Fishman Fluence Acoustic Spotlight, Nashville Legend, and Rock Icon

A side-by-side demo of Fishman’s three new soundhole pickups.

December 17, 2025

Fishman’s new Fluence Acoustic line applies the company’s advanced magnetic pickup technology to three new soundhole pickups. Using a printed circuit board instead of a wound wire coil, Fluence pickups allow precise tonal shaping, a direct integration of active electronics, and the ability to switch between multiple sounds (“voices”) within a single pickup. Already established in the electric guitar world, Fluence Acoustic pickups were first introduced as standard equipment on Fender’s Highway Series acoustic-electrics. This year, they’ve hit the market as stand-alone pickups that can be installed in most steel-string flattops. We heard a demo of the pickups at this year’s NAMM show, and I recently posted an overview of the Fluence Acoustic Spotlight. In this video, I demo the sounds of the Fluence Spotlight, Nashville Legend, and Rock Icon, installed in a 1994 Taylor 712c and plugged into a Fishman Loudbox Mini Charge amp.

With the same design and appearance, each Fluence Acoustic pickup is fine-tuned with a different tonality and application in mind. The Spotlight is designed for the most natural representation of acoustic sound, and Fishman recommends it for solo and small ensemble players. The Nashville Legend offers similar clarity, but with a touch more presence to help it cut through a denser mix of instrumentation. Finally, the Rock Icon is designed to cut through a loud band, perhaps even plugged into an electric guitar amp. As I demonstrated in my Spotlight overview, each Fluence Acoustic pickup includes two voicings that can be selected with an easily accessible switch, making on-the-fly changes as simple as on an electric guitar. In addition to the built-in voice selector and a master volume, there is also a second volume control on the treble side that can be used to preset a different volume level for Voice 2, making it possible to have a different sound and output level for switching between playing rhythm and lead.

In this video, I play fingerstyle and strum with a pick through each pickup using both voices. Despite the variables of instrument, playing style, and amplification, each of the Fluence Acoustic pickups delivered what Fishman promises. While the choice for solo players (Spotlight) and those who play in a loud band (Rock Icon) is pretty clear, the Nashville Legend could fit into either camp, making it mostly a decision of preference. After watching this, check out Fishman’s own demo videos to help decide which Fluence Acoustic is best suited for you.

Fishman was already a major player in the soundhole pickup market with its high-end Rare Earth line and affordable Neo-D line. The new Fluence Acoustics offer even more sounds and features, and I predict that the new pickups will find homes in many soundholes.

Fishman Fluence Acoustic Specs