 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music equipment [1] |
| Founded | 1981 in Andover, Massachusetts |
| Headquarters | 3 Riverside Dr, Andover, MA 01810-1122, United States |
Number of locations | 1 |
Key people | Larry Fishman |
| Products | Guitar pickups |
| Website | www |
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]
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]
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] Also recently, Cort Guitars have launched the KX500 model which comes loaded with Fishman Fluence pickups, making Cort guitars a new staple on modern guitar players.