I don't get the hype with Fishman Fluence

[Frostbite]

Just get Bare Knuckles and a used Prestige

 

[Sermo Lupi]

Never tried them, so I can't really comment. But I'm watching this thread in the hopes that whatever poet brought us the classic, 'Evertunes have the bezel of a 720p LCD from 2006', can bless us with a similarly pithy description of whatever the hell is going on with Fishmans.

 

[torchlord]

The bad:
Eats the living hell out of batteries. They don’t like going bellow 8.8 V. Typical battery life is around 20-80 hours. Not good in mu opinion. I do buy batteries in huge bulk quantities. Comes out to around $1 per battery bit still, it’s like burning your money in a battery fire.

I had X2 digital wireless unit which was before Line 6 bought them and it killed most rechargeable 9 volts. I did some searching and wound up finding 550 Mah Maximal Power that work really good for it but they have 600 Mah versions now which is right up there with the best Mah ratings for Alkaline based batteries. I've had good luck with them.

 

[owlexifry]

i’ve only tried a set that was oem in an epiphone les paul modern series thing (not mine).
was tuned to drop C.
going into an ST-9 / 6505 / orange 4x12 (V30s), in the band rehearsal room.

i get why people like them. it’s got a nice crisp consistent thing going. it’s cool, but:
- i don’t like the ‘samey-ness’ and lack of dynamic (vs. passives, big fan of duncan distortion)
- there’s something about it that feels like im playing through a DAW/plugin.
- just doesn’t respond to how much harder or softer i pick.

idk passives just tick all the boxes.
if i was gonna do actives, i’d be looking at EMG instead.

 

[BillCartESP]

Like someone else mentioned , it’s the consistency. Through the years I’ve gone through many Seymour Duncan models cause they are so inconsistent. Even though the off ones sounds good , they don’t have the proper fq response. It’s they’re close but ehh.

That’s with ones bought from a vendor like Sweetwater, Zzounds, etc. On guitars it’s worse unless it’s a mid-high end model where I had better luck. Just my experience anyways. Not sure about everyone else’s.

Still dislike the battery life though. I’m not sure what the hell Fishman was thinking. The acoustic ones don’t burn through batteries as quickly.

 

[Franko]

I've often heard people speak of EMG's consistency as a bad thing. Kind of like "well any guitar with an EMG in it sounds exactly the same"
I personally don't totally agree. I remember a friend who had a Les Paul Standard and a PRS, both had the 81/85 combo and those two guitars sounded completley diffrent.

I'm wondering if the "they make everything sound the same" argument can be said for Fishmans too

 

[STRHelvete]

IDGAF about anything that's not a SD Custom....so I automatically hate Fishmans without ever playing them.

 

[Crungy]

I've often heard people speak of EMG's consistency as a bad thing. Kind of like "well any guitar with an EMG in it sounds exactly the same"
I personally don't totally agree. I remember a friend who had a Les Paul Standard and a PRS, both had the 81/85 combo and those two guitars sounded completley diffrent.

I'm wondering if the "they make everything sound the same" argument can be said for Fishmans too

That's an interesting question and you would think it couldn't make them sound that similar.
Body/neck construction, variance in woods, plus whatever strings you use... Plus your example of the LP and PRS.

 

[wheresthefbomb]

did someone say fish man?

 

[Crungy]

did someone say fish man?

View attachment 160308

Ya ever drunk Bailey's from a shoe?

 

[oracles]

Hype and good marketing are the only reasons I can come up with as to why they're popular. They're everything people "hated" about EMGs for years, but with none of the good parts. Atrocious battery life, punishingly bright, no dynamics, and the ever present "cocked wah" sound.

I haven't tried a set I've liked more than any EMG, but the Stefs and moderns are just awful.

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

I've often heard people speak of EMG's consistency as a bad thing. Kind of like "well any guitar with an EMG in it sounds exactly the same"
I personally don't totally agree. I remember a friend who had a Les Paul Standard and a PRS, both had the 81/85 combo and those two guitars sounded completley diffrent.

