The place to discuss, post photos, video, and audio of the G&L products (US instruments, stomp boxes, etc.) produced after 1991, including the amps & gear we use with them.
On another post I mentioned that my new ASAT Classic Tribute has a bridge pickup with no sign of mids or lows. It's just shrill to the point of making dogs think you're calling them and ear-piercing to humans. I moved the pickup height and opened up the control cavity for a look. I bought some .047 capacitors but I could see them already installed. I spent days comparing bridge pickups on YouTube and looked at the vendors I have credit with and decided to order the Duncan quarter pound. But today there was a like to Greg Koch who now has a sinature pickup set from Fishman which is kinda pricey. After watching the demos I was sold and Sweetwater has it in stock. So I went all in. It is the whole 9 yards and then some but simple to install. I expect it by Wednesday. I figured I got my G&L Ash ASAT dirt cheap on sale for $349. So $349 for the state of the art electronics brings me up to the price of a $699 MIM telecaster. They don't have natural ASH bodies in the MIM line.
Below are some links for the Fishman Fluence Tele set:
Any comments or thought?
Last edited by Craig on Sun Sep 11, 2016 6:40 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason:Admin fixed ytv links
Major headache. There are what seem like minor differences between Fender Tele and ASAT Tribute but they become rather huge in trying to adapt the Fishman Fluence Greg Koch system for the ASAT. First off the Fishman comes with no documentation. And what is online is hard to find and pretty sparce. Secondly Fishman made screw holes for which they provided screws that are hard to get things to catch and start turning. The input jack is different than the G&J, and while the module fits in the hole and there's a lip to keep it from falling in, it requires two thin wood screws that go in angularly which they did not provide. I managed to use a thin drill bit to go through the unit at angles and get screws for it. But discovering these things the hard way was not fun. Thirdly, there was a small bank of holes for the pup wires and bridge ground. It appears as if they intended screws to be used but the number provided wasn't right and the small ones that seemed to be correct didn't fit. So, it became a soldering operation. The wire from the neck pickup was not long enough. Ibridge it with other wire and put back on the pick guard. Only the bridge pickup worked. I then opened it back up and got the neck pup working but the bridge stopped.
I would up taking it to a pro who will charge me $50. I hope I didn't burn anything. It looked like it was done right but I didn't get a sound until I accidently touched the signal wire to one of the points on the switch itself. So, I know the pups work. The only fear is if I damaged the bank of holes for the connections. It voids the warranty if you try to install this in anything but a Fender, but I kinda started without paying much attention to that. If the control module is damaged perhaps Fishman can just replace that part. The technician said he will take a week. For the sound I heard, it was rich and impressive. I only hope it can be salvaged. If not I'll have to pay to have the original hardware put back in and get a bridge pickup because the one from G&L was an absolute dud.
OMFG, fellas!!! This thing is amazing. I've been dinking around since I got it back from the guy who took his sweet time installing it for me yesterday. I was short on time both yesterday and today but I just played the guitar solo on "Another Brick in the Wall" using the neck pickup. When I added any effects they detracted. Just the sound of the guitar and pickup through an Orange amp model and matching cabinet through a limiter and out to my Bugera 55W Infinium and the sound was recording-ready. The classic single coil Fendery sound was incredible. This is it. Shwing! I don't think it gets better. I'm so thrilled. I can now fully recommend this for the ASAT with traditional metal control panel route in the body. Pay someone good to put it in--I soldered my thumb. Of course, I say this for those who might want to turn a lower cost ASAT into a 2,000 ish dollar-sounding guitar like me. I'm sure most of you are thrilled with G&Ls as they are. I just happened to get an Indonesian one with a dud bridge pup. But now I have something to cock a doodle doo over. And I do. LOL
This technology may change the game. Fishman himself said in video he never wanted to be another electric guitar pickup maker. It took this radical departure for him to go all in on Fluence. I think consumers have to go all in too because you can't mix fluence with conventional pups. But I expect they'll get a major electric guitar manufacturer to offer "Fluence" models. I dig the gizmo they make for the strat that is a power pack that neatly covers the spring cavity. I'm not ready to toss my Shawbucker and custom shop "fat 50s" though I shielded the hell out of my Strat and those single coils still groan. I would mix if I could and keep the Shawbucker.
Fishman's marketing message for the Fluence line doesn't seem to be having its hoped for effect; one can find little to no enthusiastic curiosity about these pickups over on the TDRI, for example (despite that community's respect for the above endorser's playing skills). Too bad.
