ToneDexter - The Holy Grail! - Page 4

Gordon Currie · #46 11-27-2017, 08:26 PM

As seriously cool and useful as this is, there ARE a few things I could see to improve it:

1. The intense red display. I'd love to have a way to either dim it, or to switch it off at times. Right now I'm using in a project studio, so it kind of dominates the visual field.

2. There are two categories of controls/functions - those for training/storing, and those for 'run-time' (playing). They are kind of thrown together, and I wish I could separate them - or even have a training device and then a performance device.

3. I'd love a way to move wavemaps from device to device. I'd like to have a TD set up permanently for training/retraining and have a couple TDs for my performing duo.

I'm hoping Tonedexter has a long life so that there will be upgrades and even follow-on products.

Racerbob · #47 11-27-2017, 10:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by guitaniac

Among other things, I'm hoping that Tonedexter will enable me to remove the internal mics from two of my guitars. The MiniFlex 2Mic, especially, seems to add a lot of weight to my little classical.

THis is what I did with my Ryan. While the minflex worked better than the typical UST the ToneDextor, along with their version of the K&K mini, works really great.

guitaniac · #48 11-28-2017, 07:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Racerbob

THis is what I did with my Ryan. While the minflex worked better than the typical UST the ToneDextor, along with their version of the K&K mini, works really great.

That's great news, and I can see how the pickup would need to be an SBT to still get a good tapping response.

I have the MiniFlex2Mic paired with a Baggs Hex currently, but I could replace it (the MiniFlex) with a much lighter SBT. It might be interesting to blend that in-your-face Hex signal with Dexterized SBT signal.

guitaniac · #49 11-28-2017, 03:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AeroUSA

I know most of us are SBT fans here. It is anyone using TD with a Fishman GoldPlus or Matrix type undersaddle?

Interested to know your thoughts.

I just experimented with ToneDexter and four guitars this afternoon. It worked pretty well with a Fishman ClearWave system which employs their co-axial Sonicore undersaddle transducer.

ToneDexter worked especially well with a PUTW I/O UST. Its a flat piezo film UST like the Matrix. Ironically, though, the I/O UST was the LEAST compatible UST that I tried with the stock Aura sound images in the Aura Spectrum which I once owned. Its funny that it works so well with ToneDexter. Then again, SBTs work well with ToneDexter and they DIDN'T work well with the Aura Spectrum. The I/O UST is somewhat SBT-like in that its unusually top responsive for a UST.

Reasley · #50 11-28-2017, 03:27 PM

Do you guys know if there are any good before/after videos on YouTube with specific guitars?

guitaniac · #51 11-28-2017, 08:01 PM

The video entitled "examples video" on this page, if you haven't seen it already.

http://audiosprockets.com/video-demos/

guitaniac · #52 11-28-2017, 08:14 PM

Like another person in this thread, I've found that a particular WaveMap created with one guitar sounds very good with another guitar. Both guitars have co-axial undersaddle pickups in them, so now I have to re-evaluate my plan to put a Barbera Soloist (in-saddle pickup) in the second guitar. I'm pretty sure that this happy accident of modeling wouldn't work with the Soloist, as its adjacent piezo elements are wired to be out of phase with each other.

Decisions, decisions - its a nice problem to have.

Reasley · #53 11-28-2017, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by guitaniac

The video entitled "examples video" on this page, if you haven't seen it already.

http://audiosprockets.com/video-demos/

Thanks so much!

Hotspur · #54 11-29-2017, 11:17 AM

I have to say this thing sounds staggeringly good in the demo videos.

Larry Pattis · #55 11-29-2017, 11:32 AM

I am a little late to this party, but I am on-board with the TD in a rather large way.

I believe that our Universe has fundamentally changed with this equipment.

philjs · #56 11-29-2017, 12:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Larry Pattis

I believe that our Universe has fundamentally changed with this equipment.

You ain't just whistlin' Dixie, Larry! I, too, am late to the game (national boundary interference in this case) but I'm now a vocal convert and a huge fan of the TD. As I mentioned in another thread, it's sad to think of the trail of preamps, aka the road of broken dreams, that I've left behind me. ToneDexter is, literally, both evolutionary and revolutionary!

Phil

Petty1818 · #57 11-30-2017, 07:56 AM

I admittedly haven't played around with my Tonedexter enough since getting it, but one thing I want to work at is reducing the hollow tone that can sometimes come from recording a guitar. Maybe hollow is a bad word but it's that room sound that takes away from the direct tone of the guitar. I noticed this issue with the aura and I could never dial it out. However, having the ability to experiment will be a big deal. It definitely is a game changer though. The first time I tried it, I played plugged in for a good thirty minutes without tweaking which is pretty much unheard of with me!

guitaniac · #58 11-30-2017, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Petty1818

I admittedly haven't played around with my Tonedexter enough since getting it, but one thing I want to work at is reducing the hollow tone that can sometimes come from recording a guitar. Maybe hollow is a bad word but it's that room sound that takes away from the direct tone of the guitar. I noticed this issue with the aura and I could never dial it out. However, having the ability to experiment will be a big deal. It definitely is a game changer though. The first time I tried it, I played plugged in for a good thirty minutes without tweaking which is pretty much unheard of with me!

I started my ToneDexter experiments with an Audix OM7 vocal mic. It has a pretty healthy presence peak at 5KHz, but I'm still getting satisfying results with most rigs. (I did get a really strange and unpleasant artifact with the iBeam in my D28.)

I have a cheap Behringer omni-directional mic on the way, and I'm hoping that will work even better. I suspect that close miking with the omni-directional would further limit any "hollow sound" problem, though it hasn't really been a problem with the OM7. As I understand it, the ToneDexter training process doesn't pick up much sound reflection.

varmonter · #59 12-02-2017, 10:59 AM

For those that have used this . Has anyone experimented
Much with mic placement. As in distance away
From the guitar. Just curious if that "air" transfers
To the wavemap.

Doug Young · #60 12-02-2017, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by varmonter

For those that have used this . Has anyone experimented
Much with mic placement. As in distance away
From the guitar. Just curious if that "air" transfers
To the wavemap.

I've tried lots of different mics and lots of mic placement. Both make a difference, but it tends to be fairly subtle to my ear, and I have not found any predictable formula. I train, and if I don't like the results, I move the mic and try again. It doesn't seem very picky, tho. The ToneDexter guys have recommendations on where to put the mic and that seems to work well.

I think in general, a lot of subtleties like a little extra "air" tend to get lost once you're playing at volume in a live setting, or in some cases can actually be detrimental. You already have "air" in the room, so having some coming out of the speaker isn't always a good thing. But getting rid of that piezo sound, which TD does so well, is very helpful.