Fishman Powertap Earth anyone?

[Marshall]

Someone on the General Forum was chatting about installing a Fishman Powertap Earth pickup in a guitar. I am intrigued. Anybody have any experience? I like the idea of a Mag and a SBT together. That's what I have now with my Skysonic Pro-1. I was a fan of the Rare Earth pickup. I liked that best of Mags. I've still got a couple in my pickup drawer.

But I wanted something with a bit more acoustic punctuation. That's why I tried the Skysonic. It also has a built in Mic. But I always roll that off.

The SBT element for the Fishman looks almost exactly like the SBT in the Skysonic.

I might have to try one & see how it compares. I like the clarity of a Mag for sound amplification. But I need some acoustic nature to the sound to be happy.

[Petty1818]

I can't comment on the Earth but I am quite pleased with the Powertap Infinity. The Enhance really does a wonderful job of making the guitar feel more responsive in a natural way. It also adds in some nice midrange that UST pickups just never do well. I have a show in a few weeks so that will be the real test, but this is the first pickup that has really capture the tone of my guitar and makde the single notes sound fat.

On a side note, if you do purhase the Earth, don't worry about gluing the Enhance to the bridgeplate. They have this in the instructions but the Enhance comes with tape to stick it to the bridgeplate. It sounds fantastic that way. I believe the glue is just meant to be an additional securing measure, but it's not needed.

[Marshall]

At $320 I don’t think I’ll buy one just to experiment. Not when I’m pretty happy with the similar Skysonic I already use. But I do like the idea of a Mag and a SBT

[meb]

Petty, are you calling the sbt portion of the Powertap Earth, the 'Enhance'?
and it works fine using tape? That makes this a non-invasive pickup
solution to rival the Baggs HiFi. and dual source to boot!
If tape is ok, it seems that fishman missed a marketiung opportunity.

[Petty1818]

Originally Posted by meb

Petty, are you calling the sbt portion of the Powertap Earth, the 'Enhance'?
and it works fine using tape? That makes this a non-invasive pickup
solution to rival the Baggs HiFi. and dual source to boot!
If tape is ok, it seems that fishman missed a marketiung opportunity.

I probably shouldn't call it the "Enhance" as they refer to it as the body sensor, but it's honestly the exact same SBT as the Enhance. When I reached out to Fishman, they said it was the same pickup but the preamp had been tweaked a bit from the actual Matrix Enhance pickup.

I agree though, not sure why Fishman has users gluing the sensor in, especially when it comes with double sidded tape attached to it. It's the same type of tape that the Lyric/tru-mic from Baggs would be attached with. I have seen a few users on Youtube using just the tape. I truly believe the glue was just recommended as a way to permanently hold it in place.

The only reason it can't compete with the HiFi is that it's not a standalone SBT yet. To the best of my knowledge, it's used in conjunction with the Matrix or magnetic Earth pickups. Still, I am impressed. It really makes the guitar come alive and when you factor in the built in eq for the Matrix as well as the blending option with the sensor; it really creates a dynamic pickup.

[Marshall]

The Skysonic has a similar looking block SBT. And it comes with double-sided sticky tape. No mention of glue. None used in 5 installations.

If I roll off the Mag, the SBT is a pretty weak volume-wise. I usually run the SBT @ 100% and the Mag about 80%.

I liked the Rare Earth pickup best of Mags.

[xjojox]

Originally Posted by Petty1818

I can't comment on the Earth but I am quite pleased with the Powertap Infinity. The Enhance really does a wonderful job of making the guitar feel more responsive in a natural way. It also adds in some nice midrange that UST pickups just never do well. I have a show in a few weeks so that will be the real test, but this is the first pickup that has really capture the tone of my guitar and makde the single notes sound fat.

On a side note, if you do purhase the Earth, don't worry about gluing the Enhance to the bridgeplate. They have this in the instructions but the Enhance comes with tape to stick it to the bridgeplate. It sounds fantastic that way. I believe the glue is just meant to be an additional securing measure, but it's not needed.

