ToneDexter review on Pro Sound Web

[James May]

http://www.prosoundweb.com/channels/...ment-preampdi/

[guitaniac]

Congrats on the very favorable reviews from the author and the various sound engineers who he's quoting.

Am I understanding correctly, with regard to the Frampton tour, that both the monitors and FOH are using a blend of signals from ToneDexter and an Avalon U5 tube DI? And if I'm understanding it correctly, the blend of U5 signal and ToneDexter signal is varied according to the song.

It also appears that they're running the guitar signal off the U5 into ToneDexter. Wouldn't the U5 need to be in the pickup signal chain during training also, for that to work well?

[James May]

Originally Posted by guitaniac

Congrats on the very favorable reviews from the author and the various sound engineers who he's quoting.

Am I understanding correctly, with regard to the Frampton tour, that both the monitors and FOH are using a blend of signals from ToneDexter and an Avalon U5 tube DI? And if I'm understanding it correctly, the blend of U5 signal and ToneDexter signal is varied according to the song.

It also appears that they're running the guitar signal off the U5 into ToneDexter. Wouldn't the U5 need to be in the pickup signal chain during training also, for that to work well?

My understanding is that the pickup is run through the Avalon preamp, then split to route through TD and also sent to the board. The board always takes a blend, the proportion and time delay compensation varying from instrument to instrument (depends on which WaveMap preset, not on which song).

I don't know if the training was done through the preamp or not, but it would work either way, assuming that preamp is linear enough, which I'm pretty sure it is.

[guitaniac]

Thanks for the clarification, James.

I hope this glowing review(s) will generate additional interest in ToneDexter. I suspect that sound engineer Matt Fitzgerald was right on the mark when he commented of ToneDexter that "it's a steal, for what it does".

[Uncle Pauhana]

"All in all, from my experience with the ToneDexter acoustic instrument preamp/DI and from the touring professionals who have used it in concert, the system is a potential game-changer for the live reproduction of acoustic stringed instruments."

Wow – you can't really ask for a much better quote! Congrats to Audio Sprockets!

[Uncle Pauhana]

I just realized that Jamesʻ link in the original post actually points to page 2 of the review. Having found page 1 now, it seems that the review is evenbetter than I thought!

Here's page 1: http://www.prosoundweb.com/channels/...ment-preampdi/

[SpruceTop]

Originally Posted by James May

http://www.prosoundweb.com/channels/...nt-preampdi/2/

Mighty Fine, James!

[Christopher Cozad]

I placed my order, James, just prior to reading this thread (and the linked article). I feel even better about my purchase, now! LOL

Back in 2012, while visiting my folks in my home town, I had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of Philip Graham of Ear Trumpet Labs fame. I was traveling with my Bose L1 Model II and a guitar, and stopped by his home for a visit. It happened to be the day his daughter was heading off to college, but he took the time to give me the personal tour of his (then) basement shop. We had set up the Bose in his living room and, with his cat sprawled comfortably in my guitar case, we auditioned his microphones, settling on a pair of Edwina's for live performance. No one, and I mean no one I knew, had ever heard of these recycled (pun intended) bicycle parts mic's, yet all were impressed with their performance.

Later that same year, after a long conversation with guitarist Doyle Dykes, I made the determination to contact Rich Barbera, of Barbera Transducers. Rich supplied me with a special run of his Soloist pickups, modified to my specifications. Notwithstanding some fiddling and tweaking with preamps, I realized I had a tiger by the tail with regard to providing a non-stationary-mic'd pickup solution for my own acoustic guitar customers.

I wanted to share with you that I am downright giddy with excitement anticipating the possibilities of the Tonedexter combined with my Ear Trumpet Labs Edwinas and the Barbera Transducers Soloist pickups in my guitars. Are we there, yet?

We shall soon see...

Christopher

[James May]

Originally Posted by Uncle Pauhana

I just realized that Jamesʻ link in the original post actually points to page 2 of the review. Having found page 1 now, it seems that the review is evenbetter than I thought!

Here's page 1: http://www.prosoundweb.com/channels/...ment-preampdi/

Oops! Thank you for catching this. I've edited the original post.

[James May]

Originally Posted by Christopher Cozad

I placed my order, James, ....

Later that same year, after a long conversation with guitarist Doyle Dykes, I made the determination to contact Rich Barbera, of Barbera Transducers. Rich supplied me with a special run of his Soloist pickups, modified to my specifications. Notwithstanding some fiddling and tweaking with preamps, I realized I had a tiger by the tail with regard to providing a non-stationary-mic'd pickup solution for my own acoustic guitar customers.

I wanted to share with you that I am downright giddy with excitement anticipating the possibilities of the Tonedexter combined with my Ear Trumpet Labs Edwinas and the Barbera Transducers Soloist pickups in my guitars. Are we there, yet?

We shall soon see...

Christopher

Glad to hear of your excitement!

In case you're not already aware of it, the Barbera Soloist has every other piezo element out of phase. This requires a modification to the training method you'll use with ToneDexter. Instead of playing normally, you'll want to restrict your playing to the Low E, D, and B strings. This will prevent the training algorithm from getting confused by receiving conflicting phase information.

We have had several users employ this technique and achieve stellar results. I will be available to support your efforts when the time comes.

[Christopher Cozad]

Originally Posted by James May

...the Barbera Soloist has every other piezo element out of phase...I will be available to support your efforts when the time comes.

Thank you, James. I look forward to it!

[Christopher Cozad]

My new ToneDexter arrived today, all safe and shiny! I have spent the last several hours rehearsing this device with a half dozen guitars fitted with various pickup systems. In short, I am quite impressed! It exceeds my expectations.

As an extra bonus, training the various WaveMaps with the ToneDexter has made me much more conscientious about microphone placement, something I hadn't realized I had become so complacent about. What a difference that extra attention can make!

This little box changes everything! I am inspired all over again to experiment with pickups, pickup placement, microphones, microphone placement, preamps, amps, etc. I foresee systems / solutions I had once abandoned possibly being resurrected, thanks to ToneDexter. We shall see. So much to do. So little time.

Thank you James, thank you Audio Sprockets. Well done!

[urlkonig]

I seem to have missed something -- in the review, there is a mention about training being done with a Baggs Lyric

In under 15 minutes, I successfully trained and evaluated three instruments – a later ‘80’s Martin with a stock undersaddle pickup, and two handmade acoustics by luthier Mike Kelly (Goodyear’s Bar, CA) outfitted with an LR Baggs Lyric and a K&K Mini.

Has anyone on the forum done this with a Lyric? If so, what were your results? I thought the TD only worked well with piezo-based pickups. If this works with a Lyric, would it also work with an Anthem system?

[James May]

Originally Posted by urlkonig

I seem to have missed something...
Has anyone on the forum done this with a Lyric? If so, what were your results? I thought the TD only worked well with piezo-based pickups. If this works with a Lyric, would it also work with an Anthem system?

It works with the Lyric, and with the full Anthem system. The Anthem SL has a crossover and that doesn't play well with ToneDexter. I believe there are others on this forum who have tried these with TD.

[martingitdave]

Great review and publicity for you James. Best of luck with future sales!