Fender Tone Master Deluxe Reverb amp.

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Bango_Rilla
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Re: Fender Tone Master Deluxe Reverb amp.

Post by Bango_Rilla » Sat Jul 16, 2022 5:10 pm

Been playing a Tonemaster Deluxe Reverb for a while now (2 years?). Great gigging amp, it's definitely different than the 90's tube DR that I have. In a perfect world, I'd put a different speaker into the TM just to give it a hair more character, but overall zero complaints. Played through a Super Reverb today at a shop and it was great too - just more power than I need.

Tube DR goes in the studio, Tonemaster DR gets gigged.
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Re: Fender Tone Master Deluxe Reverb amp.

Post by Mondaysoutar » Sun Jul 17, 2022 12:23 am

I ended up returning mine, difficult to put my finger on it, but just not what I was after. The reverb and tremolo are both sensational as I said previous, plenty loud too. It’ll be the wiring in my flat, but it was noisier than my already a wee bit noisy tube amp. Ill try the Twin version at some point, defo needing another amp soon.

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Re: Fender Tone Master Deluxe Reverb amp.

Post by shoule79 » Sun Jul 17, 2022 1:15 pm

^^^

Too bad. Mines quiet. About the same as my PR at idle, quieter than my AC15 and Mesa.

Found out I’m on Bass duty next weekend too, so won’t get to debut it for a couple more weeks. Going to try some direct recording until then to learn it’s kinks.

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Re: Fender Tone Master Deluxe Reverb amp.

Post by DeathJag » Mon Jul 18, 2022 6:43 am

shoule79 wrote:
Sun Jul 17, 2022 1:15 pm
Aren't the blonde and black Tonemasters both voiced to the AB763?

Since these have come out, have real blackfaces gotten any cheaper?

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Re: Fender Tone Master Deluxe Reverb amp.

Post by shoule79 » Mon Jul 18, 2022 11:28 am

DeathJag wrote:
Mon Jul 18, 2022 6:43 am
shoule79 wrote:
Sun Jul 17, 2022 1:15 pm
Aren't the blonde and black Tonemasters both voiced to the AB763?

Since these have come out, have real blackfaces gotten any cheaper?
To my knowledge they are based on the AB circuit. The differences between blonde and black are the speaker (Jensen vs Celestion) and cosmetics. The big difference for me was the Celestion's did better with the amps dirt, and none of the blondes did the farty, muddy thing a couple of the black ones did. The black one I bought (and a couple of the others I tested) sounded a hair more like the DRRI's than the Blonde.

Biggest differences overall that i've seen between these and the tube ones are bass/low mid response is different, I don't see myself having to back off the bass when I crank it either, and the tremolo is more consistently good (stronger than vintage one's i've owned). Shot out between my 70's PR and the TMD in 12 watt mode, I could get them more or less identical with a few tweaks of the eq. Feel wise its different, but not terrible.

Next step for me is seeing how it sounds direct, because that's why I bought this amp in the first place.

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Re: Fender Tone Master Deluxe Reverb amp.

Post by DeathJag » Mon Jul 18, 2022 2:18 pm

shoule79 wrote:
Mon Jul 18, 2022 11:28 am
DeathJag wrote:
Mon Jul 18, 2022 6:43 am
shoule79 wrote:
Sun Jul 17, 2022 1:15 pm
Aren't the blonde and black Tonemasters both voiced to the AB763?

Since these have come out, have real blackfaces gotten any cheaper?
To my knowledge they are based on the AB circuit. The differences between blonde and black are the speaker (Jensen vs Celestion) and cosmetics. The big difference for me was the Celestion's did better with the amps dirt, and none of the blondes did the farty, muddy thing a couple of the black ones did. The black one I bought (and a couple of the others I tested) sounded a hair more like the DRRI's than the Blonde.

Biggest differences overall that i've seen between these and the tube ones are bass/low mid response is different, I don't see myself having to back off the bass when I crank it either, and the tremolo is more consistently good (stronger than vintage one's i've owned). Shot out between my 70's PR and the TMD in 12 watt mode, I could get them more or less identical with a few tweaks of the eq. Feel wise its different, but not terrible.

Next step for me is seeing how it sounds direct, because that's why I bought this amp in the first place.
Ah! Well that makes sense. In fact I'm waiting for the "speakers are 80% of you tone" movement to start. I have too make speakers but I always have to turn down the bass no matter what amp I'm playing.

Hey! In 2002 I went through London with my pal's band Trail of Dead, and Explosions in the Sky opened for em - where you there? Haha! I loved London, kind of a perfect little town. In fact it reminded me of Olympia, where I wish to move.

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Re: Fender Tone Master Deluxe Reverb amp.

Post by shoule79 » Mon Jul 18, 2022 2:48 pm

I was! My wife and I were reminiscing about that show recently. Trail of Dead were great (that and every time I saw them) and I’d never heard of Explosions in the Sky before and they won me over quickly. I still have an old threadbare tshirt from that show.

Small world.

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Re: Fender Tone Master Deluxe Reverb amp.

Post by DeathJag » Mon Jul 18, 2022 2:56 pm

Cool!! That was a tremendous show. I shot video of it, you're probably on that tape! Wherever it is. Do you remember a skinny Jewish looking guy shooting? Before that tour I had also never heard of Explosions, in fact I wasn't even aware of the genre of instro post rock! I too really dug it and now have a big post rock collection.

