Another ToneDexter Question

[Austin Bob]

Folks,
An earlier thread about the Tonedexter has piqued my interest, and after a bit of consideration, I went ahead and pulled the trigger on ordering one today. I found a "Demo" model for $40 off with the same guarantee, so why not?

I'm still a little confused about switching between mandolin and guitar on the unit. It has different firmware for mandolin and guitar, but then on their FAQ page is says the HGH version is specifically for guitar and higher pitched instruments like mandolin and violin.

Can anyone explain this better than their website?

Bob

[dang]

One of the knobs on the front lets you select between 10 different wave maps, there is also a switch on the back that allows you to go from banks 1 - 10 and 11- 20.

If you update the firmware to the HGH version then the 11-20 bank of wavemaps uses EQs for a higher pitched instrument. 1-10 remain unchanged.

[MontanaMatt]

I might be wrong, but the low, gen, high versions of the firmware affect primarily the way the system pre adjusts for feedback attenuation...

[Austin Bob]

This is what I'm confused about. On the download section it says:

ToneDexter comes with (GEN) firmware (software that runs and resides in ToneDexter) optimized for Guitar, Dobro, Viola, Cello, Bazouki, Mandola, Mandocello, Baritone Guitar. Separate versions of software are available for (HGH) higher pitched instruments like Violin, Mandolin, Banjo and Ukulele, and (BAS), a version optimized for Upright Bass.

But when I go to the FAQ, it says:

Can I use the same firmware version for guitar and higher pitched instruments like mandolin or violin?
Yes! The high version firmware (called HGH, see the firmware download page) is made for just this purpose.

[Beanzy]

from reading those both together it would seem the guitar sits in the middle of the GEN set with the M'cello etc below and viola above.
whereas the HGH version seems to have the guitar as the bottom end of the HGH firmware settings and the rest at the upper reaches.
So presumably a mandolin & guitar player would download the HGH firmware to their unit to get the best match.

adding some bits that may be useful;

https://audiosprockets.com/support/firmware/

https://secureservercdn.net/198.71.2...e_v16_2_01.pdf

[Austin Bob]

from reading those both together it would seem the guitar sits in the middle of the GEN set with the M'cello etc below and viola above.
whereas the HGH version seems to have the guitar as the bottom end of the HGH firmware settings and the rest at the upper reaches.
So presumably a mandolin & guitar player would download the HGH firmware to their unit to get the best match.

Thanks Eoin. That's pretty much what I was thinking after reading everything twice. But you have to admit, the website does seem to be a bit contradictory.

Most of my live playing is on the mandolin, so that's what I'll mainly be using the Tonedexter for, but of course it'd be nice to use it on the guitar as well.

At first I thought you'd load both GEN and HGH firmware, and use the switch on the back to select which version you need, but I don't think that's the case now. I should have it in a few days, so I'll find out soon enough.

[Beanzy]

Yes I think you just load up the firmware for whichever version suits you to set up your soundmaps. However once you have those done it stores them seperately so you can just do a restart from the other firmware SD card you make and then it'll access those. So you could do an 'ideal' guitar version then have another one done on the HGH and not worry because it'll be able to read the soundmaps from either. but for using it on stage you'd ideally use the HGH one. The good thing is it sounds like it would be very straightforward to usean A/B switch upstream and just recall therelevant one of your 24 maps as needed. If it were me 8'd probably use the switch, just to keep my head straight about which set I was on.

One interesting use of these a friend has done is to do fiddle and mandolins using their nice recording mics, another set with their stage cardoid mics and a third with their hyper-cardoid mics. All recorded in the same space at the same time. Then if it's a very noisy stage set up they can use he hyper-cardoid mics and they come out more or less the same sound as the cardoid ones, with less feedback issues. They just need to play from a more fixed position on stage than when they have the normal cardoid mics.

[Austin Bob]

I received my TD on Wednesday, and started messing around with it on Thursday. The first thing I did was try to update the firmware, only to receive an ERR code. I looked it up online, but that didn't resolve the problem. So I figured I'd just call. That's when I found out that Audio Sprockets only takes calls if they sold it directly, otherwise you call the dealer. I did, but they are basically an online presence, and their technical folks weren't familiar with the TD, I could tell they were reading from the website, which I'd already been to. I finally got it to work by trial and error, but I think the support model is important to note, if I had to do it over, I'd buy directly from Audio Sprockets so I could get support, even if I had to pay tax.

I found the manual and instructions to be a bit lacking here and there, but like I said, I finally figured it out. It's not overly complicated, but you do have to do things in a precise sequence in order to save the maps and or delete them, etc.

The only way I have to try it at home is through my Fishman LoudBox Mini, and it does sound quite a bit better. The real test will be tomorrow at church when I plug it into the mixer.

Would I buy it again? As of now, yes, but like I said, I'd probably pay a bit extra and buy it direct.

[McIrish]

Did you find the setup procedure to be a little cryptic? Just having a look at it, it seemed like a real LCD display would have made things a lot easier for the end user. I was wondering how you felt the setup went. Did you make multiple wave maps?

[James May]

I received my TD on Wednesday, and started messing around with it on Thursday. The first thing I did was try to update the firmware, only to receive an ERR code. I looked it up online, but that didn't resolve the problem. So I figured I'd just call. That's when I found out that Audio Sprockets only takes calls if they sold it directly, otherwise you call the dealer. ....

Sorry you had some difficulty. Actually, we do take support calls from our dealer's customers, we do it all the time. Not sure who gave you the other impression. Anyway, I am happy to answer any questions anyone here may have about how ToneDexter works. Some of its features are a bit unusual, and it can SEEM complicated. But in reality, once you spend a little time with it, it is pretty simple to use.

[Austin Bob]

Sorry you had some difficulty. Actually, we do take support calls from our dealer's customers, we do it all the time. Not sure who gave you the other impression. Anyway, I am happy to answer any questions anyone here may have about how ToneDexter works. Some of its features are a bit unusual, and it can SEEM complicated. But in reality, once you spend a little time with it, it is pretty simple to use.

Thanks James, that's good to know, and it's good to see you here on this forum supporting your product! The Support page says: If you purchased directly from Audio Sprockets please fill out the form below and we will get back to you as soon as possible… Then it goes on to say: Please use this form if you purchased ToneDexter directly from us and you need support.

For the most part I think I have it working. But I want to make some more maps with the mic in different positions and playing different things so I can compare and see which is the best. I'm going to see if I can borrow a different mic as well.
Are there any specific instructions or videos for training mandolins?

And finally, I thought I read somewhere where this ran on phantom power, but now I can't find that anywhere, so I guess that was from another pedal, or I imagined it. I wish there were an option for batteries or phantom power, outlets are hard to find in old churches.

[James May]

You mando players might find this thread interesting. Jeff White is playing as much or more mandolin with Lyle Lovett as he is playing guitar. He is using a K&K in his mando and I think it sounds incredible with his ToneDexter.
https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=573383