I'm wondering if the "they make everything sound the same" argument can be said for Fishmans too

Yeah I never got this too lol

Guitarists: EMGS make everything sound the same (derogatory)

Also guitarists: Fishmans make everything sound the same, and even moreso (complimentary)

??????

...also yes, EMGS don't make everything sound the same lol. It's a misconception that people think because people think all the "tone" comes out of the preamp... but like, the preamp has to amplify *something* lmao.

 

[Emperoff]

I love how people throw the word "consistency", as if the tolerance between two identical pickups from other manufacturers was like 30% or something

 

[Matt08642]

When I had mentioned consistency earlier I didn't mean to imply they make everything sound the same, I just meant they're consistent in manufacture and have essentially no variance as far as I know. Interesting from a manufacturing standpoint. I like anything that takes the voodoo out of things.

 

[youngthrasher9]

I love how people throw the word "consistency", as if the tolerance between two identical pickups from other manufacturers was like 30% or something

I would argue for the sake of arguing that while the initial signal sent from the pickup might be 5% +/- variance for the same model (just a number for example, not an actual guess), what comes out of the speakers of a high gain amplifier is probably perceived as much more- maybe even triple. Think about it, listen to 5 DI’s of different pickups, try to pick out 3 that are actually the same, with order randomizedper repetition, for a test sample size of 100 repetitions. There’s no way anyone on SSO is pulling better than like 70% rate of success IMO. Now send them through a high gain amp, at good volume, isolated as before, and I bet that success rate goes up. High gain amps especially straight in, seem to intensify every little nuance of a signal, negative or positive.

 

[Suho]

I just got the new ESP/LTD SC-608 in yellow. It has the newer Carpenters with the 3rd voice, supposedly. It uses a 5-way switch and a push/pull volume control. To be honest, I can barely hear any difference. V1 is slightly louder than V2. Apparently V3 isn't affected by the push- pull, and is the same in settings 2 and 4 regardless of up or down. I prefer playing clean, and for all 10 combinations these give me maybe 3 slightly different sounds. Maybe. Slightly.

I'm tempted to see if another set (not Carpenter) have more versatility but am not eager to invest in that right now, at least not without something stronger than hope.

 

[zjb7777]

I've tried the Moderns in my 7 string before and I didn't really like them. They were really clear for chords but they weren't tight. They just did not handle the low G#/F# well at all and were honky

I did also have them in a string I had briefly and I didn't mind them but I didn't love them. They handled drop C well enough, but I just didn't get anything out of them.

All that said, I do really like EMGs in both 6 and 7 strings and the 60 in the bridge is one of the most versatile pickups I've ever tried. If the 81 doesn't cut it for cleans for you, the 60 most certainly will.

 

[LegionsOfRaum]

I just got the new ESP/LTD SC-608 in yellow. It has the newer Carpenters with the 3rd voice, supposedly. It uses a 5-way switch and a push/pull volume control. To be honest, I can barely hear any difference. V1 is slightly louder than V2. Apparently V3 isn't affected by the push- pull, and is the same in settings 2 and 4 regardless of up or down. I prefer playing clean, and for all 10 combinations these give me maybe 3 slightly different sounds. Maybe. Slightly.

I'm tempted to see if another set (not Carpenter) have more versatility but am not eager to invest in that right now, at least not without something stronger than hope.

The stephen carpenter fluences I was not really that impressed by also. Just seemed like a slightly tweaked version of the regular moderns. For versatility, the Tosin Abasi, Devin Townsend, Will Adler, and Fluff(Ryan Bruce) have really good passive and single coil voicings

 

[Suho]

Thanks. I'll look into these further and down the line I may experiment.
I've also had the Moderns in an E-II Horizon. They were ok. Not terrible but not my favorite. Usable.

 

[Screamingdaisy]

A lot of marketing is hype. By challenging the current market leader you're tapping into an already developed market, and there's always a segment of that market that'll be susceptible to being lured in by the next best thing.