The Steel Guitar Forum

I bought a Twin Tone Master today and took it to band practice. Here’s some quick notes about the amp in general – I used the amp with a Fender Strat, no pedal steel yet. Having hauled around a Fender Twin for a few decades, my first impression was how light the amp is. This amp didn’t make my hand hurt from the weight or make me want to take a break after carrying it in. It came with a detachable power cord, footswitch for Reverb & Tremolo plus a cover. The pine cabinet, knobs, grill and Tolex looked good – except for some loose Tolex on the back panels but a little glue should fix that.

I have a few Fender amps I use for six string guitar – I also use a Peavey Nashville 112 and Peavey Session 400. I haven’t been a big fan of modeling amps. I’ve played through Fender Mustangs (OK for a practice amp but I couldn’t get a good clean tone and it didn’t handle pedal steel that well) and Kempers (nice but more knobs than I want to mess with during a gig and a different vibe – I just feel more comfortable seeing that classic Fender grill and amp knobs).

This amp sounded great – easy to dial in a classic Twin tone. The reverb is amazingly good – no glitches or weird trail-offs. Reverb is subdued at 2, nice for surf at 5-6, and total gonzo surf at 8+. I’m a reverb fanatic (I have a Fender Reverb Unit) – the Tone Master’s reverb is excellent. I was able to get a good tone and dropped the power output to 12W to keep the volume reasonable – always an issue with my tube Twin. On the full 85W setting the amp can get loud. The speakers produced a full even sound. The amp had immediate response and sounded “real” – I decided to use it for this weekend's gig rather than my tube Twin.

The other guys in the band complemented the sound of the amp and then couldn’t believe it when I showed them it didn’t have tubes. It sounded that good. I’ll try it out with pedal steel soon but right now I’ve got to get back to playing Miserlou.

It appears that these Tone Master amps hit the mark for sound and weight. I think that it would be great if Fender added a third amp to the the Tone Master line-up, the Princeton Reverb. To me, the Princeton name has been applied to a lot of not-so-great products. I owned and loved a silverface Princeton Reverb in the 70's. A re-creation of that iconic sound in a lightweight amp might tempt me to purchase a new amp.

Karlis

Karlis Abolins wrote:It appears that these Tone Master amps hit the mark for sound and weight. I think that it would be great if Fender added a third amp to the the Tone Master line-up, the Princeton Reverb. To me, the Princeton name has been applied to a lot of not-so-great products. I owned and loved a silverface Princeton Reverb in the 70's. A re-creation of that iconic sound in a lightweight amp might tempt me to purchase a new amp.

Karlis

Thanks for the suggestion. TBH, because they are already low wattage and smaller/lighter it made them less appealing than doing a Deluxe and Twin immediately but who knows what the future holds.

Thanks to Rick I had the opportunity to demo a ToneMaster twin yesterday and it is quite impressive. Tons of tonal variations, light as a feather and priced competitively.

Jim Palenscar wrote:Thanks to Rick I had the opportunity to demo a ToneMaster twin yesterday and it is quite impressive. Tons of tonal variations, light as a feather and priced competitively.

Jim,

Always a pleasure to come to your store, talk shop and be surrounded by so many cool steels. So glad you liked the amp and thank you for tweaking my Emmons to perfection. Fellow players - If you’re anywhere near this shop, I can’t suggest his store enough! It’s worth the drive from LA.

Fender amps sound great. I live in the city and use the subway most of the time to get around with my equipment. Most of the rooms I play in are very small. Years ago, I suggested to Peavey that it come up with a compact steel amp,to no avail.I still have my Peavey Nashville 112,but seldom use it because of the size and weight.Consequently, I shopped about for a mini amp. I tried many brands,including Peavey,Fender,Vox Marshall,Orange,Crate and several others. The best of the worst for steel,in my opinion, is the Roland Micro Cube RX. 5 Watts,14lbs. In my opinion, the new Roland Jazz Chorus,30 Watts ,26.5lbs., is better choice for steel than the Twin Reverb.

