Fishman MATRIX INFINITY MIC BLEND, MATRIX INFINITY VT Installation Manual

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MATRIX INFINITY VT
MATRIX INFINITY MIC BLEND INSTALLATION
GUIDE

Read Me First!

We recommend having this system installed by an
experienced repair technician

PICKUP INSTALLATION

Saddle Slot Requirements:

Minimum saddle slot length: 2.775” (70.4mm)

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

Observe the following precautions!

• Handle the pickup carefully. Do not trim the
pickup to make it fit. 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 flat and
square for proper pickup performance and balance.

Mechanical factors affecting pickup performance

• Break Angle: To assure optimum pickup
performance, 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 50% of the total height
of the saddle. If the slot measures greater than 50% the
total height of the saddle, balance and/or output level of
the pickup may suffer*

*Minimum 20⁰ string break angle

Locate the wire hole

1. Locate the center of the wire hole a minimum of .100”

(2.5mm) 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 and drill a .094” hole

3. Clear wood chips and foreign materials from the saddle

slot.

4. Carefully insert (do not bend) the pickup. The pickup

must fit loosely in the slot, without binding. If the corners
of the pickup touch the radiused ends of the saddle slot,
pickup failure could result

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Pickup Installation continued…

Prepare the saddle

You may re-use your original saddle after the pickup is
installed. To maintain your current action, you must
remove material from the bottom of the saddle to
compensate for the added height of the pickup. For
Wide format pickups, remove .053” of material. For
Narrow format pickups, remove .043” of material

New Saddle requirements

Organic saddles (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.

Prepare a new saddle that fits properly in the saddle
slot. The bottom of the saddle must be flat.

Remove only enough material from the width of the
saddle to provide a sliding fit in the slot. To test for
proper fit before stringing the instrument, turn the
instrument upside down. The saddle should remain in
the slot. You should be able to remove it easily with your
fingers. If you need tools to remove it, it’s too tight!

PREAMP INSTALLATION

Note: For nylon string instruments or installation without
the control module, refer to the Installation Options
later in this install guide

After the pickup is installed in the guitar it’s time to

attach it to the preamp.

Prepare the endpin jack hole by drilling a 15/32” hole in
the intended location of the jack. (If the guitar has an
existing strap button, you will enlarge that hole to
15/32”)

Open the preamp housing to expose the pickup input
terminal block

Bring the pickup wire out through the soundhole and
fasten it to the terminal block on the preamp module.

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Preamp Installation continued…

The signal wire goes to the terminal marked “IN”
and the shield goes to the “GND” terminal.

Reminder: Do not shorten the pickup wire. Tighten
the screws on the terminal block to secure the wire.

Replace the preamp’s cover being sure the wires do

not get pinched by any plastic parts. The housing
should easily fasten tightly when the screw is
replaced.

Fasten the Preamp/Jack in the Endpin Hole

Follow this sequence when installing the endpin jack:

1 - Large Hex nut
2 - Large Dress Washer
3 - Star Washer
Guitar End Block
4 - Small Dress Washer
5 - Small Dress Nut
6 - Strap Button

Thread the large nut, dress washer and star washer down the
jack towards the preamp body to allow the proper amount of
the jack to go through the end block.

For proper fit, the Endpin Jack should protrude at least 5/16"
(7.9 mm) and no more than 11/32" (8.7mm) outside the
guitar's body.

Fit the small dress washer and nut over the end of the jack

and tighten the nut with a 1/2" open-end wrench while
counter-holding the jack in place with an Allen wrench or
small screwdriver.

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