Fishman Matrix Infinity

Active undersaddle Matrix Pickup with new Infinity preamp and soundhole mounted volume and tone. I had been eamiling Fishman about when they would release a volume and tone unti like this as I love their pickups but loved the volume/tonne units in the other companies models. They were very supportive, telling me to be patient...I am so glad i was1 Volume and tone control are hidden inside the sound hole, easy to reach, very effective. The preamp hosing and volume/tone control unit are all plastic, but I guess this helps keep the weight down and since it is inside the guitar it should never get any abuse. Only time will tell if the adhesive on the volume/tone unit and the battery bag will hold!

I had this in stalled into my 1994 Gibson J100-Extra. This guitar was equipped at the factory with an older Fishman pickup, but it was passive with no preamp inside the guitar. Not wanting to be tied to an external preamp, I had it replaced with the new Matrix Infinity. I had been waiting for my favorite PU company, Fishman to offer the volume and tone on an inside the soundhole arrangement. I have two other guitars, a Guild 6 and 12 string with the old style pickup and volume/tone/preamp unit installed near the neck. Not wanting to put holes into this Gibson led me to ask Fishmna when they would come out with this type of unit.

The sound is really increible. The salesman/owner told me that the new fishman Matrix pickup was a great imporvment over the unit in my Gibosn and he was right, much better string to string balance and the tone mid scoop is also a great help. The bass boost/flat switch is also great as this Gibson is a jumbo body. I like a warm bottem end, but the switch helps control the low end when I need to.

This is the pickup/preamp I have been waiting for and if I didn't already have my other two stage guitars equipped with the older AGP-2 Fishman models I would have them put in. I would love to see Fishman come out with a simliar unit for an archtop guitar with the same volume/tone unit mount for under the pickguard...think about that one Fishman!

Active undersaddle Matrix Pickup with new Infinity preamp and soundhole mounted volume and tone.

An OM of my own construction from an LMI kit - figured mahogany back and sides with Carpathian Spruce top.
The Infinity preamp has the plug built into the end, and it's shorter than the standard Matrix preamp plug by a hair. Had to remove some material from the inside of the end-block to get a good fit. The guitar already had a matrix undersaddle in place, so the addition was the Infinity preamp with volume and tone at the soundhole.
The Infinity was just introduced at NAMM a couple of weeks ago, so it's a brand new product. Got mine from Elderly Instruments.

Plenty of output, as with the standard Matrix preamp. I use it with a Fishman Loudbox 100 amp. I keep one at home for practice and one at church where I play weekly.
Frankly, I was all set to hate the tone control. Instead of the standard treble and bass, as you turn the single knob, it increases treble and bass and rolls off the mid range all at the same time. To my surprise, it sounds great and is a really useful tone control! Adds a nice 'air' to the sound. Volume and tone controls mount inside the soundhole and are easy to reach there. They're very hard to see, so it doesn't mar the beauty of the instrument at all. There's also a switchable bass booster switch inside - but I prefer "flat". There's also a low-battery warning LED, but it's way down inside the guitar on the preamp - so you'll have to be looking for it to see the warning.

I like this Infinity Matrix so much I'll be adding it to my other guitars which currently don't have an onboard volume. I also own the Fishman Aura, which is a fantastic sound-shaping box. I've tried them all I think, including K & K, B-Band and many more. Fishman's Matrix has plenty of drive for every situation, is quiet in the background and rock-solid when it comes to reliability. It's also one of the easiest to install.