Michael J Pfeifer wrote:Fender amps sound great. I live in the city and use the subway most of the time to get around with my equipment. Most of the rooms I play in are very small. Years ago, I suggested to Peavey that it come up with a compact steel amp,to no avail.I still have my Peavey Nashville 112,but seldom use it because of the size and weight.Consequently, I shopped about for a mini amp. I tried many brands,including Peavey,Fender,Vox Marshall,Orange,Crate and several others. The best of the worst for steel,in my opinion, is the Roland Micro Cube RX. 5 Watts,14lbs. In my opinion, the new Roland Jazz Chorus,30 Watts ,26.5lbs., is better choice for steel than the Twin Reverb.

Michael, glad you found what works for you. I just wanted to share for those guys that love the Twin Reverb but are tired of dealing with the weight and want a more flexible amp. So far response has been great from players.

Much as I loved what I heard when I saw these and briefly played the Twin at Summer NAMM, I have yet to get a chance to use one of these amps 'in the real world'. However, this week I played a job sitting next to the guitar player's Deluxe and it sounded GREAT. It nailed everything I love about the sound of a Deluxe and he said it's fully on par with his 60s blackface Deluxe.

In his words, it sounded different than his original Deluxe but not better or worse, just different and to no greater degree of difference than if you lined up a couple of the same model of any vintage amp and you'd notice a difference between them as well.

I'm a fan of these amps.

Has anyone tried one of these tonemaster deluxe amps with a six string electric guitar? Am curious to know how it feels to the touch of the fingers (not the bar). That is usually the make-or-break test of a solid state amp emulating a tube amp. I hope to get to a store soon to try one.

Thanks
K

I will be using the DR version tomorrow night with my Tele for the Ronstadt Revue show. Will let you know how it goes.

Rich, CONVENICE ME......(not with words)

How about a live demo using your pedal steel, you already have yourself playing live with your Fender guitar.

Before I buy lets hear how it sounds.

No way will I take my Franklin to Guitar Center to test this new amp out.

The guys who did buy, thanks for your description, again, I would like to hear a Youtube video of this new Fender Amp.

Kenneth Kotsay wrote:Rich, CONVENICE ME......(not with words)

How about a live demo using your pedal steel, you already have yourself playing live with your Fender guitar.

Before I buy lets hear how it sounds.

No way will I take my Franklin to Guitar Center to test this new amp out.

The guys who did buy, thanks for your description, again, I would like to hear a Youtube video of this new Fender Amp.

Kenneth, I will do my best to make a video soon of me playing my Emmons through the Tone Master Twin but in general I feel like it's better for others to do the convincing. Some folks don't want to believe someone who works at the company and i get that. I'll let you know if I get something worth posting.

Jim Cohen wrote:I will be using the DR version tomorrow night with my Tele for the Ronstadt Revue show. Will let you know how it goes.

Jim,
How'd it go? What's your review?

Kenneth Kotsay wrote:Rich, CONVENICE ME......(not with words)

How about a live demo using your pedal steel, you already have yourself playing live with your Fender guitar.

Before I buy lets hear how it sounds.

No way will I take my Franklin to Guitar Center to test this new amp out.

The guys who did buy, thanks for your description, again, I would like to hear a Youtube video of this new Fender Amp.

Kenneth and others, I wasn’t able to load a YouTube clip but I did upload it on Instagram so you can get a basic idea of how it sounds. Bear in mind, you’re getting it through an iPhone mic but you’ll get the idea. Hope this helps.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B3an-qcHcUE ... 9ughbtelpn

That sounds great Rick. I like it!

Rick, sounds good!
With the new Twin, how did you set the knobs? Treble, mids, bass , and other settings?
And please explain why you plugged in where you did,
thanks,

Brooks Montgomery wrote:Rick, sounds good!
With the new Twin, how did you set the knobs? Treble, mids, bass , and other settings?
And please explain why you plugged in where you did,
thanks,

Nothing out of the ordinary: input 1 on the reverb side, volume at 5, treble 7, middle 6, bass 6, reverb at 2.5, attenuation on 22 watts, a hair of delay from the Fender Mirror Image pedal. Sounded about right to me. Hope this helps.

