Tonemaster Twin

[Nathan Guilford]

OK- so I'm convinced. I want one. I think I'll really like the tube tone without the weight. But I'm really concerned about the reliability. I noticed a recent post about an amp dying that has me concerned. Does anyone else have any pros or cons about the Fender Tonemaster Twin for me to consider? Thanks all for your thoughts. I currently play either a silver panel twin, fender vibrolux (borrowed, sadly not mine) Nashville 400, or a Milkman "the amp" into a JBL 15" depending on if I'm playing a second instrument like tele or my ricky slide. Geez, when I list it all out, maybe I don't need another amp.

[Steve Spitz]

You always need another amp. Till the end of time.

You could check out “the gear page” to find out if others had issues. They’ve sold a ton of these by now, so you should be able to get a better idea.

I had one, and liked it. I sold it to fuel my endless gear addiction syndrome.

If you don’t like it, it’s an easy sell, as you’re now aiming at the six string market. I’d say go for it.

[Donny Hinson]

The ads for the amp should give you cause for consideration:

In a bold Fender first, the Tone Master Twin Reverb amplifier uses massive digital processing power to achieve a single remarkable sonic feat: faithfully modeling the circuitry and 85-watt power output of an original Twin tube amp. Using a high-performance 200-watt digital power amp to achieve the headroom and dynamic range of a real vintage Twin tube amp...

That "massive digital processing power" comes from a 4-core multiprocessor, one that gives you all the power (and possible headaches and hazards) of a typical modern computer. In other words, it's an amp and a modern computer in the same package. You know how computerized equipment has an occasional tendency to crash? Well, that's the chance you're taking when you go from plain old solid-state to computerized solid state. An ordinary solid-state amp can be repaired by just about any technician, usually without even a manual or schematic. But an amp wrapped around a computer is a whole different ballgame. You need digital test equipment, service manuals, and a good knowledge of computer basics. And...some of the parts might not be easily procured when and if you have a problem.

In other words, everything is a trade-off. An amp like that may be neato, light, and impressive. But it is not the most reliable choice, nor is it the easiest to get repaired.

Now you know.

[Craig A Davidson]

I liked mine so much I bought another for guitar. Donny is right about the headache if they crash, but trying to get a tube amp fixed these days isn't always the easiest thing to do either. I've had mine two years with no problems. Just a side note here... I had 2 Hot Rod Deluxe amps about ten years ago and the both sounded like crap and every time you cranked up the lows the whole cabinet would vibrate. Also one pre-amp tube hung by the speaker grill and it would rattle if there was any low end.

[Doug Taylor]

I bought a Tonemaster Twin in May of 20. There have been very few days since then it has not been used. So far no problems.

[Tom Wolverton]

Any amp can die on a gig. I always have a backup head and carry the needed cable to patch it into the dead amp’s speaker. This has bailed me out a few times. I currently carry a Quilter 202 as a backup. I like it because it has 4 & 8 ohm speaker jacks in the back.

[Roger Crawford]

Tom nailed it. Any amp can die on a gig.

[Larry Dering]

I follow the same routine as Tom, by carrying a spare quilter head and patch cables. I always carried a spare of some type. So far the Tonemaster Twin has worked flawlessly for me.

[Dan Beller-McKenna]

It's true that any amp can die on a gig, and I did just pick up a Quilter TB202 yesterday so that my backup would have an XLR out (after carefully explaining to Bruce Derr last weekend why I was not going to buy this amp: as real estate agents say: "buyers are liars"). But be aware that if you need to use the speakers on the Tonemaster Twin with a back-up head, you'll need to have the right wiring handy: the leads to the speakers come straight out of the chassis--there is no "output" jack to plug a speaker cable into. This makes the amp somewhat less accommodating of a separate head. Of course, if your main amp dies at a gig, your night already stinks, so what's an extra harness to complain about?

All that said, my newfound anxiety about the amp notwithstanding, I loved the sound and feel of this amp once again last night, and I also loved carrying it to the car(!)

[Jerry Overstreet]

DSP Class D amps and switched mode power supplies may be more reliable than in earlier years, I don't know, but I've had my share of maladies with other equipment of this design. Never been able to repair them, just replace them or pitch altogether.

I certainly hope it doesn't become Toastmaster instead of Tonemaster for you guys.

