It's been on my old Gibson A5-L for about a month non-stop. I removed it out of curiosity, thinking that after a solid month of playing with it it would be interesting to revert to the way the mandolin sounded Before Tone-Gard.
I kept it off. For about half a minute, anyway. The I put it back on, where it'll stay. No comparison.
I know there are lots of threads about Tone-Gard "believers" etc., and I'm completely non-plussed. The back of the mandolin, when in contact with the body, is dampened. When it's not in contact, isn't. How this is a matter of believing in it or not is hard for me to understand. My mando sounds infinitely better when the back is allowed to resonate.
In any event, I'm not trying to rehash any of the stuff in earlier posts, but to say that the TG, on my mando, is no longer optional. It's truly a wonderful ergonomic enhancement. It doesn't improve the mandolin, it just allows it to play at its potential no matter how you hold it. And most mandolin holding I do puts the back in contact with me. I can't imagine settling for the way lesser tone of the mandolin without it.
Related: this picture of a Vivitone mandolin — designed by Lloyd Loar — seems to try to accomplish the same thing the TG does with that raised lip around the back.
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