Fishman Fluence introduces the Mick Thomson Signature Series pickup set, offering three distinct voices in both the bridge and neck pickups.
Mick Thomson is known for being one of the driving forces of Slipknot, one of the biggest metal bands in the world. Unafraid of new technology and forging new paths, Mick has been exploring innovative and groundbreaking gear throughout his entire career. Enter Fishman Fluence, with its ability to deliver the highest form of multiple voicings within the same pickup. Not only is Fluence technology able to deliver the greatest version of Mick's signature tones, but his new pickup set encapsulates everything that he’s been searching for throughout his career. The wide array of tones available from this set spans the entire range of aggressive lead and rhythm tones to the purest rock tones, plus the addition of exceptional single coil capability.
The first voice in the bridge pickup is Mick’s signature tight, active bridge humbucker tone, while Voice 2 delivers a refined hot and punchy passive humbucker sound. A glassy, crystal-clear single coil tone is the third voice giving the bridge pickup three distinct but musically complimentary voices.
The neck pickup features a Voice 1 that’s thick and fluid, and a Voice 2 that offers sweet “vintage plus” passive humbucker tone with added low mid punch. Like the bridge humbucker, the neck pickup incorporates a third voice that puts out vintage, but quiet, single-coil neck tone.
To achieve the voicings that Mick needed, Fishman employed a new custom hybrid magnet design.
"My pickups were tuned in a studio and then tested on the road and then tuned a little bit more. The end result being both musical and face-melting,” states Mick Thomson.
“Extra attention was given to the low mids to keep it big but tight. Voiced to cut through a mix but never be shrill. Just could not be happier with how they turned out."
The pickups are available as a 6-string set and come in a matte black nickel finish, personally chosen by Mick. Street price in the U.S. is $289.95 for the set.
For more information, please visit fishman.com.
Fishman Fluence Mick Thomson Signature Series Pickup Set - Black
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For over five decades, audiences worldwide have marveled at Baxter’s inimitable and instantly recognizable guitar playing and generational songcraft. His output spans classic records as a founding member of Steely Dan and member of the Doobie Brothers in addition to hundreds of recordings with the likes of Donna Summer, Cher, Joni Mitchell, Rod Stewart, Dolly Parton, and many more. During 2022, he initially unveiled Speed of Heat, showcasing yet another side of his creative identity and introducing himself as a solo artist.
On the Storytellers Edition, his fascinating commentary pulls the curtain back on both the process and the message of the music. This version traces the journey to Speed of Heat and its core inspirations as shared directly by Baxter in the form of detailed anecdotes, candid stories, and insightful commentary on every track.
The 12-songalbum, co-produced by Baxter and CJ Vanston, is a riveting and rewarding musical experience that features a host of brilliantly crafted originals co-written by the guitarist and Vanston, as well as inspired versions of some of the great classics. Along the way, Baxter is joined by guest vocalists and songwriters Michael McDonald, Clint Black, Jonny Lang and Rick Livingstone. Baxter notably handled lead vocals on his rendition of Steely Dan’s “My Old School.” Other standouts include "Bad Move" co-written by Baxter, Clint Black, and CJ Vanston, and “My Place In The Sun”, sung by Michael McDonald and co-authored by McDonald, Baxter and Vanston.
As one of the most recorded guitarists of his generation, Baxter’s creative and versatile playing has been heard on some of the most iconic songs in music history, including “9 to 5” by Dolly Parton and “Hot Stuff” by Donna Summer.
The stunningly diverse collection of material on Speed of Heat presents a 360-degree view of the uniquely gifted musician.
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If 3 Were 6
With six times the controls found on the 1 and 2 versions (if you discount the original’s on/off slider switch,) the LPB-3’s control complement offers pre-gain, boost, mid freq, bass, treble, and mid knobs, with a center detent on the latter three so you can find the midpoint easily. A mini-toggle labeled “max” selects between 20 dB and 33 dB of maximum gain, and another labeled “Q” flips the resonance of the mid EQ between high and low. Obviously, this represents a significant expansion of the LPB’s capabilities.
More than just a booster with a passive tone, the LPB-3 boasts a genuine active EQ stage plus parametric midrange section, comprising the two knobs with shaded legends, mid freq and mid level. The gain stages have also been reimagined to include a pre-gain stage before the EQ, which enables up to 20 dB of input gain. The boost stage that follows the EQ is essentially a level control with gain to allow for up to 33 dB of gain through the LPB-3 when the “max” mini toggle is set to 33dB
A slider switch accessible inside the pedal selects between buffered or true bypass for the hard-latch footswitch. An AC adapter is included, which supplies 200mA of DC at 9.6 volts to the center-negative power input, and EHX specifies that nothing supplying less than 120mA or more than 12 volts should be used. There’s no space for an internal battery.
Power-Boosted
The LPB-3 reveals boatloads of range that betters many linear boosts on the market. There’s lots of tone-shaping power here. Uncolored boost is available when you want it, and the preamp gain knob colors and fattens your signal as you crank it up—even before you tap into the massive flexibility in the EQ stage.
“The preamp gain knob colors and fattens your signal as you crank it up—even before you tap into the massive flexibility in the EQ stage.”
I found the two mid controls work best when used judiciously, and my guitars and amps preferred subtle changes pretty close to the midpoint on each. However, there are still tremendous variations in your mid boost (or scoop, for that matter) within just 15 or 20 percent range in either direction from the center detent. Pushing the boost and pre-gain too far, particularly with the 33 dB setting engaged, can lead to some harsh sounds, but they are easy to avoid and might even be desirable for some users that like to work at more creative extremes.
The Verdict
The new LPB-3 has much, much more range than its predecessors, providing flexible preamp, boost, and overdrive sounds that can be reshaped in significant ways via the powerful EQ. It gives precise tone-tuning flexibility to sticklers that like to match a guitar and amp to a song in a very precise way, but also opens up more radical paths for experimentalists. That it does all this at a $129 price is beyond reasonable.
Electro-Harmonix Lpb-3 Linear Power Booster & Eq Effect Pedal Silver And Blue
