So These Fender Tonemasters.... Twin and Deluxe Reverb.... Thoughts ???

Wazmeister

They get some fantastic reviews...

Who has owned and/or played one ?

What are yoir thoughts ?

@handwrittenhero
@Downbytheriver
@trude
@Bintytwanger

etc

downbytheriver

Sadly I’ve had no excuse to even plug it in for nearly six months, however I am pretty much committed to it as the way forward - it does what I need and weighs sod all! I am becoming less fussy and more pragmatic in my dotage. 

I should mention that i gigged the TM DR for three months before lockdown. 

By by the way, if they bring out a Super Reverb version and I am in a position to gig (fairly remote notion at the moment), I’ll be first in the queue 

Trude

I have the Twin. Haven't needed to take it out of the studio yet, but I literally can't wait to rock up to my next Stones tribute gig and saunter on to the stage carrying it with two fingers.

It sounds as good as I will ever need an amp to sound, either in the room or direct via the built in IRs. This and a decent overdrive is all I really need now for any situation. The only other amp I'm planning on keeping is my teeny Quilter TB200 in the wedge 1x10 Blockdock cab, for when I need to squeeze my entire rig into the boot of a Mini.

So yeah, it's good. I'd still trade it for a Matchless Lightning though

HandwrittenHero

Own the TMDR, not had it outside the house, have had it cranked. I'm a fan of it, the weight is a big deal and the built in 'attenuator' is great. I haven't had a go at updating the firmware yet but really like the idea of being able to do so for variety (and let's be honest, if more models come out and somebody cracks the firmware to let you load different amps on it could be huge)

I'm really keen to see a tweed deluxe version or such down the line. I'd agree on it being the way forward, gives up a good tone, flexibility on the volume, really light to carry, no worry of carrying spare valves etc.

Teyeplayer

I’ve had my DR for 3 months now. It’s a great amp, sounds good, is light weight and does what is does really well. The straight sound is fantastic (yes, the purists will insist it’s not 100% DR, but it’s still a cracking sounding amp) and I’ve barely had my pedalboard out as a result, just plug and go. Though the times I have had the board out it has taken pedals well which is a relief. 

The attenuator works great too and is perfect for home use, I have been playing a lot more as a result, and the IRs have been a pleasant surprise, ideal when demoing ideas and just wanting the job done quickly to get a rough part down. 

All in all, I’m glad I picked one up despite the nay sayers, for me it’s a cracking amp and I can’t wait to gig it. The worry will always be reliability with something that can’t be serviced as easily as a valve amp and only time will tell on that front.

stickyfiddle

Highly tempted by one of these DRs. I've wanted a DR basically forever and as a home player it just seems a no-brainer. The other alternative is a DRRI or handwired (or homemade) with a decent load-box/attenuator but that's way more money for the same effect.

The worst write-ups I can find anywhere seem to say "it doesn't sound exactly like this all-valve DRRI at all settings" but that's hardly even criticism as you'll get similar differences between the 65 and 68, or 65 and handwired versions. 

I note you can put different firmware on to update the reverb control taper and "remove the bright cap". There are new blonde versions with Celestion Neos too.

@Wazmeister - i'd be very keen to hear your thoughts if you go for one.

Teyeplayer

One of the things that put me off a DRRI is the noise floor complaint. I gather from threads here that mods can be done to fix it but I didn’t really want to buy an amp that I felt I had to ‘fix’ from new. The TMDR doesn’t have that issue I’ve found -perhaps that’s why it’s not 100% DR?

downbytheriver

Perhaps I should expand on “committed to it as the way forward” - I’ve sold all of my valve amps (except for my Pro Junior) so I have the DR and a 5E3 Extra (solid state) as a possible wet dry rig. 

There is a sense of this being a weird place to be!  

soma1975

You don't see many Fender Cyber Twins these days do you? Surely there are some still in existence that work. 

ICBM

soma1975 said:

You don't see many Fender Cyber Twins these days do you? Surely there are some still in existence that work. 

I’m not sure I’d bet on that . They were immensely complex and seemed to be an exercise in getting as many different potential failure modes into one piece of equipment as possible...

