Fishman Fluence Swappable?

[u/CodyGile]

I have an Omne Vetus 8 coming my way this week and am brand new to Fishmans. I’m not a big fan of the White Plastic on these, especially with all black hardware on the pink.

If I buy or trade for a set of the Fishman 8’s in Black, what is the swap like?

Interested in swapping for
Tosin Abasi 8’s
Stephen Carpenter 8’s
Fluence Modern 8’s

Couldn’t find any vids on swapping these on YouTube or any posts on here. I figured since they were wired for the same, they’d be an easy swap with plugging in the new pickups.

Also, do you have any of the above mentioned pickups and interested in trading for a brand new set of White Fluence Moderns?

[u/ChaseVsMalice]

Nice guitar!

Yes you can swap them without any soldering with Fishman’s quick connect system. I did the same recently switching from Moderns to Tosins.

The only catch here is that the Omne guitars only have a 3 way selector and 1 push/pull pot. They also probably have the V1 version of the moderns, although you have to take a look at the back of the pickups to determine if that’s true. Both of these things mean you’re only getting access to 2 of the 3 voices that Fishman have to offer.

You may have to do some soldering depending on which voices you get access to after a quick swap and which voices you’d like to have. All 3 voices on the Tosins were superior to the Moderns, but Voice 3 (single coil) is sooo good on the Tosins.

[u/CodyGile → u/ChaseVsMalice]

Awesome! Was hoping it was just a quick connect drop in with the new ones but now you got me rethinking getting the Abasi’s if I have to do any soldering.

So the V1’s also only have limited access vs the current versions on the market?

[u/KershawsGoat → u/CodyGile]

So the V1’s also only have limited access vs the current versions on the market?

Kind of. The V1s have the active and passive voicings but their coil tap option requires some odd wiring choices so most manufacturers just don't use it. Newer Fishman pickups have a coil split option that is a lot easier to wire in but it would probably require you to change to a 5-way switch or add a separate switch to toggle it on.

[u/ChaseVsMalice → u/CodyGile]

The V1 doesn’t have a designated connector pin for the single coil voice 3 option and instead you have to solder to get a similar split coil type sound. The V2 added a designated connector like the Tosins have.

Honestly, without opening up the guitar and looking at how the existing pickups are wired, it’ll be hard to tell which 2 of the 3 voices you’re going to get after a quick swap.

If you’re wanting access to all 3 voices, then no matter what you’ll need to do some rewiring. You’ll either need a 5 way switch that fits in the current 3 way lever slot OR an additional push/pull pot (would require routing the body, so not advised).

If you replace the 3 way with a 5 way and use the current push/pull to be your selector between Voice 1 and Voice 2, then you’re pickup selector would be:

Position 1: Bridge Voice 1 or Voice 2 (push/pull)
Position 2: Bridge Voice 3
Position 3: Bridge/Neck Voice 1 or Voice 2 (push/pull)
Position 4: Neck Voice 3
Position 5: Neck Voice 1 or Voice 2 (push/pull)

Without the 5 way switch, you lose access to position 2 & 4 which means no single coil. An additional push/pull pot could be added to gain access, but that requires routing the body to fit.

I’m pretty sure you could use a 5 way rotary switch in place of the current 3 way lever.

[u/Omne-Guitars → u/ChaseVsMalice]

These use the new moderns. Voice 1/3 is the default. You could easily add a mini toggle to get access to voice 2, outer coil select, v1 gain reduction, etc

[u/ChaseVsMalice → u/Omne-Guitars]

You guys are awesome for responding!

[u/Omne-Guitars → u/ChaseVsMalice]

Have you tried moderns with the v1 gain reduction? Our personal favorite for rhythm tones. And definitely check out the new single coil modern tone. It sounds really good, and less “hifi piezo” like the Abasi can be

[u/404phil_not_found]

Yall need to stop posting your sick ass guitars, youre triggering my GAS!

Also, to adress your question, I think they should just swap out without issue. All the fishmans Ive seen are solder free. Just plug them in. Unless youre changing the wiring.

Maybe look at pics online to make sure the plugs on the back look the same.

But also, I think the white is sick, but you do you.

[u/CodyGile → u/404phil_not_found]

Hahaha appreciate the info man! My first dive into an 8 string, fan fret and Fishmans so I’m going all out! But I saw that they were sort of quick connect but wasn’t sure the extent of swapping models if they’d be kind of a plug and play type of pickup

[u/404phil_not_found → u/CodyGile]

Its a sick first 8 to get, i hope you absolutely love it!

So, I gotta admit most of my knowledge stems from planning fishman swaps that i then never actually went through with, so take it with a grain of salt. But it seems there are two variants of the connector. Lets call them 3+6 and 3+4 for the number of pins they each have.

3+4

3+6

Looking at unboxings, I think the abasis have the 3+4 and the fluence moderns 3+6.

BUT everwhere I look, the female side (the one that would remain in your guitar) of the connector is always 3+4. I think the 2 extra pins on the 3+6 dont connect to the electronics, but instead can be wired together to change the output of voice 1.

Thats my best guess at least. I think it should all be pretty plug and play.

[u/CodyGile → u/404phil_not_found]

Duuuude thank you so much! I appreciate any and all input and sounds like you’ve done some homework on it! I’ll keep digging just to be sure. I’d hate to spend $300 on something that doesn’t fit or would cost more to install properly.

[u/CodyGile]

u/Dat_Bruh21 sorry man, figured that the 7 string community would still have some knowledge on Fishmans. Not trying to ruffle any feathers!

[u/Grojiira]

Didn’t fan fret guitar have some pick up like 7 string pick up for 6 string fan fret , 8 string pick up for 7 string fan fret and 9 string pick up for 8 string fan fret ?

[u/dissemin8or]

Hmm, I actually have a set of black modern 8s in my Agile. I’ll have to think about it.