New amp day - Blonde Tone Master

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Surfysonic
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Re: New amp day - Blonde Tone Master

Post by Surfysonic » Thu Nov 18, 2021 5:45 pm

N0_Camping4U wrote:
Thu Nov 18, 2021 12:34 pm
I really want the blonde Twin! Just to match the blonde Showman and Studio bass amp I put into a Showman style cab. I just don't need another amp...

How does it surf, Surfy?
Surfs fine for a blackface Fender - Twins always do great for surf and alternative for me. The Celestion NEO Creamback speakers are fine and can do a lot of stuff well.

I haven't any experience with the Jensen Neodymium speakers in the black tolex version of the Twin TM. If they're decent and interchangeable with the stock Celestion NEO Creamback speakers the blonde's come with, I'd be tempted to grab a pair of Jensen Neodymium speakers for a more Fender'y tone as I prefer Jensen speakers for surf. However, since the TM Super just came out with the stock Jensen P10R speakers, I'll likely keep the blonde Twin stock and go for the Super one day.

Surf-wise, I typically prefer a brownface amp like Bassman, Showman, Princeton, and Vibro-King. However, the the TM Twin Reverb is my play out amp for the weight reduction factor and versatility (attuenator and XLR line output). For home use, though, I play the heavier, tube beasties.
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s_mcsleazy
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Re: New amp day - Blonde Tone Master

Post by s_mcsleazy » Mon Nov 22, 2021 6:09 am

ya know, whenever i see someone talk about the tone master series, i'm always thinking "oh the weight isn't that big of an issue" then i try to lift my SF twin and kinda get it. especially since some bright spark at fender in the 70's though "carrying this amp is a 2 person job, we'll give it a single handle for homoerotic tension moments"

i'm glad you're enjoying it though. from what i've read, the tone from a VM is like 90% there
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'Are you trying to seduce me Mrs Robinson? Or do you just want me to solder a couple of resistors into your Muff?'

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Re: New amp day - Blonde Tone Master

Post by SkiffleHanded » Mon Nov 22, 2021 10:13 am

s_mcsleazy wrote:
Mon Nov 22, 2021 6:09 am
ya know, whenever i see someone talk about the tone master series, i'm always thinking "oh the weight isn't that big of an issue" then i try to lift my SF twin and kinda get it. especially since some bright spark at fender in the 70's though "carrying this amp is a 2 person job, we'll give it a single handle for homoerotic tension moments"

i'm glad you're enjoying it though. from what i've read, the tone from a VM is like 90% there
Thanks! I think any tonal difference is more than made up for by the added features and light weight in my opinion. I think it makes a lot of sense for someone like me who has no idea what it's missing. If you're just use to the real thing I can see it being frustrating learning how to get it to sound how you want or living with the fact that maybe it doesn't make the specific sound you want. I'm just not super picky, I think 90% of the real thing is great and I'll spend my time and energy on trying to learn how to play better instead of obsessing over the tone of the amp.

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Re: New amp day - Blonde Tone Master

Post by fendertweed » Sat Nov 27, 2021 10:02 am

I recently happened into one and am very impressed. A friend who is super picky and a tube maven had the BF Twin at a gig and it was impressive enough to get me to try one. Nice.

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Re: New amp day - Blonde Tone Master

Post by Veitchy » Sun Nov 28, 2021 4:28 pm

Surfysonic wrote:
Thu Nov 18, 2021 5:45 pm
Surf-wise, I typically prefer a brownface amp like Bassman, Showman, Princeton, and Vibro-King.
Tone Master Vibro-King - It's gotta happen.

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Re: New amp day - Blonde Tone Master

Post by Surfysonic » Sun Nov 28, 2021 5:28 pm

Veitchy wrote:
Sun Nov 28, 2021 4:28 pm
Surfysonic wrote:
Thu Nov 18, 2021 5:45 pm
Surf-wise, I typically prefer a brownface amp like Bassman, Showman, Princeton, and Vibro-King.
Tone Master Vibro-King - It's gotta happen.
That would be sweet! If it sounds as good as my '94 V-K, I'd grab one! 8)
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Re: New amp day - Blonde Tone Master

Post by pscates » Tue Jan 04, 2022 2:09 pm

I love those white cupcake knobs on anything (guitars, amps, etc.). And if I get one of these blonde Tone Masters, that's one of the first things I'll be doing as well. It gives it that look I love. I didn't think about replacing that logo badge, but...yeah. That too! :)

Forgive a stupid question: how do you put these white knobs on?

I don't mean "physically", I know that part. :D

I mean how do you orient them to where they make some sort of sense? I know the numbers are gone, but do you zero the pot all the way down/counterclockwise and then put the cupcake knob on with the black line...where? What's your reference point? I realize you don't need numbers if you just know you have a firm reference point in relation to "3, 6, 9 and 12" (and that upper tick mark on the amp plate itself)?

I've often wondered about this, and now that someone has done it, I'm doing some brain-picking.

