Fishman

The Fishman Loudbox Mini Amp is a 60 watt amplifier that's designed for use with acoustic guitar and vocals. It's got two channels - one dedicated for guitar, and one for vocals. It's got a 6.5" woofer and 1" tweeter as far as speakers are concerned. It's got a 1/4" connection on the first channel for your instrument and an XLR input on the second channel for your microphone. It also has both 1/4" and 1/8" auxiliary inputs and an XLR output as well. UTILIZATION It's not very hard to operate the Fishman Loudbox Mini Amp as for the most part it's self explanatory. The guitar channel gives you parameters for gain, low, high, and mid EQ knobs, reverb, and chorus, while the second vocal channel has knobs for gain, low and high EQ, and reverb. There's also a master volume knob on the far right. A manual isn't something that should be necessary with this amp, but I guess it wouldn't hurt for a beginner. SOUNDS The sound of the Fishman Loudbox Mini Amp is quite clean and clear. It's got built in feedback suppression, so you won't have to worry too much about using a guitar and microphone at the same time here. This is perfect for the singer/songwriter type who is just looking for a little bit of amplification for both their guitar and voice. It can get pretty loud but isn't meant to blast anyone away. They do make larger amps of this type if you're looking to get louder for larger environments, but the Loudbox Mini is designed for smaller venues and even street performances and the like. The built in effects (chorus and reverb) aren't the best of their kind, but they are certainly nice to have in this sort of context. OVERALL OPINION The Fishman Loudbox Mini Amp is really the perfect little amp for singer/songwriter types playing in smaller venues who might just need a little bit of help in terms of volume from an amp. It can fill up a pretty decent sized room, but it's not intended for use in larger venues. Of course if you're in a larger venue you'd probably want to use separate amplification for your voice and guitar, but if you're playing outside or in a small place, this is the amp for you. The price isn't much at all so definitely consider it if you're in the market for something like this!

Fishman is well known for their acoustic guitar pickups. The Infinity is a budget acoustic pickup add on that is easy to install on the under saddle of your guitar. The pickup needs a small hole to be made through the top of the guitar near the bass end of the saddle slot. You will also need to make a hold for the end pin jack. These are the only permanent things you need to do to install this pickup. Many acoustic pickup add on units require extensive modification to your guitar. Some need large holes to be cut and whatnot. A control unit with a tone and volume control with a bass boost button is attached to the inside of your guitar with some adhesive. I have found that this adhesive can wear out if you are playing in humid conditions. This may cause the control unit to become undone and bounce around inside your guitar. The battery pack for the 9v battery is held on with velcro. The pickup has a built in noise reduction system. It rejects the feedback you would normally get amplifying a guitar like this. The feedback reduction system works really well even at high volumes. You can trust this setup not to give any feedback even in live settings. The clarity of the pickup is really nice. You can really hear every note and nothing gets lost in the sound. The pickup picks up the dynamics of your guitar playing really well also. From soft to aggressive it picks up all the nuances of your playing. This picks up the sound evenly with every string. Uneven sound from string to string is a problem some pickups like these have. If you are looking to amplify your acoustic and dont have much to spend this setup could be for you.

Fishman is a company known for their pickups especially in acoustic guitars. Taylor guitars is one of the most famous and world renown acoustic guitar company's and they have exclusively used Fish man pickups and pre's in their acoustic guitar for years. With the relationship with the Taylor acoustic guitars this has formulated a huge impact for acoustic pickups and direct boxes for the FIshman company. UTILIZATION 128 pre-loaded Images for use with the most popular acoustic instruments One bank of 16 user-configurable Image locations Volume, Blend, and Image Select controls USB computer interface for Image downloading from Aura Gallery (software included) 3-band EQ 1-knob compressor Automatic anti-feedback with foot switch operation Feedback-fighting Phase switch Rugged, all-metal construction Balanced XLR D.I. output for PA or recording 1/4" PA/amp output 1/4" high-impedance instrument input with Trim control and Clip/Low Battery indicator Built-in Effects Loop 24 bit A/D/A; 32 bit internal processing Built-in chromatic tuner with bypass/mute foot switch Runs on 9V battery or optional power adapter Dimensions: 5-1/4"W x 2-1/10"H x 5-3/5"D SOUNDS This is essentially a huge glorified direct box for an acoustic guitar. Most people who play acoustic guitars on stage or at a gig of some sort use a direct box because they sound of their pickup in their guitar isn't strong enough to amplify the sound of the instrument. Plus the ability to go direct into the house PA or sound system with added feature of controlling more of the sound. So this pedal is a direct box that allows the user to perform more Eqing task to the acoustic without having to mess with the EQing of the sound board as much. It also restores the sound of a miced acoustic which you would use to record an acoustic guitar in a real recording session. You would mic up the guitar by placing a mic in front of the sound hole of the acoustic guitar. Here this box attempts to replicate the sound of that interaction with the wood and the microphones. OVERALL OPINION At new these units come in right at around $329, which isn't bad for a direct box. Not to mention a direct box that is capable of producing this much versatility in a small tiny box. I would recommend any stage or music hall or even church who has to mic up acoustic use this to go through their direct box into the house sound system. This is a great tool for the sound man to have on hand.

