FM Pickup - Rare Earth Humbucking Active Soundhole Question
 

Hi, Received my new FM P/U in the mail, but was surprised at how hard it was to install in the sound-hole (temporary use installation is intent). When I unscrewed the two screws and tried to get it to fit, I had a heck of a time getting the cork inserts to open enough to, 1) get it in the sound-hole, and then 2), move it all the way forward. When I pulled it out, the cork was slightly chewed at the outer edges (but the guitar, a Martin 00-18V, sound-hole was fine and no scratches, etc.). Anyone have a similar experience and/or a solution? (The screws, when all the way unscrewed, never really opened up the cork seals adequately on either side of the PU). Thanks!

I have 2 Fishman Rare Earth active humbuckers. One in a parlor and the other in a jumbo. No installation problems but admit I had each installed by a luthier. I'm a geek in my day job but in ways that have nothing to do with music or musical instruments. The only thing I do is change strings; luthiers and technicians make adjustments, install pickups, etc.

Fishman is super responsive with customer service. 978-988-9199 Ask for Frank Padellaro.

I have no issues with mine (just be careful manoeuvring any SH pickup in and out 'cos it's easy to mark the edges of the soundhole). I have them fitted full time though. Not sure I'd want to install and remove on a gig by gig basis.

I had to remove some of the cork so it would fit one of my Taylors. that surprised me because the older version that I had was not a problem.
I used a small, thinner piece of foam instead of the cork to protect the guitar top.
davidc

Rest assured, your experience is not unique, the same thing happened to me. The screws are a little tight on the inserts, you can gently push them apart if need be.

Whew! Glad to hear. Also, appreciate the previous poster's comment about removing some of the cork for his Taylor. Good stuff and very helpful. Thanks

Thanks much! Yep, a friend of mine also recommended removing some of the cork as well. Odd that anything should need to be done, especially for a brand-new P/U. I wonder if FM is receiving any QA-impacting customer feedback on this (widespread). Was very excited to open the box, then very apprehensive attempting to put that tight little sucker on the sound-hole. Sort of took the Christmas morning-like wind out of my sails.

Thanks!

There's no standard size for soundholes, so unless a pickup is really tiny, someone's going to have this issue. This is one of the things that gets overlooked by those who want to use a mag because it's "non-invasive". The odds of causing some damage when installing and removing a soundhole pickup regularly are probably much greater than installing more permanent options.

I have the Rare Earth Blend and it was a little difficult to mount temporarily the first couple times. The mic adds another layer of difficulty. I use it on a Taylor 612 and 522. I've done it on gigs as I don't want to permanently mount it. The problem is that when you unscrew the claws the screws start to come up and really need to remain flush with the pickup. It's best to make sure they are open and pushed flush against the pickup before mounting. You can usually ballpark the distance you need to open them.

You can also capo the first fret and remove a few strings to make it easier to maneuver.

As for the height, Fishman has no way of knowing how close or far your strings are from the top of the guitar. I had the original RE single coil on my Seagull and on that guitar the pickup wasn't high enough so I had to add cork.

Great advice and thanks!

Thanks for the feedback! Appreciate the capo/string-removal tip too.