Fishman VS-100P Powerbridge

Pickup features: Piezo transducers in a replacement bridge for Strat blade-tremolo guitars.
Impedence or other specs: n/a

Model of guitar or bass: Fender American Standard Strat
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: n/a
Other pickups on guitar: currently, Vintage Noiseless; at the time, Lace Sensors
Artists using this pickup: Pete Townshend gave it a pretty good endorsement (but that was the TSV)
You musical style(s): rock, blues, etc
Reason for pickup change: Same as anyone else who puts this thing in - I wanted to play one guitar live and not have to switch to acoustic.

Perceived output level: Lots of output, hotter than the Gold Lace Sensor. Except for the low E (more on that later).
Tone: Very trebly. Way trebly. Annoyingly trebly. However, Fishman said it would most likely need to be e.q.'d.
Sonic evaluation: I didn't get very far with this. I plugged it in to my electric amp, so I knew it'd sound crappy, but I could tell that it could have a decent acoustic-y sound. But see below...

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: rock, blues, the usual... This pickup is suitable only for live performance.

Comments: Here's the story: I plugged my guitar in with the Powerbridge and the low E wasn't working (after spending $60 for setup and installation). So I called Guitar Center who said they'd take it back but suggested I contact Fishman to see if they would cut me a deal or maybe help with the labor costs. So I did. They said they'd replace the bridge with a newer model (the VS-100P had been discontinued because it had "problems"), but they would not cover any of the labor costs. By this point I'm going on three weeks with an unusable piezo bridge and looking at another charge for removal of the old bridge and still another for installation of the new bridge. At this point I didn't feel like trusting Fishman anymore (or the teeny tiny little wire that comes out of the bridge that connects to the jack), so I just had the thing taken out. I brought it back to Guitar Center and traded it for a set of three Vintage Noiseless pickups and about five sets of strings. I went home happy.
I'm sure this thing is great, but I won't be screwing around with Fishman anymore. I'd sooner pay for a new Taylor.

Pickup features: Piezo Element Vibrato Bridge/Pickup System
Impedence or other specs: 10 mega ohms (?)

Model of guitar or bass: Carvin DC-135
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Carvin Wilkinson Vibrato Bridge
Other pickups on guitar: n/a
Artists using this pickup: see Fishman's Web page
You musical style(s): Rock , Jazz, Folk, Blues, Fusion, Christian Rock, new Acoustic FIngerstyle
Reason for pickup change: Wanted to add the flexibility of going to an acoustic type sound without necessarily having to change guitars.

Perceived output level: When going direct to a PA, the sound is VERY thin, and not very good sounding, due to the impedence mismatch. You definitely need some kind of preamp.
Tone: Bright and clear with a midrange hump, and boomy piezo bottom (be careful how you hit the guitar body when you play).
Sonic evaluation: As I said before, when plugging direct into a mixer or PA, the sound is very thin, but there is a big bottem end "thump" to the tone. Pludded into a Boss AD-5 (I won't go into the AD-5's tone shaping options here), which has a 4 mega ohm impedence for piezo pickups, the tone improves somewhat.
Plugged into Fishman's Pro-Eq (with the required 10 mega ohm input), the Powerbridge's tone became much richer, fuller, and more balanced. While it doesn't sound exactly like an acoustic with a piezo bridge, it does a great impression of one, and when you do fingerstyle on the electric, the resemblance is enhanced even more. For some of the work I do with it, it has reminded me of the Godin electric equipped with its piezo (Mark Cusson of UZEB).
Plugged into a Fender Acoustasonic Jr., the Fishman shines! The amp adds a touch of "woodiness" to the Powerbridge's tone, and I would feeol comfortable playing an acoustic gig with this guitar/amp combination.
The absolute best sound I got wwas when i got the chance to plug the Powerbridge into the Fishman 250 watt amp. You really get the impression that you're playing a real acoustic. The effect was uncany to my ears. Again, once you plug a true acoustic into it, you can hear the difference, but the Fishman/Fishman combination will surely bring a smile to your face, and make you contemplate spending a whole lot more money than you expected to. . .

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play just about every style of music. The only style this version of the Powerbridge wouldn't be practical for is open tuning, as you would continuously run into tuning problems as you change the balance of tension on the springs. Add one of the Fishman stop tail pieces to another guitar for that.

Comments: The Powerbridge has become an invaluable part of my tools. I have considered refitting all my electrics with them. I would suggest adding the Power Pot to take care of the impedence problems, and make allowances for adding the battery, or have a battery compartment routed out for it (Carvin seems to have the best battery comartment parts, and I would look into them). The only thing that stops me is a problem with string breakage, especially with the high E string. I break one at least once a gig! Other than that, it's a step up from the Wilkinson bridge that was in the guitar (the Fishman's saddles are individually height adjustable, while those on the Wilkinson that I removed were not).
I think Fishman should consider looking into the Godin/Brian Moore innovation of adding MIDI/hex-pickup capability to their bridges. Right now, this is not where they place their emphasis, however.