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having sought advice from the forum re roland blues cube artist artist or fender deluxe reverb tone master I opted for the fender (blonde ) as you can figure. my old amp was seymor duncan 60 watt convertible ( deceased), I'm not much on reviews but here I go , plugged a guild star fire 1v with 54- 12s, and guitar controls all on 10, amp settings bass 5 treble 5 volume 5 attenuator at 5 w after a couple of chords my major critic( my wife ) just turned around and said " that's lush, that is lush" dial in some reverb and it got better, been a long time since i plugged into a reverb valve amp and it brought back memories, I don't care if there's no glass inside, this amp is sweet and as a n amp for jazz thats subjective, me thinks it'll handle any genre, my imagination maybe, but I placed a couple of kilos of weight via rice bags inside the amp made the amp sound even better , the foot switch is a nice extra but who is going to use it, all in all a great amp and the big bonus....the attenuator, no more angry neighbours, over priced who knows, cheap tyres on your car give a cheap ride.
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03-14-2021 10:14 AM
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Originally Posted by bonesyboy
"Lush" is a word I like to hear describing an amp's tone. Sounds like you have a winner! Congratulations, and play it in good health!
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Enjoy the lush life in some small dive.
We have a friend who is British, and when something is really good, she exclaims “lush!”.
As usual, you posters are giving me gear acquisition syndrome. I have a Fender SCXD, which I like quite a bit. It has a Jazzmaster model in it. I don’t know how this would compare to the Tonemaster, but I’d sure like to try one sometime.
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I have the standard black version of the TMDR. Great amp, it's so flexible and organic sounding!
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I don’t know soundwise but weightwise the SCXD is 1 lbs heavier! Originally Posted by Doctor Jeff
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I've had the Super Champ XD. I didn't find it to be significantly better than the Mustang series amps, despite the tube. Definitely not a bad amp, but a bit stiff until you go into the software and start editing. But it's a pain to access that software since Fender no longer supports it. Overall the Tonemaster is much better I think. I don't feel like I'm playing a simulation, it feels like a real amp, if that makes sense.
If I were going to explore another Fender modeling amp besides the Tonemaster, I'd look at the newer Mustang series amps.
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I just brought home a new TMDR and “lush” is a good description. I’m selling a SCXD and picked both up, I know the official specs for the SCXD put the weight at 24 pounds but it sure seemed like more than a one pound difference. I’d be afraid to play the TMDR outdoors for fear of it blowing away.
Remarkable job, Fender.
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i'm so interested in this lightweight solution but somehow i cant pull the trigger and buy what is basically a pc with speaker in a fancy case. i fear it has the same resale value as a used pc and will soon be obsolete as digital technique progresses fast. so like it's predecessors (mustang, fuse) it wont be supported a few years from now, since fender needs to sell new stuff. and you probably cant take it to your tech in case something is broken.
is this something we have to live with, like smartphones, smart-tvs, pcs, computer-assisted cars, etc? are amps becoming expensive throw-away items?
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There's a good video by Zac Child's on the newer Blonde update.
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I think once you've really put a Tone Master through its paces, you won't be thinking "throwaway" very much. My TM Twin Reverb is fantastic. Plus you won't be swapping out tubes, burning up transformers, killing your back lugging the heavy thing around, and you can record direct with a great speaker model and adjust your final volume from the speaker without hurting your tone, as well as setting the direct out volume independent of the overall speaker level. Originally Posted by djg
No... won't be throwing this away for a long time.
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Agree 100% with Lawson. This is not a modelling amp, it is a one-trick poney designed to do one thing and to do it well - to get very close to the original sound of the Twin (or in my case the Deluxe) - I'm not sure what I would expect changes to technology to bring to these amps in the future - I certainly won't be looking to use mine as a modelling amp substitute for a multitude of other amps. Targetted single-purpose (as opposed to multi-purpose) solid state is extremely reliable technology - my TEAC hifi is 40 years old and has never given me any problems - even if it dosn't have tubes...... I can say the same for my Laney Linebacker 50w combo which has been my main standby amp since 1986........ Originally Posted by djg
By the way, like Lawson I'm not a solid state or tube bigot - for years I've played tube amps and enjoyed them - 1964 AC30 Top Boost, 1965 Deluxe, 1968 Princeton, 2008 Princeton Recording (alright, this one is tubes, plus solid state circuit for power attenuation and effects). On the other hand I've spent hundreds of Euros over the decades retubing the various amps and I've spent zero on the Laney........ I expect the ToneMaster to be reliable at what it does, and so expect no real regular maintenance costs there. It's very different from 'phones and pc's where "always faster, always bigger, always better" is the name of the market - that simply dosn't apply here.
