Tonedexter Revisited

[aaronmarkson]

Once I get the sound that I like, I tend to stick with it for years.

Every now and then there is something that disrupts this and causes me to go down the rabbit hole of exploration and discovery. Sometimes I end up making changes and other times I stick with what I have.

Tonedexter is one of those products. It hasn't been able to get me to change my rig in the past, but It might now...

This is my third time with it. It's getting better. 2.0 is great and the future of acoustic amplification is bright.

[Petty1818]

Thanks for the video. I have watched a few of your videos and I just have some observations!

First off, for whatever reason, your Gibson with the Trance Amulet sounds nice and warm. It's funny because back in the day, I heard a demo by Gibson of the Jackson Browne model with the original stereo Trance system and it sounded just like your demo. All of the other demos, including myown install results, have sounded much brighter. I am just wondering if your Trance has the tone/volume option and if so, where's the tone set at? I like your overall tones better as the Trance sounds a bit fatter and not so thin.

This kind of leads into my next point. Out of all of your videos, I actually found the Aura and Gibson/Trance combo to sound the best, especially with the first image. What was surprising to me is that the Trance on its own was warm but maybe a tad bit muddy. Once you used the eq, especially the treble control on the Aura (without any image blended in), the pickup sounded so much more natural. I still have my Trance and I am tempted to dial in a warmer tone with the included tone control (or not even install it this time) but then use external eq to get my desired results.

The Tonedexter sounded great as well but I agree, it's hard to make it work live. That Aura still has a wonderful sound, especially when used with the Trance, which I would have never guessed would work out well.

[aaronmarkson]

Originally Posted by Petty1818

Thanks for the video. I have watched a few of your videos and I just have some observations!



First off, for whatever reason, your Gibson with the Trance Amulet sounds nice and warm. It's funny because back in the day, I heard a demo by Gibson of the Jackson Browne model with the original stereo Trance system and it sounded just like your demo. All of the other demos, including myown install results, have sounded much brighter. I am just wondering if your Trance has the tone/volume option and if so, where's the tone set at? I like your overall tones better as the Trance sounds a bit fatter and not so thin.



This kind of leads into my next point. Out of all of your videos, I actually found the Aura and Gibson/Trance combo to sound the best, especially with the first image. What was surprising to me is that the Trance on its own was warm but maybe a tad bit muddy. Once you used the eq, especially the treble control on the Aura (without any image blended in), the pickup sounded so much more natural. I still have my Trance and I am tempted to dial in a warmer tone with the included tone control (or not even install it this time) but then use external eq to get my desired results.



The Tonedexter sounded great as well but I agree, it's hard to make it work live. That Aura still has a wonderful sound, especially when used with the Trance, which I would have never guessed would work out well.

Yes, the Trance / Gibson combo is working really well for me. It is warm and not at all thin. I installed it myself in the recommended spot from Trance. Also this Gibson is killer. I don’t honestly know how much of that affects the amplified tone, but it might be a small factor.

This is the simplest version Trance - Amulet M. No volume or tone control. There is a trim pot on the preamp that I adjusted to taste during the install. I’m a big fan of this pickup.

Trance / Fishman Aura Spectrum DI is my current setup and has been for a while now. It sounds awesome. I’m checking out the newer stuff like Tonedexter (again) and VPDI to see if I will make a change. Not out of dissatisfaction, but curiosity.

I find the trance to take EQ really well, so an eq pedal with your trance should work well. I think it is absolutely a pro level pickup. I usual do a small cut in the mids and a tiny bump on the high end with my spectrum DI and it’s all it needs in my case.

[thirdie2002]

Great video, the demo and the explanation. The context of how you will use it is very important.

How would you compare tonedexter’s wavemaps and lr baggs’ voiceprint?

[Petty1818]

Originally Posted by aaronmarkson

Yes, the Trance / Gibson combo is working really well for me. It is warm and not at all thin. I installed it myself in the recommended spot from Trance. Also this Gibson is killer. I don’t honestly know how much of that affects the amplified tone, but it might be a small factor.

This is the simplest version Trance - Amulet M. No volume or tone control. There is a trim pot on the preamp that I adjusted to taste during the install. I’m a big fan of this pickup.

Trance / Fishman Aura Spectrum DI is my current setup and has been for a while now. It sounds awesome. I’m checking out the newer stuff like Tonedexter (again) and VPDI to see if I will make a change. Not out of dissatisfaction, but curiosity.

I find the trance to take EQ really well, so an eq pedal with your trance should work well. I think it is absolutely a pro level pickup. I usual do a small cut in the mids and a tiny bump on the high end with my spectrum DI and it’s all it needs in my case.

Thanks! I did the install myself as well and I mean the results were fine but I felt as though my high strings were a bit thin/hi-fi. I am tempted to try it again but without the tone controls. I always felt as though my tone was muddy or too bright with the controls.

I might PM you once I get to the install. I have never touched the trim pot but I am wondering if that's a more crucial step than I had first thought.

[aaronmarkson]

Originally Posted by Petty1818

I have never touched the trim pot but I am wondering if that's a more crucial step than I had first thought.

I can see people overlooking this step, especially if they get the one with the tone control as one might think it's not necessary because they have the ability to adjust the tone after the install with the MVT module.

I don't honestly remember how much adjustment I made on the trim pot. I just know that I did adjust it to get the balance the way I like it. Perhaps this was more crucial than I even knew at the time.

[AeroUSA]

2.0 is an amazing update but I find I get some weird frequencies in the Maps that I can sometimes dial out and sometimes not (with undersaddle and SBT pickups). I wish I knew why this happens and it would be nice to see that smoothed out in a future update.

[Petty1818]

Off topic a bit but one thing I find odd with the spectrum di is that when I turn the blend up (past 60%), the volume drops a bit. Not a ton but I always need to turn the volume up at that point. Anyone else notice that?

[aaronmarkson]

Originally Posted by AeroUSA

2.0 is an amazing update but I find I get some weird frequencies in the Maps that I can sometimes dial out and sometimes not (with undersaddle and SBT pickups). I wish I knew why this happens and it would be nice to see that smoothed out in a future update.

I’ve experienced this too.

[aaronmarkson]

Originally Posted by Petty1818

Off topic a bit but one thing I find odd with the spectrum di is that when I turn the blend up (past 60%), the volume drops a bit. Not a ton but I always need to turn the volume up at that point. Anyone else notice that?

I keep my blend below 50%. I’ll check to see if I experience a volume drop at higher blends.

It’s possible that it is a perceived volume drop as the tone is changing. Usually less mids and more hollow sounding.