Because Philharmonic Cellists love their pickups just as much as any Country musician, Fishman introduces two new lines to bolster the ranks of their already impressive catalog: the Concert Series and the Nashville series.

The concert series pickups are available for violin, viola and cello. Unlike the Classic series, the Concert series pickups are built directly into a replacement bridge, designed and manufactured by French classical instrument maker Despiau. The output leads terminate in a 1/4" jack, mountable on the lower bout of the instrument.

The new Nashville series comes in three flavors as well, one for resophonic-style guitars, and two mandolin models -- flat-top and arch-top. The mandolin models, like the concert series pickups, are built into replacement bridges to ensure proper contact. The arch-top bridge is a height-adjustable ebony construction, and the flat-top bridge is one-piece rosewood.

The resonator pickup is built into a segmented, spider-style bridge. Like the Concert pickups and the Nashville mandolin pickups, the resonator pickup terminates in a 1/4", body mountable jack. Fishman recommends professional installation for the Nashville series, but absolute requires professional installation for the Concert series, and with good reason; replacing a violin bridge is almost exactly like trying to mount an arrow between the stave and string of a bow. Yes, I'm a ren-fair enthusiast, what of it?