Fishman Triple Play

Having been a wired Midi Guitar Player for over 15 years, I was excited by the prospect of owning The Fishman Triple Play

My first impression was that of a very good build quality of the pick up and controller and well thought out application/instruction to install it to various guitar bodies

Good instructions and all the necessary included tools, was confirmation that it was generally intended to be a very user friendly item to install

I was unaware how much of a challenge it was going to be in fitting it to my Telecaster however and it proved quite difficult with unsatisfactory results at first until after some trial and error, I decided to cut the shape of the carrier for the pick up out of the scratch plate to recess the pick up by 3mm and to also ensure some adjustment for the correct height
This was not a decision I made easily and not for the faint hearted!!

I'm sure not all guitars would be this difficult ...

It did however, work a treat!

The Fishman Triple Play does require careful setting up with the software
The sensitivity of the pick up and the height of pickup in conjunction with the guitars action, makes a huge difference to the overall performance
The software has been a bit frustrating, it seems that you can't return to the Fishman Triple Play software window after using a third party plug window i.e. NI Kontakt without shutting down the NI window first?

Experimentation by actually playing nearer to the bridge pick up got preferable results

I bought the Fishman Triple Play to play horns, in addition to guitar, in a soul band project, but soon realised it has great potential and flexibility as a general midi controller and now firmly accompanies my midi controller keyboard I use for composing

I still can't get my head around that its wireless though, with next to no latency, just the odd rogue glitch which is more down to my incorrect finger positioning and pressure than anything else ... just amazing!!!

I've now bought a wireless guitar set up too which now gives me total freedom on stage, in particular ...

I've yet to find a way to wirelessly control the volume, which I prefer to operate by foot pedal and am currently hardwiring a volume pedal between the computer interface and the PA

I'd recommend The Fishman Triple Play to anyone who is looking to either dabble in controlling their computer generated sounds with a guitar or who might be looking for a guitar midi controller alternative

The Fishman Triple Play is a serious contender in the Midi Guitar arena and gives the competition a real run for their money, especially considering the expandability of sounds

Above all else though, I'm having loads of fun with it!! ...

gpa

I'm primarily making electronic music with Synths and drum machines, but since I learnt guitar at younger age, this is more musical for me to write and compose music with than say piano. Hence the reason I wanted a midi pick up for my guitar.

I use the midi pick up with my DAW (Ableton Live) and directly into hardware synths, mainly Elektron.

Pros
- Has enough control via the software to configure for your desired setup.
- Tracks playing very well.
- Extremely creative and fun way to use with synths.
- Wireless works perfectly.

Cons
- Installation can be tricky.
- Only comes with one mounting adhesive and bracket, for this price it should have two at least.
- Can be hard to get the correct height in relation to the strings.

I am using the Triple Play for recording MIDI notes (these could be used with software instruments or for creating sheet music).

Pros
- Basic note detection is working fine
- Since I don't want to fix the device permanently to my guitar, I am glad that also some easily removable adhesive tape does the job, at least on my guitar.
- Can be used on a multitude of different guitars (there's some basic hardware included to adjust the height of the pickup).

Cons
- Tiny artefacts are recorded on a regular basis (very short MIDI notes), especially at the beginning of a note. You might not notice when just playing, but if you need clean MIDI data some cleaning is required first.
- Don't expect fast lines, like some shred solo, to be captured reliably.

Overall it does a good job, if you can live with the cons.

This is a great product for recording midi sounds. Lag, missed or unexpected notes are perceived only when trying to play lines with a lot of notes. When used for simple harmony to comp it can be used in a live setting, otherwise I would only recommend it for studio use. The tracking is great once calibrated! There is a learning curve to achieve a proper use, clean and precise playing is essential.

Pros:
- No major work is needed on the guitar to install the product.
- Tracking is great for common use.
- Can be configured in many different setups.
- Plug and Play.
- Best solution for studio use of guitar to midi.

Cons:
- Lag and unintended notes can occur if one tries to play a complex line with a lot of notes.
- Throughout calibration and adjustment is needed to achieve optimal tracking.
- Would only recommend for a live setting if intended as a comping and/or ambiance setup, not for complex and dense soloing.