FISHMAN TRANSDUCERS
®
340-D Fordham Road Wilmington MA 01887 USA
Phone 978-988-9199 • Fax 978-988-0770
www.fishman.com
Printed in USA © 1999 Fishman Transducers Inc.
FENDER, STRAT, AMERICAN STANDARD STRAT, AMERICAN STANDARD TELE, TELE are registered trademarks of Fender Musical Instruments Corp. with which Fishman Transducers Inc. is not affiliated.
009-075-009
POWERBRIDGE
SYSTEM
User’s Guide
User’s Guide
®
™
®
™
The electric guitar contains a wealth of different sounds. But the rich
POWERBRIDGE
SYSTEM
The World’s Finest Acoustic Pickup...
This book will introduce you to the Fishman Powerbridge™ System
and help you get the most out of it. It is a basic overview of the
Powerbridge™ System, allowing you to get started quickly and
easily. It is also a useful reference for more sophisticated future
applications.
...For Your Electric!
...For Your Electric!
organic quality of an acoustic has never been one of them - until
now. The Fishman Powerbridge™ System - including the
Powerbridge™ Pickup and the complete line of Powertronics™
dedicated preamps (Powerchip™, Powermix™ and Powerblend™) can
reveal new colors and textures hidden inside your electric guitar.
The Fishman Powerbridge™
Pickup is built into a high
quality,made-in-the-USA
replacement bridge for Strat
®
Tele
style guitars. Piezo elements
integrated into each bridge
saddle respond directly to the
acoustic energy of your electric
guitar - providing an "acoustic"
sound quality.
®
and
On its own, the Powerbridge™ Pickup provides a subtle and
intimate "acoustic" sound. But the real fun begins when you
blend Piezo and magnetic signals together. With the complete
Fishman Powerbridge™ System you can blend the
Powerbridge™ Pickup with clean magnetic sounds for bright,
percussive tones - or with your favorite distortion settings for
a range of hybrid clean and dirty tones.
The Powerbridge™ System
also affords you a wide range
of signal routing options.
Send the Powerbridge™
signal with your magnetic
signal to a single guitar amp
or feed it to a PA and the
magnetic signal to your
onstage amp for lush, room-
filling “electro-acoustic”
effects.
Things to Know ...
Passive
Volume Control
Passive
Volume Control
...about the Powerbridge™ Pickup
Powerful but Passive
You can plug the Powerbridge™ directly into many amplifiers with
excellent results. This is called a "passive" system, because there is no
"active" preamp
(no battery) between the Powerbridge™ and the amp's
input. When you go passive, remember that the Powerbridge™ will
sound best plugged into an amp with a minimum 1 MΩ input
impedance. Less than 1 MΩ will rob the Powerbridge™ pickup of low
end.
Volume Control
If you want to control the volume of the Powerbridge™ Pickup, we've
included a special 5 MΩ volume pot. You can replace that little-used
middle pickup tone control on your Stratocaster
®
style guitar with this
pot. And there's plenty of room for it on a Telecaster®style control plate.
Six
Selector Switch
For even more onboard control, you
can add a three-position selector
switch (not included) to toggle
between Piezo alone, Piezo and
Magnetic, or Magnetic pickups
alone.
Sleeve
Tip
Your Guitar's Output Jack
Fishman Power Law
Ring
Never connect your Powerbridge™and magnetic
pickups to your guitar's existing Mono Output Jack !
If you do, you’ll experience a very bizarre and unpleasant interaction
between the Powerbridge™ and your magnetic pickups. This is
because Piezo and magnetic signals mix like oil and water - they
operate on different electrical platforms. Piezo pickups
Powerbridge™)
are capacitive devices and magnetic pickups are
(like the
inductors. This is why we've provided you with a …..
Seven
Stereo Output Jack
Every Powerbridge™ Pickup includes a TRS (Tip/Ring/Sleeve) Stereo Output
Jack specifically intended for use with the Fishman Powerbridge™
System.
Passive Powerbridge™ Setups
Stereo Output Jack
(Tip/Ring/Sleeve)
Stereo "Y" Cable
With the Powerbridge’s™
Stereo Output Jack, you
can use a Stereo“Y” Cable
(available at your Fishman
dealer) to send Piezo and
magnetic pickup signals to
separate amplifiers.
Instrument Cables
Depending on how you set up your Powerbridge™ system, you will use
one of these three cables (available from your Fishman dealer):
Stereo "Y" Cable
- Used to split your Piezo and magnetic pickup
signals and send them to two separate amplifiers.
Stereo Instrument Cable
- Lets you plug into one of our
Powertronics™ preamps for either mono or stereo Piezo / magnetic
output.
