4 metal posts inside a Rainsong

What a great demonstration! Marvelous play, marvelous music, marvelous sound.

[Carbonius]

I was pondering a way to run a ditto looper (or whatever brand) through the guitar. I thought it may cause problems, playing one piece while another one plays through the guitar. Then I found the following video while binge watching videos over at ToneWoodAmp.com. She is plugged into his guitar and he is plugged into hers. So her guitars effects are coming through his and vice versa. I'm sure it would be much better in person, but it seems to work. So then a looper should do fine through the guitar. Now I just have to figure out how to do it!

[Acousticado]

I've never seen nor heard the Tonewood Amp before today and I gotta say that after watching some videos, it's pretty impressive.

A couple of questions come to mind...
- Anyone know how much the inside bracket weighs alone, and the entire unit? I tried to find out at the TWA website, but could not.
- When playing seated, the guitar is usually on an angle such that such a device mounted on the back wouldn't be noticed. However, if playing while standing, does anyone have any experience with it and if so, can the controls become inadvertently changed, and is it annoying to feel the bulk of it against you?

An idea...
It's got me wondering if there is or could be a similarly functioning effects vocal mic device with an adjustable gooseneck to allow for perfect singer positioning (either with own controls or incorporated into the TWA control box if TWA chose to develop) that could be attached to the upper bout close to the neck to also take advantage of the volume/projection of the guitar body/box/soundhole. If it doesn't yet exist, is it doable? Thoughts?

[Carbonius]

In response to my own quandary about looping pedals, it's easy! Almost every looper pedal boasts about having true bypass. So then the signal chain is as follows;

GUITAR to LOOPER to TONEWOODAMP

Could even take a Y chord, cut off the stereo jack and solder on 2 standard 1/4 inch. That way you just have one chord going from your guitar to the pedal and back. Now a guy playing "unplugged" can loop!

I'd love for someone to try this if they have the gear... Let me know if it works please.

Oh Acousticado, how you dream. A really interesting query. I look forward to answers....

[Acousticado]

Originally Posted by EvanB

Oh Acousticado, how you dream. A really interesting query. I look forward to answers....

Haha. Yep. I fired-off an email to Tonewood Amps to ask them about the idea.

[GuitarDoc]

Can one use this on an emerald. I understand one needs a flat back guitar. Also how does one fit this into a case.

[Acousticado]

Originally Posted by GuitarDoc

Can one use this on an emerald. I understand one needs a flat back guitar. Also how does one fit this into a case.

GD, I'm not sure, but I just looked at the OPs pics again and it seems to me that the adhesive on each of the posts is enough to stick well and if not, it can't be that difficult to buy something to make it work fine. If not, as Emerald makes adjustments to facilitate the K&K Mini, perhaps something similar could be done for their guitars to accommodate the TWA. For the amp itself to satisfactorily adhere to a back not perfectly flat, again, the magnets are likely strong enough to still get enough draw to make the amp secure enough.

Regarding the Chimaera in particular, actually I was thinking about it. The Chimaera has a screwed-on round access port cover on the back which is flat, so on this guitar, I think the internal magnetic piece could be applied to the underside of port cover with the amp itself magnetically affixed to the outside of it. If so, installation would be among the easiest of any guitar. As to fitting in the case, since the amp is held-on only magnetically, it should easily pull-off for storage in the case pockets.

Of course, this is all speculation by me at this point.

[Carbonius]

As far as weight is concerned I found the following at their site;

"In terms of weight, there is virtually no impact on your experience. The unit weighs close to 8oz,"

[Acousticado]

Originally Posted by Carbonius

As far as weight is concerned I found the following at their site;

"In terms of weight, there is virtually no impact on your experience. The unit weighs close to 8oz,"

Thanks, I missed that. Not bad, but in the overall relative lightweight of CF guitars, a 1/2 lb. isn't inconsequential. Probably not really noticeable when seated, perhaps more when standing. Still, likely worth it for the benefit it offers.

[steelvibe]

Originally Posted by Acousticado

GD, I'm not sure, but as Emerald makes adjustments to facilitate the K&K Mini, perhaps something similar could be done for their guitars to accommodate the TWA. Regarding the Chimaera, actually I was thinking about it. The Chimaera has a screwed-on round access port cover on the back which is flat, so on this guitar, I think the internal magnetic piece could be applied to the underside of port cover with the amp itself magnetically affixed to the outside of it. If so, installation would be among the easiest of any guitar. As to fitting in the case, since the amp is held-on only magnetically, it should easily pull-off for storage in the case pockets. Of course, all speculation by me at this point.

I can't speak to whether the TWA will attach to the backs of Emerald guitars like the x7 or x20 lines, but there is at least one case where there is one attached to the back of an Amicus (I can't post the video here because it isn't on Youtube, only on Don Alder's FB page back on June 19). You are correct Tom, the device would likely install super easy on the Chimera. However, on other Emeralds it would seemingly be much more difficult to center the device where TWA recommends (next to the tail block/ end pin) due to the offset sound holes?