The Fishman Solo Amp is a solid state guitar amplifier and PA designed for solo singer/songwriters looking for something to amplify their sound. It has a dual XLR input preamp, as well as 1/4 inch inputs for each channel as well. There are also some knobs for some EQ and leveling. While this is somewhat big, it is not too hard to carry up and bring with you if you are going to bring it to a show or even on tour. UTILIZATION The configuration of the Fishman Solo Amp is pretty basic and easy to follow. It is easy to get everything set up and to get a quick, good sound from this amp. The manual for the Fishman Solo Amp is pretty complete and I could see how it might be helpful when learning this product if you don't have any previous experience with anything like it. The Fishman Solo Amp's ease of use is one of its best qualities because it assures that it is aimed at everyone from beginners to professionals. SOUNDS The Fishman Solo Amp is perfect for when I want to play acoustic guitar and sing solo. I can plug both my guitar and my microphones into this and get a good amplified sound. Fishman is known for making great pick ups, but this amp is also a great product. I usually use this with a Martin dreadnought acoustic/electric guitar and a Shure SM58 mic, and I feel that I get some good sounds with this configuration. OVERALL OPINION I've been using the Fishman Solo Amp for about six months and I believe it is the best product of its kind because of the great sound quality and affordable price. If you are a solo artist and find yourself needing amplification for shows or for practice, the Fishman Solo Amp is for you. This is very affordable for players on all budgets, without comprising sound quality. Overall, I highly recommend the Fishman Solo Amp for all types of solo artists.

Had this puppy installed in a Telecaster for about 3 years now. I am a bit of a Metalhead, so.. this does not always get a a lot of play.. but it is certainly a classic guitar and brought to higher levels of versatility with this modification. The Powerbridge gives a decent approximation of an acoustic... in a pinch. The piezo sound is a great option if you need to pull off Stairway To Heaven live... but it also lends itself to great chicken' pickin' tones.And sweet quasi single coil tones for Blues.. Actually.. better on the latter. Believe it or not.. I have tried other setups.. as I need the versatility. I also own a Yamaha RGX820Z.. with Seymour Duncan JB bridge and 59' in the neck.. This is also equipped with an active, battery munching piezo circuit in the tremolo system. Also very sweet.. I would say this has a bit more control over the tone shaping aspects than the Fishman, but this is also a proprietary Yamaha product.. the Fishman is a great alternative to something you can install into your Tele. ( I think they also have a trem version of this for Strats. I have also tried the Parker Fly stuff.. they are all kind of the same result. The signature piezo sound... somewhere between an acoustic and an electric single coil clean tone. I find this to be a good value... *IF* you need this specific type of versatility from your equipment. Certainly better than an acoustic modeler pedal or even that found in the Boss GT8.. now, if you go Full Monty and get a VG88 or some other high end guitar synth, you can get more realistic, true acoustic tones. It really depends. If you hate those, love your tube amp and like the organic interplay between your Tele and your amp... Get this. If you would use everything in a Roland VG88, for instance... then the Fishman may not be the way to go.. and just pony up on the outboard gear. I would buy this again.. perhaps. I am not a huge Telecaster fan.. and would possibly opt for the Tremolo version for my Stratocasters. It is a great tool to have in your belt if you love your amp and don't want visual modifications done to your guitar.(i.e. Roland GK pickup,etc).. and still bridging acoustic and electric tones for live sets. This is probably not what you would ever consider using in the studio as an acoustic unless you were looking for a very specific piezo tone... It could happen..

(Originally written by Le Grand Flandrin/translated from Audiofanzine FR) Solid state XLR output with phantom power. 5-band EQ, optical compressor, depth control. It's a high-class device without useless gimmicks and with a beautiful sound. UTILIZATION Easy to use. I use it with a double bass and David Gage's Realist pickup and it sounds awesome. Clear user's manual. It's also great with an electric bass especially for studio applications. SOUNDS Designed specially for double bass. Mine sounds very good with this pickup and this preamp. OVERALL OPINION One year. Of course I would buy it again.