What’s It For?
The Tone-Gard™ is designed to isolate the back of the instrument from the player’s body, producing more volume and deepening the tone.
You can test the concept right now without a Tone-Gard™. Face a wall about a foot or two away, to allow the sound to bounce back directly to you, and play your instrument normally. After you are used to the sound, hold the mandolin by the neck so that the back of the instrument is a couple of inches away from your body. Now try playing a couple of chops. Go back and forth, against and away from your body, and you will notice a difference. You will hear a difference just hitting one chop and letting it ring while holding against you, then away.
In addition, the back of the instrument is less likely to get worn, dinged, or scratched when a Gard is on. You can, and should, leave the Gard on all the time. It fits in almost all cases, including Calton™ cases. See FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS.
Who The Heck Needs It?
Many prominent mandolinists — including David Grisman, Ricky Skaggs, John Reischman, Chris Hillman, Roland White, Radim Zenkl, Andy Statman, Mike Marshall, Dana Rath, Tom Rozum, Eric Thompson, Emory Lester, and many others — use and recommend the Tone-Gard™ to get the best sound. See PHOTO GALLERY for endorsements and photos of lots of players. Because I’m a mandolin player, I originally designed the Tone-Gard™ for mandolins, but guitar, ukelele, and other stringed instrument players are discovering that Tone-Gard™ gives them a boost too. Read some REVIEWS AND COMMENTS.
What Models and Designs Do You Make?
The two Gards pictured above are both Standard designs: the DecoGard™ (left) and original SunriseGard™ (right). Because of the spring arms at the waist and tail, they adjust to fit any Gibson™-based mandolin that fits a standard A or F case. The VintageGard™ fits mandolins that are slightly larger. I also make a special Gard for Rigels™, adapted for the rounded sides and particular body shape. I make a standard D-Gard™ for dreadnought guitars. Custom sizes are also available for other mandolin-family instruments, guitars, ukes, etc., and I can custom-make a Gard to incorporate special designs. See FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS for size info. Lots of examples are shown in the PHOTO GALLERY. The prototype Accordion-Gard eliminates all bellow movements.
What Is It Made Of?
Standard Tone-Gards™ are now made of laser-cut steel with a ceramic powder-coat. They have more pads, which are directly glued on to prevent loss. Vintage, Rigel, and custom Gards are handmade from mild steel, sprayed with a durable high-gloss paint, and have older-style pads. All surfaces that come in contact with the instrument have rubber and leather pads where needed to protect the instrument’s finish. The only maintenance is occasionally to apply a little instrument wax or Pledge™ or similar product on the rubber-pads to prevent deterioration. The rubber pads can also be easily replaced if necessary.
