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A Tonedexter II Demo in Live Gig
I played a four hour gig over the weekend and thought I'd share a quick video showing the Tonedexter II in action in a loud bar "real life" setting. Listen with quality speakers or headphones to get a more accurate sound demo.
I installed a Schatten HFN passive pickup into this guitar only a few days before. I trained the Tonedexter the morning before the show. I plan to record more IRs with this guitar to experiment more, but this was literally a one and done training session. I have the best luck recording in the low position pointing off axis at the soundhole. I used a cheap Sterling Audio ST131 Small-Diaphragm Mic I got at Guitar Center for $40 on sale. I have the best results with the small diaphragm mics. The video sound quality isn't great with a little distortion since it's just a quick iPhone video, but it gives you an idea. I also had the vocals a little hot so they drown out the guitar a bit, but it sounded great in person. My only regret is I didn't grab my Olson SJ (seen in the background) for this James Taylor song. The Olson also has a Schatten HFN pickup and sounds incredible through the Tonedexter. And if you're wondering, I create the vocal harmonies using a TC-Helicon Play Acoustic pedal that I turn on and off with an external footswitch. I don't use any of the guitar settings on the Play Acoustic pedal and only use it for the vocal harmonies. My PA is a Bose L1 Compact with a secondary powered speaker added on a stand. Here is my pedalboard setup:
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Olson SJ (Cedar & Indian Rosewood) Applegate SJ (Tunnel 14 Redwood & Madagascar Rosewood) Custom Lowden Style F50 (Sinker Redwood & Madagascar Rosewood) Custom MJ (Cedar & African Blackwood) Eastman E40 OM Taylor 816ce Builder's Edition Taylor GS Mini Mahogany Taylor T5 Koa “The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time.” –James Taylor Last edited by aschroeder; 04-25-2024 at 01:24 PM. |
#2
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Sounds good! However, if that's a loud gig then I am not sure what you would call the venues I play at lol. It is nice to hear the TD II in action but this is still pretty intimate in that it's a single guitar. For me, IR's stop working well in a busy setting with multiple instruments. I still say that the Aura is the only one I have tried that truly cuts through the mix.
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#3
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What I end up doing is adjusting the wet/dry setting depending on the type of venue I'm playing. Really loud venues I go more "dry" so it is much more of the pickup. Intimate settings I go with a much wetter IR tone. But even with the setting at 25% IR 75% pickup it still makes it sound much more natural. Even in a rowdy bar. The Tonedexter is really a Swiss Army knife that can quickly be dialed in for a number of scenarios.
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Olson SJ (Cedar & Indian Rosewood) Applegate SJ (Tunnel 14 Redwood & Madagascar Rosewood) Custom Lowden Style F50 (Sinker Redwood & Madagascar Rosewood) Custom MJ (Cedar & African Blackwood) Eastman E40 OM Taylor 816ce Builder's Edition Taylor GS Mini Mahogany Taylor T5 Koa “The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time.” –James Taylor |
#4
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You have a great voice!
Personally, I think that you could perhaps have come down a bit on the overall volume at the venue, particularly as the crowd got thinner. Even in a loud bar, if you are there as background live music, then it is not a bad idea to keep the volume down. No point in "competing" with a crowd who are essentially there to talk to their friends. The guitar sounds nice. Perhaps a little "immediate" with some boom on the bass. I have played similar Friday night bars just using a mic'. That corner you were sitting in probably would have worked for me using a 58 for voice and 57 for guitar. If the back wall had been softer then a single lcd could have been OK but you would have lost the ability to use the vocal harmony peddle. Here's my friend Nick Broster using a single mic' at a small Friday night bar gig. You can't get a more natural guitar sound and balance than this (Gibson L-00). The pa is a pair of Bose columns, one each side of the stage. iPhone recording. The concept of the IR is to get that mic'd guitar timbre in a live setting. So, if the gig will allow, why not just try a mic' first? By keeping the overall volume down it is possible to draw the audience in.
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I'm learning to flatpick and fingerpick guitar to accompany songs. I've played and studied traditional noter/drone mountain dulcimer for many years. And I used to play dobro in a bluegrass band. Last edited by Robin, Wales; 04-24-2024 at 01:06 AM. |
#5
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#6
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Good performance.
