Fishman RARE EARTH - User manual

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ACTIVE MAGNETIC SOUNDHOLE PICKUP
USER’S GUIDE
USER’S GUIDE
®
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THANK YOU FOR PURCHASING THE FISHMAN RARE EARTH™ BASS !
We are pleased to offer you the finest magnetic soundhole pickup available for acoustic
bass guitars. If you have any questions or comments, you may reach our Customer
Service Department at 978-988-9665 or E-mail us at [email protected].
The Rare Earth™ Bass is a compact active magnetic soundhole pickup, designed for
4-string acoustic bass guitars. Its low profile design ensures that both your playing style
and the guitar’s acoustic tone will not be affected.
The natural sound of your acoustic bass guitar is reproduced by the Rare Earth™
thanks to state-of-the-art magnetic field/coil structure and advanced active electronics.
A unique arrangement of neodymium magnets provides excellent string balance.
Neodymium (a rare earth element, hence the name) has 10 times the magnetic
strength of ceramic magnets, which makes the Rare Earth™ smaller and lighter than
many traditional soundhole pickups.
Please note that the Rare Earth™Bass is designed for use with bronze or
phosphor bronze acoustic bass guitar strings and will not balance as well with
standard electric strings.
START UP
If you are like most people, you will probably want to plug in the Rare Earth™right out
of the box. Be our guest! To temporarily install the pickup, loosen the clamps with a
#1 Phillips screwdriver. Position the pickup in the soundhole, parallel to and as close to
the end of the fingerboard as possible. Gently re-tighten the clamps. You can run the
output cable through the soundhole.
If you plan to travel with your guitar or store it in its case for long periods with the pickup
in place, we strongly recommend that you have the endpin jack and pickup profes-
sionally installed in your instrument (see Permanent Installation on page 5).
There are a few good reasons to do so:
1. If you store the guitar with the pickup cable outside the instrument and the cable
comes to rest on the guitar, the rubber jacket may interact with the finish and leave
a permanent mark.
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2. A loose endpin jack stored inside the instrument may damage the guitar when trav-
elling.
3. A pickup that has not been securely mounted in the soundhole may become dis-
lodged and could damage the instrument during transit.
FEATURES
Mounting Clamps
The Rare Earth™ pickup mounts quickly and securely with these padded clamps. The
jaws of the clamps are lined with natural cork, which will not interact with the guitar’s
finish. A #1 Phillips screwdriver works best to tighten the mounting clamps.
Be careful not to over tighten the clamps! Doing so may, in some cases, perforate the
finish under the clamps (see Permanent Installation on page 5).
Endpin Jack
The Rare Earth™runs on two little watch batteries that switch on when you plug in the
endpin jack. To conserve battery life, unplug the endpin jack when not in use.
It is a good idea to plug the pickup in before turning on your amp to protect your speak-
ers (and your ears) from "turn-on-transient-thump".
You may choose to keep the endpin jack outside the instrument for temporary use or
permanently mount it in the endblock of the guitar (see Permanent Installation on page
5).
Battery Power
The batteries for the Rare Earth™are conveniently mounted to the underside of the
pickup. You can expect over 300 hours of battery life between battery changes. When
you begin to hear distortion from the pickup, it’s time to change the batteries.
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ACTIVE MAGNETIC SOUNDHOLE PICKUP
ACTIVE MAGNETIC SOUNDHOLE PICKUP