In over 40 yrs. of gigs and shows, I've never carried a spare amp and never had one fail on me. I'd hate to think I have to keep another amp loaded up for a JIC.

If you're a touring or session pro with cartage I guess, it wouldn't matter to the player, but lugging around a spare for the weekend warrior seems like just another added load.

[Jack Hanson]

In over 40 yrs. of gigs and shows, I've never carried a spare amp and never had one fail on me.

Same here.

[Don Hinkle]

The tone master twin reverb (blonde) is my main amp. Only had a short while but have done several gigs (and some double duty) and I couldn’t be happier.
All of my peavey 400’s and my evans se200 are for sale.
Come an get em!

[Dan Beller-McKenna]

I should add that the owner of the store where I bought the Quilter yesterday (old time tele picker and long-time gear nut/user/dealer) said digital amps like the Tonemasters would be imminently repairable; his tech would just need to order the failed part. Of course, presumably, the "part" here is a computer component and would cost more than a tube or even a transformer. But (and I am speculating wildly here) I assume it would end up costing less in labor and would be way less expensive than shipping the amp to Fender, so ultimately well-worth repairing if one is enjoying and using the amp, as many of us are.

[Jeremy King]

The Tone Master Twin is by far my favorite amp for pedal steel. It's light, loud, and has a surprisingly warm tone. It also works great for gigs where I play electric guitar too. I can't recommend it enough. I might even go buy a second one!

[Tony Prior]

Not dissing the TM Twin. I don't really know anything about them.


Heres what I do know, I bought a new Twin reverb in 1970, I used it non stop for 25 years, yeah it had a few odditys along the way but it never failed. I am not talking bedroom playing, I'm talking 2 or 3 gigs every week. Thats astonishing ! Ok I did change the caps I think twice along with typical maintenance. A couple of noisy tubes here and there.

I didn't start carrying a spare amp head until a few years ago which is when I started using smaller lighter SS amps .

By the way, a Twin Reverb will operate with one set of PUSH PULL 6L6's, just in case one starts red plating or something. They kinda don't die .

The new generation of amps is quite different is all I can say, not just Fender. I did buy a Katana 50 for some small guitar only gigs, quite frankly its disposable.

The Fender Hot Rod series, while mostly reliable, are not service friendly. Actually a pain in the butt to perform a repair, but at least it can be done.

The Dr Z MAZ 38 I have is like an old Fender, point to point , full access. I bought it USED at about 4x the price of the Twin Reverb I bought in 1970 !

[David Spires]

I've used one for about 18 months, and it's great. It's been perfectly reliable, lightweight, tons of power, and to my ears - feels and sounds like a Twin Reverb. Modeling and computer power has never been more advanced.

All that said, I doubt it will last 60+ years like some tube amps do... but when you add up repairs and maintenance over that time-frame, probably a wash.

I am a big fan of "right tool for the job". Prized tube amps stay home for recording work, but my Tone Master Twin is my go-to for live. The DI sounds great (instead of micing) with the on-board IRs. I don't carry a backup amp... No room in the car!

Opinions,

David Spires

[Dan Beller-McKenna]

Don't get me wrong, I am newly anxious about the reliability of my Tone Master twin following Scott's experience. But I was surprised that I could find no other reports of failures on-line after initially reading Scott's post. I am sure there have been other failures, but not enough that this has emerged as a general problem with this amp. I think David Spires' assessment is about right: right tool for the right job.

For those who haven't played through one, one thing I can't emphasize enough is that, as much as it sounds like a Twin, the most noticeable thing to me is that it feels like a Twin when I use it on stage. Impossible to quantify, but those who have used a tube twin and are now using this digital replica can probably relate to what I mean. To me this is the most impressive facet of Fender's ability to simulate the experience of playing a Twin.

[Greg Cutshaw]

What we have here in this discussion is ONE TM Twin amp fail. I am sure we can find a report of ONE tube amp failing or ONE of anything failing either in early life or longer term. This one failure gives no indication of the amp's reliability or failure rate for the general population.

[Nathan Guilford]

What we have here in this discussion is ONE TM Twin amp fail. I am sure we can find a report of ONE tube amp failing or ONE of anything failing either in early life or longer term. This one failure gives no indication of the amp's reliability or failure rate for the general population.

