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M

ODEL

VMV

Vintage Mount Vibrato Style 
Bridge / Pickup System

for “six-screw” bridge Stratocaster-style guitars

TM

INSTALLATION BY A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL REPAIRMAN IS STRONGLY

RECOMMENDED. FISHMAN TRANSDUCERS WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR

ANY DAMAGES THAT MAY RESULT FROM IMPROPER INSTALLATION.

The Fishman Powerbridge™ Pickup is warranted to function for a period of One (1) Year
from the date of purchase. If the unit fails to function properly within the warranty period,
free repair and the option of replacement or refund in the event that Fishman is unable
to make repair are Fishman’s only obligations. This warranty does not cover any conse-
quential damages or damage to the unit due to misuse, accident, or neglect. Fishman
retains the right to make such determination on the basis of factory inspection. Products
returned to Fishman for repair or replacement must be shipped in accordance with the
Return Policy, as follows. This warranty remains valid only if repairs are performed by
Fishman. This warranty gives you specific legal rights and you may also have other
rights which may vary from state to state.

RETURN POLICY
To return products to FISHMAN TRANSDUCERS, you must follow these steps...

1. Call FISHMAN TRANSDUCERS at 978-988-9199 for a Return Authorization Number

(“RAN”).

2. Enclose a copy of the original Bill of Sale as evidence of the date of purchase, with

the product in its original packaging and a protective carton or mailer.

3. FISHMAN TRANSDUCERS’ technicians will determine whether the item is covered

by warranty or if it instead has been damaged by improper customer installation or
other causes not related to defects in material or workmanship.

4. Warranty repairs or replacements will be sent automatically free of charge.

5. If FISHMAN TRANSDUCERS determines the item is not covered by warranty, we

will notify you of the repair or replacement cost and wait for your authorization to
proceed.

Fishman's bridge system fits on the Fender Stratocaster® guitar or Fender Telecaster® guitar  and other similar and comparable guitars. • FENDER,
STRATOCASTER, STRAT, AMERICAN STANDARD STRAT, AMERICAN STANDARD TELE, TELE are registered trademarks of Fender Musical
Instruments Corp. with which Fishman Transducers Inc. is not affiliated.  

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POWERBRIDGE

P

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P

M

ODEL

VMV

Vintage Mount V

ibrato Style 

Bridge / Pickup System

POWERBRIDGE

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• Stereo Jack (included)

A 1/4" stereo output jack is provided with your Powerbridge™ Pickup. It is an
essential component to the Powerbridge™ System.
It can send piezo and magnetic pickup signals to separate amplifiers. The

magnetic pickups are wired to
Tip, and the Powerbridge™
Pickup is wired to Ring.

• Instrument
Cable 

(not

included)

Depending on how you want to
set up your Powerbridge™

system, you can use one of the following three instrument cables (available from
your Fishman dealer).

1 - Stereo "Y" Cable 

This will split the
Powerbridge™ and magnetic
pickup signals and send them
to separate amplifiers or other
destinations (PA, recording
devices, etc.).

2 - Stereo Instrument
Cable 

Both magnetic and piezo
signals can be sent through a
single stereo instrument cable
to one of our outboard
Powertronics™ preamps. From there, magnetic and piezo signals can be either
combined to a single mono output or split to separate stereo outputs.

NOTE: For best results, use a "2 Pair" premium stereo cable (available through
your Fishman dealer) with separate shielding for both the Powerbridge™ and
magnetic signals.

3 - Mono Instrument Cable 

With a Fishman Powerchip™: A standard mono instrument cable used
with a Fishman Powerchip™ will provide a combined Powerbridge™ / magnetic
pickup signal.
Without a Fishman Powerchip™: A mono instrument cable will short out
the Powerbridge™ Pickup, but your magnetics will function 

exactly  as they did

before you installed the Powerbridge™.

• Basic Passive Setup

Stereo Outputs 

The simplest way to get the Powerbridge™ Pickup up and running is to simply wire it
and the magnetic pickups to  Tip/Ring outputs of the supplied stereo jack. A stereo
"Y" cable or a standard stereo cable can then carry the two signals. From there, all
mixing and blending functions will be performed offboard the instrument. A Fishman
Powerblend™ Pedal is especially suited for offboard blending/mixing with this passive
setup.

For a passive setup, you don't want to tie the Powerbridge™ and magnetic pickup
wires together at the guitar's mono output jack. This may seem like a good idea, but
it won't work. If you connect the piezo and magnetic outputs, you will experience a
loss of tone and a very bizarre and un-musical interaction between the Powerbridge™
and magnetic pickups.

Magnetic and piezo pickups operate on different electrical platforms. Magnetics are
"inductors" and piezos are "capacitive" devices. The solution is to electronically
isolate or "buffer" the two signals with an active mixing circuit like the Fishman
Powerchip™.

Thank you f

or choosing the Pow

erbridge™ pic

kup.

You will find that there are

seve

ra

l wiring options a

vailab

le for the P

ow

erbridge™.

To help y

ou decide how

to integrate it with y

our Strat

®

-Style guitar, please read the P

ow

erbridge™ Users

Guide that accompanies these instructions

.

Pa

rts List

System Components

• 

VMV Pow

erbr

idge

™ 

Pickup

• 

6 Pivot scre

ws

• 

1.5 mm hex wrench

• 

Vibrato cla

w & springs

• 

Vibrato ar

m

• 

2  Vibr

ato Mounting Screw

s

• 

Stereo output jack

• 

Shielding foil

• 

5 M

resistor

• 

Routing T emplate

Important!

Do not disturb the blac

k signal wires located under the

saddles.

They are e

xtremely delicate

.

Pickup failure ma

y

result from handling these wires.

Po

werbridge™ installation should be perf

ormed by

 a

qualified repairman only.

Fishman  Transducer

s will not be

responsible f

or any dama

ges that ma

y result from impr

oper

installation.

The VMV  P

owerbridg

e™ is a direct replacement fo

r Fender

®

Stratocasters

®

with a 2.22" (E to E,center to center) piv

ot

screw spacing.

Note that some non-USA Strats

®

have a

smaller pivot scre

w spacing and will require plugging and

re-drilling these holes to "vintag

e" Fender

® 

specifications.

Please read these instructions carefully.

For technical

assistance,

contact Fishman Customer Support at 

978-988-9665 or [email protected]

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FISHMAN TRANSDUCERS, INC.

340-D Fordham Road Wilmington MA 01887 USA

Phone 978-988-9199 • Fax 978-988-0770

www.fishman.com

009-075-005 • Rev 3 • 4-18-02

TM

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Intonation

Screws

Saddle Height

Adjustment Screws

T remolo Bar

T ension Adjust

Stereo Output Jack

(Tip/Ring/Sleeve)

Stereo "Y" Cable

Powerbridge™

Signal
(Ring)

Pure

Magnetic

Signal

(Tip)

 Powerbridge

 

Stereo

Instrument Cable

to Stereo Input

Magnetic

Powerchip™

Mono Instrument Cable

 Powerbridge

 

Magnetic

Optional Passive

Volume Pot

Mono Instrument Cable

Stereo Output Jack

(Tip/Ring/Sleeve)

 Powerbridge

 

Magnetic

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