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Fender creates solid state BF Deluxe and Twin

fakejake

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Sep 3, 2010
Messages
1,274
The headroom is the same. You do have the XLR out but the amp still has the same volume capability as the regular tube version. I went with the Twin to have more headroom before breakup at any given power level.

One thing asked about was about the "standby" switch. It is actually a mute switch so you can kill the internal speaker while sending a signal out the XLR. The amp still functions but silences the internal speakers.

Thanks! :salude
 

renderit

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Jan 19, 2009
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10,951
I'd play it, but I'd feel so dirty!

Wash your hands after handling one kids!
 

J T

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Oct 20, 2005
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10,501
Thanks GGMan. This amp sounds like its definitely worth it. Real world experience:yah
 

Gris Gris Man

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Oct 12, 2019
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As far as the attenuator, it is actually a power scaler. You can set levels in increments down to 1 watt. This is a great feature as you can tailor the amp response to the room very easily. It works much better than any master volume I've ever used be it tube or solid state. I think the power amp in the Twin is exactly the same as the Deluxe. Since it is a class D amp it simply puts out more power with the lower 4 ohm speaker load. Overall the amp seems extremely well built, controls are solid and smooth, switches have the right feel. Again, not that it matters but in trying to recreate the vibe of a md-60's tube Twin it all helps as far as I'm concerned. I've gone the modeling route with a lot of previous products and while some get really close the overall complexity and editing routines I find distracting and in the way. I've no need for multiple complex or high gain amp sims of any sort.

I do confess that for effects into the front of the amp I use a Line 6 HX FX as their stomp box sims are excellent and it works really well in to the front of a tube amp, exceptionally well with the Tone Master Twin.
 
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Buckshot

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Aug 7, 2001
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25
I knew I'd be a harsh critic when I had the chance to check these out. I've been a BF/SF guy for 40 years & have used the same '65 BFDR for nearly 20.
I sat down at a local GC last week & gave both of them a good run-through. I'm blown away! The DR immediately sounded completely familiar except I could crank it without having the sound guy or my audiologist yelling at me! Also, they aren't homogenized versions - the Twin sounded like a Twin & the Deluxe sounded like a Deluxe, not just a homogenized BF-ish tonestack for both. A Twin I can pick up with two fingers & a thumb & easily crank in a small club! You've never lived until you've carried a Twin full of JBLs up the outside fire escape at the Fillmore West because the elevator is out of order! I'd feel much more comfortable with getting good tone from a rented backline of these than any of the rented DeVilles or Vintage Reissue tube driven stuff I've ever been supplied with!
I just hope Fender continues on this path - How about some Tweed & maybe a BF Super? Head-only versions would be cool also, but I had no issues with the tone of the Neos as a all-around speaker.
I LOVE tubes, but we live in amazing times!
 

Gris Gris Man

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Oct 12, 2019
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6
Just finished a band rehearsal with the Tone Master Twin and holy crap did it sound fantastic! Everything I want in an amp to perfection. It just sat in the mix so well. And the reverb and tremolo sounded incredible. When I played it by myself in the studio over the past few weeks I thought maybe the reverb was a bit more intense at any given setting than a real spring reverb in a tube Twin. But with the band it sounded perfect at any level. Likewise the tremolo was spot on and creamy.

I've also been using a Line 6 HX FX straight into it as I did with my Victoria Ivy League for the past year. It works extremely well. But interestingly I relied mostly on the amp's reverb and tremolo and preferred those sounds for most of my effects needs. I think if I added a good dirt pedal directly in I could be very happy with just that. This amp is one of the best gear purchases I've ever made.

Also, for a hoot when we finished I had the bass player plug in his Tobias bass with active pickups just to see how it sounded. It was likewise wonderful sounding. We could actually easily do a gig with just the Tone Master Twin in a small venue.
 

TM1

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Jun 27, 2003
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8,349
I'd like to hear it side by side with a real Sixties BF Twin or Deluxe. I know some of the earlier digital stuff could not compare. They'd sound great in a studio, but just couldn't cut it level-wise with the real deal. The digital stuff gets lost trying to keep up with the volume of a valve/tube amp..
 

TheBiggestJerK

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Oct 25, 2019
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HTML:

I consider myself a tone junkie. For years I swore up and down that solid state amps were no different than tube and “they all sound the same now cuz technology has improved”. I’ve owned all the newer solid state modeling amps and thought I knew what I was talking about.

then I purchased a small tube amp....

Now I’ll never use another non tube/SS amp again.

the sound is so radically different in structure and over all makeup of harmonic content.
 

Gris Gris Man

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Oct 12, 2019
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I consider myself a tone junkie. For years I swore up and down that solid state amps were no different than tube and “they all sound the same now cuz technology has improved”. I’ve owned all the newer solid state modeling amps and thought I knew what I was talking about.

then I purchased a small tube amp....

Now I’ll never use another non tube/SS amp again.

the sound is so radically different in structure and over all makeup of harmonic content.

My experience and A/B comparison tells me that the Tone Master Twin I own is every bit as good sounding as my boutique Victoria Ivy League tube amp. This is a statement that shocks me to read as I type it because I said I was done with amps with the Victoria. Don't get me wrong, it is an excellent totally vintage sounding hand wired tube amp with impeccable build quality. I have it loaded with NOS tubes and perfectly biased. But I can dial in the Tone Master Twin to equal and in some situations surpass what the Victoria does. And I've been using the Victoria for 9 years now. It seems absurd, yet the reality is undeniable.
 

