"The first time a major manufacturer has offered a standalone triple-element pickup system with dual outputs." We review the Fishman Jon Gomm Powertap Earth Pro pickup system

Fishman answered the call for more body response in 2020 with the Acoustic PowerTap Series, and that has ultimately led to a signature system developed in collaboration with English percussive fingerstylist Jon Gomm. This is exciting because it’s the first time that a standalone triple-element pickup system with the option of dual outputs has become commercially available from a major manufacturer.

Plenty of pros have such customized systems installed in their personal instruments, but the production versions of their signature models are often scaled back, both to save money and under the assumption that the public need all that goodness. To the credit of Gomm and Ibanez, both iterations of his signature model come equipped with his full custom Fishman system, and that was the only way one could get it until Fishman’s release of the new Jon Gomm Signature Series PowerTap Earth Pro.

It’s essentially a cross between Fishman’s dual-element PowerTap Earth and the dual-element Rare Earth Mic Blend. The common denominator is Fishman’s Rare Earth Magnetic Soundhole Pickup. Gomm’s signature system incorporates the Tap body sensor from the PowerTap Earth plus the microphone from the Rare Earth Mic Blend. On the triple-element Jon Gomm PowerTap Earth Pro, the Rare Earth magnetic pickup does the heavy lifting by capturing the strings while the microphone adds ambiance, and the body sensor captures the guitar top.

Element 1: Rare Earth

The Rare Earth pickup is an active humbucker with a neodymium magnet structure. I found it packs plenty of power into a small, lightweight bar that’s less obtrusive than many traditional sound hole models. I’m a big fan of Fishman’s balmy Blackstack passive humbucker, which is essentially their take on the classic Sunrise design, and while the Rare Earth doesn’t have quite such a smooth character, it sure does a hell of a job delivering power, balance and clarity while being far less bulky. It leaves nothing to be desired on the volume front, in fact my only wish is that it had a volume control that I could turn down to match some of the less powerful pickups in other instruments on a gig.

Element 2: Mini Mic

The second element is a little cardioid condenser microphone at the end of a gooseneck attached to the pickup. The idea is to bend it around until you find the best sound in your instrument. There’s no right or wrong way per say, other than to be careful as you experiment until finding the sweet spot on your instrument. The manual recommends parallel to the strings as a good starting point, and I found it a fine ending point as well.

Adjust the blend control at the bottom of the pickup to bring in the desired amount of mic signal. It adds a sense of air and space, which is welcome for a system built around a magnetic pickup that can sound a bit boxy on its own. A little switch on the pickup that controls a high-pass filter on the mic. In a great sound situation, especially when playing solo, you can flick it towards the floor and let lower frequencies flow freely. To reduce potential feedback in a band setting, it’s a good idea to flick it up upwards and let the pickup handle the lion’s share of the load.

Tap Into Element 3

The third element is the peppy Tap body sensor, which affixes to the bridgeplate. Tap adds a vivaciousness, dimensionality and depth. It’s excellent at capturing percussive taps on guitar top and can be used to bring some mic-like ambiance without as much feedback risk as a microphone. A separate blend flywheel in the lip of the sound hole controls the amount of Tap signal volume. A little goes a long way.

Making Connections

Installation must be handled by a pro, and there are a couple of options. The simplest is to only use the main output and send a summed signal via traditional mono cord to an acoustic amp, direct box or an unbalanced input on a P.A. mixer. Use both blend controls to find an appropriate balance. To separate signals for isolated individual processing, the second output jack must be installed. I had this done on a Taylor 816e Grand Symphony.

Moving in Stereo

To separate the Tap body sensor from the mag/mic signal, first turn the Tap’s blend control all the way off, taking it out of the main output jack, leaving it for the combination mag/mic signal. The Tap signal now feeds to the second output, which you can control via the amp/mixer/P.A. At this point, three signals flow into two outputs.

How About a 3-Way?

Take things to the next level by employing the included stereo adaptor on the main output jack. Now the pickup and mic signals are isolated via the tip and ring of the stereo cord. Feed those in two typical mono cords while the third cord handles the isolated Tap sensor signal from the secondary jack.

The PowerTap Earth Pro system provides a comprehensive acoustic-electric tone in all scenarios, but for the expansive, dynamic and nuanced tone of Jon Gomm, go for the three-headed monster! Using a little mixer to accommodate and process all three signals separately into a P.A. is empowering. Another way to go about it using common guitar gear is to send the mic and Tap signals to the dual inputs of an acoustic amplifier while sending the magnetic pickup signal to a tube amp. Turn the latter up enough to put a bit of hair on the tone and things get real interesting real quick. In my home office/studio, using the combination of a Circa ’74 acoustic amp and an ’83 Fender Super Champ brought the whole room to life.

Summed Up

The writing has been on the wall for years. Why should electric guitar players have so many pickup options on their instruments while acoustic players are supposed to be happy with just one? They deserve more options to deliver the distinctly different tones available on an acoustic guitar, especially when played percussively in a freehand style.

Fishman is taking a positive step in a progressive direction working with Jon Gomm. I appreciate the risk, understanding that to the average player, buying any new pickup system is a tough decision. The only way to truly hear how it sounds in your guitar is to go ahead and put it in there, and installing a triple-element, dual output system requires a larger leap of faith.

For Gomm fanatics and players that are interested in the pickup system but not so interested in a standalone unit requiring installation, the Ibanez JGM5 is a strong option. Introduced in 2022 as a more affordable version of the JGM10, you get Gomm’s signature Fishman pickup system that’s worth nearly $400 on its own installed in a jumbo grand auditorium cutaway with a stealthy black finish for $1,699. Ibanez sent one along for this review so I could hear Gomm’s Fishman system in its native habitat, and it was well worth it. The JGM5 plays and looks as hip as the multi-faceted pickup system makes it sound.

That said, I truly love seeing the Fishman Jon Gomm PowerTap Earth Pro hit the market as a standalone system that can be installed on any acoustic, as I believe it will lead to more demand for more such options. I personally hope that Fishman will combine its PowerTap Infinity with a Rare Earth Mic Blend. That would provide a tried-and-true piezo undersaddle pickup coupled with a Tap sensor plus a magnetic pickup couple with a mic. Those could be split into dual outputs with two summed signals that could then be split further into four separate signals, creating the ultimate comprehensive system. Until then, I can totally appreciate the Gomm system, and offer Kudos to Fishman for making it available to passionate acoustic tone hounds of all breeds.

SPECIFICATIONS

CONTACT fishman.com

PRICE $379 street

CONTROLS Pickup/mic blend, mic voicing switch (bass boost), Tap blend

EXTRAS Stereo adapter

BATTERY 9V

BUILT China

KUDOS Three-dimensional tonal palette from triple-element system with flexible functionality

CONCERNS A volume knob on the pickup would be appreciated