Kickstarter Campaign for Tonewood Amplifier

I'm backing this unique device. If anyone is intrigued please consider becoming a backer as well. They have only 19 days and more than 50% to go on their funding goal.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1878939507/tonewoodamp-for-acoustic-guitars

This device mounts to the back of a guitar (or a baritone ukulele) with magnetic strips and adds interesting acoustic effects like reverb / trem / delay directly through the instrument without any external amplifier. It just blends in with the natural acoustics of your instrument.

There will also be a effects loop so you can patch it through iOS coreaudio compatible apps to generate even more effects. If this sounds confusing, watch a couple of the available vids on YouTube.

I'm not associated with this seller, but I do hope to see this make it into real device I can try.

There are still a few available early bird discounts. $90+shipping gets you one.

really cool stuff. I hope it works as they hope it will.

Wow that is some pretty amazing stuff. Hope it is successful!

Taking into account the fact that the last kickstarter campaign I funded on UU turned out to be a waste of cash, I don't think I'll be going anywhere near this one.

Its funny I saw that the other day too, and almost posted it. But I was distracted by looking up tone wood for another thread... I am not sure how much different this would be than hooking up a mini amp and sticking it to the back of a guitar.

The Big Kahuna said:

Taking into account the fact that the last kickstarter campaign I funded on UU turned out to be a waste of cash, I don't think I'll be going anywhere near this one.

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Do you mind my asking what happened ? I have always wondered about kick start, I thought that if a project was not funded you don't pay.

The project was funded ok, but after almost a year, no "product" has appeared, and the last update was about 6 months ago. Ok, so it was only $25, but if I'd have known it would disappear down a black hole, I'd rather have given it to a charity.

Thanks for posting this one up - This is very cool :drool:

I would expect that this would also have a similar effect to the ToneRite device, in that by injecting additional vibrations into the wood body of the instrument, it would cause the instrument to 'open up' sooner and more fully than a ToneRite would - but that is just a guess...

I am really thinking about joining this Kickstarter, but I would love to try this out first, since the skeptic in me says that the audio effects you hear in all those videos are incredible easy to fake in post-production with something as simple as iMovie or GarageBand, but the optimist in me wants to believe!!!

I love the idea!

Something like this could be DIY-built from a tiny multi-effects unit like the Korg Pandora PXMINI (I own one), and something like a Dayton Audio DTA-2 (TDA2002 circuit) amp board (got one of these too), with a surface exciter or two from Parts Express, but a homebrew device would be challenged by how long your battery lives - eaten mostly by the amplifier circuit (which really craves 12v/5A to get 15w output into 4ohms)...you might be able to get by with a different amp circuit, like something built with an LM386 chip that can run on a 9v battery, but the early buy-in on Kickstarter of $90 is below the parts cost....(most of which is the PXMINI @$90 itself, the rest can be had for about $15-$20)

Even so, this is something I would see being used a lot for open-mic performances, since you do not have to plug in ANYTHING to the house PA system, and just be in front of a mic on the stage...and get some reverb/delay/etc - the guy running the PA system will really appreciate you for not messing with tons of gear both before and after your allotted 'stage' time (learned that lesson the hard way sadly, but I was young and foolish back then)

hmmm...

something huge strapped on the back of a ukulele is a nogo. interesting idea though.

I agree that for anything smaller than a baritone it world be very effective anyway. The prototype is quite a bit larger and heavier than the final design which will weight 7 ounces and be thinner as well. They also posted recently that they are working on a different magnetic mount where the rails can be placed inside the instrument body, leaving nothing attached to the finish. That was my first thought but I wasn't sure if it would interfere with the functionality of the transducing element. Apparently not, so that is good news.

They have a new mounting solution. This is what I had in mind when I first saw this device.

9 days to go and only 70% funded. I hope they make the goal or it will delay things.

Thanks for the post, I just funded my share.

Phuufme said:

Thanks for the post, I just funded my share.

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That's great! You will be happy to know they met the funding goal. I'm looking forward to eventually getting mine. I've got a couple of guitars ready to use it one. I'm planning to add a MiSi pickup to my Pono Baritone and give that a shot as well.

If anyone else was on the fence about it, there is still about 50 hours to pick one up at half retail on Kickstarter.

Cheers.

I decided to invest, my first crowd starter, $102 including shipping as an "Early Bird". I'm willing to test it out on a ukulele, can always use it on one of my guitars. Wonder what it could do for a 12 string.