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Tone Rite: Results are in!

2/22/2018

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As promised, my totally unscientific report on the results of using the Tone Rite device. For those unfamiliar with this gadget, it is an electronic device about the size of a cigarette pack that is inserted between the strings close to the bridge of an acoustic guitar and when turned on it emits a humming vibration that is supposed to simulate the effect of playing the guitar for an extended period of time. That is, the vibrations are supposed to “open up” a guitar which may be brand new and expected to improve in things like resonance, sustain and clarity as time passes. It is not inexpensive. I paid the full retail price of $149 for mine and it was shipped promptly by the manufacturer. This is the “third generation” Tone Rite, which as far as I can tell means it has a variable dial to regulate how much it vibrates and also improved rubber “feet” to fit more securely than previous versions.
 
It comes packaged in a very slick box with instructions, and a welcome-to-the-Tone Rite Family bit of promo hoo-ha. One of the recommendations that I’d read about and makes perfect sense is to hang the guitar from a yoke-style guitar stand or even suspend it so the guitar can vibrate to the maximum, rather than leave it in a case which would absorb much of the vibrations (which it should!). I hung my brand-new Martin OM-28 from a high quality Hercules yoke stand and the guitar only touched the stand up at the head stock and at two points on the edge of the lower bout. Upon turning it on I could feel the vibrations throughout the instrument.
 
Then the question was – how high should I turn it up? According to the instructions, turning it up to max vibration will improve the bass end, sound-wise, while turning it to a medium setting will mostly affect the mids and treble. This was what I was looking for because as I wrote about in the previous post I felt my OM-28 was a bit tight sounding in those area; the bass end wasn’t quite what I want at this time but I’m confident that area will improve in a relatively short amount of time, based upon my experience with many new Martins.
 
Initially the hardest part was being patient! The manufacturer recommends at least 72 hours of constant use initially, with periodic re-use if the guitar starts to “tighten up” again. Well, staring at my beautiful guitar and not being able to play it for that amount of time was difficult, to say the least. Plus a small part of me was a bit worried that the thing might be vibrating too much (!) and perhaps I was doing nothing more than loosening up the interior braces, or worse. That fear proved to be unfounded, thank goodness. So I stuck it out.
 
Finally the day came to turn the thing off, tune up and hope for the best. I wish I could say the result was radical; it was not. But I do think there was a subtle improvement in the mid range and perhaps a bit less in the treble. The bass end remained the same, to my ears anyway.
 
Then it occurred to me – why not try it on a lesser guitar and see what happens? I have a nice 000-size Seagull that I bought a few months back with the idea it would be my “travel guitar.” It is a nice guitar for the money. Seagull has really upped their game in the last couple of years in terms of fit and finish and overall sound. Not long ago every one of these Canadian-made guitars sounded dull and lifeless. Mine sounds pretty darn good when strummed, probably thanks to the solid spruce top with scalloped braces. The back and sides are cherry (composite) and the neck is also cherry with both the fingerboard and bridge made of rosewood. The best part is the neck shape. Although a bit narrow (1 11/16”) it has a rolled edge when makes fretting barre chords and chords requiring the use of the thumb on the fretting hand very comfortable. So I hooked it up to the Tome Rite, but this time I let it hum away for a bit more that the suggested 72 hours.
 
The results? Interestingly, pretty much same as with my much more expensive Martin. No noticeable improvement in bass, but clearer mids and treble and it seems like the sustain has improved somewhat. It still has a very woody, somewhat stifled sound that works much better as a guitar to strum rather than finger-pick but I would call this part of the experiment a success, on a limited basis.
 
