Fishman PowerTap Earth User manual
www.fishman.com
Quick Start Guide
2
POWERTAP EARTH BLEND
Welcome
Thank you for choosing Fishman. We are proud to offer you professional-grade
amplification products that will empower you to sound your very best.
Please read through this User Guide to familiarize yourself with the operation of your
PowerTap Earth Blend.
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POWERTAP EARTH BLEND
Pickup Voicing
The PowerTap Earth Blend has been carefully voiced to reproduce a balanced string
response. The PowerTap Earth Blend is voiced specifically for bronze or phosphor
bronze strings. If nickel electric guitar strings are used with the PowerTap Earth, the
lower wound strings will overpower the higher plain strings.
Preamp
The PowerTap Earth Blend model features a miniature preamp, housed within the
body of the pickup. A low-noise circuit design preserves the pickup’s performance in
any audio environment. You can plug the PowerTap Earth Blend into an acoustic
instrument amplifier, an unbalanced input of a mixer or a direct box without signal
loss or degradation. You may run cables up to 80’ (25m) in length without audible
signal loss.
PowerTap Earth Blend
As part of the new Fishman Acoustic PowerTap™ series, the PowerTap Earth Blend
pickup system combines the superior performance, and warm, transparent sound of
our Rare Earth Mic Blend with a new soundboard Tap body sensor. The result delivers
a new world of percussive performance elements and tactile dynamics for guitarists of
all styles. With the addition of Tap body sensor technology, players can add new
performance dynamics of Touch, Ambience and Percussion.
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POWERTAP EARTH BLEND
Battery Replacement
Remove the mag pickup from the instrument soundhole to access the battery bag
inside the guitar body. Remove the battery bag from the hook and loop patch and
bring it out through the soundhole. After replacing the battery with a fresh 9-Volt,
place the bag back on the hook and loop patch pressing firmly to properly seat the
bag securely to the patch. Replace the mag pickup in the soundhole.
Blend Function – Microphone
The PowerTap Earth Blend model combines the humbucking magnetic sound-hole
pickup with a condenser microphone to provide a wide range of natural sounds,
adaptable to various playing situations. The magnetic pickup’s strength is its
articulation, high gain-before-feedback, and isolation from other nearby sound
sources. The microphone adds body and air to the sound to provide a rounder,
more ambient tone.
5
POWERTAP EARTH BLEND
Rotate thumbwheel counterclockwise for full pickup
Middle: 50/50 blend
Rotate clockwise for full mic
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POWERTAP EARTH BLEND
Blend Function – Tap Body Sensor
A second thumbwheel pot located in the soundhole acts as the blend level control for
the Tap body sensor. Turn the blend wheel clockwise towards the bridge to add in the
desired signal from the Tap body sensor.
Tap Sensor
location
Neck
RE Mic Blend
Tap Blend
Battery Bag
Mag/Mic Blend
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POWERTAP EARTH BLEND
Less Bass More Bass
Microphone Bass Switch
The Mic bass switch controls the low frequency extension of the microphone. When
switched to the position pointing toward the treble strings, this control will provide
the fullest bass for mic only applications or blended tones where more mic bass is
preferred. The alternate switch position (toward the bass strings) rolls off bass from
the microphone to reduce the risk of low frequency feedback and facilitate playing at
higher volumes. In this scenario, the magnetic pickup becomes the primary source of
bass.
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POWERTAP EARTH BLEND
Microphone Placement
The microphone is attached to an adjustable gooseneck that allows you to position the
mic in just the right spot to achieve your desired tone. Try experimenting with micro-
phone placement until you find a position you like. Here are some suggestions to get
you started:
To begin, move the blend control toward the treble strings (full mic).
A suggested starting position would be with the microphone capsule parallel to the
soundboard. Move the mic into varying positions until you find your desired tonality. A
small adjustment can give you dramatically different sounds. Once you find a sound
you like, blend in the pickup to taste. There is no right or wrong position for the mic.
Just experiment until it sounds the way you like it.
Note: To avoid damage to gooseneck and microphone connection, please adjust
position carefully.
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POWERTAP EARTH BLEND
Stereo/Mono Output Options
The PowerTap Earth Blend provides for multiple output and Blend options. Plugging a
mono instrument cable into the primary Jack (Closest to the top of the instrument)
accesses all three pickup signals blended to a mono output.
If you would like to separate the Tap body sensor from the mag/mic signal, simply turn
the body sensor blend all the way counterclockwise. This eliminates the Tap body
sensor from the primary jack. Plug an additional mono instrument cable into the
secondary jack to access the Tap body sensor signal.
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POWERTAP EARTH BLEND
To access all three pickup signals separately, plug in a Stereo Y-cable or Y adaptor into
the primary jack and an additional mono instrument cable into the secondary jack. This
will route the signals as follows:
Primary Jack Tip: Mag pickup
Primary Jack Ring: Microphone
Secondary Jack Tip: Body Sense pickup
Primary Jack
Secondary Jack
Guitar Top
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