Fishman ACOUSTIC MATRIX PICKUP INSTALLATION GUIDE

ACOUSTIC MATRIX PICKUP
INSTALLATION GUIDE

www.fishman.com

Read Me First!

Installation of this product is a simple procedure,
but we recommend this job only if you are an
experienced repair technician.

Requirements

Saddle slot

Minimum saddle slot length: 2.775” (70.4mm)

Maximum E to E spacing at saddle: 2.5” (63.5mm)

Installation

Observe the following
precautions!

• Handle the pickup carefully! Do not trim the
pickup to make it fi t. Mishandling may tear
the delicate foil shield, producing ground
hum or intermittent signal.

• Do not shorten the pickup wire. This will
result in poor pickup performance and loss
of bass.

• Both the saddle and saddle slot must be fl at
and square for proper pickup performance
and balance.

Mechanical factors affecting pickup
performance

• Break Angle: In order for the pickup to
perform optimally, there should be a 20°
(minimum) string break angle across the
back of the saddle.

• The 50/50 Rule: There is an important
relationship between the overall saddle
height and the bridge slot depth. We
suggest that the saddle slot depth (with
pickup installed) measures no more than
50% of the total height of the saddle. If
the slot measures more than 50% the total
height of the saddle, balance and/or output
level of the pickup may suffer.

1. Locate the wire hole

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

No less than .100” (2.54mm)

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 .094” hole.

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

5. Carefully insert (do not bend) the pickup. The
pickup must fi t loosely in the slot, without binding.
If the corners of the pickup touch the radiused ends
of the saddle slot, pickup failure could result.

2. Prepare the saddle

Organic saddles (eg, bone or ivory) are not
structurally as consistent as synthetic materials and
may not produce optimal string balance through
the pickup. Synthetic materials such as Micarta™
or Corian™ are suggested.

1. Prepare a .125” wide saddle (.094” for Narrow
Format). The bottom of the saddle must be fl at.

2. Remove only enough material from the width of
the saddle to provide a sliding fi t in the slot. To test
the fi t, the saddle should slide easily in the slot, but
should not fall out when overturned. To maintain
your current action, the new saddle must be .053”
shorter in height (.043” for Narrow Format pickups)
than your current saddle.

RAMP

NO MORE THAN 50%

www.fi shman.com

514-300-108 Rev A 5-09