Groove Tubes Fatfinger

See Overall section

See Overall section

See Overall section

See Overall section

See Overall section

Okay, this is an odd review, as it is a pre-purchase report on the PRINCIPLE of this device.

Not wanting to blow $25 on a bogus item, I decided to test the FatFinger (FF) idea with several axes and amps.

The FF (for guitars) is 3.2 oz or 90.72 grams. I work in a research lab so plenty of multi-purpose double clamps were available to weigh out to find one that was 90.72 grams and then "borrow" to test at home.

I took my "lab-made" faux-FF clamp-thing home and started the test. I used an Epiphone LP Studio copy, played clean, straight into a Peavey 212 Classic Chorus, a Peavey VavlveKing Royal 8 and a Hartke 2115 bass amp. I played notes fretted and open string with and without added headstock weight. I even added and removed weighted clamp while note was ringing to inspect any tonal change.

I also repeated the above on a Fender California Series Start.

Results: To untrained ears and/or ears wanting distortion & overdrive -- there is perhaps, to them, no discerned difference. To my ears, playing since 1967, seeking sustain, tone, with warmth, richness and resonance -- the difference a weighted headstock made on the Epi was obviously superior. Warmth, sustain, fullness, overtones and a certain "oomph" was clear -- cool! That Epi gained a sound approaching a tricked-out Gibson LP. The Strat showed less pronounced tonal sustain and "boost" -- perhaps the headstock design is weighted enough and instrument quality is nearer to "right", whatever that is. Unknown . . .

So the FF as made by Groove Tubes being more specifically designed for the purpose -- than my clamp-thingee -- should DEFINITELY enhance many axes' tone and sustain.

As I found, some guitars will show more improvement than others and thus the negative and so-so reviews here.

I think I will grab myself a FatFinger now and try it on all of my 20+ axes. Surely, one or two of them will ring truer and longer.

Ok, it's just a piece of metal. Don't know wich features may have...

I've tried the guitar-sized model on many guitars, both acoustic and electric and that's what I finally think about it: this toy DAMPEN the natural vibration of the guitar and REDUCES harmonic complexity!
While its effect may seem a sligth increase of roundness and volume, this happens at the expenses of harmonic complexity and overall tone.
The not so obvious thing I concluded after using it for a while is that good instruments already have a properly balanced mass of the headstock.
I imagine the "fat finger" can be useful for inexpensive and dull sounding guitars lacking homogeneity along the neck, but it is dangerous on good vibrating instruments, esp acoustic.

It seems durable. It will last potentially forever in my hands, as I will never use it again.

If you are a refined tone fanatic, don't buy it, it simply doesen't work.
If you don't like the sound of your guitar, don't buy it, it will not make miracles.
If you have a guitar that you find too inhomogeneous along the neck and you put volume and "roundness" over harmonic complexity, this may help.
Basically at the GT factory they presume guitar manufacturer have not properly done their homework. Sadly this is often true.

They've only been chrome for as long as I've used them.

The fatfinger isn't as dramatic as an effects pedal and that might be where 'some people' are having issues. It most certainly does add sustain, resonance, and a certain vibrant quality that your guitar did *not* have before. You may have to play with it for a few minutes and then remove it in order to feel the effect if you're not used to paying such close attention to your instrument. When used correctly the results are well worth the investment: I had originally purchased one for my backup/Drop-D guitar because it weighs substantially less than my main instrument (lighter density mahogany, shorter scale and no carved top)and could use the enhancement. The very first thing I noticed was an enhanced overall resonance, as if the guitar had just gained an extra octave (think of adding a subwoofer to a PA/stereo system)and sounded more vibrant, so much in fact that I eventually removed it from that guitar to use on my main PRS. Now PRS guitars are acknowledged far and wide as being top quality instruments (it seems as though every guitarist that can afford one, plays one) and they're certainly not lacking in tone, sustain or resonance. And yet I still obtained such an enhancement that it has not moved from the headstock in over 5 years. Happily, my alternate tuned guitar is now also adorned with a FatFinger.

Remember: great products sound great when used correctly.

Clamps on every guitar if you're willing to try hard enough. Like many others I also removed my truss rod cover, but later found I could fit the FatFinger under the strings with the cover on if I mounted it properly. Yesterday I had one on a fender acoustic that appeared to have zero room to accommodate it, yet a careful slid between the strings and truss rod cover was all it required.

Forgot your hammer? Pound that nail in with your guitar if you have a FatFinger mounted.

Customer support shouldn't even be a question here.

I just bought another one last week.

Chrome. That's about it for features.

Think of your strings vibrating as a game of jump rope, but the taller and more-capable roper is the body of your guitar, the jumper being the music, and the headstock, being toneless, is a smaller, less-capable person. The rope will not swing correctly, as preferred, around and around, since the other side is severely lessened. So the headstock-hold of the string is less alive, and the truer vibrations from the strings are predominant above your pick-ups, because the vibrations there are closer to a mass it can continually react to and feed from. Well, this little mass enables the vibrations of the string to resonate more evenly across the entire length of the string, almost waking up the woods in the body, and of course, this truer vibration is picked-up and amplified.

One can also think of it as one of those novelty lever devices for a desk with a rectangular tank filled with blue liquid that teeter-tots on a fulcrum to simulate ebb and flow. Without the Fat Finger device, there is less flow from the ebb, and the wave induced from the picking or strumming would deaden upon itself sooner because it has no choice but to travel back to the bridge.

