ToneDexter Again

[jay7347]

Originally Posted by BluesKing777

Yes, a little can go a long way!



Now, apart from the proscribed uses for the TD, mine is full and I started wandering off course. So you wouldn’t probably buy it for this but I have discovered the preamp is fantastic in its own right with the wavefiles turned OFF. A quality sound and a DI! As a disappointed user of various objects with ‘bass’ and ‘treble’ knobs that don’t seem to do much, the controls on the TD are just great. For example, I have run some K&K guitars through Bypass with the Bass cut below nine o’clock, say, and the treble about the same and it is all anyone with a K&K ever wanted for eq really.....the impedance match of the pre is also great for K&Ks. So then I bought a Taylor GP 717e with the ES2 and I use the exact same settings as the K. Voila! Sounds great. I am going to superglue the settings! THEN I made a wavemap with a condenser and also with my Shure SM57 and I like both. Switching getween them is like changing pickups on a Tele....bridge sound with the 57 wave, neck sound with the condenser wave.




BluesKing777.

Kind of on that note, I run one pedalboard for electric and acoustic. Would the ToneDexter work as my main DI for electric if I just switched off the wavemaps? I've been running a Redeye which is great on the electric end for a super clean sound but I still need to get a tuner. The TD would have a tuner and would give my acoustic a great clean sound. Just trying to find a two way solution if its out there. Suggestions? The rest of my board is primarily Strymon stuff.

-jay

[gfirob]

I have been using the Tonedexter for about a year now and I gigged with it yesterday with a Fishman 220 and an Ear Trumpet Edwina condenser mike. Great sound, no feedback, though I have had feedback issues with this setup from time to time. These occasions required tweaking things but were always manageable.

I think this thing is a miracle. It has solved a problem I've had for a long time. I use it with four different guitars and four different wavemaps (adjusting levels for some guitars). Good tuner, boost and the thing is a great pre-amp by itself.

I too am surprised that we continue to see post like "What preamp should I use to improve my K&K [or whatever]'s sound? It sounds quacky." as if the Tonedexter did not exist. No other pre-amp comes close to improving the pickup's signal as the Tonedexter does.

It is, however, different and you have to wrap your head around the fact that it is different. Different and way better. It is now essential to my rig.

[The Kid!]

Originally Posted by James May

ToneDexter will improve the sound, but does not make the pickup much more feedback resistant. It is fairly neutral in that department.

K&Ks are often very feedback prone, with or without a ToneDexter.

Absolutely. SBT's in general. The HFN is problematic in some situations as well.

[BluesKing777]

Originally Posted by jay7347

Kind of on that note, I run one pedalboard for electric and acoustic. Would the ToneDexter work as my main DI for electric if I just switched off the wavemaps? I've been running a Redeye which is great on the electric end for a super clean sound but I still need to get a tuner. The TD would have a tuner and would give my acoustic a great clean sound. Just trying to find a two way solution if its out there. Suggestions? The rest of my board is primarily Strymon stuff.

-jay

You mean - plug the Strat straight in to the Tonedexter bypass? Of course it will work, but I think you would be better off with a Line 6 amp modeller to give it that real ‘tube’ kind of sound. I always thought it was ‘tubes for electric’ and ‘clean acoustic amps or PAs for acoustic electrics’.
The Strat direct to a Tonedexter would br, to me, akin to plugging said Strat direct to your boombox stereo......err, horrid. But you know, never say never! The Tonedexter is at base level designed to get rid of piezo quack in an acoustic electric guitar.

BluesKing777.

[jay7347]

Naw BK777, lol, I've got my electric end just about figured out the way I like after ditching a Line 6 for the Strymons. I'm just trying to figure out a way to make acoustic happen on the same board without doing a second acoustic board. The ToneDexter in my alleged "brainstorm" would act just as a DI/tuner when going electric. When going acoustic it would probably the only thing running. The fact that nobody seems to run a TD with electric had me assuming it was a dumb idea but I had to ask.