Standard Mono Instrument Cable
- Plugs into a Powerchip™
equipped guitar for combined Piezo / magnetic output. A mono cable
will short out the Piezo signal if the Powerbridge™ Pickup is not wired
with a Powerchip™.
The following pages illustrate some
typical Passive Setups for the Powerbridge
and your magnetic pickups
Eight
Powerbridge™ Signal
(Ring)
Electric Guitar
Amp #1
Electric Guitar
While playing the
Powerbridge™ through a
standard electric amp
gives you a pretty cool
alternative to your
magnetic pickups, an
acoustic guitar amplifier
does a great job of
reproducing the more
acoustic qualities of the
Powerbridge™.
Pure Magnetic Signal
(Tip)
Amp #2
Stereo Output Jack
(Tip/Ring/Sleeve)
Powerbridge™ Signal
Nine
(Ring)
Acoustic Guitar
Amp
Pure Magnetic Signal
Electric Guitar
Amp
(Tip)
Stereo Output Jack
(Tip/Ring/Sleeve)
2-Channel Electric Guitar Amplifier
Stereo "Y" Cable
Pure Magnetic Signal
(Tip)
Powerbridge™ Signal
(Ring)
Passive Volume
Control (Optional)
Stereo Output Jack
(Tip/Ring/Sleeve)
Electric Guitar Amp
Active
D.I.
PA / Recording Console
Pure Magnetic Signal
(Tip)
Powerbridge™ Signal
(Ring)
Passive Powerbridge™ Setups
Passive Powerbridge™ Setups
Sending the Powerbridge™ to the PA lets you carry only one amp
to the gig for the magnetics - and the Powerbridge™ benefits from a
full-range system.
NOTE: Always be sure to use an ACTIVE Direct Box.A passive direct box
will degrade the performance of the Powerbridge™.
Ten
Another easy way to combine the Powerbridge™ with your magnetics
is through a 2-channel guitar amplifier.
Eleven
TM
Passive ” Blending”
VS
Powerchip
Piezo / Magnetic Onboard Mixing Preamp
™
Active
Using a Stereo "Y" Cable generally means having to carry two separate
amplifiers or at the very least, a two-channel (non-switching) amp. You
will also need an active DI to send the Powerbridge™ to the PA.
To eliminate these issues and simplify your stage setup, we have
developed the Powertronics™ line of preamps designed specifically for
the Powerbridge™ Pickup.
With a Powertronics™ preamp you can blend your magnetic and Piezo
pickups together through a single channel amp! You can get a great
Piezo sound from the PA without an active DI. And you can split your
magnetic and Piezo signals as you would with a Stereo "Y" Cable - but
with the added benefit of active electronics designed for the
Powerbridge™.
Blending
Blending
The following pages will take you on a tour of
the Fishman Powertronics™ line and some of their
many useful applications ...
A streamlined and cost effective way to
combine the Powerbridge™ Pickup with
your magnetics - in a simple and compact
package. The Powerchip™ is a volume
control for the Powerbridge™ integrated
with the active electronics necessary to
blend Piezo and magnetic pickup signals.
Like the passive volume pot that comes with the Powerbridge™ Pickup,
the Powerchip™ can replace the middle pickup tone control on your
®
or fit easily on a Tele®control plate.
Strat
The Powerchip™ allows you to combine the Powerbridge™ signal with
your magnetic pickups through a standard mono instrument cable
OR ...
split the two signals and send them to separate destinations with a
Stereo "Y" Cable.
•
Fishman's own “Smart Switching" technology automatically
"senses" if your instrument cable is mono or stereo
•
Built in "set it and forget it" phase switch piezo trim
control assures that the Powerbridge™ and your magnetic
pickups sound great together.
•
Some modification to your instrument may be
required
(professional installation is recommended)
Twelve
Thirteen
Electric Guitar Amp
Stereo "Y" Cable
D.I.
PA / Recording Console
Magnetic
Signal
Powerbridge™
Signal
Powerchip™
Powerchip™ Applications
Powerchip™
Mono Instrument Cable
With both Piezo
and magnetic pickup signals
Powerchip™ Applications
With Fishman’s special
“smart-switching”
technology, the
Powerchip™ “senses”if
your instrument cable is
mono or stereo.
Electric Guitar Amp
Powerbridge™
Fourteen
Powerchip™
Stereo "Y" Cable
Signal
Acoustic Amp Electric Amp
Magnetic
Signal
With the Powerchip™ you can send the Powerbridge™ signal to a PA
with a standard PASSIVE Direct Box.
Fifteen
Powermix
TM
Piezo / Magnetic Outboard Mixing Preamp
™
This simple and compact
stompbox-style preamp is
dedicated to combining Piezo
and magnetic signals.
Powermix™ Applications
Other Features Include ...
