Tone-Gard

[jiffyfeet]

I clicked on the Elderly Mando page link that's on the main page here, and it has this "TONE GARD for mandolin" listed. It's like a little cage that fits around the back of the mando so it doesn't rest against your body and instead is free to vibrate.

I often find myself trying to contort into various positions in order to let the back of my mando ring out like this, but it doesn't work too well. I'm wondering if anybody has one of these and what they think of it. I don't think I would want it on there all the time when I'm just noodling around, but for recording or even performances, I wouldn't mind getting that extra bit of volume and tone if it works well.

[BenE]

You should do a search on this site if the archives are still there.....Several people have them and they work great. Not to mention helping to protect the back of your instrument. Mine is missing some paint in several areas....Gotta wonder what could have done that and what the back of the mando would have looked like without the tone gard on it. I got to open for Skaggs a couple of months ago and when he finished the evening he held his mando in the air and turned it around so the audience could see the tone-gard.

[Frank Russell]

I tried one and liked it. Wish I hadn't traded it, but I was in the market for a solid tailpiece. It worked really well, left no marks on my mando, and definitely kept it away from my gutmute. I never really noticed it as far as comfort goes. Sometimes they even fit in your case while still on the mando, though mine did not. Worth the money.

[mandomood]

absolutely worth it if you do any recording and play dynamic music....will really give some depth to your playing if you have an ear for small details...

some folks are only intersted in loud and fast but playing hard all the time shouldn't be necessary...good players can back off when necessary and in those cases the tone gard really helps even more...

of course the likes of steffey and skaggs play super hard and it gives them even more of an edge on their mandos...

[Mandovt]

I have one on my Weber Absaroka and just love it. It also fits in my case while attached to the mandolin.???

[Clamdigger]

I have one for each for my two mandolins and being that the mandolins fit in the case with the Tonegard attached, I leave them on. They are great. They leave no marks on the mando and protect the back. They project the sound much better than the mandolin does when touching your chest. No just a gadget.
My 2 cents. Clamdigger

[jiffyfeet]

Well thanks everyone. I can't believe how quickly the responses came in. I am going to buy this today then.

[mpeknox]

i used one constantly when i was playing a fender fm63s and it really made a difference in the projection and volume. i have since started playing a michael kelly fs deluxe and it's a tight fit to get it into the case attached to the mando. ANYWAY, i've quit using it on my michael kelly and, fwiw, it doesn't seem to make nearly as much difference as it did with the fender. don't know the reason behind the difference but if it would fit in my case better i would still be using it.

oh yeah, they are also a great coversation piece (mando johnny)

[BenE]

mpeknox
Are you still cyber-stalking?

[Big Joe]

I've got one on my Bush. Not that it needed more volume, but it is cool. I won't put one on my Master Model. They are pretty neat and I liked them well enough to stock them in our store at Opry Mills.

[John Flynn]

oh yeah, they are also a great coversation piece (mando johnny)

OK, you guys are just baitin' me now. I have changed! I am now fully in support of the tone-cage. By thoughtfully cyber-stalking me from thread to thread, the Knox-man has helped me understand that if any player thinks he needs a gadget in order to feel like he sounds half-way decent, he should use one!

As a newly reformed, open-minded mando player, I need to be supportive of that. So I want to go on record as supporting anything anyone wants to hang, clamp, glue or screw on thier instrument. This includes catcher's masks, arm rests, walrus nuts, stun guns, vibrators, kazoos and even turn signals. It's all good... I'm sure if Mr. Monroe were around today, he'd have all that stuff.

Knox-man, thanks for helping me see the light! #

[BenE]

jflynnstl
Great post!

[Joe Parker]

Big Joe-why not on the Master Model?BTW-I ordered mine this week. I have a tone guard on my F5V and it really works great-fits in my Calton too!

JPP

[ronlane3]

So far the tone-gard is the best "add-on" that I have purchased for my F-9. I have people that are shocked at the difference that it makes.

[BigJoe]

On a varnish finish the contact points where it touches the finish will mess up the finish and not much can stop that. I risk that with my arm rest and it gives me good results with increased tone and volume.

There is an upside to using one on a varnish finish. While it will leave little marks on the places where it touches, it will protect the rest of the back from body oils or sweat. Maybe I will use one on my MM this summer. We'll see. Hope that explains why. Nothing wrong with the product or its results.

[Fuzzyway]

Yes, it does fit on the back of the mandolin. For those whose mandolin back contacts their body when they play the tone-guard will improve the sound considerably.

F.

[mpeknox]

As a newly reformed, open-minded mando player, I need to be supportive of that. So I want to go on record as supporting anything anyone wants to hang, clamp, glue or screw on thier instrument. This includes catcher's masks, arm rests, walrus nuts, stun guns, vibrators, kazoos and even turn signals. It's all good... I'm sure if Mr. Monroe were around today, he'd have all that stuff.

Knox-man, thanks for helping me see the light!

man, you slay me!!! thanks for being a good sport and cyber stalking victim. and if you know a reliable source for walrus nuts, i'd be very excited to have some for my mandolin.

[Mando Medic]

Not only did I use the Tone Gard on the Master Model Prototype #3 I had for 1 1/2 years, but Tony made a Tone Gard for my Herringbone Martin that is a killer. Same principal as the mandolin, and the instrument just rings like crazy. The best add on for the money you can buy. There simply is not another device you can buy for your mandolin that improves the sound more for the low cost of investment. It is true that if you're not careful, it will leave little marks, dark spots where the rubber insulating contact points touch the varnish, but Tony suggests that these contact points be treated with a car wax first. I instead suggest that medical tubing purchased in the fishing department of the local Bi-Mart Store be substituted for these points and that takes care of that. By the way, this medical tubing is yellowish brown is found in the fishing department and is used as the leader insulator for Sturgeon hooks.

As we get older, some of us get larger in the front and it is not as easy to keep the mandolin away from the front of us, freeing up the back and keeping the mandolin from damping the back and muting the tone and volume. This Tone Gard does that for us and allows us to play the instrument naturally with it lying across our fronts like a guitar and not having to throw the angle of the instrument at an oblique or angle from us. I don't know about you, but that just is not a natural angle for me to play at. This devise and an armrest are just great. Kenc

[John Flynn]

if you know a reliable source for walrus nuts, i'd be very excited to have some for my mandolin

Knox: I hear you can only get the fossilized walrus nuts. That's because getting fresh ones can be very, very dangerous.

[Big Joe]

There comes a time in life where one may realize you do not need to be a walrus for them to be fossilized...of course, some of us may look like a walrus....:D .

[Mando Medic]

Fossilized Walrus nut is very unique. Do you know how you get them? You-neek up on them!

[BenE]

I thought Paul was the walrus!

[GVD]

Koo koo ka choo!

GVD

[mpeknox]

ROTFL!!!

[Scotti Adams]

..absoluteley the best $65 you can spend on your mando....every player who is serious about his tone and volume shouldnt be caught without one....alot of people opt for a different tailpiece to try to capture more volume and tone...well they are looking in the wrong place....you will not get more of an immediate upshot in these areas with a TP.....get a Tone-Gard....get it..got it?....good....