My review of Fishman Fluence pickups.

[rbasaria]

Interesting. Personally, I am not a fan of the EMG 81 at all, but I love the Fishman Moderns. I have them in 3 guitars, now. I would not say the Modern is like the 81. Definitely have more low end than 81s, and an overall warmer and cleaner tone.

Definitely interested in the KSE set, but I read that they are supposed to have less low end than the Moderns.

Yeah I got rid of 81's years ago and then the 85........to me the Moderns sound/feel nothing like the 81 as well. And I too would love to try a KSE bridge...

I do like the 85 to some degree. Just never was able to get one to really work for me. My cousin has one in his Japanese Ibby S540 that hes had for 19 years, and that thing just sounds fucking incredible. One of the best sounding guitars I have ever experienced. Made me try the 85 again, and it just wasnt doing it in my guitars.

But yeah, I agree...definitely a different feel from the moderns, too. The low end just feels massive but still tight as hell. I absolutely love them through my Mark IV, but through my 5150, not quite as much. They can get out of control pretty easily...but to be fair, I havent really spent a lot of time on the 5150 since the Mesa came back, so I havent really tried dialing them in with it.

 

[Corporal Clegg]

I love my Moderns. They eat the shit out of batteries though. I have been contemplating the battery pack. I would guess it would require a route to the back of my Schecter C-1 SLS tho

Would love to try the KSE wish they sold the bridge separate instead of the set..

What's up, Number 1.

You never have to route to use the Fishman Fluence Universal Battery Pack. All you have to do is make a half inch hole in your cavity cover so the USB port and charge light can fit into it from within the cavity. The battery is only a quarter inch thick and it adheres to the cavity cover--as does an inch square circuit board that holds the usb access. These are not thick enough to make contact with any of the pots. Once you install it, you shouldn't have to open your cavity cover again--ever. This is much better than putting up with 9 volt batteries. Cavity covers aren't made to be opened and closed a zillion times. If the guitar is wood, the wood screw holes will start to lose their threads and a number of problems can result. If one is going to stick with conventional batteries, a route and a compartment with a plastic lid would be the way to go. But the cost of having someone do that will be way more than buying the Fishman Universal Battery for about $99. I put the moderns on my Schecter A-6. The cavity is kinda slim. So I haven't bought the Universal Battery pack yet for that, but I have the classic set in my Les Paul and the battery pack was easy to install.

I think that with the Schecter, I will have to install the USB but not glue the battery to the cavity cover because it will probably hit the wood and not be able to be closed. In that case, you put a piece of foam in so that battery doesn't move around. There is plenty of wire between the battery and the usb module to let the battery sit in there at whatever angle it needs to to get it in. I actually screwed up the Les Paul cavity by missing the spot with the drill hole and glued both parts in where they butted into wood. It was thick wood that I carved out with a Dremel. No one can seen into the cavity so you just want to try to center things correctly--definitely watch it on the Schecters. They can be too narrow to seat both the battery and the module on the inside of the cavity cover. Only the module has to be clued in. The battery can sit between some foam slices.

 

[shred-o-holic]

I love my Moderns. They eat the shit out of batteries though. I have been contemplating the battery pack. I would guess it would require a route to the back of my Schecter C-1 SLS tho

Would love to try the KSE wish they sold the bridge separate instead of the set..

What's up, Number 1.

You never have to route to use the Fishman Fluence Universal Battery Pack. All you have to do is make a half inch hole in your cavity cover so the USB port and charge light can fit into it from within the cavity. The battery is only a quarter inch thick and it adheres to the cavity cover--as does an inch square circuit board that holds the usb access. These are not thick enough to make contact with any of the pots. Once you install it, you shouldn't have to open your cavity cover again--ever. This is much better than putting up with 9 volt batteries. Cavity covers aren't made to be opened and closed a zillion times. If the guitar is wood, the wood screw holes will start to lose their threads and a number of problems can result. If one is going to stick with conventional batteries, a route and a compartment with a plastic lid would be the way to go. But the cost of having someone do that will be way more than buying the Fishman Universal Battery for about $99. I put the moderns on my Schecter A-6. The cavity is kinda slim. So I haven't bought the Universal Battery pack yet for that, but I have the classic set in my Les Paul and the battery pack was easy to install.

