Audio Sprockets ToneDexter

ToneDexter is the new preamp for acoustic guitars, mandolins, violins, and more that restores the missing body sound to an instrument’s ordinary piezo pickup.

Play for just a minute with both a mic and your pickup plugged in while ToneDexter trains and learns what to do. Then, put away the mic and smile as you play through a pickup that really does sound just like a mic.

Since our announcement last year and introduction of the first prototypes, we’ve worked hard to re-engineer it for greater affordability and make it even easier to use. We are proud to say we’ve accomplished our mission, and are now shipping!

ToneDexter restores the rich body tone of your acoustic instrument to the pickup using proprietary digital signal processing technology combined with a pristine analog signal path. Audio Sprockets has created a way to learn the difference between the sound coming from the pickup and the sound coming from a microphone, placed in front of the instrument, and use that information to create a transformation they call a WaveMap. Think of it as charting a course from point A to point B.

When you first get your ToneDexter, you do a one-time training session with both a mic and the pickup plugged into ToneDexter. This way, ToneDexter can listen to both signals simultaneously and learn the difference between the two. By playing for about a minute, ToneDexter figures out how to simultaneously correct for the pickup’s deficiencies and restore the missing body tone to the pickup signal, and creates the WaveMap. With a simple press of a button, ToneDexter stores that WaveMap in one of the eleven available preset locations. You can then put the microphone away and enjoy beautiful, lifelike sounds from your guitar, violin, mandolin, or other acoustic instrument.