This thread has made me curious about installing an under saddle pickup on my Mainland tenor. I see that passive pickups don't do very well on the extreme ends of the pitch range, but are good for the middle tones. That would explain the one review I saw for the Fishman passive pickup that said it didn't work very well on a tenor with a low G. I currently use a wound low G on my tenor, and wonder if the Fishman Matrix active pickup would do OK with that. Anyone have an idea on that setup?
I installed this system on my Ohana TK-35CG just before the Wine Country Festival in September. I used it for the live performances at that festival (On YT:
Blue Moon and
Banks of the Ohio from September 2011). I think it sounds pretty good, but remember that I had no control of the sound system. Gordon Mayer was listening to the concert and told me that he thought the tone was turned up to too high. I changed it to around the middle setting and everything was fine. It is a very accurate and sensitive tone control. I haven't used it since that fest as I would prefer to play acoustically if at all possible.
The Fishman Matrix system played through a dedicated Trace Eliott acoustic amp at home sounds brilliant and seems perfect for the solid mahogany body I am using. To my ears it is just as good as the MiSi system for quality of sound and clarity. Maybe even better.
It was easy enough to fit, except for the large amount of wiring. It is as if the good people at Fishman didn't actually measure a ukulele to find out how small they are inside. It would have had too much cable even fitted to a baritone. The other thing is the size of the pre-amp. It takes up a fair amount of space near the jack socket. However, if you are going to use the uke primarily amplified, it is a great-sounding system with easy-to-use and accurate sound hole volume and tone controls.
PROS
1. The sound quality is wonderful: very clear, both at full and low volume.
2. The tone control goes from sizzling trebles to deep, balanced basses.
3. A company with more experience than pretty much anyone.
4. A proven, tried and tested system (on guitars).
5. Easy to install.
6. Not over-priced.
7. Fishman seem to have made sound-quality their top priority.
CONS
1. Heavier than you would ideally want.
2. Doubles the cost if used on a laminate instrument.
3. It needs a battery that has to be changed every so often (but there is a red warning light on the pre-amp).
4. Too much cable to wrap up and stick down.
5. You must place the pick-up accurately to get a balanced output (easy to do).
6. I used my own strong Velcro to stick the battery holder down (the sticky things they supply don't do the job).
James Hill uses a similar Fishman system. He advised me to take the battery out on a long flight as the jarring of the aircraft, particularly in the hold, can make it come use and it can damage the inside of the uke. This happened to one of his.
Although i use re-entrant tuning, of course, this system should work fine with a low G instrument. it gives a very balanced response.
Nearly everyone I talk to now say that they prefer the MiSi system with the Baggs pick-up. It is certainly lighter and has none of the battery issues. I don't regret fitting the Fishman Matrix however and I look forward to using it again.
Hope this helps.