Fishman Tune-O-Matic Powerbridge

piezo pickups built into saddles on tune-o-matic bridge. can be used with or without powerchip to control volume on guitar. blend or switch to mag pups with 3-way toggle. must convert jack to stereo unit (supplied).

I put one in a Gibson Les Paul Classic Antique, the other in a custom-made Les Paul copy. One has the companion powerchip, the other does not. Slash uses the Fishman, as does Townshend. I needed to go from acoustic to electric, and back, on the fly for live gigs.

The sound DI into the PA is great. When run through a DTar Mama Bear it's even better. I'd like to try Fishman's Aura one day, too. Sounds best on my Classic Antique, due to body chambering. EQ at the board, naturally. Very convincing acoustic tones. I doubt there is anything made on earth that would garnish a 10 rating, but this smokes those pathetic acoustic simulators I've tried (Boss AC-2 & AC-3, Boss GT-8, etc.)

very good concept and function, but can be challenging to install, especially the powerchip. 3 shops failed at the install (including a Fishman authorized installer) on my custom axe; I finally spent a whole day to get it right myself - it was worth it. Fishman offers great support. the one drawback is that the piezo pickups are so sensitive that I had to practically double my string height to silence the fret noise. What is completely silent through magnetic pickups can sound terribly noisy through the Fishman. In the end, though, I haven't found anything else out there that will allow me to play acoustic and dirty with a half-second wait.

active piezo pickup built into bridge, powerchip volume control, 3-way toggle

converted a Les Paul so that I could switch between acoustic and electric sounds on the fly

I use a stereo Y-adapter to run the mag pups to my mesa and the fishman through a Mama Bear to our PA. It sounds 90% like an acoustic using this setup,and you can vary the tone using other effects or by changing the settings on the Mama Bear.

If my axe went missing, I would definitely put the Fishman in another Les Paul. Before going this route I tried using digital effects processors like the Pod and Boss GT-8, but the results were very unimpressive. The Boss AC-3 is just a plain waste of money. The only downside is putting a hole in the top of my guitar to install the toggle switch. The Fishman is the bomb, but the installation is a killer. Two shops couldn't get it to work, including an authorized Fishman installer. I finally got it up and running after a full day. It was worth the effort - 'nuff said. And Frank Fishman was awesome on tech support.

Replaced bridge with tunomatic powerbridge & added poerchip,3 way toggle switch.

Stock Gibson Les Paul Classic. The new slash model has something like this but I don't have $4200.00

Added the Acoustic/Electric sound at the flick of a switch.The 3 way middle blends the two sounds for a whole different sound.

This thing is great! I needed diversity added to my Les Paul although it really rocks, the clean was just o.k. Now guitar players in our audience look amazed when I flick this on.I play variety classic & country rock now I don't have to change guitars, I love it !

Pickup features: passive piezo pickups in the bridge
Impedence or other specs: I use the Fishman Powerchip that "blends" the magnetic and powerbridge signals. The Powerchip is an active volume control for the Powerbridge

Model of guitar or bass: Les Paul Special SL Humbucker (the good one, before the cheap fadeds came out!)
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: the old bridge
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup: Pete Townshend
You musical style(s): Classic Rock, Jam, Hard Rock, Acoustic
Reason for pickup change: I wanted a clean acoustic tone to add to my guitar and I am a big Pete Townshend and The Who fan. This seemed like an inexpensive,novel solution. And you can't pull off Pinball Wizard without this!

Perceived output level: This bridge is hot. very nice
Tone: nice clean acoustic like tone. Very balanced. mixes perfectly with my Les Paul tone.
Sonic evaluation: I use a Fender Stage 160 amp. With My Gibson Les Paul Special SL. All in all this thing is great. I havn't tried the stereo output yet, because I don't have a second amp or a Y cable. The sounds coming out of this thing will amaze you. It DOESN'T sound exactly like an acoustic, but that is ok. Because it adds a clean tone that nothing else will give you. It makes everything from clean tones, to distorted tones to sound amazing. It gives the guitar more clarity and just improves tone. The downside i guess is that with the Powerchip, you need to replace the battery. And also, once you get use to the tone, you probably won't notice it that much. But I'm sure your audience will.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Classic Rock, Jam, Hard Rock, ect.... it's a perfect match

Comments: I want to get another guitar and put another one of these on here. Ive been playing for 7 years, and Ive had many guitars. But nothing made my guitar so clear and tonefull. I can create so many tones now. I love the sounds this thing makes. I hate nothing, but I dislike the fact I had to hunt down a guitar tech to install it for about 6 months. But he had it done in a day, so that was nice. There are other products out there, on other guitars. They don't even compare to the Fishman Powerbridge. I am very satisfied. I did find THAT sound. heh
Email me if you want me to answer some questions for you, I'd be happy to help.