Fender Tone Master Deluxe Reverb (And Twin) Review

McToot

idiotwindow said:

poopot said:

Mudcrutch said:

You tell me Lee didn’t give that amp to Dave Simpson to review for nothing??
What got up my nose was Dave saying I’ve wanted to play with one of these for ages .
Then the thank you Lee from Andertons.
All down hill after that.

what’s your issue with them?

That they are not Bax or Thomann?

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Wazmeister

@poopot ;
@Mudcrutch ;

Now, play nicely children... 

I'd be very disappointed if my thread was locked because of your ongoing spat.

Please take it to PM.

poopot

No spat here dude!... genuine question!... 

Lewy

Wazmeister said:

For me, as the OP of this thread, I still thinkmthe TMDR is an amazing amp. 

I still own mine, and its my current main home amp. To be fair, I dont think that (compared to some of the boutique brands eg. Carr, Tone King, Louis Electric etc) that the valve DR is a great amp. Its a very good one.

But the “combination of attributes” as @dazzajl phrased it, is whats makes it exceptional value for money. True, it does sound very good, and at volume too, but the finger light weight, DI out, and attenuator makes it a simple working solid delight.

I've had mine for a few weeks now and this is my exact experience....it just takes a lot of things out of the equation that you otherwise would have to divert time, energy and cash to. Don't need to think about attenuators, don't need to think about valve choice or maintenance/biasing, don't need to think about mic'ing it for live or recording. And for many, the small sound and behaviour differences between the TM DR and a valve DRRI are an immaterial price to pay. I'm actually yet to see a convincing comparison where the people doing the comparison are really trying to get them to sound the same as opposed to doing something daft like comparing the sound with the dials in the same place on each etc.

ICBM

Lewy said:

I'm actually yet to see a convincing comparison where the people doing the comparison are really trying to get them to sound the same as opposed to doing something daft like comparing the sound with the dials in the same place on each etc.

Bearing in mind that usually no two valve amps of the same model sound *exactly* the same - not even reissues, which are more consistent than the originals - whereas I would expect the TM to be perfectly consistent from one to another.

Some of it is down to pot taper, ie you can get two different amps to sound the same by adjusting by ear rather than knob position, as you say - but not entirely. I once had two apparently identical original Super Champs, which didn't sound the same. I tried swapping the cabs/speakers round, and the valves, but the difference was in the amp section - no matter what, one sounded brighter and clearer, the other middier and dirtier, and they couldn't be dialled in the same.

hotpickups

Mudcrutch said:

Dave Simpson was sent one of these to try by Lee Andertons because he’s been wanting to try one for ages and guess what ?
He loves it So  it’s staying.
https://youtu.be/KHSzC81EXfI

I think he likes it  

noisepolluter

Sorry if this has been asked before but is there any scope to add/remove reverb and bright cap on either channel? 

Lewy

noisepolluter said:

Sorry if this has been asked before but is there any scope to add/remove reverb and bright cap on either channel? 

There is a firmware update (optional) that is effectively the bright cap snip. It also tweaks the reverb to be more gradual around the dial which isn't authentic per se but is useful. 

Nothing so far to add reverb to the Normal channel

ICBM

Lewy said:

Nothing so far to add reverb to the Normal channel

One short jumper cable can do that .

I've never seen the point in modding BF/SF Fenders internally like that - it defeats the point of keeping the Normal channel 'normal' so it can avoid making fuzz and distortion pedals buzzy.

Lewy

ICBM said:

Lewy said:

Nothing so far to add reverb to the Normal channel

One short jumper cable can do that .

I've never seen the point in modding BF/SF Fenders internally like that - it defeats the point of keeping the Normal channel 'normal' so it can avoid making fuzz and distortion pedals buzzy.

I thought it was so you could have one channel without the bright cap, one with, but both with reverb and trem?

ICBM

Lewy said:

I thought it was so you could have one channel without the bright cap, one with, but both with reverb and trem?

You can't have a reverb channel without the bright cap - not the one on the volume control, the one in the reverb mixer section. It's that one which is mostly responsible for the buzz.

You can easily get reverb and tremolo on the Normal channel if you jumper to the Vibrato channel as a sidechain, without needing to modify the amp.

noisepolluter

Lewy said:

ICBM said:

Lewy said:

Nothing so far to add reverb to the Normal channel

One short jumper cable can do that .

I've never seen the point in modding BF/SF Fenders internally like that - it defeats the point of keeping the Normal channel 'normal' so it can avoid making fuzz and distortion pedals buzzy.

I thought it was so you could have one channel without the bright cap, one with, but both with reverb and trem?

That’s what I had done to my valve DR - I find the normal channel a bit dark on its own.

Can you jumped the channels on the Tonemaster, and are they in phase or out of phase?

Hattigol

noisepolluter said:

Lewy said:

ICBM said:

Lewy said:

Nothing so far to add reverb to the Normal channel

One short jumper cable can do that .

I've never seen the point in modding BF/SF Fenders internally like that - it defeats the point of keeping the Normal channel 'normal' so it can avoid making fuzz and distortion pedals buzzy.

I thought it was so you could have one channel without the bright cap, one with, but both with reverb and trem?

That’s what I had done to my valve DR - I find the normal channel a bit dark on its own.

Can you jumped the channels on the Tonemaster, and are they in phase or out of phase?

Out of phase - see page 8.

ICBM

The phase is only an issue if you set them to close to the same volume - if you’re using them for adding reverb to the Normal channel, you don’t. Turn the reverb (and tremolo intensity if you’re using that) up further than you normally would, the treble down, and keep the volume below the Normal channel.

jeztone2

Oh my god even more positivity. I think I might have to push the button. Damn. 

I wish it had a flat direct in to the power amp for modellers. But otherwise it’s perfect. I don’t own a modeller. But thinking ahead. 

But yeah. I can see one in my future. 

longjaw

Good review by Phil McKnight here:

PonchoGreg

longjaw said:

Good review by Phil McKnight here:

Yeah I enjoyed that. Of course some of the cons are a bit far-fetched if you bear in mind what it's supposed to be, but it's a pretty balanced, no-hype overview.

I still badly want one unfortunately not many coming up second-hand

russpm

PonchoGreg said:

longjaw said:

Good review by Phil McKnight here:

Yeah I enjoyed that. Of course some of the cons are a bit far-fetched if you bear in mind what it's supposed to be, but it's a pretty balanced, no-hype overview.

I still badly want one unfortunately not many coming up second-hand

There is a TM twin on FB Marketplace for £720.

dean111music

Little clip here of me playing my TM Deluxe cranked but with the attenuator right down. 

Sound is in room through a phone so not the best way. 

If you are on instagram please follow Whats the riff??

the_jaffa

dean111music said:

Little clip here of me playing my TM Deluxe cranked but with the attenuator right down. 

Sound is in room through a phone so not the best way. 

If you are on instagram please follow Whats the riff??

She lives in a dogfish egg case, you could barely call it home