Tonegard

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.

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.