The lack of evidence is disappointing, thus my picking at the point that one study on a mechanically dissimilar device is not a compendium of info. If you think a study of carbon fiber behavior done on flat sheets can yield accurate deductive results for the whole class of items made from carbon fiber, please don't build my race car. The fact that strings, wood, and frets are shared doesn't make a guitar equal or even similar to a mando or fiddle. Arched and graduated woods are not the same as "thickness sanded" plates. The compression of a graduated mando or fiddle top is obviously behaving in a very different manner than the torqued upward load of the guitar.
As for the marketing scheme, that is an obvious one, you can't prove false advertising and deception, since there is not conclusive results, they market to everyone, as profit is obviously a strong motivation.
BTW, if we want to talk about science n=6, or 60 is a ridiculously small sample size for statistical analysis.
Additionally, the study admitted that they couldn't accurately replicate strumming, so they used a hammer strike for generating data...really. Hammer used to evaluate tonal response...really.
Each of their citations for methodology was from guitar work.
They concluded that perhaps the long term effect of playing might impart a beneficial change over time...
One week of Tonerite is equivalent to a full year of gigs vibrations for a busy musician......is it the vibrations or time making the changes?
A Tonerite imparts a lot of energy into the mandolin, not sure how they concluded that the force is a small fraction of picking force.
I was dubious when I tried the treatment on my new mando, I'm a believer after hearing the results. Humans do have acute senses, even if they are easily fooled.
One thing I do know, apples ain't oranges, thus my previous comment that the guitar study belongs on a guitar forum and we need to collectively commission me to do a mando only study, and upon further consideration I want to greatly expand my proposed sample size for the study to 100 awesome mandolins. We'll sell all the Tonerites and 95 of the aged and mechanically aged mandolins at the conclusion of my work, thus recouping the costs. Brilliant! Any investors interested?
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