Improved my Sonotone
 

A lot;

https://uniim1.shutterfly.com/ng/ser...529648/enhance

When I got my Road Series, I didn't have an amp and there was so much disdain, not just dislike for the Fishman Sonotone, that I just pulled the whole thing out.

Then I got an Loudbox Mini and put a JJB pickup in the guitar and everything was good. I also had a MartinX with a Sonotone. I had taken the UST out and taped it inside the guitar. I put it in and it was pretty harsh so, rather than mess with the saddle height again, I taped it inside again. I planned to get another JJB

Then someone here posted about adding a generic Aura UST to another pickup. I ordered one from Ebay to try replacing the Sonotone UST. I had nothing to lose, it was coming out anyway.

I slipped the new pickup in place, cut the wires on the Sonotone and soldered the new pickup wires to them and it works like a dream.

I played both guitars today; back to back to back. And to me after about an hour, it sounds a little different but just as good.

Success! I just wanted to try it and it works just fine!

Yup, I played it again yesterday for about 2 1/2 hours. I got the settings just right. The tone control on the guitar doesn't really do much. I just left it in the middle. But I got the guitar volume, amp gain and volume set and it sounds full and deep and like a loud acoustic.

This is a really easy fix for a Sonotone pickup and probably any guitar with that same soft braided UST.

Could you explain a little more in detail about what you did? I have a Martin Road series with the MXT (sonitone) and want to replace it badly. You got some generic Aura UST? What exactly is that and where can I get it from? So you left the preamp for the Sonitone alone and only replaced the undersaddle part? You just cut the wires and resoldered them? Did it really improve the overall sound that much?

Sounds tantalizing but I, too, am a little confused. Are you saying you replaced the Sonitone pickup with a "generic Aura UST" pickup then cut the old wires and connected the soundhole control wires to that new UST?

I'm definitely interested since I've expressed probably too much disdain about my gig Martin's Sonitone, to the point where I should have changed my handle to Dreaded Sonitone.

let's hope he explains Chris...I'm really interested. To me, it sound like he just replaced the undersaddle part and wired it into the existing Sonitone preamp. But I could be wrong. Normally I just replace these for gigging guitars with a Baggs Anthem SL because they are so easy to install yourself, but I have a new Martin with the MXT system and I'm not sure about this one and how it's laid out.

Me too, and I appreciate the info from lowrider and any additional info when he has the time. I also edited my sloppy quote, he said "generic Aura UST" not "generic Martin", my mistake, apologies.

There's not much more to explain. I searched on Ebay, for Aura UST. I made the mistake of ordering it from a China source so it took forever to get here. You can also look on Amazon. I think they have them also.

It works better both acoustically and plugged in because it's solid not a braided wire like the Sonocore. I have a JJB in my Road Series and I just sold the MartinX. The Road Series sounds better but it's a better guitar. Replacing the UST was much easier than removing the whole pickup and installing the JJB. I cut the wires and soldered them back together. If you pulled the Sonotone pre-amp out, you could de-solder and solder the new UST in but my way was easier.

I cost less than 20 bucks and it took about a half-hour. It was a nice improvement. The girl I sold the MartinX to, loved the acoustic tone, and so far she hasn't called me up complaining about it plugged in so I think it was a nice improvement all around.

I just looked on Amazon. Take your pick;

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Aura+unde...ref=nb_sb_noss

I think the confusion comes from “Aura UST”. Never heard of one of those before. It sounds like a cheap Chinese knockoff that’s trying to get potential buyers by making them think it’s the same as the Fishman aura systems. Makes sense that you noticed some improvement from a braided to hard UST but I wouldn’t think it would be a huge difference.

I used that term because that’s what the poster in the original thread called it but I really liked the change.

This is something I am very interested in too. I emailed Fishman over the weekend asking if you could wire a Matrix or AG125 to the Sonicore preamp and am waiting for a response....

The OP is mistakenly referring to a Fishman Matrix as an Aura. The Fishman Aura is their modeling preamp technology, not a pickup. Their flagship under saddle piezo is the Matrix, which is used to create the models in the Aura system and you can buy stand-alone Matrix pickups and knock-offs on Amazon all day.

Anyone try adding a strip of something hard below the under saddle piece (like a shim)? I heard a thin strip cut off a credit card works well for this. Does this improve the sound of a Sonitone?

I think you got it wrong. If you remove the UST, you can make a shim to bring your saddle back up to height with a strip or two cut off of an old credit card.

Jack, I have heard of people doing this. I'm not sure about it working with the Sonitone "braid". However, I'd also like to hear from anyone who may have tried this.

On a side note, today I was in touch with Fishman about just replacing the Sonitone pickup element and wiring a Matrix to the Sonitone preamp and battery box. He said they are compatible and is doable.

jricc