That said, I’ve never seen a dead one - or any at all apart from new ones in shops when they first came out. The thing that always worried me most about them was physical damage to the motorised knobs.

gubble

@downbytheriver i heard a rumour you had one.

 I was going to go out to my local blues jam then the world went crazy !

xchrisv

Here’s a shootout we did last year. Personally I’d happily gig the TMDR, I thought it was really impressive. There’s probably as much difference between a valve-powered reissue and a mid-60s original as there is this pair: https://youtu.be/tmCtttruP28

Dan_Halen

Anyone used one with a band? Anything can sound decent in isolation so would be interested to know if they still sound like a twin/DR with some proper volume and other instruments to contend with. A couple of old SS amps and modelers I used to use years ago sounded fine on their own but just vanished once the band kicked in.

Wazmeister

Dan_Halen said:

Anyone used one with a band? Anything can sound decent in isolation so would be interested to know if they still sound like a twin/DR with some proper volume and other instruments to contend with. A couple of old SS amps and modelers I used to use years ago sounded fine on their own but just vanished once the band kicked in.

My question too...

Is the DR loud enough for a band ? Can it stay cleanish at volume ?

The Twin looks ideal as a live amp.

ICBM

Dan_Halen said:

Anyone used one with a band? Anything can sound decent in isolation so would be interested to know if they still sound like a twin/DR with some proper volume and other instruments to contend with. A couple of old SS amps and modelers I used to use years ago sounded fine on their own but just vanished once the band kicked in.

One of the reasons for this is midrange. When you crank up a valve amp it naturally focuses the sound more into the midrange - especially when it overdrives the power amp, because the output transformer restricts the frequency range - and that makes it sound louder relative to the mix. When you do the same with a solid-state amp it doesn’t - it either remains the same, or in fact if the power stage clips it actually produces more extreme lows and highs which scoops the sound - even if the speakers can reproduce them properly which they usually can’t - and it disappears in the mix even though it’s giving more power.

So the key to whether the Tonemaster responds like its valve equivalent is probably whether the modelling accurately reflects that natural mid boost when you turn it up.

Wazmeister

chrisv said:

Here’s a shootout we did last year. Personally I’d happily gig the TMDR, I thought it was really impressive. There’s probably as much difference between a valve-powered reissue and a mid-60s original as there is this pair: https://youtu.be/tmCtttruP28

Chris, superb video mate - demos the range of tones really well.

DNH

I’ve owned a TMDR for a while and used it at a couple of gigs and rehearsals before lockdown. IMO it is just about loud enough to give you clean cleans at live drummer volume, and certainly loud enough if you are happy to have a little ‘hair’ on your cleans. I had it set with volume at 4.5, no attenuation. We always mic up for gigs so it less of an issue for me, I just need the amp as a monitor that I can hear on stage. The balanced DI out is very handy - no mic to accidentally kick over - and the light weight is pretty incredible the first time you lift one up! Fender are also supporting the amp with firmware updates - the first one improved the range of the reverb and offered a no bright cap mod for the vibrato channel. Overall I am a fan - a great practical amp for home or live use. 

bermudianbrit

any comments on the two new ones that are out? Which speaker is better for which application, kinda thing?

downbytheriver

Well, the new TM DR weighs nearly half as much again... 33lbs vs 23lbs. That’s enough to put me off. 

gatheredinsong

downbytheriver said:

Well, the new TM DR weighs nearly half as much again... 33lbs vs 23lbs. That’s enough to put me off. 

This set off an alarm for me too. That said, this listing says 23lbs: https://www.guitar.co.uk/fender-tone-master-deluxe-reverb-blonde?gclid=CjwKCAjw4rf6BRAvEiwAn2Q76p10PZ_kr7luqjPTiI-bl4nPYZBMdpCAFwdH_mk9viZQ1rjW_cTYExoCqRQQAvD_BwE

Is there really a 10lb difference or have they just messed up the spec listings? 

Blueingreen

downbytheriver said:

Well, the new TM DR weighs nearly half as much again... 33lbs vs 23lbs. That’s enough to put me off. 

That would be batshit crazy if true given that weight was by far their most significant appeal v the originals - surely not?