Mrmajstyk

As I said before, Gibson told me there actually WAS a Fishman manual that came from the factory with my guitar when it was new, and it differs slightly from the manual that is posted on Fishman's site. If you look at the link Larsongs posted, you'll see the cover page of the manual says "RETAIL". It's there for those who purchase the Ellipse Aura system and want to install it into any guitar. You'll see on Page 2 it states: "Welcome Thank you for making Fishman a part of your acoustic experience. We are proud to offer you the finest acoustic amplification products available; high-quality professional-grade tools to empower you to sound your very best. We are confident Ellipse Aura will both enhance and inspire your music making. Please note that the Aura Image Gallery features described in this User Guide do not apply to factory-installed OEM product." With the stand-alone retail purchase of the Elipse Aura, you also get the software to enable you to go online to the Fishman site and download into your guitar 4 images from their vast library and save them to your guitar in the 4 slots on the Ellipse. And later, should you change you mind or feel like experimenting, you can replace any or all of those images with new ones. The Fishman manual that came from Gibson with the purchase of the new guitar is different as you'll see in the pic I'll post. It says, in small print on the cover page "(for factory installed systems)'. It is pre-loaded with 4 images that they deemed appropriate for your model of guitar, and as far as I know, cannot be changed. Gibson did tell me which ones were loaded for the J200, and I assume if you write to Gibson, they will tell you what's pre-loaded into YOUR model of guitar as well. Its a slight difference from the manual that is posted on their site, but seeing as how the images are the heart-and-soul of the Ellipse Aura system, it's a rather significant difference!

Just received an email from Jon at Gibson Customer Service, and it appears he had a copy of the "Fishman Elipse Aura User Guide For Factory Installed Systems" that was included with the guitar at purchese, and he took it apart and emailed every page to me. Nice! Just in case anyone is interested, or for someone, someday that buys a used Gibson from this era and needs the info. The instructions DO differ slightly from what's on the Fishman site, primarily regarding the 4 Sound Image presets. They are pre-set at the factory for your particular guitar model, and you can't change them. Here's what they selected for the Gibson J200: 1. Schoeps SCMC 64g, 2. DPA 4011, 3. Shure SM-57, and 4. Neuman U87 (All pretty expensive mics, except for the Shure!) I'm still looking, but I couldn't find any more info on mic placement, etc, that they used for the imaging. I also took the time to really dig into the system and set it up according to the manual. What a difference! Previously, I had the guitar blend set to pickup only, made all my amp settings, then tried to dial in the image. The more image I dialed in, the less I liked it! But now, as per the manual, I start with full image, make the settings on the amp, then dial in the pickup (and when I found the sweet spot, did a little fine-tuning on the amp) and it really started sounding great! I'm still experimenting with the different images, and the volume and feedback eliminator switch, and other settings, but I have gone from wanting to replace this system to wanting to keep it intact and enjoying it! Yes, it IS a little over-complicated, and at first it's hard to go to the exact control switch you want without looking, but you do get it eventually (muscle memory?). After playing with it for awhile I was making quick fine-tuning adjustments. This system isn't for everybody, especially the 'I-just-wanna-plug-in-and-play-and-not fiddle-with-a-buncha-knobs' types...of which I am one! BUT, in live performances with my band, no matter WHAT system I have on my guitars (K&K Pure Mini with the Pure Preamp on 3 of my Guild Jumbos, and the L.R. Baggs Anthem on the other Guild Jumbo...and running them thru my Fishman Aura Spectrum D.I.), I still have to fiddle with settings, especially regarding optimal tone and volume vs feedback. (The same goes for my amp, it requires a bit of experimentation and really digging into everything it can do, and then fine-tuning and saving the settings, but its well-worth the time spent! And I only need one amp for both acoustic and electric and don't need a pedal board!) So, yeah, for now, its a keeper! 🙂

It's not that I need info about the guitar itself (LOVE my SJ-200), and I know the Fishman Aura products pretty well by now. I have the Fishman Aura Spectrum imaging D.I. box, which the Elipse Aura pickup system in the guitar is based on. I was just curious if Gibson pre-loaded images in the Sound Image presets, or if they were leaving up to the buyer to do so. EDIT: Oh, and it says on the Fishman site..."Welcome Thank you for making Fishman a part of your acoustic experience. We are proud to offer you the finest acoustic amplification products available; high-quality professional-grade tools to empower you to sound your very best. We are confident Ellipse Aura will both enhance and inspire your music making. Please note that the Aura Image Gallery features described in this User Guide do not apply to factory-installed OEM product." So, there's that! All the other pickup systems (L.R. Baggs, other Fisman units, etc) that came installed by Gibson, are pretty straight-forward and intuitive, and don't have any sort of imaging software built-in. But this particular system that Gibson chose to install in their guitars in 2012 (and I assume maybe other years too) is pretty complex, so I wondered if Gibson included some sort of instruction manual regarding the system when the guitar was new, and if they said which images they pre-loaded, if any. Here's a pic of the unit that is in the soundhole, in case you're curious.

Thanks Dave. I've been to the Fishman site, and, yes, it has instructions for use and installation, but its geared towards someone buying the Fishman unit and installing it in any guitar...and one of the things it says is to download 4 images from their site into the Elipse Aura and then adjust the settings, trim, etc. I was just wondering if Gibson pre-loaded images into the the thing while at the factory and made the trim settings, etc, or if they included a manual with instructions for the first owner to do so.

I've owned my 2012 SJ-200 Standard for about 5 years now. Bought it ever-so-slightly, barely used. Beautiful guitar with the deep ebony finish. It has the factory-installed Fishman Elipse Aura system in it, which sounds fine with some finese. It came with the case, but no "case candy", and certainly no owner's manual. Just wondering, I'm sure it came with some sort of standard Gibson manual, but did it have any kind of manual to cover all the stuff the Fishman Elipse Aura does? And is there any way I can find whatever 'case candy' came with the guitar from the factory? Thanks in advance!