This is Fishman’s BEST Acoustic Soundhole Pickup!
In this video I test out the Blackstack from Fishman. This is a great sounding soundhole pickup and one of the best that I’ve ever heard. I put it through it’s paces doing various tests to see how it handles.
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????Audio Gear I Used In This Video:
►Fishman Blackstack Pickup: https://amzn.to/4fLV0c5 (Amazon)
►Talking Mic: https://thmn.to/thoprod/326256?offid=1&affid=3540 (Thomann)
►Guitar Mic: https://thmn.to/thoprod/120310?offid=1&affid=3540 (Thomann)
►Audio Interface: https://thmn.to/thoprod/603005?offid=1&affid=3540 (Thomann)
????Camera Gear I Used In This Video:
►Camera: https://amzn.to/40rJOgD (Amazon)
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►Light: https://amzn.to/42crutb (Amazon)
►SoftBox: https://amzn.to/3POsMCY (Amazon)
►Tripod: https://amzn.to/3Wuhzvo (Amazon)
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#Fishmans #Acoustic #Soundhole #Pickup
Originally posted by UCdFcGXpNJqUixM4Xaq9vwLg at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiE_1-FB6Sc
could you please tell me which amplifier you would suggest to pair it with, (with out breaking the bank). Thank you.
Yup. I have bought just about every piezo/transducer and magnetic pickup made. I have 20 top shelf acoustic guitars and I'm always searching for the holy grail in amplification.
The Black Stack is the best I've found. An under the radar pickup that I stumbled upon in my searches.
Do you use two pickups? With K&K Pure mini in this guitar, Fabian? If it so, how did you manage the cables? Did you create a new hole for this magnetic pickup?
Do you use electric strings when using?
Well done, great overview. Thank you
immediately it has that "synthetic" electric guitar sound on the B and e strings that are inherently embedded in these soundhole pickups.
not impressed
Sounds nice
This is a good review but "straight in" sound is really not an accurate statement. The sound is going through a mic into some kind of processing so I know you have done the best recording possible. Thanks
If this is passive, get a boost pedal, you'll need some gain to add.
I used a Fishman Rare Earth pick-up on one of my acoustics. Fantastic!
Looked at this pick up but in the end went for the £100 cheaper DArmond tone boss. Find it does the job just as well for a passive pick up and has volume knob as well as individual pole pieces. Also comes with a nice set of facial stickers to customise the look of it. Highly recommend for those on a budget.
I have a Fishman Blackstack in my main stage guitar (Martin D-18), plugged into an old Sunrise preamp. I’m not a fan of the mini-XLR connector, but the sound is terrific. I prefer magnetic pickups for any single-pickup acoustic. They get the attack right, and it feels natural. I also like combining two pickups (magnetic + UST or magnetic + mic) and have that in other guitars, but I trust the Blackstack + Sunrise preamp combo more than any onboard preamp I’ve tried.
I’m less and less interested in “realistic” sounds these days, and more interested in getting a clear, bold tone that preserves my picking dynamics. USTs are bold, but destroy my dynamics with the quacky attack. Bridge plate transducers sound natural, but flat and blurry. Pickups sense either the strings, or the wood. I prefer sensing the strings. Less realistic, but more musical.
Lrbaggs m1 have more natural sound.
I'd like to hear this compared against the Fishman Neo-D humbucker. I have one of those, and its output is very low, so I use a Behringer ADI-21 preamp to boost it. I also have a Shadow SH145 active humbucker, and while that doesn't need boosting, it benefits from the Behringer's tone shaping. Of the two, I prefer the Shadow. In my experience, one huge advantage soundhole pickups have over undersaddle piezos is that when you strum hard, they just get louder, whereas piezos get louder but also the quack becomes far more prominent.
Excellent explanation and demo of the Blackstack. I hope that you’ll also be reviewing one of Fishman’s Fluence Acoustic soundhole models when they come out in a few months. The prototypes have no pole pieces, so it’ll interesting to observe how balanced they are. Each model will have two voices (“idealized” natural and a second voice). According to Larry Fishman, in a NAMM interview, a simulated Blackstack tone will be one of the proposed 2nd voices.
