Fishman Aura

This is for the AIP Dreadnought "stompbox" version of the Aura, with no tuner or presets. There's no manual included, but one isn't needed, if you know what a trim pot, a clip indicator, an on/off footswitch, a phase switch, and volume and blend controls all are. The only other thing on it, besides the jacks and "on" LED, is a central 16-position rotary switch for choosing the sound variation you like best. It's very simple, intuitive, and totally easy.

It's powered by a 9v battery, or appropriate AC adapter, and has 1/4" jacks in and out.

Right now, I'm plugging a '98 Ovation Collector's Series (OP-24E preamp) into it. After the Aura, the signal is going to a stereo chorus, then into an Mbox audio interface, and finally to a pair of Behringer B2031 Truth powered monitors. Onstage, it will go to a Mackie board and a 6-piece JBL EON system. The Aura introduces no noise that I could detect.

It would be easy to dismiss this unit too quickly as just a box with 16 different EQ settings. I only found one that I liked, but that's the one that works, and all that I need. It's not intended to be any kind of a varaiable "effects" device. And, as for it being a substitute for a good acoustic guitar properly miked in the studio with a really good condenser or ribbon microphone, well... while it's certainly closer, there's still no substitute for the real thing.

But there is one trick that this box does, that makes it entirely worth the price: IT GETS RID OF that obnoxious PIEZO-QUACK-rubberband-spang character that permeates the sound of piezo-equipped guitars. I've tried to EQ that sound out, and I've come to the conclusion that it can't be done. I don't know how Fishman did it, and don't care. With the Aura, piezo quack is really and truly gone, and that's what I bought this thing to do. That makes this box fairly indespensible for live gigs.

If it works this well with my Ovation, I can't wait until I try it with the 2006 Gibson J-185 EC that I just won the bid on off eBay, and is on its way here. That has factory Fishman Plus electronics in it, so it should get along with the Aura very well; certain new top-line Gibsons have a version of Aura built in. Perhaps I could have waited until I try it with that, before writing this review, but after it working this well with my Ovation, that is news enough to justify reporting on it.

It appears to be well-made of good components, and pretty classy-looking, too. The top and bottom are brushed chrome (although that scratches a bit easily), and the middle looks to be powder-coated metal, all held together with hex screws. The knobs are metal, the pots are tight and smooth, and the unit has a pretty good heft to it, so it seems pretty heavy-duty. Yeah, I've played a couple thousand gigs in my time, and I'd use it without a backup. You can break anything, and I do have spares of a number of important things, but if this unit quit or got broken, I could muddle through the gig without it. I'd trust it.

The only contact I've had with Fishman is I emailed them during the weekend, asking which specific model (they make six) they recommended for the two guitars mentioned, and they got back to me early on Monday with an answer, so they seem approachable, anyway.

I'm an old rock'n'roll fart from way back, am working more towards solo acoustic and vocal without my MIDI backing tracks, and I don' do no friggin' Koomboyah. I play strong, rhythmic guitar arrangements using a big, full sound, with the idea that people won't miss the drums and bass. For me, acoustic guitar is not "spice," it's the whole frikkin' band. Yeah, I still got an attitude...

I just started working with it, but I can tell already that I won't want to be without it. If it dissapeared, I'd need another one real quick.

I could have given it 10's across the board pretty easy, but I admit that I'm "still on the honeymoon," and I don't want to give Fishman an excuse to quit trying to make something better. As is, the unit comes on maybe just a bit pretentious with the esoteric-sounding name "Aura," and claiming the sound of studio mics and all, but it does take you a very useful and substantial step in that direction, with no ill effects. They perhaps could have made it a slightly simpler box with fewer than 16 presets, simply called it "Quack Smacker" or something, but then again, maybe it is first in its class at what it does, and thus deserves to look a bit "special."

I was able to get very usable results within half an hour or so. Read the instructions they do help.