-jay

[sublro]

Originally Posted by Hasbro

I wish I could get mine figured out. Seems to be a feedback thing for me. I was hoping this would be a way to avoid feedback and still get a good town. I use K&K pickups I guess I'm not solving the problem at all

For what it’s worth, I was a K&K user for a long time so feel your pain. Great acoustic tone from a passive pickup but with those pesky feedback prone areas that need lots of tweaking with EQ to be workable live. I now use James May’s Ultratonic pickup (James May Engineering) - same basic design type as the K&K and very similar sound, but with some very cleverly engineered ability to permanently “dial out” the feedback from your specific guitar. With my ultratonic, I can play loud near the speakers with flat EQ and no feedback. That allows me to use my EQ to just sweeten the tone.

Here’s the really interesting part. James sells a “conversion” kit specifically made to add the capabilities of the Ultratonic to your existing installed K&K - pretty easy install and configuration for a good guitar tech - check it out!

Oh, and yes, it works with the ToneDexter :-)

[guitaniac]

Originally Posted by James May

ToneDexter will improve the sound, but does not make the pickup much more feedback resistant. It is fairly neutral in that department.

K&Ks are often very feedback prone, with or without a ToneDexter.

I'm convinced that the TD WaveMap reduces the feedback susceptibility of my iBeam equipped D28. I presume that's partially because the training mic hears less boominess (from its particular listening perspective) than the iBeam does. I don't doubt that the WaveMap's reduction of resonant frequencies also helps.

If needed, I can further reduce feedback susceptibility by using TD's notch. I'm grateful that the notch has a digital readout which allows me to easily return to a previously effective frequency when switching to a guitar or situation which requires the notch.

[Marshall]

Originally Posted by martingitdave

Great performance! I’ll try and come out there for the next open mic!

Thanks - The Outta Space does an ope mic every Thursday. I don't get out there often. I have a normal Thursday conflict. It's been 6 months or more since I last wen there. Good place, though.

I'm more apt to do FitzGerald's open mic on Tuesdays. But I hit that one really only once a month or two.

I bounce around a lot. I like Mac's On Slade in Palatine, too.

[sublro]

Originally Posted by guitaniac

I'm convinced that the TD WaveMap reduces the feedback susceptibility of my iBeam equipped D28. I presume that's partially because the training mic hears less boominess (from its particular listening perspective) than the iBeam does. I don't doubt that the WaveMap's reduction of resonant frequencies also helps.

you are indeed perceiving less boominess. my understanding is that as the last step in the wavemap creation when training, TD looks for frequencies that are overly resonating and knocks them down just a bit of needed. not surprisingly these are found in the bass and low mids - this makes TD output less feedback prone. when you don’t want this benefit (perhaps in the studio where feedback is not going to be an issue, slot number 22 does not do this.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by Hasbro

I wish I could get mine figured out. Seems to be a feedback thing for me. I was hoping this would be a way to avoid feedback and still get a good town. I use K&K pickups I guess I'm not solving the problem at all

Hi Hasbro
I don't find K&Ks unmanageably feedback prone.

Been using K&K dual source rigs exclusively for over a decade for all my live work and I set my K&K dual source with the mic at 55-60% in the mix on a moderately aggressive stage…with no feedback. I do use a feedback buster (big black plug in the sound hole).

The suppressor doesn't change the sound in the PA or amp. I do have to reverse the phase on the mic on my K&K dual source rigs when I insert the plug.

Managing feedback is an issue for every acoustic musician if you have to work at louder sound levels. If one uses common sense in set-ups, you can manage it well. When I started using a stage amplifier 5 feet behind me at waist level and had them turn floor monitors off, it eliminated tons of issues.

If I'm on a stage where they run an aggressive house, and overdrive the bass through subs - I need a plug.

Hope you get it resolved…

[buzzardwhiskey]

I sat down in front of a PA speaker and a good mixer a couple of nights ago determined to create at least one map that sounded better at real stage-volume than those I'd been using.

After more time and more failures than I care to admit (the two maps that I've been using couldn't be beaten) I tried a method that I'd read about but not explored. I put the mic stand at my back and hung the mic over my shoulder so that it was at various heights but all aimed across the lower E string first.

As many of you know, "my guitar only louder" is not my thing any longer, but if you do want that, try hanging the mic at ear level over your shoulder.

My new stage-volume map places the mic about five inches from the low E string at the twelfth fret, pointed across the fretboard and down at the opposite upper bout. This creates that immediacy that I like (very little room interaction or studio accuracy), while really taming the trebles (or at least lifting the bass strings so the balance is skewed).

Peace.