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It'll still sound as good 5 years from now. Solid state amps have been around a long time. Originally Posted by djg
Maybe it's more like cameras. Almost 10 years ago I bought a top end camera from Nikon. They've come out with smaller and possibly better models. The old D800 still makes the same great photos it did when I got it. And I have lenses from the 60's and 70's that work with it just fine.
You might have something there with resale though. The TM deluxe won't have the same allure as a '68 tuber, but I've noticed around here at least that old Twins aren't selling for as much as they used to. Size and weight is making them less popular.
Good gear is good gear. My 10 year old camera will still fetch a pretty penny on the used market.
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I’m not buying what’s basically a 30s/40s wireless set in a case to plug my guitar into. It’s been obsolete for almost 100 years!
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But yeah there’s something nice about old school tech. I suppose we are all used to our Apple devices becoming obsolete in a few years. More planned obsolescence? More waste of both labour and resources? Not appealing. There are amps almost a century old that are still running.
I don’t think it’s the tech so much as the ethos that concerns... whose to say Fender aren’t going the same thing? (Although I doubt it.)
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I'm with Lawson and Ray. This is an excellent, well-designed tool.
I record, so setting the advantage of weight, etc., aside for a moment: The back panel with the balanced line out is a game-changer for me. I can pick flat EQ, an SM57 IR or R-121 IR ribbon mic out and send it straight into Logic Pro (or into the house PA, I just got an email that the big band I play in has been asked to play at the end of June!). I have been playing around with it this afternoon and wow. Let the dogs bark, let the doorbell ring or have the furnace fan turn on, I don't need a microphone to get that great Deluxe Reverb sound.
I'm keeping my vintage tube Traynor, which sounds gorgeous, but it probably isn't going on a gig anymore. I'm keeping my Polytone, because, well, Polytone. I'm not anti-tube. But I am very happy with my TMDR.
Cheers!
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I use my TM Deluxe Reverb for nearly all gigs. It was great to start with, but I added the firmware that bypasses the 'bright cap' and it's even better now. Has ample headroom as long as the drummer isn't super loud, I rarely run it on full power, usually I have it set on the 12 watt setting. It's so practical - I used to think my Quilter Aviator was light - this is much lighter again.
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Well the good thing is the amp is capable of updated software. So apparently the older version can be updated to the newer version specs. Obviously the speaker is a different but important part of the tone and feel
If I weren't smitten with my Clean Tone on my Quilter Aviator amps already. This and or the more powerful Twin would certainly be a great alternative.
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At 67 I assume my TM Twin will outlast me. Can’t imagine selling it.
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But which would your 67 year old body prefer to carry up and downstairs? the Twin or the ToneMaster? Originally Posted by TedBPhx
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that is my question. is this still a solid state amp? Originally Posted by ccroft
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If you accept the usual definition of solid state as being based on semi-conductors, transistors et al, then "no" it is more of a digital amp, that (unlike a kemper) only models one amp. If you take solid state in its more commonly used sense of "without tubes", then yes it is solid state. Originally Posted by djg
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It is solid state. It's a class D amplifier, which is a solid state design. Originally Posted by Ray175
There is a confusion on the internet between the technology used in "amp coloring" (ie. pre amp) vs the power amplification. Power amp section is responsible for the actual amplification for all intents and purposes. Whether the modeling/coloring is done with software or circuit design has no bearing on the actual power amp stage.Last edited by Tal_175; 03-23-2021 at 01:17 PM.
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You don't need to do any updates to the amp if you don't want to. And if you do want to there's no software you need on your computer required to update (reverb mod, bright cap mod), it's just a file on your computer that you move to the amp (it pops up on screen like an external drive when connected to your laptop). There's no reason why my TMDR should not outlive me. Originally Posted by christianm77
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These updates (with no bright cap etc) raise up interesting thoughts.
In some update You could choose between "1st tube 12AX7" and "1st tube 5751".
Some update could include aging power tubes sound, then clear and strong new power tubes sound.
In say 2040 there will be update including leaking filter capacitors.
Who says You can't mod a modern amp!
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