I am using an Epiphone dreadnaught with a Martin platinum plus under bridge pickup. I am using a Genz Benz shenendoa pro as the amplifier. I did have to add a dbx AFS-224 feedback suppression processor to deal with feedback problems with this setup. First I can get very loud while still retaining the sound of this guitar unplugged. Is there any other reason for this product? I do add just a little compression and sweeten the tone just a little. I use a flat pick. The beauty of this box is all of the strings come through very clearly.

Had this for about 6 months now. No problems. This is built very well.

Haven't had to talk to them.

Little pricey but then you should be able to use with any of your acoustics. Sounds great. I have gotten a number of posative comments when I perform using it. Seems to be very well built. Requires some setup for each different guitar but once you have done that and saved the patch just a question of selecting patch and setting volume. I would buy this again if it were lost or stolen

It's very simple to use and set up. You are allowed 50 presets so, it's easy to create a setting for different guitars/instruments for whatever situation you might desire

Of course nothing will be able to match a high end mic in a studio. However, this is not bad. It's primary use is live performance. I've used everything including a piezo, condenser mic, a combination of a condenser mic with a piezo. The Aura allows gives you the choice of 4 different emulated mics (with a lot of tone adjustment) along with a piezo (tone and sustain/compression adjustments) and blending capabilities of those two amplication tools. I'm giving this a 9 because the sound isn't quite as good as a high end mic but it really could deserve a 10 because it's as close as you can get without all the feedback problems of a mic in a live setting!

I've had mine for 2 years and never a problem!

Never needed it!

I searched for 30 years until I found the Aura 2 years ago. The search has ended! I play in a bluegrass group with some world class pickers and I prefer it to any microphone in a live setting because you don't have to worry about feedback! The sound guys love it too!

easy to use

This thing is so ridiculous. What a joke. You know right away when you walk into venue if someone has this goofy thing running or not. It sounds so artificial. I??d be embarrassed to say i own one. Too bad because fishman??s other stuff is usually of great quality

Good. Fishman admits this thing is not for everybody.

You might as well buy a synthesizer with guitar sounds if you want to sound that silly.

Very easy to use. There is a input volume trim to be set to avoid clipping distortion, then choose a patch, and finally set the mix between the raw pick-up output and the Aura output.

It takes my Composite Acoustics (CA) Legacy Player Dreadnought with L.R.Baggs active element from good to fantastic. Depending how much Aura output you choose to mix with the raw pick-up output, it can completely eliminate that classic piezo sound and give you a flawless microphone like sound. All 16 patch selections are usable (I thought some of them would be clearly better for under-saddle piezo and some for magnetic sound hole). I liked 1 best for strumming and 6 best for finger picking, and maybe 6 best overall. I am using a Genz-Benz 150LT for this evaluation.

Appears to be very well built and I have no plan to buy a back-up.

I have emailed Fishman customer support in the past. They are responsive and knowledgeable.

Given the ~25 hour 9v battery life of current Aura electronics and the reasonable price of this pedal; it really makes sense to me to buy this pedal once, put it on the floor with an external power supply, and then put a relatively inexpensive active piezo in all my guitars. This is a great product. I've spent years trying different pick-ups (Macintyre Feather, K&K Pure Western, Ibeam, Rare Earth Blend) with none of them quite sounding right (actually the blend was pretty good but too physically intrusive for my tastes). With this pedal you can take the ubiquitous plain jane under-saddle piezo and make it sound perfect.

Very easy to use, saving editing patches to another patch is not possible.

To be short: This unit is crap. Sounds like a mic'ed guitar ? the answer is: hahaha ! I mean the sound is getting a little warmer through this unit but to say it sounds like a mic'ed guitar is just a joke. maybe if i was mr. fishman and would like to sell this unit i would say that. anyway, you can here the processor calculating your sound. yesterday i used it live for the first time, the sound you get has no chance against your bandmates, it sounds somehow tubby even if you try to eq it. i play guitar for 15 years and i have a lot of acoustic. and i've been trying to get the perfect sound for a long while. but the fishman aura is waste of money. can't understand the positive ratings on this side.