[Acousticado]

Originally Posted by Acousticado

Haha. Yep. I fired-off an email to Tonewood Amps to ask them about the idea.

I just received a reply from TWA support concerneing my query about the potential to add a vocal mic component. Here's the reply.....

"I think that this is beyond the scope of what the Tonewood Amp is intended to do. It is made to add digital effects to the acoustic guitar."

They didn't address if the idea makes sense and/is technologically feasible, so I assume it's not something they're interested in pursuing. Too bad!

Update: I just received a follow-up email from TWA support.....

"If you use an external mic preamp and plug its output into the iOS insert jack, you can add the vocals to the Tonewood."

Hmmm. May be worth trying to put something together. Anybody have any ideas how to do this in a self-contained, low-profile onboard approach?

[Res Ipsa]

The technology involved in the TWA is really interesting.

At the heart of the technology is an acoustic actuator, essentially a mechanical device that vibrates and shakes, according to the sound it receives from an audio output, the guitar.

It can be thought of as an A/D converter. It receives an analog signal from the sound source - your guitar - and uses it to control the behavior of the actuator, a mechanical device that excites the surface of another object, the body of your guitar.

Parameters of mechanical behavior affect the vibrational patterns, including delay, reverb and tremolo, and these parameters are programmable by the end user to suit his taste.

ToneWood Amp is not the only player on the block. Yamaha recently introduced their TransAcoustic Guitar, an acoustic guitar that has an onboard actuator built in, featuring settings for reverb and chorus.

These are exciting times!

I'm going to experiment with my Jam Man looper and DigiTech Trio ... and see if they be fed into the TWA allowing me to play over top of looped phrases.

Cheers

[Acousticado]

Originally Posted by Acousticado

I just received a reply from TWA support concerneing my query about the potential to add a vocal mic component. Here's the reply.....

"I think that this is beyond the scope of what the Tonewood Amp is intended to do. It is made to add digital effects to the acoustic guitar."

They didn't address if the idea makes sense and/is technologically feasible, so I assume it's not something they're interested in pursuing. Too bad!

Update: I just received a follow-up email from TWA support.....

"If you use an external mic preamp and plug its output into the iOS insert jack, you can add the vocals to the Tonewood."

Hmmm. May be worth trying to put something together. Anybody have any ideas how to do this in a self-contained, low-profile onboard approach?

Well, after a lot more thought, it wouldn't make any sense to run vocals through the TWA. The effects on the vocal would be the same as that applied to the guitar, which may not always be desireable. Further, the vocal coming directly from the singer's mouth combined with the processed voice channelled through the TWA/guitar body would likely result in an overall undesirable sound. It would be cool if a separate TWA-type mic device could be worn at the vocal source, but this isn't possible.

I do expect to soon buy a TWA, so to also try and apply some effects to my vocals in as minimalist a way as possible, since I use my iPad for OnSong, I will likely buy some sort of ear-worn or lavalier mic, connect it to my iPad, run an app to add effects and bluetooth it to my closely-placed Bose Soundlink Mini. Hopefully, I'll be able to balance the vocal coming from my mouth and the Bose with effects without really getting any louder, and balance overall with the volume output coming from the TWA/guitar.

At the least, it'll be fun to try and if it works well, it won't require carrying around a lot of gear for the at-home and party type situations I normally play in.

[Carbonius]

Originally Posted by Res Ipsa

The technology involved in the TWA is really interesting.

At the heart of the technology is an acoustic actuator, essentially a mechanical device that vibrates and shakes, according to the sound it receives from an audio output, the guitar.

It can be thought of as an A/D converter. It receives an analog signal from the sound source - your guitar - and uses it to control the behavior of the actuator, a mechanical device that excites the surface of another object, the body of your guitar.

Parameters of mechanical behavior affect the vibrational patterns, including delay, reverb and tremolo, and these parameters are programmable by the end user to suit his taste.

ToneWood Amp is not the only player on the block. Yamaha recently introduced their TransAcoustic Guitar, an acoustic guitar that has an onboard actuator built in, featuring settings for reverb and chorus.

These are exciting times!

I'm going to experiment with my Jam Man looper and DigiTech Trio ... and see if they be fed into the TWA allowing me to play over top of looped phrases.

Cheers

Hey there, I had posted something similar just above you. Please do give it a try and post your results here. I see no reason why it wouldn't work... but that's just theory. When I saw 2 players plugged into each others TWA (video posted above), I was greatly encouraged. Here's my post from above.

Originally Posted by Carbonius

In response to my own quandary about looping pedals, it's easy! Almost every looper pedal boasts about having true bypass. So then the signal chain is as follows;

GUITAR to LOOPER to TONEWOODAMP

Could even take a Y chord, cut off the stereo jack and solder on 2 standard 1/4 inch. That way you just have one chord going from your guitar to the pedal and back. Now a guy playing "unplugged" can loop!

I'd love for someone to try this if they have the gear... Let me know if it works please.