Battery Replacement
Remove the pickup from the instrument and carefully pry out the batteries with a small
flat-head jeweler’s screwdriver. When you replace the batteries, be sure to observe the
correct polarity. Note that plus (
+ ) and minus (
- ) polarity marks are molded into the
shell of the battery clip.
Two 1.5 Volt silver oxide EverReady #357 One 3 Volt Duracell DL1/3N
THE PICKUP
The Rare Earth™has been carefully voiced to reproduce a balanced string to string
response. If your guitar has very high action on the bass side or very low action on the
treble side, you may hear a slight imbalance between the outside strings. To attain a
balanced response in these cases, raise the bass side of the pickup with a shim.
The Rare Earth™Bass pickup is voiced specifically for bronze or phosphor bronze
strings.
THE PREAMP
The preamp is housed within the pickup. The low-noise circuit design preserves pickup
performance in any audio environment. The preamp allows you to plug the Rare
Earth™into a full range instrument amplifier, an unbalanced input of a PA system, a
recording console or direct box, without signal loss or degradation.You may run cables
up to 80' (25m) in length without any audible loss of fidelity.
OR
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PERMANENT INSTALLATION
Important! Permanent installation of the Rare Earth™ requires some degree
of woodworking/electronics soldering skill and should be performed only by a
qualified repair-person. Fishman Transducers will not be held responsible for
damages to the pickup or your instrument that result from improper installation.
The goal of this procedure is to mount the Rare Earth™pickup and endpin jack
securely in the guitar. Please follow these guidelines carefully; a pickup that is not
properly mounted may slip out of the soundhole and may damage a guitar that is
shipped or checked as baggage.
INSTALL THE ENDPIN JACK
Tools
• Soldering iron (30 watt max) • Rosin core solder
• Wire strippers • #1 Phillips screwdriver
• 1/2" open end wrench • 3/32" Allen wrench
• 2.4 mm (3/32") slot head screwdriver • #4 washers (#3 metric)
• 15/32" (11.9 mm) reamer or: Variable speed drill
Center punch
1/8" (3.2 mm) twist drill
15/32" (11.9 mm) Spade bit drill
X-Acto miniature saw
Procedure
•Widen the endpin hole to accept the endpin jack. There are two methods to widen
the endpin hole ...
Slow and Safe
If you have the time, this method is preferred. Remove the endpin and widen the hole
to size with a 15/32" (11.9 mm) reamer (available in the US & Canada through Stewart
MacDonald, 800-848-2273, part #4323).
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ACTIVE MAGNETIC SOUNDHOLE PICKUP
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OR
Quick & Clean
The objective here is to quickly drill out the endpin jack hole, with the endpin or other
suitable plug in place. You may remove a loose endpin and refasten it in the endblock
with cyanoacrylate glue before starting the procedure.
NOTE: We do not recommend this method for instruments with brittle
ornamental veneers (ex: abalone) around the endblock
1. Apply masking tape around the endblock area to protect the instrument.
2. Locate an X-Acto saw 1/16" (1.6 mm) away from the body and saw off the endpin,
nearly flush to the instrument.
3. Centerpunch a guide hole in the trimmed endpin.
4. Drill a 1/8" (3.2 mm) pilot hole through the endpin and endblock.
5. Line up a 15/32" (11.9 mm) Spade bit in the pilot hole and begin drilling. Maintain
a perpendicular plunge in relation to the instrument. Use steady (but not heavy)
pressure, especially as the drill exits inside the guitar.
6. To avoid damage to the instrument, let the drill come to a complete stop before
removing it from the hole.
WIRING OPTIONS
Cut the pickup wire (or coil it up and secure with a tie wrap) to a length suitable to reach
between the soundhole and the endpin. Leave extra length to move the pickup out of
the sound hole for battery replacement.
Preliminary
1. Strip 3/8" off the outside jacket of the pickup wire.
2. Tin the red and white wires, as well as the ground wire.
3. Gently bend back the ground/strain
relief to gain access to the three
other terminals.
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Standard Mono Wiring
1. Solder the white wire (Signal) to the shortest terminal on the jack (Tip).
2. Solder the red wire (Negative Battery) to the longest terminal on the jack (Switch).
3. Solder the pickup shield wire to the Sleeve tab on the jack (Ground).
To Add a Second Pickup in Stereo
Solder the signal wire from the second pickup to the Ring terminal (middle length) of
the jack. Solder the shield from the second pickup to the Sleeve terminal of the jack.
Fasten the Jack in the Endpin Hole
Follow this sequence when installing the endpin jack:
1. Large Hex Nut
2. Large Dress Washer
3. Star Washer
4. Guitar Endblock
5. Small Dress Washer
6. Small Dress Nut
7. Strap Button
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Shield to
Sleeve
Pickup Signal
(white)
to Tip
Negative Battery Wire
(red) to Switch
ACTIVE MAGNETIC SOUNDHOLE PICKUP
ACTIVE MAGNETIC SOUNDHOLE PICKUP
Shields to
Sleeve
Pickup Signal
(white) to Tip
Negative Battery Wire
(red) to Switch
Second Pickup
to Ring
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The jack should protrude at least 5/16" (7.9 mm) and no more than 11/32" (8.7 mm)
outside the guitar's body for proper fit.
Fit the small dress washer and nut over the end of the jack, then insert a 3/32" Allen
wrench through the small hole on the end of the jack. Tighten the nut with a 1/2" open-
end wrench while holding the jack in place with the Allen wrench. Thread and hand
tighten the strap button.
NOTE: With the strap button in place, the end of the jack should
protrude slightly, so that when a plug is inserted, it will snap
securely in place.
A set of adhesive-backed clips has been provided to secure the pickup cable inside the
guitar once the endpin jack has been installed. Remove the plastic film from the back
of each clip to expose the adhesive. Secure the cable/clips to the kerfed lining of the
guitar.
PERMANENT PICKUP INSTALLATION
1. Loosen the pickup clamps.
2. Position the pickup as close to the fingerboard as possible. The pickup should be
parallel to the fingerboard and centered between the outside strings.
3. Lightly tighten the clamps with a #1 Phillips screwdriver until they start to grab. Do
not over tighten.
With an inspection mirror, check the clamps inside the guitar. When properly
seated, the moveable jaws will be parallel to the soundboard. We recommend that
you shim the clamps with #4 washers (#3 metric) - see Figure C. This will
strengthen the clamping power of the jaws and prevent damage from
overtightening. Use as many washers as needed to keep the jaws parallel to the
soundboard, while still maintaining a good, firm grip.
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Fasten the Jack - Contiued

4. With the inspection mirror, check to see if the moveable jaws touch the support
braces that run close to the edge of the soundhole. If the clamps do not touch
these braces, you may tighten the screws until the clamps are fully seated. Make
sure the pickup is secure; try to slide it out of the soundhole. If you can't move the
pickup, you are done.
If, after tightening, you can move the pickup with little effort, the jaws are probably
hung up on the interior soundhole braces. If so, go to step 5.
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Clamp is not parallel
NO GOOD
Clamp is parallel
GOOD
N
DBOARD
Add washers to
strengthen clamp
AB
C

5. If the tips of the clamps inside the guitar make contact with the soundhole
braces - see Figure D - then the pickup can not firmly grip the guitar and may
slip out of the soundhole over a period of time.
Try mounting the pickup slightly back toward the center of the soundhole.
Doing so will often clear the clamps from the soundhole braces. After you
move the pickup, re-check with the inspection mirror. If everything lines up,
retighten the clamps and check the pickup for tightness in the soundhole. If the
clamps are still hung up on the soundhole braces, go to step 6.
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Clamp touches brace
NO GOOD
Clamp clears brace
GOOD
Cut back cork pad
DE
F
Permanent Pickup Installation - Contiued