Fishman Fluence Single Width and Fluence Classic Humbucker

96 Guitarist June 2015
FRET-KING CORONA 60 & 70 FLUENCE EQUIPPED £1,699 EACH
ElEctrics
“vintage tone, clear and present,
seamlessly fused with a sweet
warmth”. Voice 2, selected by
pulling up the second tone
control, is called ‘hot Texas
single-coil’ and is described by
Fishman as “muscular, beefy,
‘overwound’ tone without
losing the highs or the
‘Strattiness’ we all love”.
There is a third option, that
can be used with either, or both,
of the Voice selections – and
that is High Frequency (HF)
Tilt. It’s not wired on our
Corona 60, but it effectively
offers a preset high-end roll-off
and might be handy if you find
these Single Width pickups to
be too bright.
Our Corona 70 is fitted with
a pair of Fluence Classic
Humbuckers, again with dual
voicings (once again, the HF
Tilt option isn’t wired in). Voice
1 on both is ‘Vintage PAF’, albeit
with the “dynamics and output
level you want,” says Fishman.
Voice 2, on the bridge pickup, is
‘classic hotrod’ – a hotter-style
voicing – and on the neck
pickup, Voice 2 is called ‘clear,
airy chime’, which Fishman
What You
Need To Know
What the heck
is Fluence?
It’s the name of
Fishman’s first entry into
the electric guitar pickup
market. Our review Fret-
Kings are loaded with the
‘single coil’ Single Width
pickups and a pair of
Classic Humbuckers.
They don’t look
very different…
Outwardly, no, but via
a solid core, instead of
a coil of wire, not to
mention active powering
and multiple voices, they
represent a pretty
fundamental redesign of
the magnetic pickup as
we know it.
Active? They’re more
metal then…
You’re thinking of EMGs,
which, originally, weren’t
designed for metal
players. And while
Fishman does offer the
Modern Humbucking
Fluence pickups that
certainly look to that
genre, our review guitars
and their pickups, are
much more classic.
meanwhile (as our interview on
p102 details) has re-imagined
the classic Fender single coil
and Gibson humbucker. But
perhaps ‘re-imagined’, which
suggests a facelift or a subtle
redesign, isn’t going far enough:
Fluence represents one of the
most significant redesigns of
the magnetic pickup in its
entire history.
Multi Voices
Our Corona 60 is fitted with the
only set of Single Width Fluence
pickups currently offered by
Fishman. They might be single-
coil sized, but they are hum-
cancelling and use two of the
solid cores (instead of
conventional coils) that lie at
the heart of the concept –
stacked on top of each other
with a spacer between. They
also use conventional Alnico IV
rod magnets. The three pickups
share one preamp, which is
mounted to the base of the
bridge pickup. Irrelevant of the
technology, these pickups are
unique in offering two voices.
Voice 1, ‘vintage single-coil’, is
described by Fishman as having
T
hink Fishman and the
majority of us think of
pickups and preamps for
our acoustic guitars. ‘Fishman-
equipped’ has become a
standard for many major
brands’ electros, but that’s
certainly not all that the Boston-
based company creates. Aside
from pickup systems for most
stringed instruments, there’s
the innovative Triple Play
Wireless MIDI guitar
controller, the Loudbox
acoustic amps, the SA220 solo
performance vertical PA
system, the Aura acoustic
imaging system (both onboard
and outboard) and standalone
preamps, such as the Platinum
Pro EQ and ToneDEQ preamp
with effects. And last – but we
feel far from least – we have a
whole new range of pickups for
the electric guitar: Fluence.
Fishman is distributed in the
UK by JHS, the company
behind the Trevor Wilkinson-
designed Fret-King range,
which is the first guitar brand
to fit these new pickups onto
production models. In concept,
both Fishman’s and Wilkinson’s
designs centre on the same
re-imagining of the classics.
Wilkinson’s Corona, for
example, takes the Fender
Stratocaster, alters a few lines,
adds a few tweaks and creates
something that’s a good guitar
in its own right. Fishman,
1
2
3
Fret-King Corona 60 & 70
Fluence Equipped
£1,699 each
Perhaps ‘re-imagined’ isn’t going far
enough. Fluence represents one of
the most signifi cant redesigns of the
magnetic pickup in its entire history
GIT394.rev_fret.indd 96 16/04/2015 14:22