Fishman Rare Earth Blend Question

[FiggyPudding18]

Hey all,

Looking at the Fishman Rare Earth Mic Blend. I have three questions.

1) Is the Rare Earth Blend humbucker exactly the same as the Rare Earth without the mic?

2) Can I turn off the mic on the rare earth blend entirely to solve any potential feedback issues?

3) Would any kind of preamp be needed for the Rare Earth Blend or the Rare Earth?

Thanks!

[guitarman68]

Hi,

Yes, same pickup in the Blend.
Yes, you can turn down the mic entirely to avoid feedback.
No, you don't need a preamp because the REB is active, fed by a 2032 cell.

REB is a great sounding pickup, extremely versatile and non obtrusive - great product. I used them for years before switching to SBTs.

[Nick84]

As per all of the above - the wheel is used to dial in the pickup and mic. Either one can be 100%.

You don’t need a preamp but the REB is not the hottest of active pickups but perfectly acceptable going straight into a board.

I’ve found my REB sounds awesome with a LR Baggs Session DI. I just find the saturate thickens out the mic and the notch and low cut means I can dial in more mic before feedback becomes and issue.

I love my REB it’s my favourite non factory installed pickup. I recorded a song from my Session DI and Loudbox Mini into a recording interface last week with the blend set at 50:50
https://youtu.be/e0jb8Npdw_A

[BluesKing777]

I have not tried the new model - the mic boom is stumpy, a good move because on the ancient model I own, it is too long and a bit of a nuisance sometimes. Can get caught in bracing, so I tried a rubber band to hold it close to the pickup.

There are no adjustable pole pieces either, so luck of the draw with string balance on some guitars. Only way is to try it. Mine works nicely on my Martin CEO7 where the pickup is fairly high and near the strings, and the Fishman is on of the rare few that fit in the CEO7 (small) soundhole. I have the mic and pickup on 'halfway' notch.

There is not a lot of level, so a nice preamp/DI with gain, volume, EQ, sweepable mids, notch is a handy thing to have!


BluesKing777.

[SpruceTop]

Originally Posted by Nick84

As per all of the above - the wheel is used to dial in the pickup and mic. Either one can be 100%.

You don’t need a preamp but the REB is not the hottest of active pickups but perfectly acceptable going straight into a board.

I’ve found my REB sounds awesome with a LR Baggs Session DI. I just find the saturate thickens out the mic and the notch and low cut means I can dial in more mic before feedback becomes and issue.

I love my REB it’s my favourite non factory installed pickup. I recorded a song from my Session DI and Loudbox Mini into a recording interface last week with the blend set at 50:50
https://youtu.be/e0jb8Npdw_A

Nick, Sounds very good, both you and guitar! I've been looking at the Fishman Rare Earth Blend as it seems to get a lot of the best of both sources in the mix. Thanks!

[FiggyPudding18]

Originally Posted by Nick84

I love my REB it’s my favourite non factory installed pickup. I recorded a song from my Session DI and Loudbox Mini into a recording interface last week with the blend set at 50:50
https://youtu.be/e0jb8Npdw_A

Thanks for sharing this, sounds great! The thing I love about the recordings I am hearing of this pickup is the sound is so much crisper--sounds great with you strumming here. Some of the UST's and piezo's seem to be inconsistent to my ear and break up more in general.

[Nick84]

Originally Posted by FiggyPudding18

Thanks for sharing this, sounds great! The thing I love about the recordings I am hearing of this pickup is the sound is so much crisper--sounds great with you strumming here. Some of the UST's and piezo's seem to be inconsistent to my ear and break up more in general.

Thank you! I’ve tried recording with USTs and I have a straight rare earth humbucker and having the mic is a night and day difference.

The mic is much more smaller on the newest version of it and overall it’s pretty discreet for a soundhole PUP! I’ve got another on the way which is permanently going into my dread.

[archerscreek]

I have one and agree it sounds good but does have a low output. I found that I had to route it through a mixer to boost the level up enough to maximize whatever amp or powered speaker I’d use. Even the Platinum Stage didn’t boost the signal enough for my tastes. The sound tech couldn’t believe she had to dial me up as much as she needed to through the church PA and as a result I couldn’t hear myself playing when everything got going. To be honest, I don’t enjoy using the pickup anymore and have frequently thought about selling it.

[paulin]

I used a REB for a while but could not blend in enough mic for live performances. I was also using a preamp.

[FiggyPudding18]

Thanks for the responses everyone! Sounds like a preamp isn't essential but having one could solve any potential output issues.