I’m intrigued by the power tap infinity. I have an Anthem in my F512 and to my ears it’s about as “natural” as a pickup system can get but on a loud stage there’s still a mic in there. Also not so fat on single note lines.

I picked up a little martin 16 series to play around with and it has an older version of the power tap, the “matrix vt enhance”. Same “scoop” tone control and master volume but with the lower pot you gradually add the top sensor to the UST whereas my understanding of the power tap is that you can actually fade the balance between the two (is that correct?) so you can go beyond 50/50 into majority or totally top sensor. The Matrix VT Enhance does some things quite well and the top sensor tames the quack so I wonder if the tap infinity is better. If so, it’s a contender for me.

[Nick84]

The tap on its own needs some serious EQ. If your going with the Powertap Earth you’re best splitting the signal and EQing both separately.

I had one in my J-35. It sounded good. Not amazing just good.

[Petty1818]

Originally Posted by xjojox

I’m intrigued by the power tap infinity. I have an Anthem in my F512 and to my ears it’s about as “natural” as a pickup system can get but on a loud stage there’s still a mic in there. Also not so fat on single note lines.

I picked up a little martin 16 series to play around with and it has an older version of the power tap, the “matrix vt enhance”. Same “scoop” tone control and master volume but with the lower pot you gradually add the top sensor to the UST whereas my understanding of the power tap is that you can actually fade the balance between the two (is that correct?) so you can go beyond 50/50 into majority or totally top sensor. The Matrix VT Enhance does some things quite well and the top sensor tames the quack so I wonder if the tap infinity is better. If so, it’s a contender for me.

To be honest, I am not sure. However, I don't think you can go completely sensor unless you are using the stereo out and isolating it. I think there's always some UST in the signal.

[Petty1818]

Originally Posted by Nick84

The tap on its own needs some serious EQ. If your going with the Powertap Earth you’re best splitting the signal and EQing both separately.

I had one in my J-35. It sounded good. Not amazing just good.

I haven't found that to be the case. The sensor is meant to "enhance" the tone, so to me it's sweetening the tone. I do know that the Powertap Earth has less control though so maybe that system needs some outboard eq.

[CoastStrings]

Originally Posted by Petty1818

On a side note, if you do purhase the Earth, don't worry about gluing the Enhance to the bridgeplate. They have this in the instructions but the Enhance comes with tape to stick it to the bridgeplate. It sounds fantastic that way. I believe the glue is just meant to be an additional securing measure, but it's not needed.

Thanks for sharing that information. I might consider a self-install as my favorite tech is fully-booked for a while.

[CoastStrings]

FYI, I sent an inquiry to Fishman and this was the response I got back:

"The glue helps fill in the pores of the wood and allows the body sensor to be secured better overall. Using just the double-sided tape will hold the body sensor in place, but over time it may loosen up and fall off."

[guitaniac]

https://youtu.be/xXc3SHssawE

FWIW, Here's Justin Johnson's demo of the Rare Earth Powertap. I'd be curious to hear it live. On the few occasions that I've heard the Rare Earth mic blend, I've liked it quite a bit.

[Petty1818]

Originally Posted by CoastStrings

Thanks for sharing that information. I might consider a self-install as my favorite tech is fully-booked for a while.

It's up to the user if they want to use it, but it honestly has no impact on the tone. If it did, they wouldn't have the double-sided adhesive attached already. My theory is, if it falls off a few years down the road, I can easily re-attach it. If I use glue, it will most certainily destroy the sensor if I try to remove it.

[guitaniac]

Originally Posted by Petty1818

It's up to the user if they want to use it, but it honestly has no impact on the tone. If it did, they wouldn't have the double-sided adhesive attached already. My theory is, if it falls off a few years down the road, I can easily re-attach it. If I use glue, it will most certainily destroy the sensor if I try to remove it.

I recall that David Enke used to suggest spreading a thin glaze of super glue gel on the bridgeplate, then letting it dry before adhering the SBT with tape. His reasoning was that the tape would adhere better to a smooth surface. Removing the SBT wouldn't be too difficult with this procedure.