Tone bridge?

[Cthuba]

Did yours come with a "money-back guarantee", should it not work for me?

Hahaha. No. Neither do high end mouthpieces that people spend hundreds of dollars for . I was fortunate enough to try one before I bought it, which I would encourage.

[roweenie]

Did yours come with a "money-back guarantee", should it not work for me?

Hahaha. No, neither do high end mouthpieces people spend hundreds of dollars for . I was fortunate enough to try one before I bought it, which I would encourage.

Nothing funny about spending over $300 on something that might not work.

I've yet to see a mouthpiece sold that doesn't come with a trial period. If there is one that doesn't, you won't be seeing me spend any money on it, regardless of their claims of superiority.

Manufacturers of products that "do as they say" needn't balk at offering a trial period with a money-back guarantee.

[Three Valves]

Thanks to all you Heretics, I can't get Le Freak out of my head!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1qQ1SKNlgY" target="_blank" target="_blank

[roweenie]

https://youtu.be/h1qQ1SKNlgY

You're late to the (joke) party.....

[tofu]

Tone Bridge vs. Pet Rock

When hurled at Saxophones - Pet Rock improves group sound instantly. Tone Bridge not heavy enough to make an impact.

Pet Rock wins as the better instrument improvement device.

[Three Valves]

The dreaded Clarinet Lung??

[arpthark]

The dreaded Clarinet Lung??

I thought it was Clarinet Polka?

[Radar]

The only thing I know about these is that Steven Mead uses them on his Euphonium and endorses them. He seems to think they make a difference, and at his level you probably look for any slight edge you can get. For me it just doesn't seem worth the time and money to get them and figure out the best placement on the instrument etc.

[bisontuba]

Tuba tone intensifier from Zig Kanstul....slips over the shank of a tuba mthpce and then you insert mthpce into the receiver....FYI....

[bisontuba]

I'm pretty good at using an intense tone without even playing the tuba.

Just browse my generously-submitted posts, here.

Say no more

[timothy42b]

It is not impossible that attaching a little extra mass somewhere does something.

It IS impossible that the explanation is correct, that it transfers vibrations. That defies several centuries of acoustic science. There is just no way. (and even if you didn't believe in science, it defies common sense. If it really transferred vibrations, they would end up out of phase with the other vibrations being transferred less efficiently. But it doesn't.

And that is the dilemma that causes the flame wars. When the explanation is ridiculous, as this one is, but some people hear an effect, you have a conflict in the making.

Notice I didn't say people seem to hear an effect. I believe they really do. I also believe it is possible to hear something, and I mean actually hear it, that isn't there.

Cryo was all the rage a decade ago. People swore by it. It has quietly sneaked out the back door, I guess.

[Michael Bush]

It is not impossible that attaching a little extra mass somewhere does something.

It IS impossible that the explanation is correct, that it transfers vibrations. That defies several centuries of acoustic science. There is just no way. (and even if you didn't believe in science, it defies common sense. If it really transferred vibrations, they would end up out of phase with the other vibrations being transferred less efficiently. But it doesn't.

And that is the dilemma that causes the flame wars. When the explanation is ridiculous, as this one is, but some people hear an effect, you have a conflict in the making.

Notice I didn't say people seem to hear an effect. I believe they really do. I also believe it is possible to hear something, and I mean actually hear it, that isn't there.

Cryo was all the rage a decade ago. People swore by it. It has quietly sneaked out the back door, I guess.

Post of the day, at least.

[JCalkin]

Full disclosure: my wife works for the company that has distribution rights for the LafreQue in the US.

One of my woodwind colleagues was interested in playing with them, so my wife brought a sample case chock full of all the different sizes and metals offered (except the solid gold, those are too expensive for the sample pack).

I figured I would try them, too, because why not.

Here's the thing: I was expecting snake oil. When my wife explained what these things are and what they purportedly do, my answer was one word: "bullsh*t."

Still, in the interest of science(?) I tried strapping these things to my tubas and euphonium and playing blind trials for several of my music colleagues who were curious.

The result? I didn't perceive any difference. Nor was I expecting to. The listeners, however, noted differences in the sound, and their reports were unanimous across the board. The differences they reported were as follows:

CC Tuba: the solid silver one "tightened" up the sound very slightly. It was perceived as slightly "rounder" with perhaps a touch more projection. The gold plated silver did slightly less so. The brass ones had little to no effect.

F tuba: No noticeable difference.

Euphonium: The solid silver had an effect similar to the CC tuba, but the effect was more pronounced. This was declared the most effective use. I also tried the bigger ones on different "node points" as recommended by Steven Mead, but the only one that people seemed to notice a positive (or any) change with was at the mouthpiece.

I was surprised because, as I said, I was expecting no difference at all. I'd like to think that I was playing truly the same in each configuration because on some level I WANTED it to be bunk. I have a low tolerance for BS most of the time.

So there *may* be something to it. I'm still not a believer, but I'm at least willing to keep an open mind about it.

[Three Valves]

When my wife explained what these things are and what they purportedly do, my answer was one word: "bullsh*t."

That usually works the other way around at my house.

[Donn]

For me, the fact that people could hear a difference doesn't at all contradict your initial expectation - snake oil has too long and robust of a history to doubt that. Then the outcome where it matters what type of metal they're made of, even the plating, absolutely confirms it.

[Three Valves]

An auditory placebo effect??

[timothy42b]

How blind? Single? The listeners didn't know which was which, but you did? Is there any way to make it a double blind, maybe with your wife installing them (or not) and you not seeing?

Second, the gold standard is the triangle test. You present two types of test material three times in random order. With, without, without; without, with, without; with, with, without; etc. The listeners task is to guess which one of the three times is different at greater than chance probability. This is also how taste tests are done in the food industry.

[JCalkin]

When my wife explained what these things are and what they purportedly do, my answer was one word: "bullsh*t."

That usually works the other way around at my house.

Mine, too. It was disorienting to be on the other side of the discussion.

[JCalkin]

How blind? Single? The listeners didn't know which was which, but you did? Is there any way to make it a double blind, maybe with your wife installing them (or not) and you not seeing?

Second, the gold standard is the triangle test. You present two types of test material three times in random order. With, without, without; without, with, without; with, with, without; etc. The listeners task is to guess which one of the three times is different at greater than chance probability. This is also how taste tests are done in the food industry.

Yeah, I knew which was which, though the listeners did not. And I kind of did the triangle test, but with more options: nothing, silver one, nothing; brass one, brass one, nothing; silver one silver one, brass one, etc. I spent a solid 20 minutes with each instrument testing combinations on them, and the results among my three listeners were fairly consistent.

Was it enough of a difference to part someone from their money? Only they can answer that. As I said earlier, it seemed to make little difference on my F tuba for whatever reason, and so had I only tried that horn we would have declared that it made no difference at all.

And I didn't notice any difference from under the bell in any case, placebo or otherwise. That's why I was so intrigued by the responses I got.

[roweenie]

Full disclosure: my wife works for the company that has distribution rights for the LafreQue in the US.

Since you are "in the know" (or at least know someone who is "in the know"), I'll ask you the same question I asked Cthuba:

"Is there a money-back guarantee, should it not live up to expectations?"

If not, I will ask the next question:

"Why not?"