Replace UST or get a new pickup system?
 

No. 1 son has a Fishman ... not sure which one, it may be Acoustic Matrix ... pickup system installed in his pre-Fender solid-wood Tacoma acoustic.

Once before he had issues with hum/noise coming from the guitar unless he touched the endpin jack. He took it to a tech who remedied the problem, but the problem has now returned.

We're thinking, based on research, that there's a shielding issue with the UST.

What's the best course of action here ... try to replace the UST, which I think can be done, or just put a new system in the thing?

He's been quite happy with the Fishman, but is now leaning toward switching to a Baggs system like the I-Beam or Anthem. (He's writing the check and can cover it.)

Just wondering how much of an issue it would be to remove the old system and put in the new one, would it be risking the guitar in any way, because his mom and I got this guitar for him at a steal of a price ... especially since he's a lefty ... when he was in junior high school, and now he's pushing 30, and I told him when we presented it to him that this ain't a Martin, Gibson, Collings, etc., but is a quality instrument that he could play all his life if he took care of it (and he's babied it).

He doesn't do forums which is why Dad who has the membership here is asking the question. :D Thanks!

If you go for the Fishman Matrix again, the change will be very easy. The saddle is already the correct height and you have the endpin jack so it’s just a matter of removing the old system and installing the new one the same way. I do all of my own installs and I can say from experience that the Fishman is dead simple to install.

Replace UST or get a new pickup system?
 

The great thing with the Matrix is that the pickup wires connect to the end pin via screw connectors. The older version had soldered wires. Replacing just the pickup should be very easy in other words - but be careful not to scratch the shielding on the new pickup or you’ll be back to square 1...

I have the iBeam in my 12-string and it’s ok but I think Baggs do other pickups that are more natural. To be fair it’s the passive version so I’m not comparing like with like. Some gigs I’ve mixed the guitarists have guitars with the Anthem and the Lyric and they have sounded great and have been good to work with.

The easiest short term solution is to get a tiny strip of kitchen foil and set it on the surface of the pickup that touches the saddle. The thinness of the kitchen foil is barely noticeable (if at all) but fixes the grounding issue. Ask me how I know...;)

How do you know, Pieter? :)

Actually, in my book that sounds like a long term solution.

+1 for sticking to what's already there. I bought the active iBeam, tried it in several instruments, ended up using the preamp for an entirely different pickup. Anyone in the UK who needs an iBeam element, drop me a PM and I'll see if I can find it.

How do I know...? I needed to sand down the saddle and before you know it had managed to scrape the surface of the pickup when reinstalling the saddle. I considered getting a new pickup or even some shielding paint which I was assured would do the trick. In the end - and in the short term - I did the aluminium foil trick and in the long term changed out the whole system for a K&K Pure Mini through Tonebone Pz-Pre preamp.

I swapped out the Fishman sonitone in my Eastman for a Baggs Anthem SL and it was an easy swap and I’m really pleased with the tone

I have Fishman Matrix Natural 1 in a Takamine GS330S that had a hum and touching the endpin jack would reduce or stop the hum. Not sure if it was the fix, but I removed the strings and pulled the saddle out and carefully lifted the UST element and brushed out the saddle slot with a brush (although nothing visible was in the bottom of the slot). Put it all back together, ensuring the saddle sat square and flat in the slot as I tensioned up the strings, and no more hum when connected to an amp. Any chance the son may have done a string change on the guitar since the tech had worked on it?