I sprung for a Tonewood Amp...impressions

[Social Exodus]

So I finally bit on the Tonewood Amp thing, mainly because I now have a guitar I think it would be useful on PLUS they offer a 60 day money back guarantee so I figured "why not?".

In any event, the installation into my 2005 Taylor 714ce went easily enough, although I was luck that the magnetic x-brace just fit between the internal bracing on the low bout. Then came (and still working on) fine tuning the beast to this guitar, which make no mistake is a process, not an event. All I can say is watch the video manual out at the TW site and figure out the Master Gain and Notch Filter settings before you fiddle with much else. Lesson learned there

Once I started tweaking this thing into submission, it went from a thin sounding toy to a fairly convincing reverb effect. Even though I still haven't dialed it in completely to my tastes (not enough time last night), I can hear a big difference with what I've done already. I may figure out how to Factory Reset and start over with the Master Gain and Notch Filters first in fact, if that's possible. But even so, the sounds that come out of the sound hole even at this point are pretty good, even if they are not Mike Dawes good yet. Ol' Mike has that thing dialed in by golly!

In any event, for the $221 (shipped) I paid, I figure it'll stay and I might just get a second magnetic X-brace to put into my 812ce, but we'll see.

Some questions for those who have opinions on this thing:

1. How much effect do you think the x-brace has on the tone and/or sustain of a guitar when the TW is NOT installed?
2. Although having effects eminating from the sound hole is a cool thing (and I'm honeymooning right now), does the extra weight and presence of the TW amp on the back affect the guitars natural tone in your opinion?
3. Anyone know of a place with bulk AA battery sales -- gonna go through a bunch of those I would imagine between the TW and the fact my Expression System uses two AA's as well.

[BT55]

Batteries
Try rechargeable nicads. They don’t last as long as alkaline’s but that’s what I use.

[rmp]

Definitely get some rechargeable.

I have an energizer pack with 6 batteries I rotate. haven't put a store bought AA in my wireless since. it's more than paid for itself many times over.

https://www.amazon.com/Energizer-Rec...90777501&psc=1

[robj144]

I say this every Tonewood thread. Don't permanently install the X brace. Just drop in the soundhole, and attach via the magnets, and then remove it. You can use it on any guitar like that. I've had it for 3 years now and this method works perfectly.

[Social Exodus]

Originally Posted by robj144

I say this every Tonewood thread. Don't permanently install the X brace. Just drop in the soundhole, and attach via the magnets, and then remove it. You can use it on any guitar like that. I've had it for 3 years now and this method works perfectly.

Too late

[G-Money]

I'll just say the x-brace doesn't seem to have much effect on tone or sustain, although I have it installed on a non-awesome guitar. Same for the effect of the device itself on the back of the guitar. Whatever effect it might have is likely washed out by the effects.

As an aside, and as someone not at all used to effects pedals and plugged in sound, is it right and expected that the TA would really pick up and apply reverb on the fret-squeeks such that they're made very noticeable?

[Social Exodus]

Well, having spent a lot of time dialing this thing in, I could not get it to sound that convincing as far as the effects are concerned. The reverb just sounds tinny and I kept getting strange overtones and, well, wonky sounds no matter how I fiddled with the master gain and notch filters. I feel bad for returning it even though they offer the 60 day money back guarantee, and I took care to restore it to "like new" condition including removing the used stickers on the bottom of the x-brace and replacing them with the spares they sent with the unit. This is one of those times I wish there was more of a local market for this type of thing because I could have saved the company the time and return I think. Oh well.

The clincher was when I plugged into my little Fishman Loudbox Mini and I was treated to a wonderfully full reverb AND chorus sounds that won't break the bank on batteries or time spent twiddling digital menu buttons. Lesson learned.

I DO think this unit is largely dependent on the guitar and the user's tastes in order to be truly appreciated. Guys like Mike Dawes and Calum Graham can make a cigar box guitar sound magical and so this works well for them. In other words, I wouldn't want to discourage anyone else from trying this unit based on my personal experience.

[dogdog49]

I actually liked the reverb effect after dialing it in and STILL ended up returning it after about a month. After a while the romance ended and it felt like a bit too much work installing and removing and a bit gimmicky overall. There just weren't that many occasions when I wanted extra reverb from my acoustic when I wasn't already plugging in to my amp which had better reverb with less hassle. And I had zero interest in any of the other effects besides reverb after trying them. I'd still be interested in a small, simple, permanent and internal solution for reverb/chorus only, for a single guitar that was dedicated to that. I'd probably have purchased a Yamaha Trans-Acoustic by now if they made one with a 1.75" nut and a cutaway.

[varmonter]

I thought the tonewood amp was the coolest
thing to come along in awhile. Mine was from the
second batch produced. I had it for about 3 months
and grew quite bored of it. And as it really didnt
work well in a live band situation I sold it.
I kind of equated it with a george forman grill.
something you think you need but not really.
This is of course just me. YMMV
Acoustically in a small jam it was neat.
Raised a lot if interest.

[JLS]

Originally Posted by varmonter

I thought the tonewood amp was the coolest
thing to come along in awhile. Mine was from the
second batch produced. I had it for about 3 months
and grew quite bored of it. And as it really didnt
work well in a live band situation I sold it.
I kind of equated it with a george forman grill.
something you think you need but not really.
This is of course just me. YMMV
Acoustically in a small jam it was neat.
Raised a lot if interest.

I had one, never bonded with it, re-sold it within a few months.

It had some nice reverbs, also a bunch of, IMO, goofy fx, but no chorus.

[JMFingerstyle]

To each is own, I guess. I bought a Tonewood during their Black Friday sale, and have since purchased additional X-Braces for each of my Taylor guitars as well as my Godin Inuk.

To avoid "wonky" sounds, it's critical that the cone on the Tonewood be flush and tight against the back, which requires a little patience in placement on a Taylor, since the backs are a bit rounded. The upgraded firmware available from the TWA site replaces the "Overdrive" effect with a Chorus, if you desire.

I don't know how Robj44 manages to swap x-braces so easily...for me to fit the x-brace properly, I needed to completely remove the strings in order to fit my hand inside the sound hole, so the additional braces were a necessity for me. Installing it in the Inuk was the biggest challenge, since there's very limited space, and the back of the Inuk is so thick that the magnetic field doesn't penetrate very well, but it transforms the sound dramatically. I don't find that having the X-Brace installed in the instruments affects the acoustic sound of the instrument at all.

I agree that laying in a supply of rechargeable Eneloop batteries is almost a necessity, but if you set the gain properly, it doesn't chew them up quite as dramatically as some have experienced.

I personally love the effects that it adds to my guitars, plus you can DI it into an amp as well. The portability allows me to just toss it in the accessory box in guitar case, and I can get the nice reverb effects wherever I happen to be playing without having to lug my amp around.

Here are a couple of admittedly rough videos I recorded using the Tonewood, one with my Taylor 322ce 12-Fret, and the other with my Godin Inuk. Both are recorded straight into a Zoom H4N with no other processing or enhancements.