Fender Tonemaster Deluxe...?

stickyfiddle

Barquentine said:

dazzajl said:

Barquentine said:……….
why not a master? I can't see the sense in it.

Simply because a Deluxe Reverb doesn’t have one. The idea of sticking to the recipe the way they have is either the amps biggest failure or the biggest triumph. Or both??

A DR doesn't have an attenuator either.

It's simply trying to ape a DR as closely as possible, so like a DR you'd use an attenuator to make it quieter without touching the front panel controls. In this context the "attenuator" is basically just an MV that controls the class D power amp, but is labelled as attenuation - there's no difference in reality.

merlin

I've got a twin, as I prefer the sound. Does it for me.....weighs as little as a couple of puppies in a suitcase and sounds great. Took mine to a reversal the other day. Amazeballs and titty-fu**ing genius. Love it to Gonadsville. 

dazzajl

Barquentine said:

dazzajl said:

Barquentine said:……….
why not a master? I can't see the sense in it.

Simply because a Deluxe Reverb doesn’t have one. The idea of sticking to the recipe the way they have is either the amps biggest failure or the biggest triumph. Or both??

A DR doesn't have an attenuator either.

Which is why it’s banished to the back, on that funny little cheap plastic doodah. Don’t get me wrong, I love the tone master range, cool as an snowboarding penguin but the rear dials and switches could be a bit more premium feeling. 

idiotwindow

dazzajl said:

Barquentine said:

dazzajl said:

Barquentine said:……….
why not a master? I can't see the sense in it.

Simply because a Deluxe Reverb doesn’t have one. The idea of sticking to the recipe the way they have is either the amps biggest failure or the biggest triumph. Or both??

A DR doesn't have an attenuator either.

Which is why it’s banished to the back, on that funny little cheap plastic doodah. Don’t get me wrong, I love the tone master range, cool as an snowboarding penguin but the rear dials and switches could be a bit more premium feeling. 

Yes, I was surprised at how cheap the rear controls felt – like something out of a Christmas cracker. The amp is otherwise pretty stellar.

BloodEagle

The attenuator switch on the twin feels a lot more solid than the one on the DR for the record. All the other stuff on the back in fine on both. 

Onpar

Yes I agree the back feels cheap, especially the back panel. But does it really matter. The PQ of the front is greater than the back but I mostly use the front so it's fine for me and I guess for all home players. 

BloodEagle

I dont agree that the back overall feels cheap - just the attenuator switch doesnt feel as premium as the rest of the switch, knobs etc on it.

birtner

Had a TM and a drri side by side and there isn't much in it at all. My wife preferred the TM because it "sounded like the records" whereas I preferred the warmth of the drri. I've moved on to Marshalls now but the TM actually cut through better in rehearsals than the drri. Sounded pretty stellar with the attenuator on and a treble booster in front of it also. Will definitely pick one up again in the future when the need arises.  

Barquentine

I just got a splitter cable to run two inputs of my Cub at the same time. It works amazingly well and opens up loads of different tonal possibilities - all combinations of three old Fenders of course. I can see why SRV and others ran combinations of different amps. Cost less than a fiver too.

chris78

I think it depends on what you want it for. If you’re expecting it to sound like a valve amp, sorry it doesn’t. It lacks the tube warmth, the amp doesn’t break up the same way and it just doesn’t sound as good to my ears.
However, damned good pedal platform (which really is what a deluxe reverb is about), more versatile for home and recording use. I had the black briefly and fwiw, I’d say the blonde version is an upgrade for my ears, but others may prefer the Jensen speaker

downbytheriver

I bought a TM DR really early on and gigged it for about 4 months before lockdown- absolutely loved it and sold all my valve Fenders but my attitude from the start was “when they bring out a TM Super Reverb, that’s the amp for me”. They did, it was and I then sold the DR - shame I couldn’t have kept both really. 

Winny_Pooh

I generally like Marshalls, Voxes and blackface Fender amps that are big and warm like the mid 60's Bassman etc

I tried a TM in a shop for around 30mins and ABd with a small and medium sized Supro (1x10 and 1x12).
Both Supro's had a more pleasing and characterful tone irrespective of overall frequency they emphasised. 

The TM sounded flat and bland. By a large margin I'd take an AC10 and a reverb and drive pedal.