4-STRING
2.0625”
.234”
2.500”
CUATRO
55mm
.234”
2.725”
4-STRING
2.1875”
.234”
2.625”
12-STRING
2.260”
.234”
2.725”
2.200”
.234”
2.625”
THINLINE GOLD +
3/32”
2.00” - 2.50”
.100”
2.725”
ACOUSTIC MATRIX
1/8” & 3/32”
2.00” - 2.50”
.100”
2.650”
LOWDEN SPLIT
2.00” - 2.50”
.100”
1.750” + .875”