But here’s the problem with all this. Although I tried to keep the basics the same for both guitars (fresh strings, same use of suspended guitar stand) over that week+ of my experiment the weather and relative humidity in my area has changed quite a bit. The humidity gauge in my studio has varied from the low 30% range into the mid 40% territory. I cannot deny that when it’s breezy outside, which it has been for about a week, my house is a bit drafty. And I absolutely believe that changes like that in humidity make a HUGE difference in the sound of ALL guitars, regardless of how inexpensive or fancy they may be. So you see what I mean about this being a totally unscientific experiment? I would need a totally sealed room with absolute control of temperature and humidity to come close to definitive results, I think. Which I do not have.
 
There are plenty of guitarists who swear by the Tone Rite and claim borderline miraculous results. Others hear very little change. Still others are outright disdainful of the thing and claim it is a total scam, not unlike the urban legend of one of the Japanese manufacturers putting new guitars in a big room with huge speakers blasting at them to “open” them up.
 
I wish I could recommend the Tone Rite without hesitation but I just can’t. I did hear some positive results, but would I have anyway in a relatively short amount of time without the thing? No way to tell. Further complicating this is the fact that in a few short months when our weather here on Olde Cape Cod gets hot and muggy, just about all acoustic guitars sound pretty dull and lifeless.
 
Maybe my next guitar should be one of the modern carbon fiber models that players and manufacturers claim are impervious to the weather. Nah. I’m too much of a traditionalist for that. Nah.
 
OK… well maybe…
 
Peace & good music,
Gene

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Open up....your mind?

2/16/2018

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Much has been written on the process of an acoustic guitar “opening up.” This is the improvement of sound that comes as a new instrument is played over some period of time. What is it, really? Why doesn’t a new guitar sound as good as it can, right from the get-go? More importantly, how can someone judge what the potential of a guitar is, or will be?
 
I’m in the middle of that quandary right now, something I’ve experienced many times but that doesn’t mean I understand it and the relative certainty that a fine guitar will improve with age and playing time doesn’t make my impatience any less. At least experience has finally begun to override my gut reaction with a new guitar. The impatient little man on my shoulder whispers in my ear: Yeah, it sounds good now but not as good as you’d hoped, so maybe you should send it back and try a different one?
 
I don’t listen to the little man nearly as much as I used to, which is the right course I think. What I try to do is address those two key questions – is this new guitar at its full potential, and if not, what will that potential be?
 
Let’s suppose I answer yes to the first question. This may be just fine. I recall a Martin HD-35 that I bought some years ago and it sounded fantastic from the very first strum. And more telling, it still sounded that way the next day, and the day after that. I knew it was a winner. That one ended up being traded for a smaller bodied Martin, which suited my playing style at the time a bit better but in spite of the fact that I find dreadnoughts just too big and unwieldy to play these days I’d love to be able to afford to have that one back. On the other hand, I spent $3k on a “revoiced” Taylor a few years ago and I only needed to play it for a half-hour or so to know it was dull and lifeless and it was not going to improve. Taylor just introduced yet another generation of “revoiced” guitars so my guess is that I wasn’t the only one to have that reaction. That Taylor, although gorgeous in every way except sound went back and I had no regrets (and perhaps a bit of relief!).
 
Then there is the second question: potential. This is where my experience with hundreds of guitars comes into play. And make no mistake, it truly has taken that many (both owned and played at guitar shops, and listened to student’s guitars over an extended period of time) to learn how to make a reasonably informed guess. I have to start by putting aside as much as possible the issue of aesthetics. I’ve made some mistakes in that regard. Some years ago I bought a very limited-edition Martin 000-40 Graham Nash model that was just about irresistible in looks with quilted mahogany top, back and sides that almost glowed and cool inlay. It sounded…plain. It took some swallowing of my guitar pride to realize the mistake I’d made and that one only stayed around for a couple months.
 
You would think that would have taught me a lesson, but no. A year or so later I bought a limited-edition Martin dreadnought that featured a curved three-piece back and koa binding. It was a joy to behold and sounded pretty good, but not good enough to justify the expense of the aesthetics. And there were other cases of falling for a pretty face, like the first-generation Martin GPC-1 that I realized too late was not much more than Martin’s attempt to imitate a fancy Taylor! It sounded unremarkable and the sharp edge of the new design, thin neck was downright painful to play.
 
