Best stage pedal for live mandolin

Looking for advice on the best stage pedal for live mandolin. Currently using LRBaggs passive pickup.

Depends what you want it to do.

ToneDexter?

What pickup? (The Radius requirement is a very high input impedance.)

Fishman Platinum Pro is what I use, and it works great for what I do. Not an effect pedal, just a really good preamp. My pickup is K&K Twin.

You might have to specify what you're looking for:
Like: A good preamp, An FX pedal, need to mute and/or boost via footswitch?

Redeye or Tonedexter. Depends on what your sound requirements are, and availability of either unit.

I have a K&K Twin in my mando. I use the Baggs Venue and get everything I need for stage-readiness. Great tone shaping, easy to see tuner with mute, adjustable boost for solos.

OP has not weighed in, so I'll just do a slight digression and point out that it seems like Tone Dexter production has ceased, at least temporarily. From the website:

Due to a worldwide shortage of computer chips following an unprecedented demand due to Covid related supply issues, we have been unable to manufacture any new ToneDexters through our normal production channels, all of our dealers have now run out of stock. We are currently working hard to resolve this issue.

I just happened to look, because I've been curious, and they do actually have a mode where the 1/4" input can present 10MΩ, and I found exactly one for sale on Reverb for $715!

It's curious that Baggs' VoicePrint does not have a high impedance mode, since it's their pickup that needs it. And, they have discontinued the belt-clip line of pre-amps which had the high impedance input, leaving just the Para DI for floor use. I'm glad I grabbed one of the last GigPro units they had at MF, but have been curious about the IR solutions, since I always liked the Aura system that was in the Martin guitar I used for many years.

the magnetic pickup electric players probably have more options & ongoing arguments
as to what's 'best'.
[& their own sub forum : https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/f...ing-Electrics]

Acoustic ? maybe just a foot mute switch for the soundboard pickup,
to kill the signal while you retune.

:popcorn:

For K & K, I owned the dedicated preamp but found out that it add some colour to the sound so I used to plugged passive in my old Trace Acoustic amp when possible and was safisfied with the sound this time. After enquiry, it seems that the Trace Acoustic preamp input impedance what a perfect fit so O bought an old Trace Acoustic TAP-1 preamp/DI box and itfots the bill perfectly.

I swore by my Baggs Venue as the special sauce for my Rigel. Then I used the Boss AD-10. It does everything the Baggs did (yes, it's gone), better, with more features and options that actually matter to a musician on stage...or in the studio. This is the only Boss pedal I own; on my electric board the RV-5 couldn't leave quickly enough, and the TU-2 was replaced by something else. IMO it is simply light years above and beyond any near-peer in terms of functionality and capacity, including some of the excellent gear mentioned above.

Brentrup M23 -> K&K Twin -> Red Eye

I tried a Tonedexter but it always sounded too harsh and brash. After weeks of fooling around with it, making multiple wavemaps with multiple mics of varying degrees of quality placed at dozens of angles, and four or five gigs, I just gave up. I like the sound from the RedEye better.

FWIW, microchip shortage more-or-less stopped all Tonedexter production back around January. Good luck finding one...although if you check on Reverb in the next week or so you might find one for sale from a mando player who just never quite clicked with the thing ;)

Brentrup, K&K twin, Red Eye. I get compliments all the time on the sound of my mandolin, it works for me.

Nice to see people are still discussing a topic raised by somebody who joined over nine years ago and has made only one post!

I haven’t exhaustedly used it yet, but I have very positive initial impressions of the Radial AC Driver. Very clean tone, with a mute button, high pass filter, and notch filter for feedback.