I have a Sojing silent tenor and the preamp has been disconnected.
I can't seem find a schematic on line.
Can someone please photograph all of the wire connections. Especially the pickup to pre amp and end pin jack.
Please post or pm me the pictures.
Thank You in advance...Sean
I just realized that this belongs in Uke Tech Support.
Mods please move if necessary. Thank you
When I got mine [in the tenor size, $155 off ebay], the preamp kept cutting out. Despite several attempts to make the connections more secure [I am very much a tinkerer], I ended up removing the preamp completely and rewiring it to run passively [i.e. rod piezo direct to an output jack], and then I picked up a Korg Pandora PXMINI to use for some reverb and as a headphone preamp.
You can see/buy the PXMINI here:
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PXminiWH
It seems that the black version is 'discontinued' and no longer available. I would have preferred the black version.
I've also fitted the PXMINI to fit securely inside the bottom of the lower bout. this way everything is self-contained with no external wires or other equipment [I did not want to have to fire up the iPad, and connect all the wires each time to practice.
Using the PXMINI, the sound is SO MUCH BETTER this way than for what the factory preamp was, but of course the PXMINI was $99. The PXMINI also gives you other effects, but the most significant to me are the EQ settings in the amp emulation, the compressor, and the choice of about 10 different reverbs. There are other effects [chorus, distortion, delay, etc], but I do not use them.
With decent headphones, with the right settings on the PXMINI you can simulate that you are in a 'space' that has beautiful acoustics.
Most of the 'presets' to me are either overkill with distortion or just strange, but you can make and save 200 settings of your own, which you can backup or edit on your computer (Win/Mac).
At some point I was going to do a full write-up, but have to allocate the time, which is sparse for me right now.
I still have the original preamp [still wired together in the original manner] in a box, I will try to take a photo or two for you in the next day or so.
[at the risk of going slightly off-topic, but to help anyone else with one of these ukes, when I bought mine there were only 3 threads here on UU talking about it, and very little in terms of detailed info.]
I felt the original black nylon strings to be quite dead sounding, with almost complete lack of sustain, with terrible intonation.
After testing the Martin M620, Worth Brown BT [tenor], Worth Clear CT, D'Addario T2 Titianium Tenor, and Aquila REDS, I am most pleased with the intonation, sound and FEEL of the Aquila REDS [tenor strings].
While most people LOVE them, I am NOT a fan of Aquila Nylguts on anything, they are too scratchy against the fingernails when strumming, as in LOTS of surface noise, which you will NOT hear unless you have grown out your fingernails] and they cause terrible cuts in the calluses of my fingers on my fretting hand, so I refuse to use the Nylguts strings ever again. Therefore I have not tested the Aquila Nylguts.
Also, the plain acoustic, unamplified sound is loud enough to hear yourself, but in the next room it is barely audible, and downstairs, even with the door open, nobody can hear it, so it's perfect for late nite practice when others are sleeping, which is why I bought the Sojing in the first place.
Despite my tendencies for tinkering, I have left the original nut and saddle, which appear to be either rosewood or ebony, since these woods tend to soften the sound a bit and since this uke has no body cavity to resonate the sound, the sound is not as plasitcky as most nylon-string solid-body electric ukes (I have 2 others, a soprano and a concert, both NOT Sojing), and the wooden nut and saddle seem to make the sound better than what would be bone or micarta [which is what I would have replaced them with].
The intonation is not bad [and I am a real stickler for intonation] [with the Aquila REDS, which gave the best intonation of the strings I tested]- the A string goes about 10 cents sharp after the 5th fret on mine, but you can compensate that by tuning the A string a bit flat, and in 1st position, it has little effect on the perception of the chords being 'in tune'.
The saddle slot in the bridge is very tall on mine, and it seems that the saddle itself is only about 2mm taller than the wood in front of it towards the nut, so to file the saddle to try and fix the intonation, i am worried about interference from the wood on the bridge, where it is already so close.
Also, the bridge on mine was lifting (about 0.5mm), so I removed it, and sanded everything down, and then re-glued and re-screwed it on with Elmers carpenters glue [the only glue I had on hand at 2am]. The bridge has been real solid now and not going to come off. It's been rock solid on there for about 2 months now, and no signs of lifting any more.
For the money, I knew it would SOME need work, but for my time [maybe 2 hrs total] and cash outlay of ~$249, it's STILL way cheaper than a Pono TE, Fluke SB or Godin Multiuke, and NOW, with all the fixes I've done, it's very easy to play. Besides, did I mention that I enjoy tinkering?
If yours is playable out of the box, then you got a nice one, but I would not recommend this for someone who is not able to do some set-up work and to make some minor adjustments...
-Booli