In praise of Tone-rite

[datdaddy]

I agree Bowie -- someone, somehow needs to be able to provide a good way to show the diff before and after.  I, too, was astounded that nearly every one of the "afters" had had new strings or something else done.  What kind of a test was that?  Anyway, it seemed to work on my guitar, and it became much more friendly to play after 4-5 days with that thing on it.  Dunno how I'd be able to prove it, though.

[Queequeg]

After reading that I went looking for some comparison clips. There were a lot but they presented two problems. The "after" ones were either brighter because the strings were freshly changed. Or, the guitar sounded warmer because the strings were worn from the device. I didn't hear any thing that sounded different than one would expect from differently worns strings. Unfortunate, as I'd love to hear a properly done test.  I'm totally a gadget guy but I'm also pretty weary of things like this, especially when they make no attempt to prove its claims.

How do you know they were brighter because the strings were freshly changed? What evidence is there of this?
Seems unlikely that people would change strings before trying it since the device is affixed to the strings.
I'm not here to convince you, or anyone else.

[ducktrapper]

How do you know they were brighter because the strings were freshly changed? What evidence is there of this?
Seems unlikely that people would change strings before trying it since the device is affixed to the strings.
I'm not here to convince you, or anyone else.

There's no way of knowing and that makes it problematic. If strings were changed after using the device, how does anyone do a proper A/B comparison? If the thingee was $19.99, I might give it a whirl with a not much to lose attitude but for $150.00, I'm pretty sure I can always find something gear related to better spend that kind of money on. Heck, I could go to a pawn shop and buy another guitar! I think I'll always prefer my method. Play the darn thing. 

Or you could try the jury rigged stereo model Tonerite. When I got my OOO-50, I bungeed a stand to a Bose 301, rigged it so I could put the guitar on it and then played Come Together on repeat while I was at work all day. Guitar sounds awesome!     

[Danny]

McKnight did a very good test. Plus he said that every one of his guitars get this treatment now.
That's good enough for me.

[ducktrapper]

McKnight did a very good test. Plus he said that every one of his guitars get this treatment now.
That's good enough for me.

So, you bought or are buying one? 

[Danny]

I'm going to buy one.

[ducktrapper]

I'm going to buy one.

Let us know how you feel it works. McKnight, no insult intended, means nothing to me.

[Danny]

Let us know how you feel it works. McKnight, no insult intended, means nothing to me.

Kevin seems to think highly enough of them that he started this thread.
    I'll be happy to share the results though.

[ducktrapper]

Kevin seems to think highly enough of them that he started this thread.
    I'll be happy to share the results though.

Yeah but he's a Canadian.   

[Queequeg]

There's no way of knowing and that makes it problematic. If strings were changed after using the device, how does anyone do a proper A/B comparison?

That's my point. BOWIE said " The "after" ones were brighter because the strings were freshly changed." and there is no way of knowing that, yet this is exactly why he is skeptical of ToneRite.

Let us know how you feel it works. McKnight, no insult intended, means nothing to me.

Tim McKnight is a highly respected luthier and an engineer by trade.
He's not a seat-of-the-pants, hope-for-the-best and see what happens kind of guy. He takes the science of guitar building very seriously
The fact that he means nothing to you leads me to infer that among other things, you didn't read his 2009 interview.
As I said, I have no dog in this fight, not trying to convince anybody of anything.
Just that people I know and respect have an opinion on ToneRite. And there are other people whom I don't know and who haven't ever used it who often have a contrary opinon of ToneRite.
Save your money. Take your wife out to dinner. Buy a lotto ticket.
It's all the same to me.

[doncole]

A local luthier mentioned that if you place a guitar near the stereo, TV or other sound source then the sound vibrations will make it sound better.

[ducktrapper]

A local luthier mentioned that if you place a guitar near the stereo, TV or other sound source then the sound vibrations will make it sound better.

Precisely. That's what I've done. I'm not saying that Tonerite doesn't work, per se, only that $150.00 is a lot of dough for a small motor or whatever the heck it has going for it. When they get the price down to $29.95 or something reasonable, I'd think about it.   

[bluesman67]

Tim McKnight is a highly respected luthier and an engineer by trade.
He's not a seat-of-the-pants, hope-for-the-best and see what happens kind of guy. He takes the science of guitar building very seriously

Ah but what if you were to find out that McKnight invested money into TonRite?     ...just stirring the pot, but I'm just saying, Duck has a point, even if he didn't read the interview!

Sure one can bungee a guitar to a speaker, hook up a fish tank pump, whatever.  But for the $100 I spent on mine, it's worth having something that is built to do the job and does it well, with my guitar hanging from a Hercules where it's safe and out of the way.  I could use a rock to hammer in nails and build a wall or simply buy a hammer.      The toneRite uses very little power and runs for a minimum of 12 hours at a time.  Using your stereo speakers for that long seems impractical and also distracting having music playing all the time unless you're not home.

Maybe Duck really wants one of these, seems like a good alternative to a ToneRite.  www.prime-vibe.com

[B0WIE]

How do you know they were brighter because the strings were freshly changed? What evidence is there of this?
Seems unlikely that people would change strings before trying it since the device is affixed to the strings.
I'm not here to convince you, or anyone else.

Because I've changed strings hundreds of times on dozens of guitars and I know that fresh strings of the same type are brighter.  If you meant to ask how I knew they changed the strings, it's because they mentioned it.  Having used strings in a before clip and fresh strings in an after clip negates the validity of the test.  If anything, it made the tone-right sound worse in almost every instance because of the edgy strings.  I don't think a toneright would have any negative affect.

  Now, an accurate test would be to change strings a couple days before and put a certain amount of playing time on them before recording a "before" clip.  Then, do an "after" recording in the same manner.  If anyone in Phoenix has a tone-right and wants to do this, they can come to my studio and we'll set up a method of doing this, measuring distances in mic placement, etc.  I'm genuinely curious about the result.  I almost bought one as soon as I heard of it because the idea crossed my mind years ago and I wanted something like that.  However, I have to questions the claims and testimonies and after hearing clips, I really wonder if people aren't hearing more warmth from strings being mellowed or open-ness after changing the strings.  I fully believe that guitars open up as they age (I've had guitars do this from just sitting in the case for years) but I'm not sure about the vibration thing any more.

[Danny]

  Personally, I don't give a hoot about too much scientific analysis. If my friends and folks I respect say something is good I believe them.

[ducktrapper]

  Personally, I don't give a hoot about too much scientific analysis. If my friends and folks I respect say something is good I believe them.

Then there's anal sex.