Looks stable

Don't believe propaganda on fishman website. if you want a sound that sounds like from some microchip then buy it.

I been using guitar effects before so there's no suprise for me from the Aura. There are some features and settings I am not completely sure but hey, that's what the manual for. I know a lot of people don't like to read manual but I think it is a good habit to always read the manual, it does help.
Even so most of the setting and features are very self-explainatory, if you played with a guitar effect before (acustic or electric alike) you should have no problem with Aura. The effect on and off button is a nice touch, though is going to be hard to step on it when you're on stage.

I have a undersaddle pick-up. And Aura's sound quality is great, if you want to have a real acoustic guitar sound on the stage, Aura is the answer. Although a nice set of condenser mic will still bring more transparent and solid sound, Aura is much easier and faster to setup than mic your guitar on the stage. When you listen to one of this, you don't want to go back to the old pick-up sound. But it still depend on the artist, some songs may actually goes better with the metallic pick-up sound.
overall it is a great unit for an acoustic guitar. For studio recording however, I would still use a pair of good condenser mics.

I will always bring it to the gig, because it is so easy to set up and it sounds great. But once again depend on the style of your music, if there is a lot of acoustic guitar solo, fingerstyle, or maybe country and blue. You probably will have one with you since the acoustic guitar can be the leading instrument. But if you are playing something much louder and stonger, acoustic guitar might just be sitting in the background, than Aura might not be necessary.

I haven't have any problem with the Aura so I can't give a good comment on that. But I just love that they have tons of guitar images to download for you to play around and try. The download is easy and free.

For the longest time I been wondering this: High end keyboard can simulate a grand piano perfectly, electric guitar has endless effects, dummers has 3~7 mics for their drumset, there is electric violin.. etc and they all reproduce the sound of instrument nicely, besides the acoustic guitar. Just when I get use to the dead pick-up sound in the live music, here comes the Aura. It is truly a breakthrough for the acoustic guitar. Here is something that will bring out your original guitar sound without complicated set up. Although a nice acoustic amp and effects can enhance the sound of pick-up, they can't do what tha Aura can do which is reproduce the original sound of a acoustic guitar.

I give it 8 because it is somewhat expensive although I consider a great buy.

If you want a basic sound just plug in and play. but i found the basic sounds poor.
read the manual and mess about for a while and you will get better sounds but they still sound poor.

used with a top quality PA sound system and martin J40 and Ovation Guitars.found sound was better without it.
tried to match guitar with channel like it said in book but did not sound right. spent hours on web site watching videos on how to set up and set guitars as it said but still sounded poor.
i got poor distorted sounds using factory settings and not much better when i did them myself

unit was ok for home use but stopped using it live as i found that when playing with other guitars and bass players and using a few microphones if any of the other people unpluged or switched on or off it made the fishman stop working and i had to switch off and on again to reset and get any sound out of it which is not very good in the middle of a song or if you did not double check before you started to play.
i have used and still use fishman pickups and find them top class.

contacted them on web and found them friendly and helpful.
but did not make it play better

stick to making pickups

i have been playing for 35 year but have gone back to more acoustic in last 5 year using a Ovation roundback and a 89 martin J40
i have now just gone back to using the controls on the guitar and a good sound man .
used a zoom 504 acoustic for a while it sounded 10 times better than the fishman for a lot less but did not stand up to a lot of work.
i have just sold the fishman to a local music shop for a lot less than i paid but was happy to see it go.

