User manual FISHMAN ACOUSTIC MATRIX NATURAL I INSTALLATION GUIDE

[. . . ] F ISHMAN A COUSTIC M ATRIX TM A COUSTIC G UITAR P ICKUP F ISHMAN A COUSTIC M ATRIX TM Important ! Installation of the Acoustic MatrixTM requires fine woodworking & soldering skills and should be performed only by a qualified repairman. Fishman Transducers will not be responsible for any damages that may result from improper installation. Please read these instructions carefully. For technical assistance, contact Fishman Customer Support at 978-988-9665 or tech@fishman. com The Pickup The Acoustic MatrixTM under-saddle pickup is made with a unique co-polymer sensing material available exclusively from Fishman. [. . . ] 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. 1. Both the pickup and preamp are integral components of the Acoustic MatrixTM system. Neither the pickup nor the preamp is meant to be used separately or in conjunction with other pickups or endpin preamps. Degraded performance will result from using the pickup or preamp with other systems. Particular attention must be paid to the flatness and squareness of both the saddle and the saddle slot. Pickup performance and balance will be be greatly enhanced by a properly fit pickup. If you are new to undersaddle pickup installation, The Finer Points of Piezo Installation by Ken Parker is available at www. fishman. com. Mishandling may result in ground hum or intermittent signal. Fishman Transducers will be in no way responsible for any damages to the pickup that occur due to misuse or poor installation. No less than . 100" (2. 54 mm) Acoustic Matrix Active Acoustic Guitar Pickup Includes Installation Instructions for Models Acoustic Matrix Natural I Acoustic Matrix Natural II Wide Format . 125" (3. 2 mm) Width Narrow Format . 094" (2. 3 mm) Width 2. 125" String Spacing Mechanical Factors Affecting Pickup Performance Before you install the pickup, make sure the bridge and saddle are within our recommended "safe zone" of usable parameters. Break Angle For the pickup to perform optimally, there should be a 20° (minimum) string break angle across the back of the saddle. An adequate break angle can often be realized by "ramping" the string slots. In extreme cases, where the break angle is much less than 20° and the saddle is so low that it is nearly flush to the top of the bridge, the instrument probably requires a neck re-set. In these cases, resetting the neck to a higher angle will restore the saddle height and the string break angle required for good pickup performance. MP RA NO MORE THAN 50% 3. Clear wood chips and foreign materials from the saddle slot. Carefully insert (do not bend) the pickup. The fit must be loose in the slot, without binding on the sides or the ends of the pickup. If the ends of the pickup come in contact with the saddle slot, pickup failure could result. Prepare the Saddle We highly recommend the Fishman CleartoneTM saddle for enhancing the performance of the Acoustic MatrixTM. We also suggest synthetic materials such as MicartaTM or CorianTM as adequate substitutes. Organic saddles such as bone or ivory can not be recommended since these are not structurally as consistent as synthetic materials and could produce poor string to string balance through the pickup. Prepare a . 125" or 3. 17mm wide saddle (. 094" or 2. 38mm for Narrow Format). For adequate pickup performance, the bottom and sides of the saddle must be absolutely FLAT. Remove only enough material from the width of the saddle to provide a sliding fit in the slot. [. . . ] Solder the ground wire from the pickup (shield) to the adjacent pad marked "G" on the preamp circuit board. (See Fig 1) Do not over heat the solder pads!Doing so may lift the pads from the circuit board. Be careful not to allow the shielding cap to come in contact with the end of the circuit board. [. . . ]