Here’s where I’m going with all this. I just received my latest Martin, a brand new OM-28. Martin has made lots of noise in the last year or so about the improvements they’ve made in some of their standard series guitars. I’ve played the new 00-18, 000-18 and D-18 that have the new scalloped bracing and more modern neck designs and without exception they were all very fine guitars indeed, and definitely a step up from their already fine original versions. Until recently the OM-28, thought by many to be the perfect size Martin for both finger-style and strumming was a special order only model but it now is in their regular catalog. The only change they made with the new version of the OM-28 is to use the Performing Artist profile neck, which makes playing higher up the neck more comfortable. If mine is typical, they also are very slightly “rolling” the fretboard edge so that razor sharp neck edge may be a thing of the past, thank goodness. Can’t neglect the aesthetic entirely though, but hopefully my taste has matured in this regard. My OM-28 has the understated and elegant look of a vintage Martin, with small diamond inlays and old-style curved fine-line logo on the head stock rather than the raised gold foil logo that I never liked that much. They have also toned down the almost orange color “vintage toner” to something more subtle, which was long overdue.
 
So, how does it sound? To be totally honest, I was a bit disappointed when I tuned it up and began finger picking some blues tunes. Must be those coated strings they use on new guitars, I thought, so I immediately changed to my favorite Martin Clapton’s Choice light gauge phosphor bronze. This improved the tone a bit so my slight disappointment turned to reserved optimism. I played some more, finger picking and then strumming with my thumb. Better, better…..
 
But then I picked up a flat pick, fingered a 1st position E Major chord and gave it a solid strum. Oh my. There it was. Volume, clarity, excellent note separation, even response from low to high E strings, and resonance. Beautiful resonance. Yes, it faded away a bit faster than I would have liked, but that classic Martin sound was there, trying to come out like a bird emerging from its shell. I strummed it again. And again. And again, harder, trying to make the sound “break up.” And it didn’t. There was a wide grin on my face about time.
 
My conclusion: this is one fine Martin OM-28 that will surely “open up.” And with a bit of extra effort it sounds superb right now. This one ain’t goin’ nowhere!
 
But having said that, I have a confession to make. That impatient aspect of my guitar personality cannot be denied. I have no idea when the opening up process will really make this guitar bloom but I’m going to try to speed up the process. Next week a device called a Tone Rite will arrive in my mailbox. It is an electrical device that is temporarily attached beneath the strings near the bridge and when turned on it emits a low, steady hum and soft vibration that is supposed to at least somewhat emulate what playing the guitar does over an extended period of time. If used according to directions and employed for about 72 hours, many reports from other guitarists indicate a marked improvement in sound, especially in resonance and sustain. There are others who feel it is electronic snake oil. I will report back!!!
 
Peace & good music,
Gene

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Back in the saddle again

2/6/2018

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A bit of this and that today, or in the words of the immortal Dude, a lotta in’s, a lotta out’s, a lotta what-have-you’s.
 
I’ve been bad about staying in touch via this space so here goes!
 
I fully intended to attend the recent NAMM show in Los Angeles last month but opted for a quick getaway to Key West instead. I’m hoping to attend the show this summer in Nashville, a place I’m embarrassed to say I’ve never visited. Could be a very expensive trip considering the number of amazing guitar shops in that town. We’ll see….
 
But the trip to the Keys was great as always. The musical highlight was again hearing the truly amazing Ericson Holt at Two Friends bar. He had just returned from Memphis where he made the final 16 of over 800 musicians entered in the yearly International Blues Foundation Challenge. I’m pretty sure Ericson was the only blues pianist/singer to make it that far in the competition. He is certainly worthy. His warm and raw vocals combined with New Orleans/blues piano playing is a joy. He also has a quiet and funny personality and is well loved in Key West. Check him out online or better yet, catch him live if you can. He is truly the real deal.
 
