Fender Tone Master Deluxe Reverb

Evo

Can anyone comment on the amount of clean headroom? I'm looking for something that'll do a good clean all the way up to gig volume. 

I know that the twin will definitely do it, but if this will do that nice, thick fender clean in a smaller package then I'd rather take the 1x12 option. Not a lot in it though, so if the deluxe starts to break up too early then it's gonna be twin all the way

downbytheriver

It depends what you think of as gig volume but in my experience this amp stays clean to louder than I need - think blackface rather than tweed (maybe even Silverface - my favourite). If you want earlier breakup you can turn the attenuator down. It says 22 watts as the max but I understand that it is actually nearer 100 watts (that’s solid state 100 watts not valve!)

downbytheriver

noisepolluter said:

I want a Joe Walsh pedal now. 

Strongly recommended - it is a high spec compressor along with a classic amp in a box (sounds like a tweed Deluxe to me - not super high gain but very tasty). I’ve been using it for a long time. I might consider moving it along for a Duelist but it would probably be a mistake! 

ICBM

downbytheriver said:

It depends what you think of as gig volume but in my experience this amp stays clean to louder than I need - think blackface rather than tweed (maybe even Silverface - my favourite). If you want earlier breakup you can turn the attenuator down. It says 22 watts as the max but I understand that it is actually nearer 100 watts (that’s solid state 100 watts not valve!)

It doesn’t necessarily mean it has more headroom - you might need as much as 100W in Class D with a switch-mode power supply to replicate the full dynamic range of an overdriven 22W valve amp. There is no actual difference in the ‘type of watts’, but the power stage has to remain completely clean and simply amplify the simulated power stage overdrive.

My experience is that for real-world performance you need about twice the power of a valve amp with a Class AB/transformer power supply solid-state amp, and up to four times for Class D/SMPS.

That actually means that the Twin version might be a bit underpowered compared to the valve version, since it’s only 200W - but it probably won’t be too far off. My guess is that most people won’t be buying it for it’s full-power overdrive sound anyway...

bermudianbrit

any comments on how it takes pedals? I have been known to run an Angry Charley through a fender for high gain tones on occasion.

thomasw88

I tried one today.  It was quite good.  I've had a couple DR's before, and I preferred both of them to this. didn't sound overly valvey to me.
I also prefer my quilter (toneblock and problock) from a solid state perspective.  
The fender did look nice tho - I'll give it that!

downbytheriver

Ok, I found something I didn’t like about it - the sound when the power is turned down is more broken up. This without touching anything else. It doesn’t bother me as I would only ever use it in full whack. But at least I found something. 

ICBM

downbytheriver said:

Ok, I found something I didn’t like about it - the sound when the power is turned down is more broken up. This without touching anything else. It doesn’t bother me as I would only ever use it in full whack. But at least I found something. 

I don't think I've ever played any amp with 'variable power' - whether that's a digital one, analogue solid-state, or a valve one with power scaling - that doesn't sound best with the power turned up full and the master volume turned down to the same final volume.

downbytheriver

ICBM said:

downbytheriver said:

Ok, I found something I didn’t like about it - the sound when the power is turned down is more broken up. This without touching anything else. It doesn’t bother me as I would only ever use it in full whack. But at least I found something. 

I don't think I've ever played any amp with 'variable power' - whether that's a digital one, analogue solid-state, or a valve one with power scaling - that doesn't sound best with the power turned up full and the master volume turned down to the same final volume.

I would say that, other than my Lazy J, I agree with that

Fenderman53

Anyone A/B 'd the Fender Tone Master against a Roland Blues Cube Artist, which was touted as a 'F' style digital but 'valve' sounding amp too?

downbytheriver

I didn’t A/B it but I did buy a Blues Cube once and absolutely hated it. The TMDR is a very different beast. 

xchrisv

Here’s another shootout for your consideration! After spending the day with the Tone Master I’d gig it without any worries – sounds and feels very close to the ‘real thing’. In full-power mode it was actually slightly louder, too, although speaker efficiency is a factor. Certainly louder than you can get away with any gig I play these days, including outdoor festival stages in the summer.

https://youtu.be/tmCtttruP28

robmac5150

ICBM said:

I thought Amp 1 sounded much better than Amp 2, especially for the heavily overdriven sound at the end, although also on the cleanest sound at the beginning. The tremolo on Amp 2 (6'38" onwards) was particularly poor.

The Princeton is somewhere in between the two, but is a quite different sound.

So overall I would take Amp 1 in the Deluxe shootout.

(No spoiler for those who haven't watched it yet.)

I agree on that.

Blueingreen

robmac5150 said:

ICBM said:

I thought Amp 1 sounded much better than Amp 2, especially for the heavily overdriven sound at the end, although also on the cleanest sound at the beginning. The tremolo on Amp 2 (6'38" onwards) was particularly poor.

The Princeton is somewhere in between the two, but is a quite different sound.

So overall I would take Amp 1 in the Deluxe shootout.

(No spoiler for those who haven't watched it yet.)

I agree on that.

Me too. 100%.  Surprisingly (not because I expected to prefer the other, but because I didn't expect to have a clear preference).  I do think having the settings identical, while understandable in one way, introduces an artificial element.  In real life you'd tweak your amp to get the sound you liked, and I doubt the settings would be identical.  So irl they will sound more alike.

On the vintage v modern shootout, I was much less clear.  The first time it switched from modern to vintage I thought, yes I prefer the vintage, but then when it switched back I thought, no I like that sound better, and I kept having the same reaction, each time it switched amps I usually liked the new sound slightly more. Evidence these tests are kind of limited: random stuff probably affects your response more than the actual tonal differences a lot of the time, like whether it's the first or second time you heard the lick or whatever.  But both sounded great (in fact even my missus paused in what she was doing to say the guitar sound was great).

What it reinforces for me is the sense that we can get lost in obsessions about stuff that doesn't matter.  Of all the factors that are going to make a listener decide whether he likes your playing or the music you're making, any subtle differences between these amps are of absolutely negligible importance.  So I'll have the cheaper and much lighter one please.

BintyTwanger77

I tried one recently, and it’s great. I was a DRRI owner and it gets very close to the real thing. I would also advise trying one with a not-too-squishy compressor. Just lovely, and very light. Definitely a future consideration.

zepp76

I have just read a review on these amps in The Guitar magazine and think they’re great I really would like the twin. I’m looking forward to seeing more of these popping up on YouTube to tease me. I might have to go on a bit of a cull to afford one, only time will tell if the GAS hits hard!

Teyeplayer

My next amp purchase needs to be one of these, I’m yet to be dissuaded. 

zepp76

My local guitar shop is completely sold out, they have said they are extremely popular. They are going to email me once they get more in which is in January. I can feel the GAS trying to bubble up!

Funkfingers

zepp76 said:
they are extremely popular. I can feel the GAS trying to bubble up!

I can understand why an amp that can serve for gigs, bedroom practice and home recording would be well received. Perhaps, it is time for Fender to resurrect the Princeton Recording Amp (or something quite like it)?

ICBM

Funkfingers said:

Perhaps, it is time for Fender to resurrect the Princeton Recording Amp (or something quite like it)

but massively less ugly and looking less like a DIY bodge with a 19" rack unit hacked into the front of a perfectly good amp.