Before the show I was walking around town and the explosions guys were getting shit from these little brats! These little young boys, maybe not even teenagers, we're totally hassling the guitar player (Munof). I walked up and said this guy will kill you so you better watch out, and then the kids went away. I'm not a fighter at all but I can give off a "crazy" kind of vibe, I guess? The only rude Canadians I met on that trip!
Last edited by DeathJag on Tue Jul 19, 2022 8:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Fender Tone Master Deluxe Reverb amp.

Post by shoule79 » Mon Jul 18, 2022 5:27 pm

Yeah, I’ve seen them 4 times and that was the best, with the one where they played on the floor at that club (Call the Office RIP), when they were touring Worlds Apart (I think) a close second. I was pretty close at that show so my wife and I are probably on the video. I’d hate to see how skinny I was and how much hair I had back then, lol.

Sorry you had to see the ugly side, there is a surprisingly large amount of racists here for a city where most of the ridings go liberal or ndp (democratic socialist). Theres been a few major incidents here the past couple years that have made the news. Mostly on the fringes, but rural areas outside London have become antivax/freedumb convoy hot spots the past couple years. Different vibe than 20 years ago unfortunately.

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Re: Fender Tone Master Deluxe Reverb amp.

Post by shoule79 » Wed Aug 03, 2022 12:21 pm

Got to take the TM out for a real spin. Some thoughts:
  • 12W was more than enough for me with the amp set to 5.5 to play with a band
  • In the mix on stage it was impossible to tell it wasn't tube
  • The DI sounded...like a piezo almost. Ended up not going through the PA
  • I went from a 250 style OD, back to a Blues Breaker type. The lows on the DR are nicer than my SFPR, so I needed something that cut them a bit.
  • My back thanked me
The Piezo thing surprised me, I've been digging it as a DI solution. Its made demoing and arranging parts really quick and easy, having the amp always hooked up to the computer. Some of it may be the PA, will spend some more time with it and try again next week.

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Re: Fender Tone Master Deluxe Reverb amp.

Post by stilwel » Wed Aug 03, 2022 4:32 pm

shoule79 wrote:
Wed Aug 03, 2022 12:21 pm
Got to take the TM out for a real spin. Some thoughts:
  • The DI sounded...like a piezo almost. Ended up not going through the PA
The Piezo thing surprised me, I've been digging it as a DI solution. Its made demoing and arranging parts really quick and easy, having the amp always hooked up to the computer. Some of it may be the PA, will spend some more time with it and try again next week.
What setting did you have the rear panel Cabinet Sim switch set to?

Position 1 of that 3-way switch is "Flat" which has no cabinet IR on it. It's meant to be completely flat, so you can run into your recording setup and load your own IR within your DAW. This position was never meant to be used for going direct live and will absolutely sound terrible for that use case.
Position 2 is a Shure SM57
Position 3 is a Royer 121

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Re: Fender Tone Master Deluxe Reverb amp.

Post by shoule79 » Wed Aug 03, 2022 4:36 pm

stilwel wrote:
Wed Aug 03, 2022 4:32 pm
shoule79 wrote:
Wed Aug 03, 2022 12:21 pm
Got to take the TM out for a real spin. Some thoughts:
  • The DI sounded...like a piezo almost. Ended up not going through the PA
The Piezo thing surprised me, I've been digging it as a DI solution. Its made demoing and arranging parts really quick and easy, having the amp always hooked up to the computer. Some of it may be the PA, will spend some more time with it and try again next week.
What setting did you have the rear panel Cabinet Sim switch set to?

Position 1 of that 3-way switch is "Flat" which has no cabinet IR on it. It's meant to be completely flat, so you can run into your recording setup and load your own IR within your DAW. This position was never meant to be used for going direct live and will absolutely sound terrible for that use case.
Position 2 is a Shure SM57
Position 3 is a Royer 121
P2 as the Shure. Tried P3 too, was about the same. P1 was way worse due to no IR.

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Re: Fender Tone Master Deluxe Reverb amp.

Post by MrShake » Thu Aug 04, 2022 3:45 am

You know, I'm no purist, but I generally like my analog circuitry, overall. Tubes, solid state, whatever. That said, whatever tool gets someone where they want to be is a-OK in my book, and it sounds like these are awesome. I'll admit, having come up in the early days of digital, I have skeptical residue, but it seems like a real breakthrough with these.

Having lugged two amps totalling about a hundred pounds to a 40 minute show this week, the idea of something small and light that gets there tonally sure is appealing. My now 40-year-old back agrees.

Hope y'all are enjoying these, it's been good reading!

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Re: Fender Tone Master Deluxe Reverb amp.

Post by Sleeptime » Wed Aug 17, 2022 8:02 pm

I’ve got to say I’m intrigued. I’ve been running tube amps into load boxes and into IRs for a couple years now and love it through my monitors or headphones for at home playing. I’d love a light solid sounding combo for times out of the house when a head/2x12 would be to much.

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Re: Fender Tone Master Deluxe Reverb amp.

Post by daemon » Thu Aug 18, 2022 5:47 am

Just did a gig over the weekend and couldn't be happier. It's a breeze to carry around and sounds great with or without pedals. I have no regrets whatsoever about selling my DRRI for this baby.

Image

After hearing mine, my bandmate actually bought the Tone Master Twin and is selling his AC30, which he loved.

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