NAD x 2. Fender 75 and Tonemaster Twin

[cestlamort]

I love it! I have the blonde one.

So cool. Good to hear that it’s an upgrade over the upgraded speakers.

I don’t know much about the one I picked up and how broken in the speakers are: guitar show sale of something the seller got at a Chicago estate sale. both the manual and foot switch are still sealed in bags, so no idea as to how many hours it has on it already (for speaker break in). No cover but I ordered one from fender ($25).

[cestlamort]

Update:
Pulled the speaker on the Fender 75

speaker codes
012742
1098027 (Pyle? February 77?)
approx 10 lbs.

(so upgrading to a lighter speaker is only going to save a couple pounds)

[panoramic]

I've been really impressed with the TM amps I have played but I haven't played them at band volume or anything so I am no expert by a long shot.
I did listen to some seriously extensive pieces on the Super version versus a Silverface and I have heard the TM super IRL quite a bit and really enjoy the break up on it.
As for the 75, those are some heavy amps. I have an HRD first year that weighs more though and I seriously consider selling it all the time but 1. it sounds great after i had it redone 2. I am in more than it's worth so i would lose $$$ 3. It's perfect to gig with because I don't care and it's loud.

[cestlamort]

Played the TM twin at a show for the first time. Sounded great and no complaints. It was as nice to be able to scale the power down a couple clicks, and the weight made everything that didn’t involve actual playing much, much easier than I’d expected, as load in, moving it around/off stage, etc were a breeze.

I mentioned to the sound guy that it had a direct out, and he immediately mic’d the amp (“uh, yeah: nope!”) so can’t comment there.

I played the 75 at rehearsal and it sounds really good. And is loud, even at low power. The eq is really sensitive, so still dialing it in. It sounds kind of “generic fender tube clean” which isn’t a bad thing at all (I haven’t touched the lead channel). I like it — but I think I like my other amps more, if that makes sense.

[Embenny]

Played the TM twin at a show for the first time. Sounded great and no complaints. It was as nice to be able to scale the power down a couple clicks, and the weight made everything that didn’t involve actual playing much, much easier than I’d expected, as load in, moving it around/off stage, etc were a breeze.

I mentioned to the sound guy that it had a direct out, and he immediately mic’d the amp (“uh, yeah: nope!”) so can’t comment there.

I played the 75 at rehearsal and it sounds really good. And is loud, even at low power. The eq is really sensitive, so still dialing it in. It sounds kind of “generic fender tube clean” which isn’t a bad thing at all (I haven’t touched the lead channel). I like it — but I think I like my other amps more, if that makes sense.

Does the Twin sound any better since the show?

One thing to consider when comparing a brand new amp to a 40 year-old one is that speakers break in with time (and high volume). I wouldn't expect any amp brand new out of the store to its best. You really need to clock in some hours of high dB playing for them to sound their best.

[cestlamort]

Show was just last night, so I haven't plugged it in since. (But did enjoy the ease of moving it from club > car > home > basement).
I got the Twin used (from a guy who said he got it at an estate sale), so no idea on the hours on the amp or speakers. It still has the footswitch and manual sealed in bags taped in the back of the amp (which doesn't really shed light either way other than "not toured heavily").

I'm now about 10-15 hours of playing it at volume since I've had it. Sounds good so far. Oh, and I had ordered a cover for mine from Fender, which is the same as a normal 65 twin cover. I like the heavier nylon (and embroidery) of the new stock covers vs. the screened/lighter weight ones from 10-15 years ago.

One of the guitar players in the other bands had the "normal" (silver/black) tonemaster twin, and he loves it.
(I'd prefer that color scheme, but that's just the Gothy McGotherson in me talking)

[Powdered Toast Man]

I used to own a 75 with the 15” speaker. Although many on the internet state it’s, “Rivera era”, the 30, 75, and 140 were all designed by Ed Jahns. They were the last amps he designed before he retired. And yes, they are indeed ultra linear. These were supposed to be Fender’s answer to Mesa Boogie.

The controls are active and it’s one of the very few Fender amps I’ve played that can be made to sound very bad simply through the knob settings. It’s difficult to dial in. Once you get it there it sounds good. Not great. Just good. I’d rank them to be about on par with the Hot Rod series amps except the 75 is way more difficult to set up.

It’s loud, heavy, and has a great sounding reverb. They haven’t caught on because, well, they’re not that good.

[marqueemoon]

Nice. The TM Twin seems like a good match for your sound.

Sometimes I miss being able to move more air live, but the surgical cut of a little 1x12 combo is nice.