BUT... you can buy yourself a capo and permanently affix a fishing weight of 1-1.5 ounces, to bring the total weight to compete at 3.2 ounces (3.8 ounces for bass guitar); and its placement, as compared to the Fat Finger, will be more versatile for 3/3 tuner-style or odd-shaped headstock guitars.

N/A.

N/A.

N/A.

This certainly does solve something that has gone over-looked, or rather, under-heard. Something so simple, non-electrical, non-invasive, and affordable really does cause a very noticeable and pleasurable effect. And yet I've found an even more versatile and cheaper solution can be created.

Mine is chrome and of coarse it just clamps on the head stock of your guitar. Real simple

First does it actually work? Yes Absolutely! I have had this gizmo for a few years and have used it on different guitars. On a Ibanez RG570, small head stock basswood body, it makes a huge difference. Without it the guitar sounds a bit dull and doesn't sustain as well. On my MIA Strat, larger headstock alder body, the difference is subtle. I am getting a Tele in the next few months and I am quite sure since it has a small head stock it will benefit from the Fatfinger

Very durable after years of use

I have been a gigging musician for over 30 years and fussy about my tone. I even built my own tube amp. My observation is that this device works according to wood and headstock and maybe what type of bridge. Is it hype? NO! Does it really work? Yes! To varying degrees depending on the factors I mentioned.

Silver, Metal, clamps onto your headstock. Pretty chrome finish.

I am in a cover/original band and gig out about 4 to 5 times a month in the major club scene in CT, USA. We play everything from soft rock to heavy metal. I have a Stratocaster with EMG single coil Pickups (The Dave Gilmour System). I was looking for more sustain, better tone, and fullness to my sound. I went to Guitar Center to buy it for around $25 dollars, curious to see if the product review rang true.

At my first gig I tried it, and I was very satisfied with the results and my purchase. Notes sustained like crazy during solos (ala John Sykes - This guy has the greatest sustaining guitar I ever heard using a Les Paul, and I get this from a strat, emgs, and the fat finger), and the rhythm sound was more pronounced, fat and in your face. One thing I noticed big time was when I played artificial harmonics they were more pronounced, sort of like Zack Wylde (Ozzy) would play. The high E and B string are much different now then before, sort of like switching from a strat to a Les Paul sound.

I really have no gripes!

For all those who say it doesn't work really have no experience with guitar tone. I've been playing for 15 years,played many guitars, and I am like Eric Johnson, I complain about the littlest subtleties in my tone.

Pretty Silver Chrome Finish. Well crafted.

I am sure you could chuck it against the wall and nothing would happen to it (maybe the wall wouldn't like it)

I don't think it would be necessary to contact them. Never did.

The idea is to clamp this onto the head of your guitar in order to increase sustain and eliminate dead spots. It fits nicely on Fenders with the 6-on-a-side layout. For the 3/3 arrangement on Gibsons etc. it's less easy to do. I found putting it on the very end of the head makes it very hard to balance the instrument. I removed the truss rod cover and put the Fat Finger between the nut and the first two tuners. Works o.k. that way.

It really does the job. My guitars (vintage Gibson 335 and LP jr.) react considerably different with different sets of tuners. The (repro) Kluson Deluxe that I use are really lightweight, the sound is woody and airy but lacks a little sustain sometimes. Putting on the Fat Finger adds some weight, exactly like progressing from Klusons to a set of Waverly tuners. The sustain increases and the guitar sounds a little more compressed overall. The great thing is you can easily remove it, even between songs during performance if you like. Grovers, which a lot of people like, are even a little heavier than the Kluson/FF combo I use, and Schallers add up considerably more weight than that (resulting in a dull, unlively response IMO).

Won't break I guess

I play a lot of jazz and blues but occasionally have to rock out. Generally I think that the lighter the hardware the better the tone. The Fat Finger works allright, it's more than a gimmick and gives me a good alternative when I need a little more sustain without having to install a different set of tuners.

N/A

I use it on my Yamaha pacifica 311MS. Sweet guitar, but there was a dead note/wolf note (i dunno wats the correct term) on the B string 10th fret (the note would hang on a while then fade to a thin harmonic). I bought the Bass Fat finger n clamped it on the 'P' of the word Pacifica on the head stock and the dead note is now gone! i was sceptical about the fat finger but im convinced now. You gotta clamp it tightly and touch the fat finger as u play. It should resonate and vibrate strongly when u play. I notice that unplugged my tele now sounds louder than before.

N/A

N/A

N/A

Now here's my gripe. I haven't use other teles before but i have 2 Pac 311MS and both of them seem to have a balance problem.. same as SGs that the neck seems to be heavier, and putting the fat finger on it exacerbates the problem. its ok for sitting down n playing, but if u need to stand up and play, and sling the guitar low for flair hehe... the fat finger gives u more tone but at the price of the balance. Its best to bring ur guitar to the shop, clamp this baby on n see if you can comfortably play with the added weight on the headstock.

The manual explains the utopic effect (Long sustain)

There's NO Sound

NEVER !!!

N/A

I play the Blues and 70's rock'n'roll. I use an American fender Stratocaster and a Laney Amp (all tube). The FAT FINGER N O T increases the sound nor the Sustain.
It's a very nice "Adorn" to any Guitar or Bass Guitar !!! Serious !!!

The manual explains the theoric function, but in the pratical therms don't works !!!

The Fat Finger not depends to a specific setup. The promess is a long sustain to any String Instrument. I bought it cause i've seen Joe Satriani using one Fat, but he's sponsored to use that...

NEVER!!!

N/A

I play Blues and 70's Rock'n'Roll.
Hey. somebody there wants a beauty "adorn" to put in the Guitar's headstock ??? Then buy one FAT FINGER !!!!