My thoughts reg.. Tone Master Twin Reverb Blonde

[Nudger]

https://youtu.be/ZTrnkmOF3Ao
nuf said

[jthomas]

OK... how do you really feel?

[Nudger]

OK... how do you really feel?

Girls really summed it up..

Ill be more specific..
I did A/B with my 65 TWRE.
Within a hour I had swapped out the speakers for my prefered jensons, not that theres anything up with the creambacks but ive never been a fan.
To bring it closer to my TWRE the tone/mid/bass all had to come up a couple of notches.

Out of the 6 pedals that I own, only my true spring reverb seemed unaffected.
Both my fuzzes sounded sterile.

For me the biggest dissapointment is the reverb.
The reverb sounds like a convincing long decay tank, seems to go on and on.

As you decrease power/attenuator the tone gets more and more un tube like.

Yes I know! Naive of me to think it would feel/act the same as a tube amp... It does not.
It sounds like a good fender solid state amp but "up close" the feel and sound of a tube twin reverb isnt there.

Saying that... maybee hearing one in a live setting with a true spring or surfy bear youd prob struggle to tell the difference.

[DrippyReverbTremolo]

I'm going to try out a Tonemaster Deluxe Reverb & Princeton Reverb. Not expecting miracles. If it puts out the clean Fender tone I'm happy. Intending to use a Surfybear and Surfytrem.

[shoule79]

I have the Deluxe. Any differences with the DRRI were subtle and I was able to dial out most of the differences out with EQ. In a quiet room, A/B’d you can tell a difference. In a mix or without something to compare it to, not so much.

The reverb is easy to tell it’s digital.

The attenuation doesn’t bother me, it definitely feels more compressed, but still sounds good on the settings where you can get some air moving. The “feel” is also better on 10w and 22w mode.

Mine wasn’t great with dirt pedals until I did the bright cap mod firmware update. Now it’s fine. Not as good a platform as my Twin or Mesa, but better than my AC15 or Jazz Chorus. It’s about the same as my old PR was.

The pros are the weight, good sounding DI, can be run with the volume knob cranked at any actual volume, and the ability to play it at quiet volumes/silently. I like mine enough that I sold my 77 PR after not using it for a year because the TMDR was easier to grab and go and more usable at home. If I wasn’t taking size into consideration I’d have went with the Twin, I preferred it to the Deluxe.

[DrippyReverbTremolo]

I have the Deluxe. Any differences with the DRRI were subtle and I was able to dial out most of the differences out with EQ. In a quiet room, A/B’d you can tell a difference. In a mix or without something to compare it to, not so much.

The reverb is easy to tell it’s digital.

The attenuation doesn’t bother me, it definitely feels more compressed, but still sounds good on the settings where you can get some air moving. The “feel” is also better on 10w and 22w mode.

Mine wasn’t great with dirt pedals until I did the bright cap mod firmware update. Now it’s fine. Not as good a platform as my Twin or Mesa, but better than my AC15 or Jazz Chorus. It’s about the same as my old PR was.

The pros are the weight, good sounding DI, can be run with the volume knob cranked at any actual volume, and the ability to play it at quiet volumes/silently. I like mine enough that I sold my 77 PR after not using it for a year because the TMDR was easier to grab and go and more usable at home. If I wasn’t taking size into consideration I’d have went with the Twin, I preferred it to the Deluxe.

Thanks for the write-up!

[cestlamort]

I've now played three shows with the TMTR (blonde) and a handful of rehearsals, and it's... okay. Maybe more than okay.

I'm still working out the EQ to get it to sound and feel right, but as of now, I've been leaning to turning up the mid and bass more than I did on my old SF Twin. Twin was usually 6 / 6 / 4 and the TM is 5 or 6 / 8-9 / 4-5, depending on volume. I've been using it with the attenuator fully open. It sounds pretty good but just less "there" than I'd expect. It can get very loud but it never seems to get the cool "sound feeling" of a really loud Fender. (I'm not great at dialing in EQ so that could maybe be addressed there, but it just feels less "there" somehow).

I got it second-hand/used with unknown hours on it (I'm assuming really low, since the footswitch was still taped up in a bag in the back), so I may get more comfortable as the speakers break in. (I think I'm probably at 20-30 hrs at volume).

It does the trick. We backlined it for the last show we played, and the other guitarist using it sounded pretty good to great, and that's the whole point.

I've found that whenever I play it with other amps (70s Princeton, SF super reverb, Roland JC77) in stereo or a-b comparisons, I always seem to like the other amps more. But the other amps have all been played a ton. (I usually run stereo with the JC77 and SR or now TMTR. I've been considering just getting a JC40 and saving even more weight and stuff, although maybe with the same/similar shortcomings. I may also just not buy anything for once and run JC77 and Iridium direct as the stereo).

I've been thinking of the Tonemaster Twin in terms of a good Deluxe Memory Man model and the real deal. It'll work and sound good, but not quite the same. Or: it could just be 33 lbs of "good enough."

Worth repeating: It's been absolutely great to move.

[MattK]

the bright cap mod firmware update

For some reason this cracks me up - a firmware mod to model a hardware mod. Truly 21st century.
I'm all in favour of amps that sound good without physically destroying the player, sounds like Fender have gotten pretty close here.

[OffYourFace]

i think changing the speakers would be a bad idea no? Since it's digital, I would think it needs full-range speakers to get the sound across.
edit: I didn't realize these came stock with Celestion Neo creambacks. I thought they came with some Fender Special Design speakers.

I'm interested in the FR-10 or FR-12 for a DI monitoring setup.

[46346]

what's a TWRE?

Ill be more specific..
I did A/B with my 65 TWRE.

[Nudger]

what's a TWRE?

Ill be more specific..
I did A/B with my 65 TWRE.

Twin reverb reissue 65

[N0_Camping4U]

I have the blonde Tonemaster twin as well. I actually really like it. I think you can dial it in to make it sound pretty similar to a real Twin. I put a 15 inch speaker in mine and I love it even more now. I have a 61 Showman and a vintage studio bass amp that I run into a 15 inch JBL. The Tonemaster really sounds good. I sold my vintage Champ and Vibroverb and kept the Tonemaster.