I'm a little amazed at the polarity of these reviewers. While some are glowing and great, an equal number are poor and almost reprimanding. That said, here is my review:

I purchased this unit on eBay, without being able to audition (something I rarely do). Fishman's Aura website was a very nice presentation of the capabilities of this product. Immediately after receiving it, I felt I had made the right decision. I plugged in an inexpensive (but good-sounding) Epiphone PR-200EB and the Aura sounded very good right out of the box! When I began tweaking, I was impressed by the suprisingly straight-forward method of setting parameters; with a "play" and "edit" setting. Once you get that, you're set.

I purchased this specifically for live on-stage use. I would never substitute this for a really nice condenser in the studio. But for replicating your own guitar's real sound onstage, I am very impressed. It took me a little while to get used to hearing it, because I'd become so accustomed to the "settle-for" piezo quack. I caught myself not even noticing the great sound of my amplified acoustic tone, which is the point, I guess. It really does sound like your guitar, only louder! To confirm (and bring a smile to my face each time), I would push the "effect on-off" button while strumming and re-affirm my happiness.

I really like the balanced XLR out option. This helps keep the noise remarkably low. I use a tube pre-amp after the Aura (one of those little ART TubeMP units) for added signal strength, headroom, and warm punch. For an acoustic group or soloist, I haven't found anything that comes as close in authentic, pleasing tone. However, I have found that the warm natural sound the Aura acheives isn't as well suited for full-band use, with drums and bass and everything.

Being the Eagle Scout that I am, I never show up for any gig without being fully prepared. That includes a back-up for everything. While I haven't had any issues whatsoever with my Aura, I still wouldn't take my spare Fishman ProEQII and DI box out of my guitar case. Better to carry it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

The Aura is robustly built, and seems like it will last a long time, provided you don't abuse it.

Other than the aforementioned GREAT website, I haven't needed any Fishman support. I did need to download the PDF manual, which I found without a problem. Judging from others' reviews, should I ever need help, I'll have no problems getting it.

Fishman really set the bar high with this one. I think future generations of this product will be even better. I would like to see one that is phantom powered, perhaps, to eliminate a power adapter. Also, this stompbox's attractive metal case seems like it is a little larger than it needs to be, and doesn't fit inside any of my acoustic guitar cases, which would be a "plus." Finally, an LED scribble strip readout would be more useful than the 2-digit 1980s style LED readout which is currently on it.

All that said, my opinion is that Fishman got the sonic part right, and with more use and gigging (and if they take some suggestions from us users) they'll get the physical and ergonomic part perfected.

New users (or users who are disappointed by their purchase), take the time to dial-in a setting for your particular guitar. If you can't find it, try downloading one from their excellent page. They even have an option for you to ship your guitar to them, and they will create a sound image specifically for your instrument!

I bought this thinking it can actually do what it says. Plug it in and it gives you that true acoustic sound! No chance. I play a Jumbo Body Guild and there where no sound images for that guitar. So I played around for over 5 hours with hundreds of sound images downloaded off the Fishman website. The one sound, which sounded the best, was when I accidently hit the BYPASS button and heard my acoustic direct with no help from the Aura.

If you want a processed tone that sounds like you're playing in a wind tunnel, then look no further! In fact, I called Fishman thinking I was doing something wrong since the Aura has been around for a few years. The tech said if you spend hours recording and editing sounds you MAY find something you like. If not you can return it back to Guitar Center. WOW. Honest advice! If you own a studio (like I do) and think this will be the 'quick setup' -end all be all- acoustic guitar imager, you are wrong. Anyone who comes in with an acoustic guitar will need to spend hours trying to dial in to a good sound. I got this unit for the budget concious recording artist who want to Plug in and play. Sought of what the AURA says it can do to achieve that good sound!

Returned it after 2 days.

Excellent support and Honest techs too! I'd still consider buying Fishman products only because of their support!

I play instrumental music. When you record instrumental music (i.e. Satriani, Vai, Johnson) you really need to have that excellent sound. The guitar does not take the back seat so it really has to be a quality tone. If you have any idea what an acoustic guitar should sound like, this product will not get it for you!