Unfortunately, my favorite band The Doerfels (now calling themselves Fuel On Fire) have pretty much relocated to Nashville even though their home is still Big Pine Key. They were missed for sure, but they are young and hungry and talented enough to go as far as good fortune will allow. You can’t help but hope for the best for this ultra talented band of five brothers (really!).
 
The rest of the live music I heard was pretty average, sometimes bordering on mediocre. I have to wonder if they all share some secret set list because they all seem to play the same two dozen or so songs. This is OK I guess, but in my last couple of trips down to Key West I’ve noticed more than a little complacency in the typical one-guy-with-a-guitar acts. Not just singles either. I had dinner at one of my favorite places (Blue Heaven) and there was a duo playing and the first three songs they played were slow tempo, minor key things. Granted, this is a restaurant with an outdoor stage but geez guys, a little energy tells the audience that you like what you’re doing and appreciate that someone is listening. I have a real issue with this: ALWAYS start your set with something that shows some spirit. Doesn’t have to be loud, just energetic. I get the whole laid-back Keys thing but my guess is that someone who plays with enthusiasm and smiles once in a while and even – gasp – talks to the audience would get plenty of work in that town where live music rules.
 
For my part, I knew I was only going to be there for a week and also knew that there is a nice little guitar shop in town, Grateful Guitars, who happen to be an Eastman dealer and I fully intended to buy an OM size, mahogany body model as that is a gap in my collection right now. And I love Eastmans. But alas, the only one they had did not “speak” to me, plus it had dead strings and was more than a little over-priced, so I passed. Really wish I’d had a guitar that week though to play while sitting on the deck of the houseboat I rented at a small marina. When I return in April I will most definitely have a guitar with me!
 
As regular readers of this blog know, I am a Martin guy through and through. Strange to say, I am Martin-less right now having sold a D-35 recently. I’ve got a strong urge to take that money plus a bit more and spring for one of the new “re-imagined” OM-28s that Martin has debuted for 2018. This is yet another in the revamped line up of standard Martins and judging by the recent 000-18, 00-18 and D-18 I’ve owned since they started this re-vamp a few years ago the new OM-28 should be great. It keeps the classic herringbone binding, ebony bridge and fretboard, diamond inlays and scalloped bracing but has the new thinner low-profile neck with Performing Artist Profile, all of which are very appealing to me. They also have a revamped 00-28 but my guess is that one will be too close sound-wise to my Eastman AC-422ce, although an entirely different body shape and size. That 00-28 sure is a pretty little thing though! I’m waiting for a call from my favorite Martin dealer about that OM. I will report back when I’ve had some time with it.
 
A few songs I’ve been teaching students lately:
 
“Sparkle and Shine”, “Tennessee Blues”, “Days Aren’t Long Enough” by Steve Earle
 
“Someday” by Passenger
 
“River Song” by Tom Rush (a great oldie that I recently rediscovered)
 
“Any Old Time” by Sara Watkins (a real oldie, Jimmie Rodgers, done in a cool Texas swing style by Sara)
 
“Naked As We Came” by Iron and Wine
 
“Cavalry”, “House of Stone”, “Daylight” by Mandolin Orange (what a great duo!)
 
“New Coat of Paint” by Tom Waits (without being asked, Ericson Holt opened with this one when I heard him!!!! GREAT song!!!)
 
“August” by Mark Erelli
 
“Life is Beautiful” by Keb’ Mo
 
“When God Dips His Pen” by Alison Krauss & Union Station (a great old gospel tune that is tons of fun played in a ragtime blues finger-picked style).
 
These are all great tunes and of varying degrees of difficulty but none are too over the top, playing-wise. Just a reflection of my taste I guess and my students seem to like them. Check a few out but remember it’s just Gene’s way of doing things. Or to again quote The Dude:
 
Yeah, well, you know, that’s just, like, your opinion, man!
 
Peace & good music,
Gene
 

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