Which Fishman Sonitone do I have?

[Photojeep]

Hi,
Yesterday I put new strings on my 3 guitars and also replaced the 9 volt batteries in each. I will resume playing at my church this Sunday so I wanted to be prepared and to sound my best.

Anyway, the battery in my Martin DRS2 seemed to be stuck in it's compartment so I ended up taking the entire battery compartment out of the guitar and had to force it out from the bottom. In doing so, I severely bent the coiled wire that had became entangled in the top of the battery (the bigger negative connector).

I've been thinking I could just cut off the bent part of the coiled wire but then what would prevent it from happening again?

I've started looking to see if replacement parts are available and so far have only found those that don't use the coiled wire connector but the clip on variety and I don't know if one of those would be compatible with my guitar's unit, hence my question.

The actual replacement shouldn't be a problem as the battery cable connects to a tiny circuit board via a small plastic clip in connector.

My DRS2 is from 2017 so does anyone know which model of sonitone I have and if replacement parts would be compatible?

I've reached out via email to Fishman but so far no response.

Thanks in advance,
PJ

[lowrider]

I think a Sonotone is a Sonotone. I don't think there are different models. It has a Sonocore UST. You can buy a whole new one on Ebay for about $13 and use the part you need.

I think a better idea is to take the whole thing out and replace it with a JJB pickup for about $50. That's what I did with my Martin GPCRSG and it's a huge improvement.

[Photojeep]

Thank you Lowrider. I appreciate learning about the JJB but I think I will be sticking with the Sonitone for now.

I ended up calling Fishman shortly after posting here and spoke to a very nice gentleman who said Martin has a habit of mixing and matching various components of Sonitone units as they need. This seems to tell me I can probably use whichever unit I want.

And if that weren't enough, after that phone call, I opened my email and found a note from Fishman's service department asking for my shipping address because they are sending me a new set of leads. I hope it will be something less prone to entangling the 9 volt battery connections. Who knows, maybe my original unit's wire issue was just a one-off.

Anyway, I was very happy with Fishman's response and willingness to help and wanted to tell you all about it.

Best,
PJ

[Photojeep]

Update:
Fishman just sent me a note they're sending a whole new "battery box" for my Martin DRS2. No charge! They told me it's the only one that is compatible with the preamp in my guitar.

Sorry for the repeat but, once again hat's off to superior customer service!

Best,
PJ

[Photojeep]

The new battery box just arrived and I’ll install it tonight after dinner.

3 days from Massachusetts. No charge and very fast!

Thank you Fishman,
PJ