NotJeffBeck

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Mar 31, 2019
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24
Fender's current reissue blackface amps sound really good, I have a DRRI, no complaints there, but they are very cheaply made in areas that are problematic. They fail in ways that are preventable and inside, where it doesn't show, corners are cut. They aren't as reliable as the eyelet board handwired versions. They don't last. Mine didn't. It was in and out of the shop over and over for a year until Fender finally conceded that it was a lemon and replaced the entire chassis.
Nobody seems to have a bad word to say about the new Tone Masters but what I want to know is what their durability and reliability is going to be like?
The chassis are made in China, but also they are completely solidstate and mostly digital on top of that, so that might actually be in their favor. Very low voltages, low heat, low weight... China definitely knows how to make electronic things so this is right up their alley. It may all add up to them being extremely reliable. But we will never know until somebody bangs around town with one for a year or two or hits the road with them.
I'll be watching with interest to see what the reports from the rough and tumble club and road world have to say after some time passes.
 

The Shifter

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Aug 31, 2004
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3,397
Nobody seems to have a bad word to say about the new Tone Masters but what I want to know is what their durability and reliability is going to be like?

I'll be watching with interest to see what the reports from the rough and tumble club and road world have to say after some time passes.

Yeah, and to that end, I wonder if they will even be able to be repaired 10-15 years from now.
 

stilwel

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Feb 8, 2017
Messages
126
If you're on the fence about these, definitely get down to a store that has one and try it out yourself. Youtube videos don't tell the entire story.

Here's a quick clip I captured with my iPhone the other day that shows how the Tone Master Deluxe Reverb handles pedals.

I'm using a Digitech Freqout, Line 6 HX Effects and the TM Deluxe Reverb.
Guitar is a 90's Epiphone Riviera with '57 Classics.


https://soundcloud.com/stilwel/my-idea-2
 

J T

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Oct 20, 2005
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10,501
Yeah, and to that end, I wonder if they will even be able to be repaired 10-15 years from now.

Seems that anyone attempting to repair these at that time will be more in the computer/appliance repair camp. Replace the motherboard and call it a day. That is, if the parts are available.
 

J T

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Oct 20, 2005
Messages
10,501
If you're on the fence about these, definitely get down to a store that has one and try it out yourself. Youtube videos don't tell the entire story.

Here's a quick clip I captured with my iPhone the other day that shows how the Tone Master Deluxe Reverb handles pedals.

I'm using a Digitech Freqout, Line 6 HX Effects and the TM Deluxe Reverb.
Guitar is a 90's Epiphone Riviera with '57 Classics.


https://soundcloud.com/stilwel/my-idea-2

Really interesting. These amps seem worth the price.
 

Big Al

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Apr 24, 2002
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14,537
Attenuation in a Ss amp?

Why?


There are no power tubes to push to saturation at full volume. And therefore no need to attenuate the volume.

Just turn down the amp.

Do you understand how amps work?
These are exact digital models of the entire circuit. Turn up and it models and reacts exactly like the tube circuit. Turn it down, same thing. IT IS PUSHING DIGITAL VIRTUAL TUBES AND MODELING THAT TONE.

A Twin on 8 sounds great, but can be stupid loud. Volume on 2 may work but on 2 it won't sound the same as 8. Sooooooo....

get it.


I am amazed. I have been a Fender amp user for over 50 years. I own over a dozen vintage Fenders and these amps nail every aspect of vintage AB763 blackface tone!

I think you need to rethink your stance. It isn't a SS amp, but an extremely accurate digital modeling clone of the circuit components and the complex interplay between them depending upon the way the controls are set, just like the tube amp it models.
It behaves the same!

So the attenuator does what you suggest. Allows you to turn up the amp to a desired overdrive point and then reduce the overall volume while retaining the tone/responce of the digitally modeled amp as it is dialed in. Like the tube amp it models, it cleans up if you turn it down. Amp 101
 

duaneflowers

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Aug 13, 2013
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I'm looking to seeing which models come out next... and/or which voicings will be emulated... it's pretty exciting stuff... :salude
 

renderit

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Jan 19, 2009
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My Dad insisted over 40 years ago he could do ANYTHING a tube does with solid state.
I told him he was nuts as you CAN'T get that warmth and fullness in solid state.
He stated that you could but at the time you just couldn't afford it.
We argued about it off and on for decades.
Now I am beginning to see what he was driving at.
As he had many patents on tubes I know he was smarter than I was.

Dad, you won. I wish I could tell you.
 

sonar

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Jan 10, 2003
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3,589
I hope they do sound good. I really don't have a need for one, so it's hard to get excited about it.

The price point also seems to be at a premium for the cosmetics.
 

fakejake

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Sep 3, 2010
Messages
1,274
I'm quite concerned about potential repairs on these amps. My old polytone had issues several times, and repairs were expensive and took ages.
Wherever I can, I try to buy things that, with proper service, will last a lifetime or longer. These amps don't seem to fall into that category, so I'll stay with the point to point wired tube originals....
 
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