Graham Greenbag said:
Just because we don’t understand how something works does not necessarily mean that it can’t or doesn’t work;
But there are those that
do understand how things work.
As I've said, I have a working knowledge of physics.
Here are the lines of logic from ToneRite:
One of the secrets of great sounding vintage instruments is the fact that they have been played-in for thousands of hours.
This whole premise is based on the wrongful assumption that it's proven that vintage instruments sound great
due to being played-in for thousands of hours. There's no physical reasoning that substantiates this case. By what mechanism does "playing in" improve sound?
Alternatively, there are some plausible explanations of why some instruments appear to "open up" or why vintage instruments sound the way they do:
-New instruments are made of younger wood which contain more moisture. The wood equilibriates with the environment over time, becoming a bit drier and lighter, affecting the resonating properties. If this is the case, then any perceived "improvement" in tone has nothing to do with being "played in". An instrument that is infrequently played will improve just as much as an equal instrument that is played a lot.
-As someone owns a particular instrument for longer, it appears to "open up" because they subconsciously adapt to its characteristics and nuances.
-Vintage instruments that have survived the years have done so because they sounded great to begin with, hence the owner has taken good care of it until the present day.
-Vintage instruments sound the way they do because they were made using particular materials that were available at the time, using processes which may differ from today's.
-Some brand new instruments sound excellent straight out of the box, some arguably similar or equivalent to how great vintage instruments sound.
The ToneRite accelerates the play-in process by using a set of sub-sonic frequencies to simulate the same physics as long term playing.
Simply attach the ToneRite whenever you are not playing and expect to hear a dramatic increase in resonance, balance and range after only a week's worth of use.
Subsequent treatments will help maintain your new vintage sound!"
By what mechanism do "sub sonic frequencies" make an instrument's wood perform better as a tone wood?
Especially if the core hypothesis they have built their entire spiel on is easily debunked?
Wood are dried cell walls of dead trees. They are rigid, stiff and maintain structural integrity.
Any processes that intentionally manipulate the structure of the wood in an accelerated manner is not going to magically improve the sound of the wood.
This is due to entropy.
Any "sub sonic frequency" actually powerful enough to change a wood's structure would be quite destructive and compromise the structural integrity of the wood.
That's simply not how sound waves work. They either meet the threshold of influencing a wood's structure or not.
And if they do meet the threshold, you basically have weaponised sound waves capable of destroying the wood.
The most plausible explanation of what this device does, in my humble opinion, is that it does absolutely nothing to change the wood
Whether or not they believe in their own hype... they're making money from a very loose, unsubstantiated premise.
The only claim they can really make is that the vibrations caused by the device creates an emulation as though the instrument is being played; although it is not. Kinda like stimulating your muscles with electrodes rather than actually working out. Whether this actually improves an instrument's sound, for the above-mentioned reasons I am very very doubtful