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| The Grip-Tone: Intermediate level Instructions for Musicians by: Mike Vans Evers This patent pending Grip-Tone has recently been invented by Mike Vans Evers. This and other tonality improving devices were developed with Dee Moses, Principal Bassist of the Florida Orchestra and other musicians over the course of four years of research and experimentation. The Grip-Tone has the potential to take your instrument to the next level, whatever level it is now on, from master to student. Like with a bow, strings, or sound post adjustment, a proper match is essential for maximum results. However, unlike these previous methods, you don’t need to buy multiple products or the services of a technician to get multiple tonal variations. The Grip-Tone has a wide variety of tonal enhancement possibilities built-in. It’s like getting several better instruments. But everything has a caveat. What’s this one? You have to learn how to use the Grip-Tone. The Grip-Tone is used to enhance specific areas of an instrument’s frequency range. The normal use for this harmonic adjustment is to boost area(s) in the tone of the instrument that are weak. For example, an instrument may display a strong top end but may also be weak in the mid-range. This can be balanced by adjusting the Grip-Tone to strengthen the midrange. There are three major parts to a Grip-Tone: two fixed resonators (the wooden "clamps") and a movable resonator. The clamp allows the movable resonator to be attached to either the endpin or the flat of a tuning peg. The position of the clamp on either the endpin or the tuning peg has an effect on the resulting tonal enhancement. The position of the movable resonator in the clamp also has an effect on the tonal enhancement. It can be seen that there will be many different combinations possible. However, the basic concept behind the Grip-Tone and its many combinations is simple: length = resonance. This is the same as with an instrument’s string. The shorter/longer the vibrating length of a string, the higher/lower in frequency it resonates respectively. As one shortens the length of a resonator on one side of the Grip-Tone, the other side gets longer. This causes the shorter side to resonate at higher frequencies, and the longer side to resonate at lower frequencies. Please note: Every musical instrument has a property called “a tonal memory.” An instrument will remember the tonal ‘accent’ of the objects and devices it directly or indirectly touches while it is being played (this includes the bow, the musician, and the floor). This is why your instrument doesn’t quite sound the same after you lend it to a friend, and it takes your instrument a while to return to its normal tonality. Your friend probably isn’t your identical twin, so his or her muscles, bones, muscle tension, and bow, will “activate” a different tonality in your instrument, and the wood your instrument is made of will ‘remember’ this. In the same way, your instrument’s tonal memory will be activated after using the Grip-Tone, according to how you set the Grip-Tone up. So, when moving the Grip-Tone or its resonator to a new position, remember that you are not hearing the results from the new position by itself. You will need to play your instrument for a while to let the old tonal memory fade if you want to hear what the new position actually sounds like by itself. Suggested Grip-Tone uses:
2. Alternating areas of emphasis. This gives you twice the enhancement power, and is especially effective when used to “break-in” a new or newly repaired instrument. 3. Emphasizing upper harmonics to specifically increase clarity of pitch while practicing. “If you can’t hear it well, you can’t play it in tune.” A brighter sound may not be suitable for general use, but it will be of benefit for the purpose of perfecting intonation. Suggested locations for attachment of the Grip-Tone (s):
2. One or more tuning keys or pegs. Set-up on the endpin:
2. Place the movable resonance rod so that the length of resonator extending from either side is equal. 3. Play and listen. Give yourself several minutes to hear tonal boosting in the midrange. It is important to note at this point that every pitch has harmonics above and below the fundamental, so that boosting any harmonic segment will be audible at all pitch levels. 4. Move the adjustable resonance rod slightly away from the instrument body (1/8" to 1/4"), keeping the Grip-Tone body in the middle of the endpin, but with the copper rod at unequal lengths. 5. Repeat step 4 once or twice, and listen carefully as you play. Notice that there is a greater “contrast” between areas of enhancement as the resonator lengths become more and more unequal. 6. Move the entire device up the endpin to a position closer to the body of the instrument. Now the endpin becomes a resonator of two unequal lengths, and the smaller adjustable rod is also resonating at unequal lengths. Thus from Step 1 through Step 5 we have moved the emphasis from the midrange to an enhancement of the upper harmonics (shorter resonators) and lower harmonics (longer resonators). 7. After listening to these three basic Grip-Tone positions, it will be apparent that you can take your instrument in the tonal direction you want. Basic Position #1. Midrange position for both the Grip-Tone on the end pin and the movable resonator. Basic Position #2. High, mid, and Low positions. Midrange position for the Grip-Tone on the end pin, and high/low position for the movable resonator. Basic Position #3. High/Low positions for both the Grip-Tone on the end pin and the movable resonator. You can see that the Grip-Tone affects multiple areas of your tone simultaneously. You can vary these emphases to condition and activate all areas of an instrument’s tonal response. For example, you may wish to emphasize higher harmonics for solo playing or practicing careful intonation. In this case you will often be less interested in how the lower frequencies are affected. Or you may want to emphasize lows in orchestral playing. In this case you will often be less interested in how the higher frequencies are affected. In both cases, by changing the overall length of the movable resonator, you can optimize both the highs and the lows for those situations where this is important. However, this will be covered in the Intermediate Notes. Set-up on tuning keys or pegs:
2. The resonator bar can then be tried at unequal lengths with the Grip-Tone still centered on the selected peg. 3. The tone can be brightened by moving the Grip-Tone attachment point slightly away from the center of the peg 1/16" to 3/16". 4. Now move the Grip-Tone to another string’s peg and go through the adjustments again, always playing each adjustment to observe its effect. 5. After the Grip-Tone has been tried on all strings with all of the adjustments one can make an educated guess as to the more desirable position for your desired application. The patent pending Grip-Tone and the patented Harmonic SoundBoard allow us to enter a new era of tonal richness. Whether used to enhance a Master instrument or to enrich and clarify the sound of the most modest student instrument, these devices will revolutionize your performance, enjoyment, and perception of music. No longer will you need to feel helpless about the tonal makeup of the instrument you own and with which you create art to your heart’s content. |
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