On this run of these, with the blond tolex, oxblood cloth, etc., I kinda wish Fender had gone a bit further and done the work for us...like they do on those blond Super-Sonic amps of theirs. Those are fully modern amps, but they've got that cool cupcake/numbered panel look going. That would've also looked great on these blonde Tone Masters.

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Re: New amp day - Blonde Tone Master

Post by Surfysonic » Tue Jan 04, 2022 11:55 pm

pscates wrote:
Tue Jan 04, 2022 2:09 pm
I love those white cupcake knobs on anything (guitars, amps, etc.). And if I get one of these blonde Tone Masters, that's one of the first things I'll be doing as well. It gives it that look I love. I didn't think about replacing that logo badge, but...yeah. That too! :)

Forgive a stupid question: how do you put these white knobs on?

I don't mean "physically", I know that part. :D

I mean how do you orient them to where they make some sort of sense? I know the numbers are gone, but do you zero the pot all the way down/counterclockwise and then put the cupcake knob on with the black line...where? What's your reference point? I realize you don't need numbers if you just know you have a firm reference point in relation to "3, 6, 9 and 12" (and that upper tick mark on the amp plate itself)?

I've often wondered about this, and now that someone has done it, I'm doing some brain-picking.

On this run of these, with the blond tolex, oxblood cloth, etc., I kinda wish Fender had gone a bit further and done the work for us...like they do on those blond Super-Sonic amps of theirs. Those are fully modern amps, but they've got that cool cupcake/numbered panel look going. That would've also looked great on these blonde Tone Masters.
Yup, I set the pots all the way down and simply lined up the black line on the knob with the turned down pot point as best as I could. I don't think I was perfectly consistent having all the knobs set at the exact same point but I'm in the ballpark.

I had a thought as I was looking at it just now - I need to make some adjustments. When turned down, the knob line shouldn't go behind the 6 O'Clock point. I see now this is actually fairly simple to do to make them more consistent with using the line on the knob line up with the line on the faceplate due north of each knob (12 O'Clock). Of all eleven knobs, I think I actually got 2 of them placed well - the others, erm, not so much (landing more around the 5-6 O'Clock mark). :fp:

I'll make the corrections tomorrow and post a new photo when I'm done. :)
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Re: New amp day - Blonde Tone Master

Post by pscates » Wed Jan 05, 2022 3:56 am

Cool. Yeah, I’ve been wondering how I’d go about it, to where I could visually “ballpark” it, just mentally using clock numbers as my guide.

Maybe, on some future revision, Fender does the numbered plate/cupcake knob look, out of the box. It really fits the style/vibe. I think it should be a law that Fender does this on any blonde amp they release.

But, unfortunately, they don’t check with me about this stuff. :P

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Re: New amp day - Blonde Tone Master

Post by Surfysonic » Thu Jan 06, 2022 1:02 pm

Here we go, a bit better...

Image

Image

Image

Sorry for the slightly blurry photo(s) - had to keep the flash off to get clear shots.

Maybe some day I'll get another flat Fender logo to slap back on it - I don't mind the raised logo for now. :whistle:
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Re: New amp day - Blonde Tone Master

Post by mazzjaster » Sat Jan 08, 2022 6:36 am

SkiffleHanded wrote:
Wed Nov 17, 2021 5:11 am
Surfysonic wrote:
Mon Nov 15, 2021 8:22 pm
Thanks - I get that it would look more authentic with the painted numbers on the plate, but I just think of it like a classy watch with no numbers. ;)
It looks good! I think sometimes people get a little too hung up on every little detail being "correct" with vintage-inspired gear. If nailing the look of an old amp floats your boat go for it, but don't let it get in the way of enjoying your gear! For example, I see a lot of debates about things like guitar headstock shapes and unless it's REALLY ugly i could not care less as long as the guitar is comfy and sounds good.

This 100%!!!

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Re: New amp day - Blonde Tone Master

Post by mikeymike » Tue Jan 25, 2022 7:12 pm

Surfysonic wrote:
Thu Jan 06, 2022 1:02 pm
Here we go, a bit better...

Image

Image

Image

Sorry for the slightly blurry photo(s) - had to keep the flash off to get clear shots.

Maybe some day I'll get another flat Fender logo to slap back on it - I don't mind the raised logo for now. :whistle:
Looks so good!

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Re: New amp day - Blonde Tone Master

Post by Surfysonic » Tue Jan 25, 2022 8:17 pm

mikeymike wrote:
Tue Jan 25, 2022 7:12 pm
Surfysonic wrote:
Thu Jan 06, 2022 1:02 pm
Here we go, a bit better...

Image

Image

Image

Sorry for the slightly blurry photo(s) - had to keep the flash off to get clear shots.

Maybe some day I'll get another flat Fender logo to slap back on it - I don't mind the raised logo for now. :whistle:
Looks so good!
Thanks! :)
The doofus formerly known as Snorre...

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