My Tone Gard review. Get one for your mandolin

[rljmusic13]

Well friends and fellow mandolin players, I have to say a lot of great things about the Tone Gard, Sunrise model that fits on most mandolins. YES, it will fit on a Washburn F body mandolin. Why do I say this? Because I have one on MY Washburn F body mandolin. YES, I know it is one of the better entry level mandolins out there. This one is MINE. I play my mandolin in a bluegrass band. We use condenser mics when we play live shows. This is where a Tone Gard passed the test for me. Great volume improvement and tone too.
Anyhow, I have a Tone Gard on my mandolin and I am happy to report that it everything that Tone Gard says it is. IF you do not have one on your mandolin, I highly suggest you get one. I got mine from The Mandolin Store. They have a website and a link here at Mandolin Cafe. I noticed an immediate difference at band practice and so did the rest of the band. I was happy with what the Tone Gard did for my mandolin and so were they.
How it works is this. The back of the mandolin gets muffled out when you press it up against your belly without a Tone Gard. This prevents the back from vibrating. Simple science and a simple solution to remedy this issue is to install a tone gard. This gives a good gap between belly and mandolin. Now your mandolin has an added advantage. You will notice the difference played acoustically in a jam session outdoors as well as indoors. You will be heard for a change. YES, it is well worth the investment.

[BrianWilliam]

Eh

[Tate Ferguson]

Sometimes I like to feel the vibrations of the mandolin back through my stomach and chest. When I want to get loud, I angle the mando out a bit. So this product might not be for me. I'm just sayin'.

[ccravens]

What is this "Tone Gard" of which you speak??

[MikeEdgerton]

http://www.tone-gard.com/

Every mention on the Cafe going back years:

https://www.google.com/search?source...59.R--leQ8itNE

[Mace]

I’d be cautious with a new mandolin whose finish is still curing. I once used an arm rest that left an impression in the finish.

[Dave Hanson]

If I could buy one here in the UK I'd get one today.

Why does nobody sell them here ?

Dave H

[Ivan Kelsall]

From Dave Hanson - "Why does nobody sell them here ?". For the same reason that other goods which are pretty common in the US aren't available over here. TAMCO would be a logical outlet for them,but i don't think that Trevor would invest much in the way of cash on such a 'niche' product. I've been wanting to lay my hands on another 'Travelite' mandolin case for a few years,but even that's not going to happen any time soon. ''Gremlin Music'' the importers for Hobgoblin Music,told me that yes,you can have Travelite cases,but with a minimum order of 30 cases !. Now tell which UK store is going to order 30 mandolin cases in one lump ???,
Ivan

[Ray(T)]

Depends on where you call "here". For the moment "here" still includes the EU and, if you can get round the language barrier, you could buy one from - http://n-a-g.info/index.php?option=c...category_id=22 or more cheaply - http://www.hboetzkes.com/producten/s...&view=category

According to the Tonegard website, there are several dealers in Europe. Please report back if anyone manages to order one. I already have one on my Kimble but could probably do with another.

[dhergert]

Living in the USA, I must be pretty naive about this. So be patient with my questions...

Why don't people who live outside of the USA order them from the USA and have them shipped? I'm guessing there are shipping expenses of course, but there are those here in the USA also. Is there an import duty also added? If so, where does that money go? How much do these add-on expenses add to the cost of, for example, a $75 ToneGard? Or a $100 Travellite (or Gator) case?

Again, please excuse my honest ignorance.

[Ray(T)]

Hi Don - It used to be worth shipping things like strings but, over the last few years, it's become less worthwhile.

For the UK, on top of the US price you have currency exchange charges and then you have shipping. Once your order reaches the UK, depending on the value of the item you have to pay import duty. Even for small value items, which don't attract import duty, you're then likely to have to pay VAT (at 20%) and this is payable on the goods and the shipping costs (and if import duty is payable, the duty itself). To add insult to injury, if the goods are delivered by the Royal Mail, they impose a charge for collecting the duty.

I'm sure that someone could explain the exact figures if you're interested. Personally, I no longer think it's worth the effort to import things yourself. It's probably cheaper to buy common brands of strings from somewhere like Amazon.

If I want anything unusual; e.g. mandola or OM, I use Newtone as they're less than 20 miles down the road; in fact I had a delivery from them this morning - just over a week to produce 5 sets of custom strings and delivery cost me £1.

[LeosWood]

Absolutely worth the money. I stood in front of a mirror playing my Stiver with the guard on and off and I could tell a difference in volume.

