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Original Post By:
ricdoug
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Date: 8/7/2015 10:06:42 PM |
http://www.tonewoodamp.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2EgJZYIcfQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7wqmOy-hlI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISdYylHI11Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYmKnBZp6QA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzVsfSX-Nfk#t=6
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfLqyFpDBw0 |
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Posted By:
Ukulele Rob
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Date: 8/8/2015 9:38:54 PM |
RicDoug:
An interesting concept, but in some ways a product search for a market. E.g.:
It doesn't appear to have anything equivalent to a footswitch function for the effects. And, of course, no looper. So you'd probably be using a pedalboard anyway;
I note that all of the YouTube demonstrators are seated, and the web site itself says it works best in seated position. I can see that the ToneWood could be a bit awkward if, like me, you usually perform standing up. (Of course, when I perform with a guitar my usual axe of choice is a Stratocaster, so I wouldn't be using something like the ToneWood anyway.);
The types of venues where the ToneWood itself would bring the volume up enough are probably rare. Like a phone-booth-sized coffee bar where no one in the audience talks while you're performing. So you're going to be going into a PA anyway for both mic and guitar; and the most serious drawback:
As they note in their FAQ, they haven't yet developed a model for ukulele!
Thanks for the interesting link.
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Posted By:
Craig
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Date: 8/11/2015 12:14:54 PM |
| It has a nice sound, but the idea of having a little box between my ukulele or guitar and me turns me off. Also, the magnetic strips on the back of the instrument. Companies like, Strymon, make great reverbs, though $$$$, do not compromise the instrument....
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Posted By:
Dave Means
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Date: 8/11/2015 12:45:26 PM |
| I like good acoustic instruments BECAUSE of the nice natural sound they make all by themselves. If I wanted something artificial, I'd play electric. YMMV.
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Posted By:
Ukulele Rob
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Date: 8/12/2015 2:22:56 PM |
| RicDoug: Innovation is great, but so's the ability to leave it behind sometimes. I have purely acoustic instruments that I run into a PA through my SM-57, and after that it's all up to the sound guy (or gal). But I also have ukes and guitars with pickups that I run through all sorts of effects, so the sound guy (or gal) is constantly thinking "what the heck is THAT, and what am I supposed to do with it here at the board?" The bottom line is that your audience, whether filling a stadium or just 5-6 family members at Thanksgiving dinner, is going to think it's really cool if you wheel out a bunch of different sounds from song to song, and I can see this ToneWood thing adding a whole new and fun dimension to in-home acoustic guitar performances for some folks.
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Posted By:
Neal
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Date: 8/15/2015 10:51:17 PM
(Updated: 8/15/2015 10:56:19 PM)
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Ahh, the purist club. Thanks Ricdoug, hadn't seen this.
Presently a bit large for the Uke, but as tech goes, smaller is coming. While I didn't go thru the specs on the site, seems to me this concept has much promise for those looking to keep things simple.
The future boys, yeah, acoustic...I like acoustic too. Sometimes there's a trade for talent, and quite frankly, I don't mind a competent acoustic musician I'm seeing live use that nasty amplification so I can hear 'em play.
One of the coolest sounding "acoustic" rigs is a nice reso 6or 12 string with a mag pickup. Yeah, sick, I know. ;)
And..uh..Dave put some of that errrr..amplification stuff in a Uke he built fer me..so I know you ain't agin it too much Mr. Means ;D
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Posted By:
Neal
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Date: 8/15/2015 10:51:17 PM
(Updated: 8/15/2015 10:52:09 PM)
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| Oops! Twiced!
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Posted By:
Dave Means
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Date: 8/17/2015 12:44:24 PM |
Neal, when I put a pickup in a uke, my only goal is to allow the nuances of good, acoustic sound to be reinforced intact for venues so large that it is impractical to play without reinforcement (although I prefer the sound of an acoustic instrument played into a good mic when practicable over any pickup I've yet found).
Maybe I'm a purist, but I don't aim for good acoustic tone with the intention that it be mangled by add-on distortion. I'd suggest using some solid-bodied slab of an instrument for that.
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Posted By:
Neal
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Date: 8/18/2015 10:31:11 PM |
This particular device isn't about distortion though. Sure, it's available, but it does seem to give a clean sound when set so.
My appreciation for the device is that in future, this will have a much smaller footprint, be wireless, provide a robust mic'd acoustic sound, and free the player AND the instrument. Thin enough to fit on the back of a soprano played comfortably standing up. And it's not a stretch that the wireless will be compatible with most systems
Now? No, but you can bet it's coming. And it will be good.
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Posted By:
Ukulele Rob
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Date: 8/20/2015 12:19:34 AM |
Neal: OK, I like all those desired features, but will it also help you lose weight and reconcile your checking account statements?
And more seriously, re distortion: It's been my experience that while a distortion pedal can be fun and wake up an audience, with nylon strings they can be a bit uneven. I don't keep a distortion pedal in my basic board (limited to looper, reverb, delay, and an octave pedal), but when I add one it's usually just for a baritone I play. And like any effects, it's good for one or two tunes only. Audiences like a little variation, but seem to like the "natural" sound (maybe a little reverb and a little delay) for most of a set.
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Posted By:
Neal
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Date: 8/20/2015 3:36:39 PM |
I didn't catch on the vids where distortion was the deal.
Could be wrong, maybe we're talking about different things.
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Posted By:
Dave Means
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Date: 8/21/2015 12:25:29 PM |
| I think this is a matter of semantics: the musician's definition of "distortion" vs. the engineer's. I'm an engineer by training, and the strict engineering definition of distortion as applied to sound reinforcement is anything that changes the waveform that comes out of the pickup, whether that be "chorus," "delay," "reverb," or whatever. It's not just "fuzz."
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Posted By:
Ukulele Rob
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Date: 8/21/2015 12:41:08 PM |
| Dave: You're correct, this product does not have a distortion feature, but as you'd brought up the topic in your 8/17 post, I figured I'd respond with my observation that a little "crunch" from a uke can be a good thing ... in great moderation (!) I have a Boss Distortion DS-1 that I pull out of my guitar board about twice a year to use with one of my ukes, and it always gets a giggle from the audience. But I wouldn't use it for the uke more often than that.
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