Bought a Tone Traveler

[K20C]

Finally took the plunge after seeing the favorable reviews over the past year. I have a new guitar and a new-ish guitar. Hoping the TT makes a noticeable difference with both. We shall see.

First up is a new TaylorCustom GA in Maple/Sitka. The guitar defied my opinion of maple guitars. It sounds warm with amazing sustain but is lacking in volume.


RESULTS: After 18 hours….definitely louder. Confirmation bias, perhaps, but it’s not a little louder, it’s much louder. Downside is the extra volume brings out the maple sound characteristics, ie, a bit brittle on the trebles. It currently has Stringjoy strings (which I don’t like) so a string change to something else might help. I’ll wait a few days, then put it back on the TT for another session.






Next up, 2019 Ryan Nightingale with Waterfall Bubinga/Englemann. Though 5 years old, it has not been played much. Prior owner was a collector I think, so it was mint when I received it. I haven’t played it much because…well, look at it. I don’t want anything to happen to it. Too much money involved and too pretty.

This is a LOUD guitar to begin with. Several people have told me it’s perhaps the loudest guitar they’ve played. Good tone, great sustain, but it’s a bit woofy on the bottom end. I’m hoping the TT will open it up. I’ll give it about 8-10 hours on the TT. Side note, I couldn’t hear the Taylor in other parts of the house when it was on the TT but, with the Ryan, I can sense a low rhythmic resonance almost everywhere in the house. I think it’s resonating the walls or the HVAC ducts or something.

RESULTS: after 8 hours. When I took it off the TT last night I thought I detected a slight improvement. A little more focused in the mid range, no difference in trebles and little to no difference on the low E string, still a little woofy. This morning, I played the guitar some more. Honestly, if there was any improvement, it is very subtle. I’ll try another session in a couple of days.





Next up: PRS P20E, laminated mahogany back and sides, solid mahogany top. It’s about 3 years old and barely played. Barely played because it sounds pretty bad. Like a little guitar with a towel tucked into it. If the TT makes ANY discernable difference at all, then it is a miracle worker. I don’t have high hopes.

RESULTS: After 23 hours. Maybe a little sweeter. Definitely more sustain, which is easy to notice because the guitar had virtually no sustain before. Make the guitar a little better? Possibly. Transform it into a “good” guitar? Nope.





Next up: Taylor Custom GC, short scale, 12-fret, mahogany back and sides with torrified Sitka top. This is a fine sounding guitar, about 3 years old, been played quite a bit. Perfect for fingerstyle Celtic pieces. It can handle a pick/strumming if you don’t push it too hard. It is a bit on the quiet side. Let’s see what the TT can do with it.

RESULTS: after 8 hours. I didn’t expect much change with this one as it has a torrified top, is several years old and been played quite a bit. Surprisingly, I can hear a clear difference. It’s slightly louder and more responsive. I like the improvement.






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[abn556]

I have been running mine for two weeks on various guitars. After about 40 hours on my J-45 and my Larrivee Om-40R I notice a difference. It seems to make less of difference on Martins - not sure why.

One cool function is to set it for alt tunings like CGCFCE. The note tab on the menu allows you select beyond the tuning’s open string octaves, both higher and lower in pitch.

You’ll get tired of that droning sound after a while. My music room is not attached to the main house, so I could run it loud without disturbing anyone.

[Deliberate1]

I ran the TT on my new Spohn Euro Spruce over Euro Male - for about 150 hours in total. I found that it came off the machine with greater volume, "space," and resonance, especially in the bottom end. There was a point of diminishing returns. Though I am, of course, tempted to go back and give it another jiggle because, well, you know, I can....
Do report your findings.

David

[BlueBowman]

+1 on utilizing the closet space! I think everyone needs a "designated TT ROOM." For those who own them, you know why!

The TT is a well-thought out device, I think. I've gotten positive results out of at least one of my guitars (possibly two; just started running a 2023 Taylor with promising results early in the process), but it certainly doesn't work on them all. However, the fact that you can choose which frequencies to focus on means there are endless combos to experiment with going forward. It's a cool little gadget. IME, newer guitars benefit most.

Let us know how you make out with it!

[Deliberate1]

Originally Posted by BlueBowman

It's a cool little gadget. IME, newer guitars benefit most.

My experience as well.

David

[jmhill]

I initially wasn't a believe in the TT, but after seeing several reviews and talking to folks who own one, I decided it was worth the "risk" to buy one and give it a whirl.
Turned out to be one of the best guitar accessories I've ever bought.

