Fender Tonemaster?????

I don't know but I'm smoking it and really enjoying it. Sold my tube Deluxe with no regrets.

 

That is probably my only reservation about them too, I mean where do they get the idea to charge so much for that special digital programming, digital downloadable updates, great features like the built in attenuator, a direct line out for PA or recording, the light weight speaker and cabinet, the classic Fendery sound and appearance, and, wait where was I going with this? Yeah, they just charge too much, but I still want one!

 

You're talking about the current replica Fender tube amps? $1400 and $1700?

It seems to me that all the tube amps are priced at what people are willing to pay. Some simple 5-watters for over $500, wow. But there are lots of models that seem reasonably priced.

Whenever there is a "What amp should I buy?" thread I'm usually the only one who talks up modelers.
But probably the best value amp in the world right now is the $500 Fender Mustang GTX100. JMO.

Edit: I'd like to see a comparison review of the GTX100 and the Tone Masters but haven't found one yet. Fender might not want that comparison, but I suspect that the GTX might not handle pedals as well as the TM series does. The GTX does have the same outputs but no attenuator.
The price of the Tone Masters?? I think it is high but market influenced too.

 

I have the tonemaster twin and couldn’t be happier. Finance one. Low monthly payments takes away the sting of how much it is. Really though well worth the price

 

I would like to test one of those Tonemaster against a Fender Champion 100 and the same sim dialed

 

Can't really give a valuable opinion. But I've heard and seen a lot of good things about them.

 

All i can say is the TM Deluxe Reverb is one of the best amps I’ve ever owned.
Had mine almost a year now & love it.
Sound wise you really can’t tell it’s not a tube amp!
The built in attenuator means you can get awesome tones at bedroom levels & the DI is brilliant for recording or going out to a PA.. It weighs 23 pounds, i can lift it with my little finger!!!

 

I can't think of a better time to explore a custom amp. My exhaustive list of Fender amps over the years ranges from a Champ to a Vibro-King (including 2X12 extension speaker). Don't get me wrong, I have never had a bad Fender amp. IMHO the best were the recent Brownface Princeton (CS) Reissue and the Super Twin. That being said, they were peddled like all the other ones until I finally went piecemeal for a custom rig with everything I wanted:

1. Class A (single ended triode).
2. 5F2A Tweed Princeton circuit with a modification (includes rectifier change) to allow use of 6V6, 5881, 6L6, and KT66 power tubes.
3, Solid pine cabinets.
4. Point to point wiring.
5. EVM12L and EVM15L (ext.) speakers
6. Matching 6G15 Reverb Unit.
7. Great customer support.
8. Enough money saved to buy a top notch cabinet mic (old school).

The link below points to my next (grab and go) amp and there is nothing digital about it. So take a quick look, and maybe innovation and value will get you thinking.

https://www.franklynamps.com/shop/p/franklynamps-5e3-deluxe-head-with-8-speaker

 

Buy one on sale, or when they offer a make offer option. I did. Saved a bit. Kills me to play new for almost any instrument as the value halves before it even gets to you. That being said, they amp is decent. And whatever it lacks compared to a real twin, the pretend twin is portable. I can take it to a gig, or even just into another room or m back yard, and not bust a rib.

 

I got a bit of a deal on mine, but would have gladly paid full for what I got! I love it so much I rid myself of my other dramatically expensive solid state, my Blues Cube. It's a Deluxe that I can line out or play on a single watt, and the ability to tweak the reverb is very very nice.

 

Besides the price, I would have trouble enjoying an amp where I could not make discrete volume adjustments from the edge of breakup to a moderate breakup of the tube drive and pick attack sensitivity.

I play some songs and styles where this is required.
When I want breakup at a modest or low volume, I use a boost pedal that allows me to drop the volume to nearly nothing while the volume on my amp is 5-7.

 

If you think that the TM is overpriced then surely so is the tube version? Big brands in general tend to overprice things, but keep in mind the TM version is about 95% of the tube in terms of sound. So you're paying 2/3 for something that's a close sound... But it has a built in attenuator, direct out, cab sim, foot pedal for the effects and is half the weight... I mean, the tube version might sound marginally better, but you're getting more functionality and convenience out of the TM, so if you say it's overpriced then I assume you also think that about the tube version? The TM isn't some cheap, let's put lots of cheap parts and give a random sound that most people don't like, it's an amazing amp that's very close but with less problems and more functionality. That's why it costs so much. Yeah it is "overpriced" but so is everything else.

 

Everything Fender is "overpriced" because it says Fender on it.

I bought a drive pedal that costs about the same as the TM DR, so I am in no position to judge.

It is either worth it you, or it is not. To me, Fenders are not worth it and I'd prefer to support a business that isn't perhaps the largest musical instrument company in the world. I don't hate Fender, I would just prefer something else.

 

PS-I don’t have a Fender amp, but I do have a Tech21 SansAmp Blonde!

 

I got mine a little less than I paid for my tube deluxe. I financed it and paid it off in a few whacks so it didn’t sting too bad.

I use mine all of the time. It’s awesome to have it down to 1 watt and still get good tones.

 

I was asleep at the switch when Fender offered the DR in Navy blue with a Celestion Blue speaker. I would have paid the price without regret. It's a hoot that a bunch of people we would like to sound like had cheap crappy stuff (amps) when they created their iconic sound. (Johnny Cash era.)
We paid $300-400 apiece for the amps in my avatar in 1963ish. Super Reverb, Dual Showmans, and Bassmans. (Roughly the price of proline guitars of the day) My new "63 Chev SS was about $3,100. So todays prices for amps aren't that bad.

"Tubes pushin air" as my brother-in-law calls his amps. A solid-state amp is heresy to him. OTOH I can see many advantages in the TM amps.