Well put, Greg. My original intention with ths post was to try to gauge reliability of the amp so far. I think we can conclude that it is pretty reliable in this community since we have only seen the report of the one big breakdown. But please if y'all have seen evidence to the contrary I wanna hear it.

[Dave Hopping]

As Greg says, there's only been one failure-on-stage reported to our community so far, and the old "one-bad-apple" trope certainly carries some weight.

But it does seem that there's much more jumping through hoops to get it fixed than with an "analog" amp that goes down, and it hasn't been confirmed that that unit can be repaired. To a lot of folks, that's a bit of a red flag.

[Norbert Dengler]

I use a tonemaster deluxe for two years now.
my siverface twin and deluxe collect dust.
great product, thank you Fender.

[Brooks Montgomery]

I’ll be following the discussion(s) about the Fender Tone master Twin closely. I’ve had one now…I guess ….a little over two years. I love the amp—and so Scott Akers’ problem with his Tone Master obviously has me paying close attention.

I never thought I would like a S.S. amp as much as I do the Tone master. I own currently four tube amps (mid 60’s blackface Princeton my fav), and I own four S.S. amps, none of which are remarkable, with the Tone master being the exception.

I live in a remote part of the lower 48, the closest amp repairman being in Missoula, Mt.
150 miles away (300 mile roundtrip for repairs). My tube amps have been to George Weizel in Missoula (great fender tube repairman) a few times: biasing, tube issues, etc.

If you do a search on this forum, you’ll see quite a few lengthy threads about tube amp upkeep, biaising, pre-amp tube issues, power tube issues., etc.

I haven’t paid much attention to issues with S.S. amps, because I just haven’t had issues. But they are mostly sterile amps compared to my tubes amps—again, the Tone Master being the exception.

So we have one guy so far, Scott, with an issue with his Fender. I hope for my sake he is The Lone Ranger, and we don’t hear of more issues. Lord knows, there have been a ton of posts about tube amp issues here on the forum.

[Tony Prior]

What we have here in this discussion is ONE TM Twin amp fail. I am sure we can find a report of ONE tube amp failing or ONE of anything failing either in early life or longer term. This one failure gives no indication of the amp's reliability or failure rate for the general population.

My take on this is not about reliability, Greg is totally correct, any amp can fail and probably will at some point.

The issue here is not failure but rather the ability to have it serviced, which apparently is the reason for the thread, not reliability.

I have older GK Bass amp head around here somewhere, when it worked it was absolutely awesome, but it died on a gig. I took it apart with the notion of repairing it, ..uhhh, nope , it was not designed to take apart and change the drivers and output stages. It was designed to swap sub assy's. Stuff is crammed on top of other stuff in a very tight compact space. "You gotta go thru your BUTT to get to your elbow "

So, it sits in a corner, still dead. I just moved on.

[Scott Akers]

I'll chime in here...

You could probably sense great frustration from me from my original post. My frustration lies not with the amp, but with the difficulty I was running into trying to get it fixed. Now that I've had a couple of weeks to reflect......I'd probably do it all over again, though this time I'd buy locally, not long distance. Up until this point it was my go to amp for all size gigs. After substantial research, I can't find any instance of another one of these failing. Mine may be one of the few. I just happened to be unlucky this time. I'll be honest, the Quilters look great to me, and I'll probably get one as a backup, but there's just too much for me to like about this amp when its working as it should for me to give up on it. As many of you have stated, I think the odds are in my favor that this was a very rare event and chances are, won't happen again.

As amp technology moves in this direction, and these become more numerous and popular, which I believe they will, I've got to believe companies like fender are going to find ways to make service or replacement, quicker and easier. Increased shipping costs and electronics parts supply line problems aren't helping much either, but these will hopefully swing back into balance. When this problem gets resolved, I will carry some sort of back-up rig to gigs for awhile......until I get too lazy or confident again....oh how fast we forget.

[Jon Snyder]

Remember when there was a tube tester in the local hardware or drug store?
TV repairman have gone by the wayside.
Car repair is now replacing modules until it works.
The warranty on many items is to just send you a replacement instead of fixing, but a $1,000 amp might not be there yet.
It is an interesting topic for sure. Hope you get it resolved. Let us know.