Lacking Talent wrote:Fishman's marketing message for the Fluence line doesn't seem to be having its hoped for effect; one can find little to no enthusiastic curiosity about these pickups over on the TDRI, for example (despite that community's respect for the above endorser's playing skills). Too bad.
I Googled TDRI. Thailand Development Research Institute may not be the best place for this kind of thing. But seriously folks.
If you could help me out, I'd like to go to the TDRI you mentioned and have a look. Thanks. Nothing has made me dampen my enthusiasm for my investment. I'm lovin' it. And the G&L neck has a sweet fret job of nice higher frets than I'm used to which is helping me be less sloppy in my notes and bends. I would bet it's the price tag at this point that would turn people off. It is also a system and not a pickup per se. That means one has to go "all in" and can't mix old tech with this tech--at least not one the Tele style guitar. I inquired to Fishman about if it is possible to put two single coil pups on my Strat while keeping the Shawbucker in my 2015 American HSS strat. The answer was that it is possible but the Shaw would have to be wired to the Fluence pre-amp. Sounds like it would change the balance that is there now with the custom shop "Fat 50s"--noisy though they certainly are since I do all my playing in front of a computer monitor. I'd love to get rid of the noise. But upon reflection, the Fluence system in the ASAT is giving me the single coil sound--especially from the neck that I prize. If I turn up the volume and just select the neck, I get Hendrix. The Fat 50s don't quite give me that.
I seriously considered the Fluence pickups for my Strat, along with Kinman and Zex Coil. In the end, I sold the Strat and bought a S-500. I didn't like Koch's demo. It was too limited in its tonal variation - seemed like all quacky chicken pickin'. My tone ideal is more like live Buddy Guy, Clapton, with a touch of Garcia. Also, I'm not a fan of gouging more wood out of my guitar. More wood = more better, or so I'd like to believe
themikeaustin wrote:I seriously considered the Fluence pickups for my Strat, along with Kinman and Zex Coil. In the end, I sold the Strat and bought a S-500. I didn't like Koch's demo. It was too limited in its tonal variation - seemed like all quacky chicken pickin'. My tone ideal is more like live Buddy Guy, Clapton, with a touch of Garcia. Also, I'm not a fan of gouging more wood out of my guitar. More wood = more better, or so I'd like to believe
I do agree that the concept is a game-changer.
There is no "gouging" of any wood. In every demo they make it clear that no routing of any kind is necessary to install the Fluence system. I am so blown away with the results of putting the pricey Greg Koch Fluence system in a cheap Indonesian ASAT that I up and liquidated my 2015 American Standard Ash Strat which comes with "custom shop fat 50's" in the neck and mid and a Shawbucker in the bridge position a.) because the Fluence system is so versatile that I don't need to change guitars to get sounds--everything from "chicken pickin'" to "Wind Cries Mary" and b) it is so truly noisless that when going back to a conventional double humbucker system featuring Seymour Duncan Nazgul in the bridge and Sentient in the neck, I actually needed to engage the noise gate whereas I didn't have to for the Fluence SINGLE COILS. Put that in your pipe and smoke it. Perish the thought that this system is limiting. I just happen to write to Fishman today telling them simply put, "I will never buy another guitar that does not feature their Fluence system". Perhaps I'll install it myself on a cheaper body but my days of buying conventional copper-wound pups and soldered capacitors are over. It's just THAT good.
On the Strat version, you can get a battery pack that replaces the back plate. Where does the battery go in the Tele version and how do you recharge it?
Hey TheMikeAustin, The tele battery is built-in and sits under the tone pots. You recharge with a mini-usb connector that sits under the jack. I only charge every month or so. I put the Fluence tele system in a USACG body this last year. I couldn't be happier with it. No additional routing was necessary.
Corporal Clegg, Thanks for telling about your experiences. I did find the documentation to be minimal too but I was able to install it with help from a few YouTube videos. Comparing the install to all the work of rewiring and installing new pickups it was a pretty quick and easy install. So if you're doing a new build Fluence will save you some time.
I agree they could do better marketing but then Greg Koch is pretty damn good marketing. It's just that he is a player's player and not everyone knows about him.
Currently I am looking at a stratocaster build with Fluence. Option one is hand-making everything and adding Fluence. Option two is replacing the pickups on my 1996 S-500. I love that guitar and the tremolo is really nice but I don't play it as much as I should because I am not particularly enamoured with the MFD single coils. For modern applications they are great and certainly broad in range with the term and bass contour knobs, but I am a vintage sound junky. It feels sacrilegious to replace those pickups though... What to do...
-- Something clever or funny.
-- With love from Oregon,
-- Mark
(fingers crossed hoping it's just the switch thing)
