I plugged into a Genz Benz Shenandoah Acoustic Pro, and I was instantly struck by how natural the tone was—big and full with a sweet top end. Fiddling with the Tone control revealed that it was in the “smiley face” part of its range, with notched mids and boosted bass and treble. Rolling it toward the bridge flattens out the response by bringing back some midrange, and mellowing out the highs and lows. It’s a very intuitive control, and it’s much easier than manipulating a side-mounted EQ. My favorite setting was on the scooped side (although not fully scooped), which sounded great for strumming, and also gave a nice thump to fingerpicked lines.

The coolest part of the Matrix Infinity’s tone might just be the glorious headroom. I can hit the strings pretty much as hard as possible, and the system doesn’t squash, compress, or quack. Thanks to the efforts of top acoustic-pickup companies such as Fishman, we’re entering an era where you’ll be able to make it through an entire review of an acoustic-electric guitar without seeing the word “quack.” And that’s a beautiful thing.

Kudos Great tone. Stellar headroom. Easy-to-use EQ. Clean installation.
Concerns None.
Contact Fishman, (978) 988-9199; fishman.com