If you’re going for a totally natural sound (I don’t always) then the higher frequencies and initial transient of the note (and where they overlap) is a bit intrusive. Some EQ taming or fast acting compression (or both) could pull the guitar back behind the vocal while retaining it’s character and musicality. You may find that doing that means you can ease off the bass a touch without losing punch.
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Give a man a fishing rod... and he's got the makings of a rudimentary banjo. |
#7
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Sounds great! Nice job keeping the song down-tempo. I enjoyed that performance.
You HAVE an Olsen SITTING RIGHT THERE and you played a JT song and didn't grab it? Lol. Very nice and tasteful use of the harmonizer. Are you using fingernails? Bare fingertips? Hard to tell. |
#8
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In a perfect world I would just mic my guitar. But I do play in some loud bar settings, and this venue was much busier earlier in the night. My goal with the Tonedexter is to have a rig that gets me close to a mic'd sound, but I'm able to use it in a variety of settings. Quote:
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I play with my fingernails. In the past I used bare flesh/nail for fingerstyle and a pick for strumming. Then I switched to Tiptonic removable nails for both fingerstyle and strumming. Earlier this year I decided to get my nails done at a salon (nail Dip) and they are so durable I can strum and fingerpick with my nails now. I'm not a huge fan of using a pick, so this has been a great solution for me.
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Olson SJ (Cedar & Indian Rosewood) Applegate SJ (Tunnel 14 Redwood & Madagascar Rosewood) Custom Lowden Style F50 (Sinker Redwood & Madagascar Rosewood) Custom MJ (Cedar & African Blackwood) Eastman E40 OM Taylor 816ce Builder's Edition Taylor GS Mini Mahogany Taylor T5 Koa “The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time.” –James Taylor Last edited by aschroeder; 04-24-2024 at 08:12 AM. |
#9
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#10
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Excellent work and the sound is quite natural and equally well done. As observed above, this was what I'd call an inattentive crowd, but not especially loud.
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"I go for a lotta things that's a little too strong" J.L. Hooker |
#11
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I wish you could edit post titles because "loud" was a poor description. The bar was very loud earlier in the night. But during this video there was a lot of people talking, but definitely not a rowdy, loud bar.
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Olson SJ (Cedar & Indian Rosewood) Applegate SJ (Tunnel 14 Redwood & Madagascar Rosewood) Custom Lowden Style F50 (Sinker Redwood & Madagascar Rosewood) Custom MJ (Cedar & African Blackwood) Eastman E40 OM Taylor 816ce Builder's Edition Taylor GS Mini Mahogany Taylor T5 Koa “The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time.” –James Taylor |
#12
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You can edit titles, just click on advanced on the edit screen. By the way, loved the performance, vocal and guitar tone! I too, play in loud environments…but by the last set it calms down a bit.
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#13
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Thanks for the tip! I've been a member of the AGF for almost 20 years and it never once occurred to me to click the "Go Advanced" button.
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Olson SJ (Cedar & Indian Rosewood) Applegate SJ (Tunnel 14 Redwood & Madagascar Rosewood) Custom Lowden Style F50 (Sinker Redwood & Madagascar Rosewood) Custom MJ (Cedar & African Blackwood) Eastman E40 OM Taylor 816ce Builder's Edition Taylor GS Mini Mahogany Taylor T5 Koa “The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time.” –James Taylor |
#14
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Anyway, I thought you nailed the JT song. pretty awesome. As well as showing how the Tonedexter shapes the guitar sound. Thanks! |
#15
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I've gone through countless different preamps and pedals over the years and can't say enough about the Tonedexter. It has so many ways to adjust the EQ for the pickup and IR that you can really dial in your sound. It really simplified my pedalboard since I don't need additional EQ pedals. This is only my second gig using it, so still learning as I go. But even in a loud setting you can dial back the IR in the wet/dry blend setting to still work well. Even with a small amount of IR added it makes the tone much more natural. Plus the Schatten HFN pickup already sounds good without an IR, as it has much more natural midrange that a traditional piezo undersaddle.
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Olson SJ (Cedar & Indian Rosewood) Applegate SJ (Tunnel 14 Redwood & Madagascar Rosewood) Custom Lowden Style F50 (Sinker Redwood & Madagascar Rosewood) Custom MJ (Cedar & African Blackwood) Eastman E40 OM Taylor 816ce Builder's Edition Taylor GS Mini Mahogany Taylor T5 Koa “The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time.” –James Taylor |