Anyone used a ToneRite before

[altruego]

I stumbled across this in the Metropolitan Music catalog and was wondering if anyone has had any experience with this.
The claims are...
"# Accelerates the Play-In Phenomenon
# Enhances Old and New Instruments Alike
# Quiet, Near Silent Operation
# Safe and Gentle on Your Instrument'

http://www.tonerite.com/models.html

[fingers]

No experience. Sure looks like snake oil to me. Put it in front of a sub woofer. Same thing. Better yet play long loud tones with a bow

[Foamy]

Eek....no personal experience, but I honestly thought that was a joke web page.

[james condino]

Tonerights are pretty trendy in the mandolin world right now. Head over to the mandolincafe.com to read several current threads about them.

j.

[Jake deVilliers]

Originally Posted by fingers

No experience. Sure looks like snake oil to me. Put it in front of a sub woofer. Same thing. Better yet play long loud tones with a bow

Long, loud, bowed tritones definitely help to awaken an instrument that's been out of commission for a while.

The nice thing about putting it in front of a speaker is that you can go to work and let the amplifier vibrate the instrument!

[Matthew Tucker]

No experience with them, but actually, I can believe that there could be some benefit. This looks like the old de-damping idea in a compact package and using solid state electronic control instead of a large rheostat, strobe, timer and new bearings every now and then. Why not?

Putting your bass in front of a subwoofer is all very well, but you'd need very high sound levels to get the same amount of effect. Who has a soundproof room big enough, anyway?

I'm not sure I'm going to rush out and buy one just yet, though. I wonder what sort of warranty period it comes with?

[fdeck]

I'd just tell my kids: "Don't play the bass." It would have the same effect.

[Jake deVilliers]

Originally Posted by fdeck

I'd just tell my kids: "Don't play the bass." It would have the same effect.

[Foamy]

Originally Posted by fdeck

I'd just tell my kids: "Don't play the bass." It would have the same effect.

Have you tried 'Don't mow the grass' yet?

[drurb]

I love the "quality vs. time" graph. I wonder how the data were gathered for that! I'm not saying that the device cannot have a beneficial effect but that graph strains credibility.

[Foamy]

Originally Posted by drurb

I love the "quality vs. time" graph. I wonder how the data were gathered for that! I'm not saying that the device cannot have a beneficial effect but that graph strains credibility.

And THAT is understatement defined.

[Eric Hochberg]

Originally Posted by Foamy

Have you tried 'Don't mow the grass' yet?

What if you put your bass in front of a running lawn mower?

[Jake deVilliers]

Originally Posted by Foamy

Have you tried 'Don't mow the grass' yet?

Oh yeah. It works about as well as 'Don't wash the dishes', 'Don't do your homework' and 'I'd better not catch you vacuuming!'

[DallasStrings]

I knew a violinmaker once who would temporarily glue speaker parts onto his tops and backs, put on talk radio (boomy bass) thus making the wood a speaker itself, and leave it in a closet for 6 months. He would then assemble the instrument..

[Foamy]

Originally Posted by DallasStrings

I knew a violinmaker once who would temporarily glue speaker parts onto his tops and backs, put on talk radio (boomy bass) thus making the wood a speaker itself, and leave it in a closet for 6 months. He would then assemble the instrument..

I know a lady with 20 cats.

[Matthew Tucker]

Originally Posted by drurb

I love the "quality vs. time" graph. I wonder how the data were gathered for that! I'm not saying that the device cannot have a beneficial effect but that graph strains credibility.

The graph itself doesn't strain my credibility too much. It is clearly only an indicative graph and is only there to illustrate what the text claims.

The "sound quality" measure is clearly (to me, at least) a subjective thing and is stated so under the graph.




All the graph claims is:

- If you don't use the product, regular playing will only result in a very slow tonal improvement of the instrument.

- If you use it once for a week, the improvement is perceived to be large initially then the improvement appears to become gradually less over time.

- If you use it regularly the effect noticed after a week is maintained and may even improve slightly over time.

I grant you, there is little science demonstrated. But we all know that instrument making doesn't always conform neatly to scientific principles. And I don't have any proof the customer reviews are real, either.

But since no-one here, including me, has any experience with the product, or even, it seems, the principle of de-damping, it seems odd to condemn it out of hand as snake-oil. No?

It costs about as much as a good set of strings, which many people seem to buy and try on the offchance they'll improve the tone of their bass. Now THAT's scientific. :-/ So the pricepoint seems about right to me. Lets see if someone is willing to try it and if it doesn't work, there's always the classifieds section ...

[Foamy]

Originally Posted by Matthew Tucker

The graph itself doesn't strain my credibility too much. It is clearly only an indicative graph and is only there to illustrate what the text claims.

The "sound quality" measure is clearly (to me, at least) a subjective thing and is stated so under the graph.




All the graph claims is:

- If you don't use the product, regular playing will only result in a very slow tonal improvement of the instrument.

- If you use it once for a week, the improvement is perceived to be large initially then the improvement appears to become gradually less over time.

- If you use it regularly the effect noticed after a week is maintained and may even improve slightly over time.

I grant you, there is little science demonstrated. But we all know that instrument making doesn't always conform neatly to scientific principles. And I don't have any proof the customer reviews are real, either.

But since no-one here, including me, has any experience with the product, or even, it seems, the principle of de-damping, it seems odd to condemn it out of hand as snake-oil. No?

It costs about as much as a good set of strings, which many people seem to buy and try on the offchance they'll improve the tone of their bass. Now THAT's scientific. :-/ So the pricepoint seems about right to me. Lets see if someone is willing to try it and if it doesn't work, there's always the classifieds section ...

Sounds like a volunteer to me. Matt, let us know how it goes!
Now, pull the other one!

[Matthew Tucker]

Originally Posted by Foamy

Now, pull the other one!

of course you are right, of course. For many people, you must admit, the best improvement in tone would be to simply switch from a slab to a double bass ...

[fdeck]

Originally Posted by Foamy

Have you tried 'Don't mow the grass' yet?

Unfortunately, the mower is one of those that you push to make it cut the grass, and the kids can only go about 20 feet with it. Maybe when they are older.

[Foamy]

Originally Posted by Matthew Tucker

of course you are right, of course. For many people, you must admit, the best improvement in tone would be to simply switch from a slab to a double bass ...

Amen!