Guidlines for Selecting Electric Pickups

by Peter Tillotson of Fishman Transducers

The pickup should mount (and remove) easily, with no modification to the instrument. The typical string player is in general (with the exception of bassists) not too happy to leave a pickup permanent on their fiddle. For example, many players choose Fishman Transducers. Once fitted to the axe, it installs in seconds. If the player is gigging a lot (plugged in), try to encourage him or her to purchase a second instrument as a permanent "home" for the pickup, since constant installation/removal will, over time, fatigue the pickup element, often to the point of failure. There is also a definite "sweet spot" where the pickup sounds best the bridge. Once this spot is found, its good to leave the pickup alone, another reason to have a second instrument just for the pickup.

• The pickup should have very little mass. A small pickup element will not mute instrument and will not add its own coloration to the amplified tone.
• A small outboard preamp (such as a Fishman G11, Pro EQ II or Pro EQ Platinum) is highly recommended. A piezo pickup likes to "see" the specially buffered input and the dedicated EQ that an acoustic preamp has to offer. Without a preamp, the piezo's signal is often degraded. The exception is when you plug into a full range "acoustic" amplifier with special piezo inputs. In these cases, you'll get good results, but you'll be tied to the amp if you need to make volume/tone adjustments.
• Full range amplification such as a quality PA system or an acoustic instrument amplifier is in order. Electric guitar amplifiers generally have a very limited frequency range and tend to emphasize midrange, so we don't recommend them (unless of course that's the sound you're going for).