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USER GUIDE Archtop Guitar Pickup

Welcome

Thank you for making Fishman a part of your acoustic experience. We are proud to offer you the nest acoustic amplication products available; high-quality professional-grade tools which empower you to sound your very best.

Dimensions

2.125 String Spacing The Archtop Guitar Pickup is suitable for most instruments with a distance of 2.914 inch (74.01 mm) between adjustable bridge posts (center to center). Bridge radius is 12 inches.

Troubleshooting

If you are unfamiliar with this product, please pay close attention to the dimensional requirements for installation. Failure to do so can result in permanent damage to the pickup. Installation by a qualied professional is strongly recommended. Should you have any problems, please check with your installer or refer to the online installation guide for this product. Technical support, troubleshooting tips and installation information can be found at http://www.shman.com/support/

Plugging In

An impedance matching preamp is recommended, but not required. This will help realize the full frequency response potential of the pickup and allow for cable runs longer than 10 feet without signal deterioration. Use a high quality, low capacitance 1/4 inch shielded instrument cable. This will ensure minimal tone coloration and hum.

009-020-002 Rev B 3-08

ARCHTOP GUITAR PICKUP
Thank you for your purchase of a FISHMAN product. Please read these instructions carefully. If you have any questions or problems, contact our PRODUCT INFORMATION LINE at 978-988-9665. The FISHMAN ARCHTOP GUITAR PICKUP is a string-sensitive piezoelectric transducer. It comes implanted in the top of a complete replacement bridge. It senses string vibrations via two ceramic elements, located in the top of the bridge, directly above the height adjustment wheels. The ARCHTOP GUITAR PICKUP is a "passive" style ceramic pickup that can be used without an onboard preamp. It can be plugged directly into an instrument level (minimum 1 Meg Ohm) audio input with adequate results (see Plugging In). The high quality ebony bridge can be mounted without any physical alterations to the instrument and may be intonated as needed.

WARNING

INSTALLATION BY A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL REPAIRMAN IS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED. FISHMAN TRANSDUCERS WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGES TO YOUR INSTRUMENT.

PARTS LIST

Archtop guitar bridge assembly with pickup implant 1/4" jack and attached ground wire Mounting clamp 1/8" washer 1/2" screw

LIMITS AND DIMENSIONS

Maximum E to E string spacing = 2-1/2" Up to 1/8" of wood may be removed from the top of the bridge without sacrificing the pickup's performance. Distance between adjustable bridge posts = 2.914" inches, center to center. Bridge radius: 12".
ARCHTOP GUITAR PICKUP INSTALLATION
For optimum pickup performance: 1. Fit the base of the bridge precisely to the top of the instrument. 2. Note that the tops of the height adjustment wheels are specially beveled (See Fig.1). Make sure that the beveled sides face up toward the top of the bridge.

FIG. 1

3. The adjustment wheels must be at least one turn (thread) up from the top of the base. 4. DO NOT attempt to combine the Fishman Archtop Pickup and your guitar's magnetic pickups passively with a single mono jack. Doing so will kill the performance of the piezo pickup. Instead, see WIRING OPTIONS #3.

FIG. 2

ARCHTOP GUITAR PICKUP WIRING OPTIONS
We suggest routing the pickup wire in one of the following ways: 1. SUPPLIED EXTERNAL JACK a. Remove the shielding cap from the jack and thread the pickup wire through it. b. Solder the signal wire from the pickup to the tip connection on the jack. c. Solder the shield from the pickup to the ground tab on the jack. Replace and tighten shielding cap. d. Install the jack as shown in figure 2. If the instrument has a metal tailpiece, attach the supplied ground wire to it. If the instrument has a wooden tailpiece, attach the ground wire to the ball ends of the strings. 2. ENDPIN JACK An E-Z mount endpin jack manufactured exclusively for Fishman by Switchcraft is available. A 15/32" hole must be drilled through the endblock and butt plate. If the instrument has a wooden tailpiece, attach the ground wire to the ball ends of the strings. 3. STEREO WIRING IN CONJUNCTION WITH MAGNETIC PICKUPS. The Fishman Archtop pickup and magnetic pickup(s) can be routed through a stereo jack, fed through a stereo cable and mixed together via the Fishman Blender system.

