Post by Maxwell on May 11, 2017 17:59:32 GMT
I bought a PrimeVibe several months back, primarily to see if the damn thing did anything... I am curious as hell about some things...
The PrimeVibe is similar concept as the ToneRite, the both vibrate the instrument.
They both are a bit controversial to some folks in the some say it does nada, some say it works miracles. I wanted to see for myself.
The ToneRite clips on the strings and vibrates the strings which vibrate the guitar. I had seen it used on acoustics but it is available for many string instruments.
It just vibrates, very similar to a little aquarium air pump. It keeps the strings under constant vibration which in turn vibrates the guitar.
The PrimeVibe is similar in concept but with a big difference. Think of a small headphone amp with two transducers that are not speaker cones as such but silicone pads.
YOU supply the signal from MP3 player, radio, whatever. I use a netbook running Linux streaming Smooth Jazz radio 24/7 to it....
My setup I've used on my electric guitars and basses: I have a square foam pad bigger than a guitar body both X and Y directions, a couple inches thick.
I have a recycled cardboard box insert for like a stomp box or something about that size with a rolled microfiber cloth on top to support neck right where it joins body.
I place the guitar FACE DOWN with the neck supported only at body junction so the neck and head is suspended into free space.
I put one transducer close to the end button, the other as close to neck heel but still on body.
Fire up the streaming music, crank the PrimeVibe to about 8.
Process/Findings
- When I have it fired up, I stand beside it and listen to volume, which is not very loud at all...transducers, not speakers. The body is more of the speaker than the silicone pads.
- I then feel the vibration of body, neck, head, with hand lightly on it, long enough to memorize magnitude. At first, really ain't that much, and it ain't loud or even clear at all, radiant sound.
- I let it run around the clock straight (spare bedroom)
- Each day it do all the tactile checks and stand with my feet in the same spots, evaluating volume.
After 24 hours, not a great deal of change in either volume or vibration. They are a bit stronger but a minute amount. Vibration at first is usually a strong kick drum or brass stab as far as feeling it.
After about 48 hours, volume is noticeably louder and vibration in neck/head stronger. Each day both increase more noticeably.
After a week running 24/7, I can hear the music from my recliner in the living room while watching tv. The neck and head vibrate like crazy to about everything.
Plugging in the guitar/bass, there IS a noticeable difference. They are more alive, brighter and fuller.
The most radical difference was with the Steinberger bass. Bear in mind, it is all maple NECK-THRU with maple wings so the transducers, even though on the body back, are actually sitting on the neck blank itself. It is also a relatively brand new bass. The changes were more radical with it.
What I think:
The constant vibration DOES change the body to a small extent (we're talking solid body) and it is noticeable after several days.
The necks seem to change radically, whereas at first, there is little vibration coupled from the body through whatever neck joint is there. After several days, the neck and head vibrate like hell.
Is it magic? No. Not even a little bit.
Is it impressive? Yes. A lot to me.
Vibration is displacement of something periodically in alternating phases. Something MUST move if it vibrates, whether on the atomic/molecular scale or big enough for displacement to be visually observed. Think vibration in a steel rail vs vibration of a bass string or clothesline. Something MUST move as it is waveforms.
I think the 24/7 vibration that is constant 100% of the time is 'breaking-in' the guitar at a super pace. The most break-in occurs in the neck. An old guitar that has sat for years and NOT played is pretty much gonna sound the same. A guitar played like hell for years is gonna be alive... Playing them makes them sound mo better.
Does a brand new speaker sound the same at "new" vs. a hunnert hours of playing time on it? Hell no. Why? Breaking-in. Cone (which is ALL the paper) has to limber up and get used to "being vibrated"....
Does a new speaker cab sound the same after a hunnert hours playing time? Nawt. Speakers and wood. (talking real wood) Why? Same reason...
Running 24/7 constant for a week is a helluva lot of playing time if one does the math. Example: When I played 5 or 6 nights/week house club gigs, It was usually 3 to 4 sets at 45/15. A 45min set is NOT 45 minutes constant playing... think it out.... Four sets of 45 in one day ain't 24hrs skrate either. See the picture?
Am I glad I bought it? Yes, without a doubt.
It ain't magic. IMHO it breaks-in a guitar quick, fast, and in a hurry, on a grand scale.
Did I evaluate by myself? The daily checks, yes.
Radiated volume, myself,and my wife bitching on each guitar after about three days of 'treatment' because she could hear it so well in the living room.
Before and after? No. All of us up at the shop played them before and after without me saying much of anything... My tech was most blown away at the Steinberger...as I was....
There are folks on both sides of the fence on these two contraptions. I couldn't care less. I tested it myself. Don't much care what others think...
