Fishman Music Pedal Leaflet

Thank you f

or your purchase of a FISHMAN product.

Please read

these instructions carefully

.If y

ou hav

e an

y questions or problems,

contact our PR

at 978-988-9665.

The ACOUSTIC MA

TRIX pickup is made with a unique co-polymer 

sensing material a

vailab

le exclusiv

ely from Fishman.

This material

exhibits a sensitivity and dynamic r

ange that fa

r surpasses all other

known mater

ials.

The ACOUSTIC MA

TRIX transducer is a multi-lay

er configuration of

continuous strips of sensing mater

ial that are fully EMI shielded.

This continuous strip design allows it to sense the motion of the

entire saddle rather than small sections of it (as is the case with

traditional ceramic based transducers);

providing superb str

ing bal-

ance.

The incredibly small size and con

venient under the saddle design of

the transducer helps preserv

e the beauty and structural integr

ity of

your instr

ument.

The four-band equalizer / preamp is the br

ain of the ACOUSTIC

MATRIX PR

OFESSIONAL system.This lo

w-profile “slider”

unit fe

a-

tures BASS, 

TREBLE, MIDRANGE and BRILLIANCE controls as

we

ll as a “set it and f

orget it”SUB-BASS energy tr

im control located

on the back of the preamp

.T

his internal tr

im feature can be used to

adjust the amount of soundhole resonance or “bottom”so that the

preamp will function at optimum perf

ormance le

ve

ls in guitars of

va

ry

ing body sizes.

Other features include a batter

y function indi

-

cating LED and a PHASE SWITCH.

If you plan to mix the 

ACOUSTIC 

MATRIX with an onboard mini

electret microphone through the Fishman Blender System (routed

through a single stereo instrument cab

le), you m

ust first install a

Fishman SMAR

T SWITCH.Call Fishman at 978-988-9665 f

or more

infor

mation.

If you are ne

w to under saddle piezo installations, a comprehensive

guide, 

ints of Piezo Installation”b

y K

en P

ark

er, is

av

ailable from Fishman.

EXCEPTION: Pickups in guitars with a very steep string break angle
(25° or more), will generally perform well, even if the saddle slot depth
measures more than 50% of the total saddle height.

We do not recommend compensating the saddle under the "B" str ing.
Doing so may twist the saddle and cause uneven pickup response.

1. Rout a .125" (3.2 mm) wide saddle slot

for the Acoustic Matrix Wide Format
pickup.

Rout a .09375" (2.3 mm) wide
slot for the Acoustic Matrix
Narrow  Format pickup.

Be certain that the bottom of the slot is FLAT.
Deepen an existing slot only enough to obtain a clean, flat surface.

1. Locate the center of the wire hole no less than .100" (2.5 mm) from

the closest string.

2. Mark the location where the wire will enter the saddle slot. Center

the mark between the walls (width) of the slot.

3. Drill a .09375" hole.

4. Clear wood chips and foreign materials from the saddle slot.

5. Carefully insert (do not bend) the pickup.

We recommend synthetic materials such as Micarta or Corian as
excellent saddle materials for the Acoustic Matrix. Organic materials
such as bone or ivory are not as consistent and may result in poor
string balance.

1. Prepare a .125" wide saddle (.09375" for Narrow Format) 

The bot-

tom of the saddle must be FLAT.

2. Remove only enough material from the width of the saddle to pro-

vide a sliding fit in the slot. To test the fit, the saddle should slide
easily in the slot, but should not fall out when overturned. To main-
tain your current action, the new saddle must be .053" shorter in
height (.043" for Narrow Format pickups) than your current saddle.

NOTE: The overall length of the Matrix pickup is 2.700" (68.58mm).
We recommend a saddle slot length of at least 2.875" (73mm).

The actual sensing area of the pickup is 2.670" long and can accom-
modate string spacings of up to 2.500" (63.5 mm). Poor string bal-
ance may result with string spacings greater than this.