Like others have mentioned, it is definitely most noticeable on new/newer guitars.
I have it running on a new Larrivee Simple 6 OM right now, and only after about 10 hours of run time, it definitely has improved the sound. Looking forward to seeing what some more time under the TT will do for it.

Good luck with yours. Let us know how it goes over the next week or so.

[K20C]

Based on your experiences, how long should I run it? I’ve read reviews that mention everything from 8 hours to 150 hours. I assume longer is better but there must be a point of diminishing returns.

[abn556]

Originally Posted by K20C

Based on your experiences, how long should I run it? I’ve read reviews that mention everything from 8 hours to 150 hours. I assume longer is better but there must be a point of diminishing returns.

I have put roughly 50 hours on my new J-45 Koa and 2023 Larrivee OM-40R and I notice a definite difference in the sound. Those are the two guitars that I notice the most obvious change in. On other guitars like a new D-41 and a 2 year old 000-18, I notice some change, but not as much. For some reason that I don’t quite understand, I see the least amount of difference in the two all mahogany guitars that we have. One is a Martin and one is a Gibson so it is not a brand thing.

Also - I have been running the guitars on the TT for 5-10 hour intervals as the manual suggested as an FYI.

[dilver]

Anyone try a Tone Traveller on a guitar with a torrefied top? I’m assuming it would at least make some difference as the back and sides and bracing would be affected. Anyone try it?

[BlueBowman]

"I can sense a low rhythmic resonance almost everywhere in the house."

Yes, this is what I was referring to in my post above. It's not so much the volume, but rather that constant "drone" that I hear. If your brain keys in on that drone note, then you cannot get it out of your head, no matter where in the house you are! I had some success by turning the guitar towards the wall opposite the door. And you can put something on that wall to dampen the sound, though I would think with the clothes you'd be ok.

Glad you're already getting results! A good sign

[abn556]

Originally Posted by BlueBowman

"I can sense a low rhythmic resonance almost everywhere in the house."

Yes, this is what I was referring to in my post above. It's not so much the volume, but rather that constant "drone" that I hear. If your brain keys in on that drone note, then you cannot get it out of your head, no matter where in the house you are! I had some success by turning the guitar towards the wall opposite the door. And you can put something on that wall to dampen the sound, though I would think with the clothes you'd be ok.

Glad you're already getting results! A good sign

Its like a pipe organ stuck in a dissonant chord.

[Moldstar]

Didn't one of the users here show that the tone traveler removes bass, and adds mids, or some such? I find it so funny that lots of people will take the monetary plunge to engage in expensive emperor's new clothes sort of activities, but then people who ask for input on polishing, or fixing dents, which is a real thing, and can be done, and success can be shown through empirical results, get yelled at. What a weird world.

[BlueBowman]

Originally Posted by abn556

Its like a pipe organ stuck in a dissonant chord.

That's a great way to describe it.

I've always thought that the company should offer some type of "dampening cover" to sell alongside the device. I almost made one of cardboard and foam: four sides and a top that gets placed down right over the guitar. But I've managed to find easier solutions.

For those thinking of purchasing a TT, I don't want to oversell how bad the drone is; there are times I set it, walk away and don't even notice it. There are ways to manage it.

[abn556]

Originally Posted by Moldstar

Didn't one of the users here show that the tone traveler removes bass, and adds mids, or some such? I find it so funny that lots of people will take the monetary plunge to engage in expensive emperor's new clothes sort of activities, but then people who ask for input on polishing, or fixing dents, which is a real thing, and can be done, and success can be shown through empirical results, get yelled at. What a weird world.

There was a good thread that provided a bunch of analysis on the tone traveler. My experience over the past two + weeks of the TT running 24/7 is not that it takes away bass. If anything it seems to mellow the high treble end more than mute bass. My experiment is not finished. My two guitars with the highest hours only have 50-60 total hours. What is to be determined is if the changes that I hear will survive a string change. I can see that certain strings, like the A in standard tuning seem to really vibrate a lot. I’m curious to see if the unit is changing tone by wearing out strings or if there is an actual change to the tonality of the guitar.

[EnsgnOfIndustry]

I would imagine that if there were universal and consistent benefits manufacturers would be “pre-seasoning” guitars before shipping them out, no? Kind of like pleking or breaking in speakers like some boutique companies do.