Ok, Resident Redneck Test Munky shutting up now...
The PrimeVibe is similar concept as the ToneRite, the both vibrate the instrument.
They both are a bit controversial to some folks in the some say it does nada, some say it works miracles. I wanted to see for myself.
The ToneRite clips on the strings and vibrates the strings which vibrate the guitar. I had seen it used on acoustics but it is available for many string instruments.
It just vibrates, very similar to a little aquarium air pump. It keeps the strings under constant vibration which in turn vibrates the guitar.
The PrimeVibe is similar in concept but with a big difference. Think of a small headphone amp with two transducers that are not speaker cones as such but silicone pads.
YOU supply the signal from MP3 player, radio, whatever. I use a netbook running Linux streaming Smooth Jazz radio 24/7 to it....
My setup I've used on my electric guitars and basses: I have a square foam pad bigger than a guitar body both X and Y directions, a couple inches thick.
I have a recycled cardboard box insert for like a stomp box or something about that size with a rolled microfiber cloth on top to support neck right where it joins body.
I place the guitar FACE DOWN with the neck supported only at body junction so the neck and head is suspended into free space.
I put one transducer close to the end button, the other as close to neck heel but still on body.
Fire up the streaming music, crank the PrimeVibe to about 8.
Process/Findings
- When I have it fired up, I stand beside it and listen to volume, which is not very loud at all...transducers, not speakers. The body is more of the speaker than the silicone pads.
- I then feel the vibration of body, neck, head, with hand lightly on it, long enough to memorize magnitude. At first, really ain't that much, and it ain't loud or even clear at all, radiant sound.
- I let it run around the clock straight (spare bedroom)
- Each day it do all the tactile checks and stand with my feet in the same spots, evaluating volume.
After 24 hours, not a great deal of change in either volume or vibration. They are a bit stronger but a minute amount. Vibration at first is usually a strong kick drum or brass stab as far as feeling it.
After about 48 hours, volume is noticeably louder and vibration in neck/head stronger. Each day both increase more noticeably.
After a week running 24/7, I can hear the music from my recliner in the living room while watching tv. The neck and head vibrate like crazy to about everything.
Plugging in the guitar/bass, there IS a noticeable difference. They are more alive, brighter and fuller.
The most radical difference was with the Steinberger bass. Bear in mind, it is all maple NECK-THRU with maple wings so the transducers, even though on the body back, are actually sitting on the neck blank itself. It is also a relatively brand new bass. The changes were more radical with it.
What I think:
The constant vibration DOES change the body to a small extent (we're talking solid body) and it is noticeable after several days.
The necks seem to change radically, whereas at first, there is little vibration coupled from the body through whatever neck joint is there. After several days, the neck and head vibrate like hell.
Is it magic? No. Not even a little bit.
Is it impressive? Yes. A lot to me.
Vibration is displacement of something periodically in alternating phases. Something MUST move if it vibrates, whether on the atomic/molecular scale or big enough for displacement to be visually observed. Think vibration in a steel rail vs vibration of a bass string or clothesline. Something MUST move as it is waveforms.
I think the 24/7 vibration that is constant 100% of the time is 'breaking-in' the guitar at a super pace. The most break-in occurs in the neck. An old guitar that has sat for years and NOT played is pretty much gonna sound the same. A guitar played like hell for years is gonna be alive... Playing them makes them sound mo better.
Does a brand new speaker sound the same at "new" vs. a hunnert hours of playing time on it? Hell no. Why? Breaking-in. Cone (which is ALL the paper) has to limber up and get used to "being vibrated"....
Does a new speaker cab sound the same after a hunnert hours playing time? Nawt. Speakers and wood. (talking real wood) Why? Same reason...
Running 24/7 constant for a week is a helluva lot of playing time if one does the math. Example: When I played 5 or 6 nights/week house club gigs, It was usually 3 to 4 sets at 45/15. A 45min set is NOT 45 minutes constant playing... think it out.... Four sets of 45 in one day ain't 24hrs skrate either. See the picture?
Am I glad I bought it? Yes, without a doubt.
It ain't magic. IMHO it breaks-in a guitar quick, fast, and in a hurry, on a grand scale.
Did I evaluate by myself? The daily checks, yes.
Radiated volume, myself,and my wife bitching on each guitar after about three days of 'treatment' because she could hear it so well in the living room.
Before and after? No. All of us up at the shop played them before and after without me saying much of anything... My tech was most blown away at the Steinberger...as I was....
There are folks on both sides of the fence on these two contraptions. I couldn't care less. I tested it myself. Don't much care what others think...
Ok, Resident Redneck Test Munky shutting up now...
