It can be a little tricky to change the position of the microphone on the sly though-if I brushed my thumb against it the mic produced a loud вЂњthumpвЂќ through the amp. It added a rich roundness when pointed toward the guitarвЂ™s upper treble bout and a more cutting edge when rotated in the direction of the lower bass bout. Microphone orientation alone influenced the tone in interesting ways. And by adding signal from the microphone, which is a cardioid condenser unit, I lost none of the pickupвЂ™s thump and definition but gained a distinct natural ambience. In the process, I often forgot I was even using amplification.Д«etween the blend control, the tone knob, and a voicing switch-not to mention the position-adjustable microphone, the Matrix Infinity Mic Blend is impressively flexible in terms of sound shaping. I typically found myself adjusting the systemвЂ™s blend control for equal parts undersaddle and mic.

The string-to-string balance was excellent, and there was abundant warmth and detail. Straight away I was impressed by how well the Fishman electronics captured the hearty sound of the D-18. I set the tone controls flat on both the amp and the guitar, and the instrumentвЂ™s blend control to the undersaddle pickup only.

The rotating microphone is also installed under the top close to the soundhole where its position can be easily readjusted.ДЄfter getting to know the Martin unamplified, I plugged into a Genzler Acoustic Array using the FishmanвЂ™s 1/4вЂќ endpin jack. The preampвЂ™s 9V battery pack is attached discretely inside the guitar via a Velcro patch, and the tone/volume knobs and blend control sit under the top on opposite sides of the soundhole. But I really appreciated that the system requires no unsightly modifications to the guitar. The D-18 certainly felt heavier than average for having the Fishman electronics onboard. (The undersaddle pickup, by the way, is available in wide, narrow, or split saddle configurations to accommodate various saddle sizes on different guitars.) As the name suggests, it combines a mini soundhole microphone and an undersaddle pickup-and I can say without reservation that itвЂ™s the best-sounding Fishman package IвЂ™ve tried to date.ДЇor testing, Fishman sent the Matrix Infinity Mic Blend installed on a very nice instrument-a recent Martin D-18 that has a commanding personality when played unplugged. In both cases the preamps have been designed and some extent re-voiced with full-frequency modern acoustic amps in mind.ДЇor many players though, the Mic Blend system is the big news. This year saw an evolution of the Matrix system and the introduction of the Matrix Infinity VT (undersaddle pickup only) and the Matrix Infinity Mic Blend. Guild, Martin, and other makers have relied on its revolutionary design-a single piezo strip, rather than individual crystals for each string-to deliver clarity and a more natural response in their instruments. For the past two decades, this undersaddle device has been the most popular acoustic guitar pickup on the market. If youвЂ™ve played a higher-quality acoustic guitar with a factory-installed pickup recently, thereвЂ™s a pretty good chance that the transducer was a Fishman Acoustic Matrix.

Matrix infinity usbextreme