Fender Tone Master Twin Reverb

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Fender Tone Master Twin Reverb

Postby dave robinson » Wed Oct 23, 2019 4:06 pm

I took the plunge and ordered The Twin Reverb Tone Master by Fender, having owned the real valve Fender Twin for twenty years. The reason I stopped using it was the colossal weight, but now thanks to technology we have the digital version with identical looks as the old one, but half the weight at 33lb.
I'll give it a spin and let everyone know if it does a favourable Hank sound - or not. I managed to get close with the real one but the JBL speakers didn't help in that amp because they were too good, too clear and zero break up.
The new one has Jensen Neodymium equivalents of P12s which I use in my AC30/4 and I know they sound good. I eagerly await tomorrow. ;)
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Re: Fender Tone Master Twin Reverb

Postby RUSSET » Thu Oct 24, 2019 9:43 am

That's interesting, Dave. I did notice those 'Digital' versions of the Twin Reverb a few weeks back,& the online demos sound very good. I too had a Reissue version of the '65 Twin Reverb, way back about 15 years ago. Great clean amp & very loud. But, as you mention, It was very, very heavy, like an AC30 was. I put castors on mine, like many others, but I sold it on, some years later, & got my money back (£600 at the time). It now resides as an amp for students to use in Hereford College's Electronics dept., where they have built their own recording studio, to teach students how to become sound engineers. Hopefully, it has been a great benefit to those folks.
I would be very interested to hear what you think of the new Tonemaster series version.

Cheers, Tony.
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Re: Fender Tone Master Twin Reverb

Postby dave robinson » Thu Oct 24, 2019 10:40 am

Well it's an opportunity that I can't refuse simply because you are allowed to return stuff if you don't like it.
I'm always one for new technology where it will benefit me, so it's nailed on that those demos would arouse my curiosity as they are so good.
Getting the weight down is a big thing today with our gear, so I ordered the larger Twin Reverb to start with at 33lb, then if that works I'll check out the smaller DeLuxe Reverb at 22lb, though it doesn't have the MID control.
I don't have a lot to do these days and since my health started getting back to something resembling normal, I have started to enjoy my music once more. Playing with toys that make noise is absolute bliss. ;)
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Re: Fender Tone Master Twin Reverb

Postby dave robinson » Thu Oct 24, 2019 1:21 pm

Well it arrived and I quickly got it set up and it took about five minutes to check that all the tone controls worked the way I remembered, as they add volume as you use them on these amps. I connected the Blue Nebula on which I had left set up from my last Apache recording and took all the bass out and with a blend of Mid on 5 and treble on 4 with no reverb on, began playing Apache and instantly was excited by what I heard. It works like the old valve one used to, something I had doubted.
I have to nip out now but look forward to getting back to it later. :)
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Re: Fender Tone Master Twin Reverb

Postby Iain Purdon » Thu Oct 24, 2019 3:03 pm

You’ve gone out?
You can’t leave us all twisting in the wind like that!
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Re: Fender Tone Master Twin Reverb

Postby dave robinson » Thu Oct 24, 2019 4:19 pm

How do you think I felt Iain having to attend a hospital appointment, but it was to try and get my voice working properly again so I can contribute to the singing more.
Anyway I just had another blast and I love this amp so far. Put it this way I reckon it's a keeper as it gives the sounds I use quite easily and to me it's an improvement on my old Twin Reverb as the speakers are more musical. Those JBLs were loud back then and very, very clean, but we believed that's what we wanted pure clean sound - not so as it ruined any chance of getting a Voxy tone, though I wasn't clued up enough back then to 'get it'. I ended up buying an AC 30 but it was awful, a late seventies Top Boost version and I kicked it into touch. I went though Peavey, Music Man before finding another Mes Boogie, this time the Mk3 head which I liked.
Anyway back to this Fender Twin Reverb Tone Master. It's easy to move around at 33lb so no problem there. It looks great, just like the old one did and so far sounds the biz.
It's got two Jensen 12" speakers, the neodymium ones and they are P12 Alnico clones and they sound impressive. I'll gig it tonight and get an idea if it's good for the theatres and like I said it's looking like a keeper for me. There's just something I love about the look of a vintage Fender amp and now they have cloned it this way I'm a happy man.
The other Tone Master is the DeLuxe Reverb, a single 12" speaker version with much the same features as the Twin except no MID control. That too has favourable reviews and weighs only 22lb, so worth a look if you like Fender Amps like me.
I have my Mesa Boogie Caliber 50, Peavey Delta Blues and AC30/4 clone as well as a Pinnacle, all valves that I probably won't gig again and I suppose at some point we need to start thinning stuff down, but not yet. :)
I have made a start, my Mk3 Boogie has bids on it and will go this week . . . . . this is me trying to justify my purchase. :lol:
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Re: Fender Tone Master Twin Reverb

Postby Iain Purdon » Thu Oct 24, 2019 6:37 pm

Very glad you’re continuing to get good attention from the medics, Dave.

This amp sounds like a serious option for those who love the Twin Reverb but hate its weight. It’ll also be interesting to hear whether you think the smaller model is a contender for gigging players.

Thanks for all the research!

Iain
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Re: Fender Tone Master Twin Reverb

Postby dave robinson » Thu Oct 24, 2019 7:35 pm

I'm off to work in a few minutes and will be trying it as I said, but I don't think I'll get chance to road test the smaller DeLuxe Reverb if we're hanging on to this.
However there is a power switch on the back and by turning it to the same power as the DeLuxe, 22watts, I may get an idea of what it will do in a band environment, bearing in mind the Twin has two speakers against the single speaker DeLuxe. I think I'll get some idea using that power switch. :)
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Re: Fender Tone Master Twin Reverb

Postby dave robinson » Fri Oct 25, 2019 9:40 am

I used the Fender Tone Master as planned and as I expected the amp was everything it should be and I will be hanging on to it.
Does it do the Shadows sound ? Yes indeed, no problem.
Does it sound like the classic early Fender Twin ? Yes it does, those tone controls work wonderfully and the array of tones is amazing using the various combinations of those knobs. I had the power switch on 22 watts for this gig and it was more than enough power with the band. It drops down to 1 watt and goes up in five stages to 85 watts.
That said, it's smaller sibling in this series, The De Luxe Reverb Tone Master should be sufficient to gig with, as it's top level is 22 watts.
I would add that the digital reverb and vibrato (tremolo) are also top notch.
This amp is everything that a Twin Reverb always was and more, but without the ridiculous weight, so if you liked the old Twin and can embrace modern technology this is a no brainer.
So that's it folks, tried, tested and paid for and fully recommended. :)
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Re: Fender Tone Master Twin Reverb

Postby Iain Purdon » Fri Oct 25, 2019 11:48 am

Thanks Dave! One of my former bandmates loves his Twin Reverb apart from its weight, and will be very interested to hear all this!
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