ToneDexter 2 - initial thoughts and reviews

[ceciltguitar]

Thank you, James, for your reply.

My most recently acquired guitar does have your latest and greatest Ultratonic pickup in it and I am happy with the sound of the guitar amplified with the Ultratonic. I have not yet found the time to use the TD1 with that guitar.

[aschroeder]

Santa decided to I've been a good enough boy this year to deserve a Tonedexter II for Christmas. I just placed an order and should have it next week.

I'll post a followup after I've had time to test it out. In my ongoing quest for the best amplified acoustic sound I'm looking forward to experimenting with the TDII and comparing it to my current IR pedal.

Quick question...
I've read through several posts about the best for microphones to use with the Tonedexter. I currently only have an SM58 vocal mic I use for live shows and a large diaphragm cardioid mic I've used for recording. I see that large diaphragm mics are not ideal with the Tonedexter. I'm not sure I want to spend the money for a Sure SM81. Has anybody had success using a cheap Behringer ECM8000 with the Tonedexter? Any recommendations?

[Gordon Currie]

Originally Posted by aschroeder

Has anybody had success using a cheap Behringer ECM8000 with the Tonedexter?

There are a couple long time Tonedexter users who have posted that they get best results with a ECM8000. You might do a search if you're interested.

The ECM8000 is too noisy for many to use for recording, but for wavemaps the super flat response is a bonus. Higher noise has no effect on wavemap creation.

[aschroeder]

I did see posts where somebody mentioned the ECM8000, but I had a hard time believing a $35 mic would create a good IR. I may willing to spend some money on a better mic to also use for recording. I need to search the used market for a SM81 or something similar.

[phcorrigan]

Originally Posted by aschroeder

Quick question...
I've read through several posts about the best for microphones to use with the Tonedexter. I currently only have an SM58 vocal mic I use for live shows and a large diaphragm cardioid mic I've used for recording. I see that large diaphragm mics are not ideal with the Tonedexter. I'm not sure I want to spend the money for a Sure SM81. Has anybody had success using a cheap Behringer ECM8000 with the Tonedexter? Any recommendations?

I've gotten my best results with the ECM8000, and at least one other person on this forum said he did as well. In one video Mollie Tuttle said she used her SM57.

There is a list of recommended mics on the AudioSprockets website.

[SpruceTop]

ToneDexter II ordered and it should be here on Thursday. Now, what do I do with my original ToneDexter ...

[phcorrigan]

I suspect you could get at least half of what you paid for it on the used market, especially considering that the new model costs 50% more than the original.

[shufflebeat]

I have a T-Bone measurement mic which I’m told is quite similar to the Behringer. It has worked ok but the W/Ms I produced with an sm57 on my TD1 were the most useful.

[Cuki79]

Originally Posted by SpruceTop

ToneDexter II ordered and it should be here on Thursday. Now, what do I do with my original ToneDexter ...

Keep it to make a comparison!

[SpruceTop]

Originally Posted by Cuki79

Keep it to make a comparison!

There isn't any hurry to get rid of the original ToneDexter so a comparison with the ToneDexter II may be in the future. I'm returning the Two-Notes Opus I recently purchased for a refund. The Opus is a nice piece of gear but with James May saying that future updates for the ToneDexter II will likely enable the of loading third-party IRs into the new 'Dexter II I thought it redundant to keep the Opus.

P.S. I thought I destroyed my VOX AGA150 while using the Opus when I inadvertently went off the IR I had loaded and into an electric guitar cabinet preset with much louder volume parameters than the acoustic IR. With me sitting five feet away from the amp, that VOX took to loudly howling like a banshee while in a panic I frantically turned the preset knob this way and that. I'll have to check the amp over today to hear if I blew the woofer or not. Hopefully, the amp has some kind of limiting circuit to guard against excessive volume harming the speakers. The amp sounded okay yesterday after the mishap occurred but I want to be sure it's still good. That loud volume mishap is another factor that has compelled me to return the Opus.

