Tonemaster Deluxe Speaker

[Dan Beller-McKenna]

I finally found a Tonemaster Deluxe Reverb at a low enough price to justify buying one more amp I don’t quite need (black tolex, Jensen model). I still love my TM Twin, but I needed something better than my Katana 50 as a grab-n-go rehearsal/acoustic gig amp. Out of the box, I wasn’t very happy with the tone, even with some tweaking from an offboard equalizer, dipping 800khz a bit, as well as some higher end. Knowing from my long experience with the TM Twin that I’m not a huge fan of the Jensen neo, I auditioned several speakers. I ended up with a Celestion Copperback Neo 250 (borrowed from the TM Twin) as the best fit for my ears. Kind of a pricey upgrade, but I took it to exactly the sort of gig I might need it for—all acoustic, small room, gather-round mic—and it acquitted itself well, so it’s a keeper.

Realizing that many folks are perfectly happy with the stock Jensen, for those who aren’t I’m curious what other speakers folks might be using in their TM Deluxes.