Symptom
Cause
Solution
Control Module Installation, Cont’d.
4.
A set of adhesive-backed clips is included to secure the wires inside the
instrument. Clean the bare wood surface where you will fasten the clips. Use an
alcohol wipe or a cotton swab wetted with rubbing alcohol. Remove the plastic film
from the back of each clip to expose the adhesive. Secure the wires and fasten the
clips to the side of the guitar.
5.
Snap a 9 Volt Alkaline battery to the battery clip and fasten it to the battery
holder.
We recommend that you remove the battery prior to shipping
or airline travel. If loose inside the guitar, the battery may
damage the instrument.
Pickup Voicing Switch (Natural I or II)
String up the guitar and plug it into amplification. Reach into the soundhole with
your index finger and locate the slide switch behind the control panel, just to the
right of the phase switch. Push this switch away from you for Natural I voicing (bass
boosted) and toward you for Natural II voicing (flat). Choose the setting that sounds
best with the instrument and the application. Here are some guidelines.
• The Natural I voicing (switch toward bass side) is often used by solo guitarists
and singer-songwriters for a full, bass enhanced tone, especially with smaller
bodied instruments.
• The Natural II voicing (switch toward treble side) is useful for musicians who
play in bands, and who are concerned with controlling boominess at high volume,
especially with full-size guitars.
Microphone Positioning (Blend Model)
You can position the microphone to find the “sweet spot” inside the instrument.
Experiment with the placement until you find the position that works best in the
instrument.
Plug in the guitar and move the Blend slider to the left for mic only. Start with
the mic capsule so it faces the back of the guitar. Move the mic closer to the
soundhole for more bass. Turn the capsule toward the sides of the instrument for
less bass.
Mic Trim Control (Blend Model)
Use a small slotted screwdriver to adjust the Mic Trim potentiometer recessed
below the volume slider. This is a “set it and forget it” control for calibrating
the microphone level in relation to the pickup. Set the Blend slider to the center
position and adjust the Mic Trim control until both the microphone and pickup
levels are balanced to your liking.
Mic Trim
Volume
Blend
Mic Trim
Phase
Under-Saddle Pickup
Installation Tips
Optional Tools
If you install undersaddle pickups regularly, an investment in these specialized
tools will quickly pay you back in time saved, with consistent and reliable results.
Sanding Plate (surface plate)
An undersaddle pickup works best when the saddle is absolutely flat on the
bottom, and it fits precisely in the slot. It follows that you’ll get the best results
preparing a saddle when you can work on an absolutely flat sanding surface. High-
end woodworking shops and industrial suppliers (ex: Woodcraft or MSC Industrial
Supply in North America) carry 9” x 12” granite surface plates that are perfect for
the job. As an alternative, we suggest you visit your local home improvement
center where you can often find polished marble or granite countertop remnants
that make a fine sanding surface. Go for the thickest material available to ensure
a stable working surface. You can also use a polished marble cutting board from
a retail kitchen supplier. Your sanding plate should be about the size of a sheet of
sandpaper.
Sanding Backstop
Use 1/8” (3.2 mm) thick tempered Masonite
®
hardboard or other suitable material.
Cut the backstop to the same length of your sanding plate and 1/2 of its width. True
the edges to 90-degrees. As you sand the bottom of the saddle, hold it against the
edge of the backstop to maintain a 90-degree angle and ensure complete contact
with the pickup once the saddle is installed.
Precision Straight Edge
There is no better way to check the flatness of a saddle than with a quality straight
edge. These are available from luthier supplier shops or an industrial supply
company.
Reamer (with 15/32” and 1/2” steps)
This specialized tool is available through luthier supply shops. The reamer’s 15/32”
step gently widens a tapered endpin hole for a perfect fit with our endpin jack.
Jack Insertion Tool
This simple homemade tool makes it really easy to install the jack in the endblock.
Get a length of 1/4” (6 mm) wooden dowel stock and cut it to about 17” (43cm).
Whittle one end of the dowel to a ball shape, roughly the size of a 1/4” phone plug.