I think that with the Schecter, I will have to install the USB but not glue the battery to the cavity cover because it will probably hit the wood and not be able to be closed. In that case, you put a piece of foam in so that battery doesn't move around. There is plenty of wire between the battery and the usb module to let the battery sit in there at whatever angle it needs to to get it in. I actually screwed up the Les Paul cavity by missing the spot with the drill hole and glued both parts in where they butted into wood. It was thick wood that I carved out with a Dremel. No one can seen into the cavity so you just want to try to center things correctly--definitely watch it on the Schecters. They can be too narrow to seat both the battery and the module on the inside of the cavity cover. Only the module has to be clued in. The battery can sit between some foam slices.

Thank you my friend. It's been a while since this thread. In the end I took the guitar back and the tech figured out that he wired the battery connection incorrectly so now my batteries are lasting a while with no issues. I just changed my 9 volt but it lasted over 2 months I believe. I'm fine with that. Thanks for the advice though. I am pretty happy with my Fluence Moderns although I have noticed that they do lack the low end of other pickups even EMG's. I turn up the bass on my amps and it helps pretty much though...

 

[shred-o-holic]

That said I live in Florida and would love to visit the Axe Palace some time. I have purchased some Bare Knuckle from Nick in the past and he was always super helpful. It sounds like a great shop

 

[travis bickle]

it seems like a lot of EMG 85 users seem to be adopting these pickups, myself included. although I should add that I've been a passive pickup user for a few years now. its an amazing pickup with a ton of clarity, punch and bite; I originally planned on pulling these pickups out of my strandberg for a passive pickup, but I'm going to leave this instrument alone, for now of course.

I need to look into this battery pack thing, thanks fellas.

 

[stratjacket]

it seems like a lot of EMG 85 users seem to be adopting these pickups, myself included. although I should add that I've been a passive pickup user for a few years now. its an amazing pickup with a ton of clarity, punch and bite; I originally planned on pulling these pickups out of my strandberg for a passive pickup, but I'm going to leave this instrument alone, for now of course.

I need to look into this battery pack thing, thanks fellas.

What? Sorry, I couldn't follow along...who is that in your avatar? Holy shit...

 

[engage757]

Nice review. I love Fishmans. I agree with you, this is the way of the future. Rechargeable. Multiple voicings, plug and play between sets, etc.

 

[cecilbag]

it seems like a lot of EMG 85 users seem to be adopting these pickups, myself included. although I should add that I've been a passive pickup user for a few years now. its an amazing pickup with a ton of clarity, punch and bite; I originally planned on pulling these pickups out of my strandberg for a passive pickup, but I'm going to leave this instrument alone, for now of course.

I need to look into this battery pack thing, thanks fellas.

What? Sorry, I couldn't follow along...who is that in your avatar? Holy shit...

Looks like Vida Guerra. Hand cramps are in your future

 

[JerEvil]

Hmmm... I am trying to figure out which one to try in my RR24 as I am not an 81 fan either. The guitar only has the single humbucker...

 

[Balaguer]

The Moderns are awesome but my favorite set by Fishman are the Adlers. They seem to have more "passive" characteristics/dynamics than the rest. Killer pickups and great company to work with.

 

[travis bickle]

it seems like a lot of EMG 85 users seem to be adopting these pickups, myself included. although I should add that I've been a passive pickup user for a few years now. its an amazing pickup with a ton of clarity, punch and bite; I originally planned on pulling these pickups out of my strandberg for a passive pickup, but I'm going to leave this instrument alone, for now of course.

I need to look into this battery pack thing, thanks fellas.

What? Sorry, I couldn't follow along...who is that in your avatar? Holy shit...

Looks like Vida Guerra. Hand cramps are in your future

hahaha, it is Vida Guerra.

 

[braintheory]

The Moderns are awesome but my favorite set by Fishman are the Adlers. They seem to have more "passive" characteristics/dynamics than the rest. Killer pickups and great company to work with.

Would the adler be more like the classics then?

 

[rbasaria]

The Moderns are awesome but my favorite set by Fishman are the Adlers. They seem to have more "passive" characteristics/dynamics than the rest. Killer pickups and great company to work with.

I think that's because the Adler set defaults to passive mode, and switches to active. The Moderns are the opposite. Pretty sure they have a slightly different EQ than the Moderns, too.