Fishman Rare Earth Blend Qs

JonnyBGood · #1 04-10-2018, 08:46 AM

A couple of questions to users of this pick up..

-How are you finding the string balance? I have heard people advise against magnetic pickups without adjustable pole pieces (as the 2nd string can dominate)

-How useful do you find the 'microphone bass extension/roll-off switch'? I assume it is basically a high pass filter to cut the low end mic boom, any idea whereabouts they have put it frequency-wise, I can't see anything in the manual on the website

-Anyone has compared this (magnetic pickup only) with Dimarzio's Black Angel?

DrJamie · #2 04-10-2018, 12:08 PM

I just installed this pickup in my Gibson J-45 Vintage model, 2017. I wanted a sound hole pickup, as I will only plug in infrequently. The switch is a bass cut filter, that works well, especially on a dreadnaught body. I have had the Fishman Ellipse Blend on a couple D-18's, and found that the mic works best pointed towards the treble stings, to cut the bass response a bit. I have not had a problem with non-adjustable pole pieces. The voicing seems very balanced, in this guitar. I did try a Baggs M-80 magnetic only pickup, a couple years back. I did fiddle with those pole pieces a bit. This pickup worked great out of the box for me. I have only had this out once, at an open mic, through a board, into mains, no monitors. The 50/50 blend worked great, and no bass cut either. I expect some different settings (less mic?), through my Fishman Artist amp, sitting behind me though. Still, at home, the pickup is very feedback resistant. That's as technical as I get, so I hope this helps a bit.

JonnyBGood · #3 04-18-2018, 04:34 AM

Thanks DrJamie.

Just bumping this as I 'm sure there must be more than one person here who has used this pickup.

One thing I've realised is that the microphone bass roll off is a fairly new update to this model, this year I think.

GHS · #4 04-18-2018, 05:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JonnyBGood

Thanks DrJamie.

Just bumping this as I 'm sure there must be more than one person here who has used this pickup.

One thing I've realised is that the microphone bass roll off is a fairly new update to this model, this year I think.

I installed a Fishman Rare Earth in my Yairi DY-71 only because the bridge is a strange carbon fiber shape and I could not connect an LR Baggs mic type to the bridge plate. The High E and B dominate the sound. I really dont like it. I have a hard time eq'ing the highs out of it. It works just fine and is not "quacky" but the high end is a problem. I'm surprised the company hasn't had their tech guys work this out. I cant be the only one with this problem.

Cochese · #5 04-28-2018, 01:27 PM

What strings are you using? You might try a different set with more magnetic properties. This is an old clip with a Taylor and the REB.

jomaynor · #6 04-28-2018, 03:06 PM

I have the Rare Earth Blend in one of my guitars, although not with the new bass roll-off feature. I'm overall reasonably satisfied with the sound, even if the pickup-only sonics are not quite up to the standard of the Baggs M types, I don't think.

But when blended with the internal mic, I like the unhyped tone and the lack of quack.

And having the option of using pickup-only in feedback problematic venues is a real plus.

DupleMeter · #7 04-28-2018, 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JonnyBGood

A couple of questions to users of this pick up..

-How are you finding the string balance? I have heard people advise against magnetic pickups without adjustable pole pieces (as the 2nd string can dominate)

-How useful do you find the 'microphone bass extension/roll-off switch'? I assume it is basically a high pass filter to cut the low end mic boom, any idea whereabouts they have put it frequency-wise, I can't see anything in the manual on the website

-Anyone has compared this (magnetic pickup only) with Dimarzio's Black Angel?

I've had 3 of them in different guitars. I can't say there's been any noticeable string imbalances with any of them.

Mine were the older types, with no roll off, so I can't comment on that.

I have not tried a Black Angel, so I can't make a comparison.

I will say that the Rare Earth Blend was my favorite pickup system for a while. I'm currently enjoying Dazzos.

HTH

geewhiz · #8 05-04-2019, 07:58 AM

Hi,

I'm considering this pickup. I'm interested to hear from anyone using it in a semi-loud live situation. Does using it with the mic blend in this scenario cause it to feed back? I'm not a fan of the humbucker-only sound, a bit too magnetic for my liking, so I would prefer not to run it this way in a louder situation. I'm hoping I could run it with at least some of the mic blended in, even if under 50%.