When it is time to install the endpin jack, simply insert the dowel into the endblock
and capture the jack on the tip of the tool.
Precision Caliper
This tool is indispensable for gauging your progress when you adjust the saddle
for the pickup. You can also use it to quickly measure string gauges, and check
action with dead-on accuracy. Note that the length of a metal frame caliper makes
reliable straight edge.
Mechanical Factors that
Affect Pickup Performance
Break Angle
The angle a guitar string forms between the front and back of the saddle is called
the string break angle. As string break angle increases, so does pressure on the
pickup. And more pressure means better pickup performance. The pressure needed
to adequately energize the pickup can be achieved when the break angle is at least
20 degrees.
The saddle height and the relative position of the bridge pins determine the break
angle. A new guitar with a tall saddle will usually have sufficient break angle, but
an instrument with a low saddle may require an increase. To raise the break angle,
the string slots in the bridge can be “ramped”
Sometimes, the saddle seems tall enough, but the bridge-pins are placed in a
pattern that lowers the break angle on several strings and throws off the pickup
balance. For example: guitars with an asymmetrical “smile” pattern for the bridge
pins will often have weak B and high E strings. This can be remedied by ramping
the top two strings.
A worst case scenario is when you work on an older guitar with a saddle that barely
peeks over the slot and the bridge has been shaved down to lower the action. The
unwound strings slide across the saddle with little effort. An instrument in this
condition is nearly impossible to achieve a balanced pickup response, due to the
low break angle. This instrument requires a neck-reset. A professional neck-reset
will restore the saddle height and the string break angle required for good pickup
performance.
Fishman Transducers, Inc.
340 Fordham Road Wilmington, MA 01887
www.fishman.com
NO MORE THAN 50%
RA
MP
514-000-014 Rev B 3-05
The 50/50 Rule
The mechanism that drives an undersaddle pickup works like a see-saw. Just as
a see-saw has a balance point halfway across its length, a pickup generally works
best when the saddle is half in the slot and half above it. Some guitars have very
deep slots, and if more than 50% of the saddle lies in the slot, the string-to-string
balance of the pickup may be uneven.
If the pickup will not balance and more than 50% of the saddle is buried in the slot,
add a hardwood shim under the pickup. To determine the thickness of the shim,
subtract 1/2 of the total saddle height from the depth of the slot. Remove an equal
amount of material from the bottom of the saddle.
Installation Guide
Ellipse
™
Matrix Blend/Ellipse
™
VT
INTERMITTENT OR
DEAD PICKUP SIGNAL
HUM
WEAK STRING
OR STRINGS
THIN OR WEAK SIGNAL
DISTORTION
Saddle is not completely seated.
Bottom of saddle is uneven or out of square.
Debris in the saddle slot.
Saddle too tight or too loose.
Soft plastic saddle material.
Saddle too deep in slot.
Uneven or belly up saddle slot.
Wire hole too tight.
Pickup is binding in the saddle slot.
Push the saddle down over the weak strings.
Check bottom of saddle for flatness and squareness.
Remove debris.
Make sure that the saddle has a sliding fit in the slot.
Use only hard materials such as bone, Corian
®
or Tusc
®.
Follow the 50/50 rule, ramp the string slots if necessary.
Sculpt the bottom of the saddle or mill a new slot.
Widen the wire hole to .094” diameter.
The saddle slot must be .125” wide for wide format pickup
and .094” wide for narrow format pickup. Rout the slot to the
correct width.
Saddle is too tight in the slot, poor s/n ratio.
Torn foil.
Make sure the saddle has a sliding fit in the slot
Examine the pickup. Replace pickup if the foil is torn.
Weak pressure due to low saddle.
Ramp the string slots.
Pickup is binding in the wire hole (wire hole
is too small or misaligned).
Pickup is binding in the saddle slot.
Widen the pickup wire hole.
Widen or lengthen the saddle slot to accommodate the
pickup.
Weak battery.
Replace the battery.
Troubleshooting
Less Bass
More Bass
