Fishman VMV Powerbridge

The Fishman VMV Powerbridge lets you get acoustic guitar sound from Strat-style guitars with 6-screw vintage-style bridges. Ultrasensitive built-in saddle transducers sense the natural acoustic vibrations of a solidbody guitar, giving an authentic acoustic sound to the instrument. A supplied stereo output jack allows independent use of the saddle pickups or a blending with the guitar's regular pickups. All installation materials and instructions are included. Professional installation and use of Powerchip Preamp is recommended (See recommended accessories box on this page). Chrome.

Replacement bridge for guitars with vintage Strat-style bridges Built-in piezo pickup

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As far as the unit is considered on the whole, it would rate an 8 overall. If you have not worked on a finished guitar body, and do not know how to protect the finish, I would not recommend this. If you have the skills to install one of these on your own, it would be a worthwhile addition to a high quality electric guitar. Not a project for a limited experienced guitar tech, either.
Some years ago, I owned a Yamaha RGA774 that had this type of tremolo bridge system installed upon it, when I bought it. At the time, it wasn't used very much, and when I had an opportunity to trade the guitar for one that was an upgrade (without this power bridge), I did that. After a while, I started to find uses for this, but, finding a Fender Stratocaster with one installed, was not easy. So, I bought one of these systems from MF and installed it with other upgraded Stratocaster parts on a Warmoth body. It works very well. The only thing that I found to be lacking was an on and off switch. The Strat pickups are passive, and this is an active system which requires a 12 volt battery. Instead of using the Fender five way switch, I wired each of the pickups to its own switch, so that all possible combinations of switches could be utilized. Following the wiring diagram, that was included by Fishman, I installed the power bridge. The bridge was active all of the time. So, I had to install a separate switch for the power bridge system. Thus, only an 8 for features.
For the most part, everything is well made. There were some blemishes on the base, but, not a biggy. The block was a thin one, like on an imported Strat. I wished that it was one of the heavier ones.
Unless you can justify having a very expensive guitar to play, this is very pricey for what it is. MF sells another brand that is less expensive, but, I can not offer an opinion, since I have not used one of them. If you are assembling a high quality guitar, or if you have a high dollar guitar that is to use, and not for Collectible Value, this would be the system to go with. I would not recommend this to anyone who does not know how to solder or follow the instructions. If a qualified guitar tech was needed to install this system, it would be very pricey. This is not something to take lightly. I think that I understand the reason why there has not been any reviews written before now. It is hard to recommend something that is expensive, especially if it is to be used very seldom.
Fishman VMV Powerbridge
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