[SpruceTop]

Originally Posted by SpruceTop

P.S. I thought I destroyed my VOX AGA150 while using the Opus when I inadvertently went off the IR I had loaded and into an electric guitar cabinet preset with much louder volume parameters than the acoustic IR. With me sitting five feet away from the amp, that VOX took to loudly howling like a banshee while in a panic I frantically turned the preset knob this way and that. I'll have to check the amp over today to hear if I blew the woofer or not. Hopefully, the amp has some kind of limiting circuit to guard against excessive volume harming the speakers. The amp sounded okay yesterday after the mishap occurred but I want to be sure it's still good. That loud volume mishap is another factor that has compelled me to return the Opus.

I just tested the VOX AGA150 with my Adamas 2087GT-8 and the amp sounds as good as ever and isn't damaged from the Opus onslaught! Why use the Adamas? Simple, with its Ovation pickup and Op Pro Studio system, the amplified tones are deep, and crisp, and even (Holiday-mood channeling) without much of the masking SBT-type tonal slush that can enter an amplified tone. With a flick of the Op Pro Studio's frequency sliders, I can zero in on and boost the bass, midrange, and treble frequencies to hear for any tell-tale loudspeaker distortion from the amp's woofer and tweeter that can indicate speaker damage. All Is Well, I'm Happy!

[Cellomangler]

Originally Posted by aschroeder

.
Quick question...
I've read through several posts about the best for microphones to use with the Tonedexter. I currently only have an SM58 vocal mic I use for live shows and a large diaphragm cardioid mic I've used for recording. I see that large diaphragm mics are not ideal with the Tonedexter. I'm not sure I want to spend the money for a Sure SM81. Has anybody had success using a cheap Behringer ECM8000 with the Tonedexter? Any recommendations?

I would plug in various microphones while listening with headphones and just pick out the one with the clearest representation of your guitar without being shrill or muddy with too much bass. Experiment with all sorts from expensive to cheap and try them at different locations such as pointing in between the bridge and sound hole or the sound hole and the 12th fret. With V1 I've tried $1,000 mics and ended up getting my best sound with a $50 condenser lavalier mic. I haven't read the documentation yet for V2 but I know with V1, it's tricky to keep up with your profiles so I make sure I jot down what each patch represents. I have three pickups on two of my guitars and I profile each pickup system with two different mics. One of the biggest advantages of V2 is being able to save levels and equalization - and probably the mix between pickup and profile - for each setting. I don't know about the naming which is always a pain unless you can plug in a USB keyboard.

[jennconducts]

Originally Posted by Cellomangler

I don't know about the naming which is always a pain unless you can plug in a keyboard.

Using the app with the TDII connected to your computer, you can give each WaveMap a name, such as “Martin OM KM184.” That then shows up on the TDII’s screen.

Jenn

[tadol]

I just learned that the techniques I’d been trying, with the mic aimed just by the soundhole or at the 14th fret, were not recommended by James. I still like the Behringer ECM8000 mic best, but he’s recommending aiming the mic up at the guitar about 45d off and below, rather than straight on. Once we clean up all this holiday debris, I’m anxious to do more experimentation with mic placement, especially since I was pretty pleased with the results I was getting before -

[jonfields45]

I think it’s worthwhile to make some recordings of your guitar and mic experimenting with all the logical mic placements and then listen to them. For my IRs that’s where the rubber meets the road. The mic is the IR’s mathematical target.

Like the sound of the target first, then generate IRs.

Given the importance of placement even an ideal mic can fail and even the cheapest dynamic can work. Don’t forget that an SM58 and SM57 use the same cartridge.

Audio Sprockets somehow survived Covid. That was not a given since they are (he is?) as small an operation as it gets in the music software plus hardware business. The AGF is home to tweakers and I know there’s many ways to an excellent stage tone. For a single piezo source and an IR, ToneDexter is not cheap, but it’s the best from any angle you evaluate it from: software, features, and build quality.