•
3-band EQ and Phase switch
for the Powerbridge™ Pickup signal
•
TRS and split stereo inputs
•
Battery or AC power
NOTE: For even more flexibility
with the Powermix™, install the
5 MΩ passive volume pot included
with your Powerbridge™.
Sixteen
With the Powermix™ you can
blend the Powerbridge™ with
your magnetic pickups while
keeping modifications to your
guitar at a minimum. There is a
TRS (Tip/Ring/Sleeve) input jack
for use with Stereo Instrument
Cables, as well as a direct Piezo
input.
Stereo
Instrument
Cable
You can use a Stereo Instrument Cable to plug both Piezo and magnetic pickups
into the Powermix™ and send the combined signal to a single amplifier
- without any modification to your instrument.
Seventeen
Electric Guitar Amp
Stereo "Y" Cable
D.I.
PA / Recording Console
Powermix™ Applications
The Powermix™ also allows you to send the Powerbridge™ to a PA with a
standard PASSIVE Direct Box - while playing your magnetic pickups through an
electric guitar amp.
Powerblend
Stereo Blending Pedal
Quick changes between magnetic and piezo pickups (as well as precise
blending) are made easy with the Powerblend™ Pedal. Dedicated input
filters, 3-band EQ and four essential outputs provide added versatility to
your Powerbridge™ Pickup
™
Hands-free control of the
Powerbridge™ Pickup’s volume loaded with pro-level features.
We created the Powerblend™ for
the dedicated Powerbridge™
user who requires precise and
thorough control of every aspect
of the Powerbridge™ system. It
provides the perfect link
between the Powerbridge™, the
guitar's magnetic pickups and
single or multiple audio
destinations.
™
POWERBLEND
Eighteen
Nineteen
XLR Cable
from
XLR Piezo Out
Stereo
Instrument Cable
to Stereo Input
Mono Instrument
Cable from
Mag Thru
(Pure Magnetic
Signal)
PA/Recording Console
Electric Guitar Amp
Powerblend™ Applications
2
3
4
5
6
7
1 9V AC Adapter Input
2 Stereo Input Jack
• TRS; Magnetic to Tip / Piezo to Ring
3 Lo Cut Filter
• Eliminates handling noise and attenuates
low frequencies that can damage speakers
EQ Section
Affects the Powerbridge™ Pickup signal
only
4 Treble Control
5 Midrange control
6 Bass Control
7 Clip / Battery low LED
8 Piezo Blend Pedal
• Hands free control of
Powerbridge™ volume
9 Piezo Trim
• Adjusts the Powerbridge™ input
level to set the balance between Piezo
and magnetic signals
10 Magnetic Thru Jack
• Output for pure unprocessed magnetic
pickup to retain your guitar’s original tone
11 Mix Output Jack
• Combined Piezo and magnetic tones
12 XLR Piezo Output Jack
• Sends balanced Piezo signal to PA
13 Ground Lift
14 Piezo Phase Switch
15 1/4" Piezo Output Jack
11
10
9
12 13 14 15
8
Powerblend™ Applications
1
The Powerbridge™ can be sent to the PA and the magnetic
pickups to a guitar amp. Note that the Powerblend™ has its own
DI for the Piezo signal - so no Direct Box is needed.
Twenty
Twenty One
Stereo
Instrument Cable
to Stereo Input
Mono Instrument
Cable from
Mix Out
(Piezo / Magnetic
Signal)
Electric Guitar Amp
Mono Instrument
Cable from
Mag Thru
(Pure Magnetic
Signal)
Mono Instrument
Cable from
1/4" Piezo Out
Stereo
Instrument Cable
to Stereo Input
Electric Guitar Amp
Acoustic Guitar Amp
Powerblend™ Applications
The mags can be sent to an electric guitar amp, with the Powerbridge™
sent to an acoustic (or electric) guitar amp. The Powerblend’s™
1/4” Piezo Output matches the Powerblend™ with any stage amp.
Powerblend™ Applications
Combined Powerbridge™ and magnetic signals can be sent through a
mono cable to a single electric (or acoustic) guitar amp.
Use the 1/4” Mix Out to combine Piezo and mag signals - the foot pedal
controls the Powerbridge™ Pickup volume.
Twenty Two
Twenty Three
®
Powerbridge
™
/ Powertronics
System Features
Powerbridge
™
System Features
™
/ Powertronics
™
Powerbridge
Feature Alone w/ Powerchip™
Split Stereo Out
Mixed Mono Out
Piezo Volume Control
Piezo Phase Switch
Piezo Trim Control
Piezo EQ
Piezo Input Jack
Low Battery LED
Optional AC Power
Low Cut Filter
XLR Piezo Output
Ground Lift
Buffered 1/4"
Piezo Output Jack
TRS Stereo Input
••
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•
Powerbridge
w/ Powermix™ w/ Powerblend™
™
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