Also - is there any possible way to use a feedback buster with it? Obviously the pickup would require me to cut the rubber away. I'm wondering if I could trim the feedback buster to fill the soundhole below where the pickup sits.

BTW, when I say semi-loud situation - this is not full band/full drum kit/electric guitars. We play 3 or four piece with bass and sometime a percussionist. We do use floor monitors or side fills depending on the space, and/or I may also use a Loudbox Mini somewhere to the front or side of me to allow for additional monitoring and tone shaping flexibility. None of these speakers are cranked really, but there is some sound coming back at the guitar. I do use a feedback buster in my guitars and I never have an issue with feedback - hence my question above about using a cut-down feedback buster

Nid2007 · #9 12-08-2019, 07:52 AM

New question, same subject line:

Does anyone know whether there is a way to set up end pin jacks in more than one guitar? So that you can remove the pickup when not in use, but not have to have the cord running out of the soundhole. I love the sound of this pickup with my Fairbanks Southern Jumbo and my vintage Gibsons, but I don’t want to leave it in when not using it.

I thought I’d ask here to see if anyone has done this before checking with my luthier, who I figure can probably accomplish this by creating something like Baggs uses for the M series.

Thanks

MrErikJ · #10 12-08-2019, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JonnyBGood

A couple of questions to users of this pick up..

-How are you finding the string balance? I have heard people advise against magnetic pickups without adjustable pole pieces (as the 2nd string can dominate)

-How useful do you find the 'microphone bass extension/roll-off switch'? I assume it is basically a high pass filter to cut the low end mic boom, any idea whereabouts they have put it frequency-wise, I can't see anything in the manual on the website

-Anyone has compared this (magnetic pickup only) with Dimarzio's Black Angel?

I have had the RE Blend in two guitars and found string balance to not be much of a problem. It’s voiced so that the humbucker is rather warm and the treble tones come from the mic. Regarding the bass cut off, it’s pretty useful, especially if you’re running in mono, to reduce feedback risk. It’s a good feature to have available.

However, I don’t love internal mics and found it still too prone to feedback or shrill sounding and converted that particular guitar to the Black Angel mag & piezo. In my humble opinion, the BA is a superior mag to a RE model and the piezo is preferable to an internal mic. So far, I’m extremely impressed with it.

j3ffr0 · #11 12-08-2019, 09:40 AM

I have one in my harp guitar. Fishman says it is voiced to tame the plain first and second strings. I installed it backwards and can confirm this to be true (they do dominate if you install it backwards).

It is balanced and beautiful. Sounds good 100% mag, 100% mic, or mixed. I don't normally like mag (or anything other than a mic), but I could see using this 100% mag when the volume is needed.

A few reasons I chose it:
- I don't want anyone monkeying around with the bridge in my harp guitar.
- Don't like Piezo
- Don't like K&K
- Don't like mag -- at least this has a mic
- Need dual source -- always
- Have seen some other folks who know what they're doing using one.

My amp is a loudbox artist. However I mainly use it with my little PA. I have a a couple of JBL EON610s and a Zoom Livemix 12.

Regarding the roll off... I think I have it engaged. I noticed it had an effect with the amp... haven't played with it since I starting messing around with the PA

Vtckf · #12 12-12-2019, 07:37 PM

I just got a REB for my froggy bottom and am getting some weird distortion when running the mic more than 1/4 the way up. It seems like you can only add a little bit of mic in without having it distort. Anyone run into this or know what a solution might be?

BoneDigger · #13 12-13-2019, 08:36 PM

I own one and have it in my 00015m. It's a great pickup and I haven't noticed any issues with string balance.

Muziclova · #14 01-26-2020, 08:14 PM

I like the REB P/U It can be used in many guitars. It's quick to switch out .
I had it in my D-18 ,and now in my HD28, Sounds very natural. I like it better than the Fishman Matrix I have in my D45, For different reasons. Easy to EQ.
Sounds Like the guitar, No Quack. and If I want to change it out for another P/U
no problem. I have the K&K in my D18 now. I like that P/u too. No batteries to worry about is a plus.Nice Natural sound.