PLUGGING IN

Due to the nature of passive pickups, the type of cable you use and the input you plug into will affect the quality of your sound.

INSTRUMENT CABLE

Cable lengths over 10 feet (before preamp) will cause audible high frequency loss. Use a high quality, low capacitance shielded cable. This will insure minimal tone coloration and hum. Using fully shielded metal plugs will also help eliminate hum.

KINDS OF AUDIO INPUTS

Because of the lack of standardization for high impedance audio inputs, special attention should be paid to what you are plugging into:

The ARCHTOP PICKUP will sound best when plugged directly into an input with a 10 M impedance. At 10 M, the full frequency response of the instrument is reproduced. The ARCHTOP PICKUP can also be plugged into inputs as low as 1 M with adequate results. At 1 M, the bass frequencies will be slightly rolled off.

PREAMPS

We strongly recommend using a 10 M, impedance matching, buffered preamp in conjunction with the pickup. A matching preamp will: 1. Realize the full frequency response potential of the pickup. 2. Permit long cable runs (after the preamp) without signal deterioration. 3. Allow precise volume and tone shaping with dedicated EQ. 4. Insure compatibility with virtually any instrument level audio input available. Fishman Transducers manufactures a complete line of compatible preamps, all with 10 M inputs: POWERJACK - Miniature Endpin Preamp MODEL G - Outboard Acoustic Instrument Preamp AGP-2 - Onboard Instrument Preamp PRO-EQ - 4 Band Acoustic Instrument Preamp DUAL PARAMETRIC D.I. - Fully Parametric Two Band Preamp/D.I. ACOUSTIC BLENDER - 2 Channel Pickup/Mic Preamp POCKET BLENDER - 2 Channel Pickup/Mic Preamp
MUSICAL INSTRUMENT AMPLIFIERS
Most musical instrument amplifiers (at least 1 M input impedance) will yield useable results. Acoustic instrument amplifiers (such as the Fishman Acoustic Performer Pro) have a 10 M Piezo input; ideally matching the pickup.

DIRECT BOXES

You can plug the ARCHTOP PICKUP into an "active" direct box ( 1 - 10 M input ) with very good results. Using a passive direct box will sound weak and thin.

P A / RECORDING CONSOLES

Professional PA and recording consoles have a much lower input impedance than what is acceptable for the ARCHTOP PICKUP; you will need an impedance matching preamp. Plugging a passive piezo pickup into a mixer without an impedance matching preamp will sound harsh and thin.

LIMITED WARRANTY

The FISHMAN ARCHTOP GUITAR PICKUP is warranted to function for a period of One (1) Year from the date of purchase. If the unit fails to function properly within the warranty period, free repair and the option of replacement or refund in the event that FISHMAN is unable to make repair are FISHMANs only obligations. This warranty does not cover any consequential damages or damage to the unit due to misuse, accident, or neglect. FISHMAN retains the right to make such determination on the basis of factory inspection. Products returned to FISHMAN for repair or replacement must be shipped in accordance with the Return Policy, as follows. This warranty remains valid only if repairs are performed by FISHMAN. This warranty gives you specific legal rights and you may also have other rights which may vary from state to state.

RETURN POLICY

To return products to FISHMAN TRANSDUCERS, you must follow these steps. 1. Call FISHMAN TRANSDUCERS at 978-988-9199 for a Return Authorization Number (RAN). 2. Enclose a copy of the original Bill of Sale as evidence of the date of purchase, with the product in its original packaging and a protective carton or mailer. 3. FISHMAN TRANSDUCERS technicians will determine whether the item is covered by warranty or if it instead has been damaged by improper customer installation or other causes not related to defects in material or workmanship. 4. Warranty repairs or replacements will be sent automatically free of charge. 5. If FISHMAN TRANSDUCERS determines the item is not covered by warranty, we will notify you of the repair or replacement cost and wait for your authorization to proceed.

FISHMAN TRANSDUCERS

340-D Fordham Road Wilmington MA 01887 USA Phone 978-988-9199 Fax 978-988-0770 www.fishman.com

009-020-002 12-98