[Mandobart]

Hi Don - It used to be worth shipping things like strings but, over the last few years, it's become less worthwhile.

I'm sure that someone could explain the exact figures if you're interested. Personally, I no longer think it's worth the effort to import things yourself. It's probably cheaper to buy common brands of strings from somewhere like Amazon.

If I want anything unusual; e.g. mandola or OM, I use Newtone as they're less than 20 miles down the road; in fact I had a delivery from them this morning - just over a week to produce 5 sets of custom strings and delivery cost me £1.

That's a real shame. I feel very fortunate to be able to order goods from all over our world. I really like Newtone strings and, depending on the instrument, I only pay $8 - $12 US.

[Ray(T)]

That's a real shame. I feel very fortunate to be able to order goods from all over our world. I really like Newtone strings and, depending on the instrument, I only pay $8 - $12 US.

How much import duty do you pay in the US? For comparison, I've just paid £9 for custom sets of Mandola strings. 20% of that is VAT. Not sure how much their mandolin strings are - I had a job lot of J74s shipped from Elderly before the tax positioned worsened and I'm still using them.

[MontanaMatt]

Why not fabricate your own British model? It's not a highly engineered item...and it's not Patented, it's been listed as Patent pending for as long as I've seen it offered. We've all seen other members efforts to create a sound plenum...find someone with a welder and make a Brit-mando-sound spider!
If it cost two to three times what we pay in the US, there would be several custom fab options listed in the classified. Since it's affordable, none of us bother.
I have a similar object from way back for fiddle...shaped out of hard nylon plastic...I seen to remember reading that Ivan has plastic and resin experience...?

[Billy Packard]

Shh...
On the down low here, is it not thinkable that we mando-friends could ship things privately to our friends in the UK?

[Billy Packard]

Regarding the ToneGuard, I've used one for years and years. Ever since Mike Marshal showed me his. I wouldn't think of not being without one. Before that I was considering jury-rigging a violin or viola chin rest.

[MontanaMatt]

Shh...
On the down low here, is it not thinkable that we mando-friends could ship things privately to our friends in the UK?

I've offered some of our friends on p.m. , they fear the tax man and the crown! I think our western spirit sees it as a challenge, but not the tea and crumpets crowd.

[mandroid]

If I could buy one here in the UK I'd get one today.

Why does nobody sell them here ?

Dave H

You might ask The Brighton based mandolin seller TAMCO , who Posts Here,
if He can get a dozen in stock, Imported, Wholesale, to re sell at a reasonable price.

[Dave Hanson]

I've bought mandolins from Trevor at TAMCO, [ great dealer ] but I've never known him sell accessories of any kind, only instruments.

Dave H

[Ray(T)]

For reasons best explained by Trevor himself, TAMCO is not in the business of selling parts and accessories for mandolins.

[Ron McMillan]

I made a single wooden cross-spar that does the same thing on my no-name F5. It cost a few dollars for two viola chin-rest clamps (violin clamps are not deep enough) and a few hours of working a piece of waste wood into shape. The clamp nearest the camera is on an arm-rest.

[Kylejames]

Hey y'all, I actually had a quick question on the tone guard I was hoping someone here might be able to answer for me.

After a few years of searching for a new mandolin, I finally got my hands on a new Pava A. I have a tone guard that I was using for my old mandolin, but it seems like its a bit too small for the new Pava. Has anyone else found that they have to use one of the larger tone gard models for a Pava?

The finish on this mandolin seems particularly delicate, so I didn't give to much effort into getting the old tone gard on there. But I was curious if anyone else had a similar experience with a Pava.

Thanks!

[Tobin]

When you say it's too small for the Pava, do you mean that the frame doesn't come all the way out to the full extent of the back? Or that the arms won't easily go around the sides?

The arms are meant to be bent to fit the mandolin body, since they are not all the exact same size. So don't be afraid to gently pry open the arms as necessary to make it slip onto the back of your Pava.

I haven't put a ToneGard on my Pava, but I do have one on my Ellis F5, and the size of the cage doesn't match the body size exactly. It's a tad smaller than the back, which is fine. As long as the pads on the cage are still over the internal ribs, it's still able to do its job of freeing the vibration of the back. Just make sure you adjust the arms so that the cage is pretty well centered where you want it to be on the back.

[Limecat]

If I could buy one here in the UK I'd get one today.

Why does nobody sell them here ?

Dave H

Dave, that sounds like your grandchildren‘s college fund calling.