#1
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Dazzo and ToneDexter - any experiences?
At the La Conner Guitar Festival, I chatted with Teddy Randazzo of Dazzo pickups and heard him demo a few times. I was truly impressed by the sound quality and have arranged to have a Dazzo installed in a guitar I purchased (Irvin Guitars cutaway - NGD post soon).
I have been using K+K Pure Mini pickups with ToneDexter and loving the sound, although there is some conditioning needed for live use. Has anyone had success with a Dazzo through ToneDexter? I imagine that it would be similar to K+K, but there may be some additional things to think about. I did talk with one person (Pat something) that has been through everything, including ToneDexter, and now prefers just the Dazzo with the SunnAudio preamp.
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-Gordon 1978 Larrivee L-26 cutaway 1988 Larrivee L-28 cutaway 2006 Larrivee L03-R 2009 Larrivee LV03-R 2016 Irvin SJ cutaway 2020 Irvin SJ cutaway (build thread) K+K, Dazzo, Schatten/ToneDexter Notable Journey website Facebook page Where the spirit does not work with the hand, there is no art. - Leonardo Da Vinci |
#2
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I owned a ToneDexter for a short time and had my K&K equippped OM working with it - and it just never clicked for me. (This isn't a criticicm of the ToneDexter as it has clearly produced outstanding results for others).
I'm just about to pull the trigger on a set of Dazzo 70's, and I will be putting the signal through a SunnAudio Stage DI.
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Martin Custom Shop Deep Body OM42 (Guatemalan Rosewood / Adirondack) Ernie Ball Aluminium Bronze 12-54's Dazzo 70's & SunnAudio Stage DI |
#3
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Thanks for the input.
My incoming guitar just got a Dazzo 70s installed, and the luthier says it sounds fantastic to him. I'm hoping that using the Dazzo + ToneDexter with the anti-feedback feature will give me a high quality signal usable on any stage, anywhere.
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-Gordon 1978 Larrivee L-26 cutaway 1988 Larrivee L-28 cutaway 2006 Larrivee L03-R 2009 Larrivee LV03-R 2016 Irvin SJ cutaway 2020 Irvin SJ cutaway (build thread) K+K, Dazzo, Schatten/ToneDexter Notable Journey website Facebook page Where the spirit does not work with the hand, there is no art. - Leonardo Da Vinci |
#4
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Quote:
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Martin Custom Shop Deep Body OM42 (Guatemalan Rosewood / Adirondack) Ernie Ball Aluminium Bronze 12-54's Dazzo 70's & SunnAudio Stage DI |
#5
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Hi Gordon, I spent Saturday in the booth with Teddy at the La Conner festival. After that experience, all my guitars are getting the Sunnaudio onboard preamp. I have always run the Dazzo passive into a floor preamp, my favorite being the Red Eye and the Grace Alix. The Grace Alix wins hands down for it’s Uber clean warmth and surgical EQ. I still love the Red Eye and will use it in a pinch but replacing it as my favorite easy go to phantom powered DI is the Sunnaudio. I thought the Red Eye was clean. The Sunnaudio is smoother, makes the Red Eye Sound too crispy. The Sunnaudio compares audiophile wise to the Grace Alix. They are two different tools in my book though.
I say all that because that set up makes my ears believe that I am hearing a mixed guitar without the feedback issues a mic brings. I can get more volume than a mic, I can move around, etc. I am sure the TD is a great tool to fix or correct the flaws of a bad pickup. What if you don’t need to fix a bad sound? Is it necessary? The Dazzo is a great place to start. You heard his harp guitar and old Gibson and maybe the Uke he had at the show through a simple and plain Yamaha powered speaker. Did any of that sound like it needed fixing or anything more? If so, then the TD might be for you.
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Vancebo Husband of One, Father of Two Worship Leader, Music Teacher Oregon Duck Fan Guitars by: Collings, Bourgeois, Taylor Pickups by: Dazzo Preamps by: Sunnaudio Amps by: Bose (S1) Grateful |
#6
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Vancebo,
Good to hear!! Is it the TD-1 Tone Driver that you are favouring? Cheers
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Martin Custom Shop Deep Body OM42 (Guatemalan Rosewood / Adirondack) Ernie Ball Aluminium Bronze 12-54's Dazzo 70's & SunnAudio Stage DI |
#7
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Now please don’t go talking about the Tondedexter until you have driven it around the block. It is not about making a bad pickup sound better. It is not about a little bit of eq. It is a whole different enchilada. Imagine, instead of 10 bands of eq or 20 bands of eq, you had 2,000 bands of eq. That is the universe you are in with a Tondexter. That is why the improvement the Tonedexter brings to the sound of almost any pickup is about par with the Miracle of Lourdes.
