NAMM 2023: Fishman debuts signature Fluence pickup sets for Polyphia’s Tim Henson and Scott LePage – complete with an onboard nylon-string substitute setting
The Polyphia boys land the big Fishman, with each pickup featuring three voices, including the ridiculously tantalizing “nylon-string surrogate” mode on Henson’s neck humbucker
Tim Henson & Scott LePage (Polyphia) | Deep Dive | Overview - YouTube
Fishman’s multi-voiced Fluence designs always do. And the Polyphia sets do not disappoint on that score. Both players have dual humbucker sets, available now, each tailored to their style and what tones they need from their electric guitar.
For Henson, that extends from the “hot-rodded Classic voice” for the quintessential Henson high-gain tone on the bridge humbucker right over to – wait for it – a “hyper-clean, nylon string substitute” voicing on the neck pickup. And there is so much ground inbetween.
Available with black or white coverings, they really do have the potential to transform your guitar tone.
“We had to reach certain types of tones within his set without having to change guitar,” says Ken Susi, brand manager, Fishman. “That was probably the most important hurdle we had to overcome. But with Fluence, because we offer up to two voicings, sometimes three –in this case it’s three – we were able to fit everything that Tim needed right into his signature series pickups.”
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(Image credit: Fishman)
(Image credit: Fishman)
Based around an Alnico V bar-magnet-and-pole design, Henson’s Fluence pickups can be wired to “set up and forget” or to change voicings by manually toggling. Each pickup as three voices apiece. The neck pickup has a traditional “thick and smooth” humbucking voice. Let’s call it now; this voice is for your boomer bends. Just add Klon.
Voice 2, meanwhile, is that nylon-string surrogate, which might well be a cheaper way of adding that percussive plunk of the nylon-string electro to your tone library. Check it out in the video above, around 8:45. It sounds uncanny. Finally, Voice 3 is described as “Tim’s fluid neck single-coil”, for all your spanky, compressed neo-Stratocaster tones.
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On the bridge pickup, you have Voice 1 coming live and direct with that classic lead voicing, Voice 2 is a combination of Henson’s favorite humbucking sounds, while Voice 3 is bridge-and-neck single-coil combined.
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(Image credit: Fishman)
(Image credit: Fishman)
The core design for Scott LePage’s signature set is the same. Again, we have Alnico V magnets, three voicings per pickup. At the neck there is a vintage PAF humbucker sound, “a Fluence-exclusive with unreal highs, vocal midrange, and tight lows”, and a clear vintage-style single-coil voice.
LePage’s bridge pickup also has a PAF voicing, with Voice 2 where you’ll find that hot-rodded humbucker sound for all your modern high-gain shenanigans – the one you kick on when jamming with Steve Vai – and Voice 3 rounds things out with an overwound single-coil sound. LePage’s set is similarly available in black and white, but with gold pole pieces
Both of these pickup sets can be powered using a 9V battery or an optional rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack (sold separately, priced $109 street). And they are available now, both priced $289 street.
Jonathan Horsley has been writing about guitars since 2005, playing them since 1990, and regularly contributes to publications including Guitar World, MusicRadar and Total Guitar. He uses Jazz III nylon picks, 10s during the week, 9s at the weekend, and shamefully still struggles with rhythm figure one of Van Halen’s Panama.
