Fishman (established 1981) is an American company based in Andover, Massachusetts, known for making guitar pickups and other products involved in the amplification of acoustic guitars and other stringed instruments.[2]
History
In 1980 Larry Fishman made a prototype acoustic pickup in his basement, and by 1981 he had taken orders for pickups from the Guild Guitar Company. In 1982 the C.F. Martin Guitar Company ordered Fishman pickups; to accommodate it, Fishman and his company rented a larger manufacturing space, and began designing and making pickups for banjos, mandolins, violins, cellos and basses as well.
The company has also produced amplifiers and other guitar-related equipment since its beginning in 1981. They have been particularly known for producing high-quality acoustic amplifiers.[3]
Fishman Fluence
In 2012 the company began working on a new pickup for electric guitars.[4] Most guitar pickups are made with wire coiled around a magnet. The Fluence was a solid-core pickup with a conventional magnet and two 48-layer circuit boards[5]—a completely new approach, using techniques previously used in the aerospace and telecommunications sectors.[6] Fishman hired Ching-Yu Lin, Ph.D. to analyze and charge the magnets used in their pickups. The company was able to control the consistency of the magnets and the stacked solid core to make each pickup consistent.[4] They began manufacturing the new product in 2014.[6]
Fishman continues to design and make pickups for guitar makers, including Paul Reed Smith guitars.[7] They have designed an acoustic guitar pickup for the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.[8][9]ESP Guitars sells guitars incorporating Fishman Fluence pickups.[10]Gibson installs Fishman pickups in its G-45 Series acoustic guitars.[11] in 2019 Ibanez Guitars began selling a guitar model with Fishman pickups.[12] Reverend Guitars,[13]Schecter guitars and Solar Guitars sell guitars with Fishman Fluence pickups,[14] and Caparison has begun installing Fishman pickups in their Dellinger basses.[15]
Products
Guitar pickup system (pickup + preamp + cable + endpin output including USB port)