Well I guess to be fair, the Miracle of Lourdes included the appearance of the Virgin Mary 18 times and that has never happened to me when I used the Tonedexter, but most people who have one of these (or who try them out) are pretty astonished at the difference it makes. In any event, it is a mistake to think of it as just another preamp, something to take the quack off of a pickup. It is an entirely new technology.
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2003 Martin OM-42, K&K's 1932 National Style O, K&K's 1930 National Style 1 tricone Square-neck 1951 Rickenbacker Panda lap steel 2014 Gibson Roy Smeck Stage Deluxe Ltd, Custom Shop, K&K's 1957 Kay K-27 X-braced jumbo, K&K's 1967 Gretsch 6120 Chet Atkins Nashville 2024 Mahogany Weissenborn, Jack Stepick Ear Trumpet Labs Edwina Tonedexter |
#8
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Vancebo - thanks for the info. I probably walked past you at La Conner as I was there all three days showcasing Irvin. The only time I could see Teddy performing was at Sips with the old Gibson - sounded really good. He did demonstrate how well the pickup sounded merely placing it on a uke top.
I'll be getting my new Irvin guitar on Tuesday so I'll post impressions of the Dazzo alone and with ToneDexter training next week.
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-Gordon 1978 Larrivee L-26 cutaway 1988 Larrivee L-28 cutaway 2006 Larrivee L03-R 2009 Larrivee LV03-R 2016 Irvin SJ cutaway 2020 Irvin SJ cutaway (build thread) K+K, Dazzo, Schatten/ToneDexter Notable Journey website Facebook page Where the spirit does not work with the hand, there is no art. - Leonardo Da Vinci |
#9
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See my earlier post - I DID drive it around the block....!
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Martin Custom Shop Deep Body OM42 (Guatemalan Rosewood / Adirondack) Ernie Ball Aluminium Bronze 12-54's Dazzo 70's & SunnAudio Stage DI |
#10
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Quote:
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Vancebo Husband of One, Father of Two Worship Leader, Music Teacher Oregon Duck Fan Guitars by: Collings, Bourgeois, Taylor Pickups by: Dazzo Preamps by: Sunnaudio Amps by: Bose (S1) Grateful |
#11
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I don’t have a favorite. I will end up getting various versions in different guitars. Marc from Sunnaudio may come on here and correct me but I think they are essentially the same circuitry. I will also have a floor DI to play around with. Features vary with or without volume and tone controls.
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Vancebo Husband of One, Father of Two Worship Leader, Music Teacher Oregon Duck Fan Guitars by: Collings, Bourgeois, Taylor Pickups by: Dazzo Preamps by: Sunnaudio Amps by: Bose (S1) Grateful |
#12
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Quote:
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Vancebo Husband of One, Father of Two Worship Leader, Music Teacher Oregon Duck Fan Guitars by: Collings, Bourgeois, Taylor Pickups by: Dazzo Preamps by: Sunnaudio Amps by: Bose (S1) Grateful |
#13
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2007 Martin D 35 Custom 1970 Guild D 35 1965 Epiphone Texan 2011 Santa Cruz D P/W Pono OP 30 D parlor Pono OP12-30 Pono MT uke Goldtone Paul Beard squareneck resophonic Fluke tenor ukulele Boatload of home rolled telecasters "Shut up and play ur guitar" Frank Zappa |
#14
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#15
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Vance,
The TD-1 and the Stage DI are identical circuits with the only difference being that the Stage-DI has an active XLR balanced phantom power + passive balanced output. The biggest difference in sound will be the cable running from a passive pickup system to the DI. There will much less difference running from a powered onboard preamp to DI, but still a difference with different cables nonetheless. The BL-1 Blender preamp is virtually the same circuit in regards to response but is further optimized for low noise with two channels. The LD-1 Line Driver is a purely a buffer amp that helps you run cable to your passive or active DI with much less cable variance. Marc Quote:
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www.sunnaudio.com - email: [email protected] New Sunnaudio Stage DI-2. Check out the MS-2 2 Channel MS (Mid-Side) decoder preamp! Ask us about our AGF Discount. Have you hugged your guitar today? |