DO NOT trim the end of the pickups length as ground hum will occur.
Custom pickup lengths are available from Fishman.

There must be an adequate
amount of downbearing pres-
sure on the pickup in order
for it to perform optimally.
The pickup will "see" an acceptable amount of downbearing pressure
when there is a 20° (minimum) break angle across the saddle.
A pickup in a Guitar with less than a 20° break angle will often have
string balance problems as well as poor tone. For such instruments,
an adequate break angle can be realized by "ramping" the string slots
or (in extreme cases) raising the saddle height and resetting the neck
angle.

For adequate coupling between string, saddle and pickup, we recom-
mend that the saddle slot depth (with pickup installed) should equal no
more than 50% of the total height of the saddle.

If the slot (with pickup installed) measures more than 50% of the total
saddle height, the pickup performance will often suffer. To correct for
too deep a slot, place a wood shim under the pickup. Determine the
proper thickness of the shim by subtracting 1/2 of the total saddle
height from the slot depth (with pickup installed). Then, remove an
amount of material equal to the thickness of the shim from the bottom
of the saddle.

.125” (3.2 mm) Width

.093” (2.3 mm) Width

INSTALLATION BY A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL REPAIRMAN IS

STRONGLY RECOMMENDED. FISHMAN TRANSDUCERS WILL

NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGES THAT MAY RESULT

FROM IMPROPER INSTALLATION.

INSTALLA

TION BY A QUALIFIED PR

OFESSIONAL REPAIRMAN IS

STRONGL

Y RECOMMENDED.

FISHMAN 

TRANSDUCERS WILL

NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY D

AMAGES 

TO

 Y

OUR INSTRU-

MENT DUE T

O IMPR

OPER INSTALLA

TION.

Alwa

ys handle the pickup with care.M

ishandling may result

in ground hum or interm

ittent signal.F

ishman Tr

ansducers will not

be responsible f

or an

y damages that may occur due to misuse or

poor installation.

• Slider Bezel
• Preamp
•  Acoustic Matrix Pickup
•  1/4" Stereo Jack, with hardware
•  4-40 Screws (4), 3/16" length, with

Star Washers 

•  4-40 Screws (4), 7/16" length
•  1/4" Aluminum Hex Standoffs (4), 

9/16" length

•  3/16" Brass Hex Jack Screws (4), 

1/2" length

• (3) Adhesive-backed Plastic 

Wire Guides

• Preamp Cutout Template
•  (5) Slider Knobs
• Back Plate with Battery Clip

• Caliper
•  Router with 1/8" (3 mm) 

(or .9375" Plunging Cutter 
for Narrow Format)

•  400 Grit Sandpaper or Scraper
•  Flex Shaft Tool with 1" (25.4 mm) 

Diameter Saw Blade or Router 
with 1/4" (6.30 mm) cutter.

•  Soldering Iron (30 watt max)
•  Rosin Core Solder
• Wire Strippers
•  #1 Phillips Screwdriver
•  Variable Speed Drill
• Center Punch
• 1/8" Twist Drill
•  15/32" Spade Bit Drill
•  1/2" Open End Wrench
• 3/32" Allen Wrench

Width:

.125" (3.2 mm)

Height:

.053" (1.35 mm)

Length:

2.650" (67.3 mm)

Sensing Area:

2.670" (67.8 mm)

Max. recommended string spacing:

2.500" (63.5 mm)

Width:

.09375" (2.4 mm)

Height:

.043" (1.1 mm)

Length:

2.650" (67.3 mm)

Sensing Area:

2.670" (67.8 mm)

Max. recommended string spacing:

2.500" (63.5 mm)

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 ACOUSTIC MATRIX PROFESSIONAL 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 consequential 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.

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 war-

ranty 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.

®

340-D Fordham Road Wilmington MA 01887 USA

Phone 978-988-9199 • Fax 978-988-0770

www.fishman.com

009-067-001 2-97

®