I think the decision to use a mini-XLR for supposed increased reliability is very questionable. It would have been easier to use some kind of latch mechanism, like Sennheiser does with their headphones.
But maybe this model is just a platform for the next one, where a microphone will be integrated, and then the XLR might make more sense… I don’t know.
I’ve been using the Fishman Rare Earth Mic Blend for a long time, and I really only needed two things: pole adjustment and a detachable cable, because the cable there is pre-wired.
Excellent review and you argue a good case for the benefits of a magnetic sound hole pickup. I still prefer the sound of them over the transducer which, to my ears, still adds that piezo-like 'tizz' I don't like to the sound. Have you had an opportunity to try the Fishman Rare Earth blend pickup?
Damn, only magnetic, yet no tone/volume control.
Huge bummer.
It being passive means low output if no amplifier pedal is present, so won't fit distortion well, plus won't work with some PAs.
My favourite is Fishman Rare Earth Mic Blend.
Both magnet and mic, blend in any proportion, have 2 signals going out separately, just great.
The mic itself is fantastic.
I use more mic, like 30% in low volume situations, and 100% magnet in high volume real drums stage.
Can't recommend it highly enough.
Great Video! Can i ask you about the output level! I mean: it is a passive one… usually the output is very low….. Thanks!
I have a few guitars that don't have any sort of pickup system in them. You explained everything in great detail and did an excellent review of this product. The next time I go to my local music shop I will have to pick one up. Thank you for the recommendation.
This pickup sounds pretty good! It still sounds like your guitar somewhat, just more compressed.
Awesome ????????
Great demo. Didn’t see where you connected the other end of the cable. It looks hidden so was just wondering. Thanks
Yeah man.. definitely an awesome sound hole pickup. Very similar voiced to Sunrise S-2, a little less alive feeling but way easier to take in and out and much lighter.
The other thing that is so cool about the Blackstack is the internal mount tabs inside the guitar clip on, so you don't have to hold them up at the same time you're screwing it in.. every sound hole pickup needs this!
I had two dud Blackstacks, both had the same issue.. really low (barely audible) output.
Fishman were cool and after testing said yep both pickups had the same fault and I was just REALLY unlucky..they sent a third one which I still have a rate highly.
Thought I'd mention it because I have seen people on forums mention that the output was too weak so they didn't rate the pickup.. But it's probably the best all rounder.
BTW Both the Sunrise and the Blackstack pair up nicely with the SunnAudio Stage -2 Di if you can get your hands on one of them.
so the defference between fishman blackstack and fishman REB is that blackstack = passive, and REB = active + mic? Wanna buy REB
There are also Duncan with mic as an option, but REB costs 250 euro and duncan 350…
How does it compare to the Seymour Duncan Woody XL? I am using one with my Dowina and it sounds wonderful – and I didn't have to drill a hole in my guitar; the cable just comes oit of the soundhole. It also has adjustable poles. Do you think the Fishman is a big upgrade?
Cheers.
Thanks for the demo Fabian! The magnetic pickup sounds really great when you play it and it does not require cutting or drilling the precious Lowden instrument.
The pickup kinda blocks the acoustic sound together with your hand – for an unplugged concert I would take it out. Is there a quick solution to remove the cable aswel to avoid any rattling?
Have you ever try the sunrise s2 or the m1 passive Pickup?
Great demo, Fabian. Sounds clear and open. And it's a good illustration of why you need adjustable pole pieces. I've completely removed the one on the B string on my LR Baggs M80. Have you tried this combined with the NV Tone internal mic? I guess the soundhole would get a bit crowded!
I have an lrbaggs m1 passive pickup and it sounds excellent through loudbox mini. Very natural sounding! Sounds more like a natural acoustic sound. Why?
That sounds amazing Fabian.
Sounds good! Sometimes I think about installing a magnetic pickup in my acoustic and adding a blend pot to balance the piezo vs magnetic signal, but it's a lot of faff.
Maybe if I get an acoustic without a pickup already installed I'll look into this again.