Brooks Montgomery wrote:

Jim Cohen wrote:I will be using the DR version tomorrow night with my Tele for the Ronstadt Revue show. Will let you know how it goes.

Jim,
How'd it go? What's your review?

Thanks for asking. Just to reiterate, this was the Deluxe Reverb (not the Twin) and I was using it only for Tele and not for steel. I should say I am not a very experienced Tele player who has played through an original Deluxe Reverb many times in the past so I have limited ability to compare it to the original article. Having said that, it sounded good to me and did what the amp was supposed to do. I need a lot more gigs with it to get to know it a little better and to tweak the settings in accordance with my guitar and pedals etc. But at just 23 pounds it sounds damn close enough to a DR to my ears and I think also to the ears of our lead guitarist who is very experienced with DRs. So I'm very encouraged. Hope to be able to try a Twin one of these days.

Rick, now that's what I call a demo, your playing was great and the sound of this new Fender amp has satisfied me, amazing. Nice sounding Emmons.

Now the following video is of an unknown steel player
using a Fender older amp, looks like he's mic-ing it, the steel is unknown.

Can the new Fender Twin duplicate his sound??

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=up6VtyfMV-s

Ken

Thanks Rick and Jim!

Another Question Rick, how does this new Twin match up to a new Fender re-issue 65 Twin Reverb 85w 2x2 combo amp which sells for $1499 at Guitar Center.
The other Twin sells for $999.

How's the differences when played with Tele & Pedal Steel???

Ken

Kenneth Kotsay wrote:Another Question Rick, how does this new Twin match up to a new Fender re-issue 65 Twin Reverb 85w 2x2 combo amp which sells for $1499 at Guitar Center.
The other Twin sells for $999.

How's the differences when played with Tele & Pedal Steel???

Ken

This is a question that is hard to answer. To my ears (and my ears alone), they are so close that I don't feel anything missing when I play them, whether it's a Tele or Steel. The feel as close as two different tube Twins played in comparison. Every amp sounds a little different but the tone I expect from a Twin is there.

Some will complain that they hear a difference (in varying degrees) so that's why I say it's up to each player to make the decision if it works for them. I'll only say that a majority of players that have tried or bought them seem to be happy.

Combine the tone with the fact that they're HALF the weight of a Twin, have power scaling, have cabinet IRs for live or recording and you have an amp that lets me keep my tube amps at home. Make no mistake, these are pro amps and not entry level. What I'd suggest is getting one from a dealer that has a good return policy, try one for yourself and if it doesn't work for you return it. That's what a lot of folks have done, though they seem to be sold out at a lot of places right now. Hope this helps you.

Rick - I took a test run on the new Fender Tone Master Twin Reverb and the Fender Twin Reverb (tube) today at Guitar Center near me, I played a Fender Tele guitar through both.
Results - I can't tell the difference between the two but the there is a weight difference and a price difference of almost $500. I no longer gig, I'm stay at home steel player since there's no country music, especially for pedal steel here in the Ft Lauderdale area.

Rick your pedal steel playing with the new Twin sounds amazing, very gone tone & sustain.

Also Guitar Center has a 45 day return policy which to me sounds too good of an offer, don't like the amp, just return it, no questions asked.
Ken

Rick, any chance the amp will be offered without a speaker? Lots of us are using other brands of neo speakers, be nice to just pop those in and not have to buy a speaker we may not like or use. Just a thought...

John McClung wrote:Rick, any chance the amp will be offered without a speaker? Lots of us are using other brands of neo speakers, be nice to just pop those in and not have to buy a speaker we may not like or use. Just a thought...

John,

The majority of amps we sell are combos, and by a staggering degree these days. We might offer this as a head in time but no guarantees. When a Twin is this light it's so much easier that worrying about a separate cabinet with a head anyways.

I'm not suggesting this (as it could void warranty) but....The amp's speakers are connected by clips that can be removed and can be replaced with a brand of choice. That amp will react like a tube amp to different sounding speakers coloring the sound. However, we really like these speakers in there and took a lot of time to get them right so we're hoping most won't feel the need to replace them.