Obviously the signal to noise ratio of a loud amp miced is significant, but I’d be curious what the difference is with using the direct out since there will be no bleed or rumble. Hopefully the person mixing is already high passing the rumble, but some stages are pretty bad.

[cestlamort]

Sounds about right. It’s a fine amp.

My back enjoys the twin more, maybe my ears too. (Neither sound as good as my Princeton Reverb).

[Mondaysoutar]

I’ve had my TM Twin (black version) for coming up on a year, use it pretty much every day for mainly recording. When I was on the amp hunt, I tried it side by side with a tube ‘65 reissue Twin and really couldn’t tell much difference, pretty much the same with the Deluxe (I got one of each version for a few days) so being able to limit the power on the TM Twin and the direct recording capability sealed the deal for me (run it at 22w mostly so a 2x12 Deluxe kinda haha).
Anyway, how does everyone who has one find the reverb compared to the tube version? I kinda flip between using onboard and pedal reverb(oceans 11 and Boss RV5), sometimes find it a bit too washy unless I’m playing something jazz orientated. I’ve not done any firmware updates on it or anything so maybe I’ll try that, but aye do folk find the reverb’s similar? All in, I’ve found them to be great amps, I’d highly recommend them man. As some others have said, after you’ve played it for a while and the speakers break in, they begin to open up a bit more.

[cestlamort]

Anyway, how does everyone who has one find the reverb compared to the tube version? I kinda flip between using onboard and pedal reverb(oceans 11 and Boss RV5), sometimes find it a bit too washy unless I’m playing something jazz orientated. I’ve not done any firmware updates on it or anything so maybe I’ll try that, but aye do folk find the reverb’s similar?

I think the firmware update is mainly to address the reverb. (And you can always roll it back / install the original version).
My blonde one has the latest firmware and the reverb is pretty much "like a twin". (Not all twins are identical, of course. I remember my band mates and I a/b'ing our two SF twins to see which sounded better. Consensus: the 1968 sounded better in general but we all liked the reverb on the mid-70s one.)

I'm probably going to part with the Fender 75 1x12. Not because it's a bad amp (it is decidedly not) but just because I somehow* ended up with too many overlapping Fenders, and I have other amps that do what I like about the 75 but do so better. (e.g., "fender loud and clean" = Super Reverb, Tonemaster twin; "fender breakup" = super; quiet and clean = Princeton reverb, Mrs. Cestlamort's Musicmaster Bass amp; ragged = Pro Jr; portability = any of them except the super; etc etc). That said, if I didn't already have some rock redundancy, I'd probably be more than happy with the 75 as primary amp: a decent clean, warm, loud, great reverb.

* "somehow ended up with too many"? It's pretty obvious how I ended up with too many: I keep buying stuff.

[Mondaysoutar]

Anyway, how does everyone who has one find the reverb compared to the tube version? I kinda flip between using onboard and pedal reverb(oceans 11 and Boss RV5), sometimes find it a bit too washy unless I’m playing something jazz orientated. I’ve not done any firmware updates on it or anything so maybe I’ll try that, but aye do folk find the reverb’s similar?

I think the firmware update is mainly to address the reverb. (And you can always roll it back / install the original version).
My blonde one has the latest firmware and the reverb is pretty much "like a twin". (Not all twins are identical, of course. I remember my band mates and I a/b'ing our two SF twins to see which sounded better. Consensus: the 1968 sounded better in general but we all liked the reverb on the mid-70s one.)

I'm probably going to part with the Fender 75 1x12. Not because it's a bad amp (it is decidedly not) but just because I somehow* ended up with too many overlapping Fenders, and I have other amps that do what I like about the 75 but do so better. (e.g., "fender loud and clean" = Super Reverb, Tonemaster twin; "fender breakup" = super; quiet and clean = Princeton reverb, Mrs. Cestlamort's Musicmaster Bass amp; ragged = Pro Jr; portability = any of them except the super; etc etc). That said, if I didn't already have some rock redundancy, I'd probably be more than happy with the 75 as primary amp: a decent clean, warm, loud, great reverb.

* "somehow ended up with too many"? It's pretty obvious how I ended up with too many: I keep buying stuff.

Ah thanks man, I’m sometimes pretty tentative/scared/reluctant with techy stuff but I’ll definitely look into the firmware update with courage haha.
I can totally relate to having too many amps, my spare bedroom currently has 6 and I have another in my workmate’s lock up. I recently was lucky enough to come into possession of a quite heavily beat up ‘84 JC120 and similarly conditioned ‘70 something Leslie 825 that’s been modded so it can be used with a guitar. Both of them’ll need quite a bit of work to get match fit, hoping to get to them, well at least the JC120, before the turn of the year.