Oh no! Not another tonerite thread!

[jklotz]

Not to open a can of worms here, as I sheepishly duck under my desk, but I've got a guitar that's very tight. I'm only interested in hearing about your results if you have used one. Please, let's not turn this into another debate thread, that's been done to death. Only results and only if you have actually tried one. Thanks.

[Mbroady]

Hey James
I Used a tonerite for several months on my Boucher with a never played ADI top. When I first got it it was ....a bit harsh and strident. Now it is a lot warmer with out the initial tightness. I also played the heck out of it, so was it the tonerite or the playing, or both ....?

Don’t have anything new coming in so if you want to borrow it for a month or 3 pm me and I can send it to ya

[buddyhu]

I owned a Tonerite for about 5 or 6 years, used it on several of my guitars, and felt I got benefits about half the time; the other half yielded no discernible change. There may have been one time where the results seemed very slightly unfavorable.

I have not used a Tonerite to “wake up” a guitar I haven’t played in a while.

I sold my Tonerite about a year ago, hoping that this would curb some of my GAS….

[LakewoodM32Fan]

To add some nuance to my vote:

I used it on both my SCGC OMs which were purchased new (built in 2018 and 2019) and didn't have a ton of playtime because it was during my pandemic buying spree of 2020 and I was splitting playtime between 8+ guitars. I felt that it resulted in a more "open/played in" sound afterwards, they even stopped sounding as tight coming out of a week in the case. I kept the tonerite on both of them for 2 weeks and oscillated between low and high power.

Conversely I used it on my 2015 Taylor Custom GA and felt it made no discernible difference.

My theory, based only on anecdotal evidence, is that on lightly built guitars like SCGC, Tonerite may make more of a difference than a heavier built guitar like the Taylor (the OMs weigh almost exactly 4lbs whereas the Taylor weighs nearly a full pound more--although some of that is due to electronics). We know Taylor builds to specs as opposed to SCGC which voices their tops and bracing as most of the boutique builders do.

[Shuksan]

In my experience with a Tonerite, the only time it made a noticeable difference was immediately after stringing up a guitar I built for the first time. The sound of every guitar I've built changes rapidly and improves very noticeably over the first three to four days after stringing it up for the first time as the guitar settles in to being under string tension. I tried a tonerite on two guitars I built immediately after putting the strings on for the first time and found that that initial period of tonal improvement was shortened to about two days. Other than that specific circumstance, I haven't heard it make a noticeable difference.

[Glennwillow]

I own a Tonerite; I bought it at a discount. I have tried it a few times, though not very often. When I have used it because a guitar was tight, it did seem to help and the guitar did tend to have a more open sound after the treatment. The difference is fairly subtle, but I found the benefit noticeable and positive.

I found that it made a positive difference on my Santa Cruz OM/PW, for example.

- Glenn

[Shadowy]

What's a tight guitar?

[Bridgepin]

Originally Posted by Shadowy

What's a tight guitar?

A guitar that is lacking a certain amount of resonance.

[Gian_luca]

I've used it on an Avalon S12 and on a Martin 0 Pattengale special; befor tone-rite I was planning to sell them as not comparable to the old Taylor I owned, now I think they are maybe better .
Anyway I heard some improvement after at least one month and with the Avalon I had to repeat the treatment several times through the years, when it wasn't played much....

[UncleJesse]

Just when you thought you might buy a ToneRite, the Dr. Herringbone Tone Traveler arrives to compete for the crown:

[Hoink]

So…does anybody have any experience with this device??

Thanks in advance,

Hank

[E-OM]

Used a tonerite on a new Morgan CM... produced quite a noticeable increase in sustain/resonance....

Used it on a new Martin D-16... minor improvement...

I think a newer and more lightly built guitars will produce better results...

Overall I am pleased with what it does but it will not help a guitar produce properties it does not possess.

[Lillis]

I‘ve used mine on numerous guitars with slight to no improvements. I recently bought an all hog GUild M20 and over about a months time I used the tonerite about two hundred hours. The guitar is definitely fuller sounding and less boxy. I’m glad to have one overall.

[HaulinOats]

Did anyone end up getting a tone traveler? Looks like the better option for me overall because I have a gil mandolin that could use some love in addition to my collings.

[sublro]

Hadn’t heard of a tone traveler before, And judging from my search results, doesn’t look like anyone else has, either…