New Fender Tone Master Twin Reverbs....only 33lbs!

[Tim Whitlock]

Dave - I too have a Twin with an Altec 418b. It is a magical combination that I settled on after a dozen speaker swaps. I don't wonder that the Tonemaster couldn't compare to it. Did you happen to try running the TM through the Altec?

[Larry Dering]

Tim, I hope Dave did. I made a jumper harness and disconnected the ToneMaster Twin speakers and ran the output to my old Twin reverb 85 watt that has an EV 12 and a Eminence Delta Pro 12A. Tone was better and more full. Those are seriously heavy speakers.

[Ken Metcalf]

I use a TM Twin and get a good sound with a Sarno Black box.
The point of having a ToneMaster Twin is to have a 33Lb amp.
Comparing it to an 80-90 Lb. amp is silly.
I had a nice 67 Twin and hauled it around for years,
I sold it.
Too heavy for weekly gigs.
I also have an S-12 Universal in split cases.
A D-10 is 80-90 Lbs.
Just my two cents.

[Larry Dering]

Ken, absolutely true and the weight issue is why I bought the Tonemaster Twin. That comparison was for knowing what if I tried xyz speaker. I use a black box too. To me there's something missing in the tone that the amp controls can't make better. I tried a Boss graphic EQ and wasn't able to make it any better. I don't mean to trash the amp. And I'm still searching for a solution. I will continue to explore other speaker options that are lighter.

[Dave Campbell]

i don't think comparing them is silly; what else are nerds supposed to do? besides, the tonemaster purports to be a tube twin.

this nerd took both amps to rehearsal last night. all agreed that by itself the original twin sounded magical. all agreed that while playing with the full band the tonemaster had a bit of an edge with a tighter sounding bass. all agreed that the reverb on the tonemaster sucked.

[Dan Beller-McKenna]

After two years, I take my Tonemaster to almost every gig I do. If weight were no issue, I'd definitely bring my '71 Twin to most gigs. But(!), volume control is also an issue. The "real" Twin needs to get up to at lest 4 on the volume to really sound like itself. That's too loud for some jobs. To wit, my monthly gig has gone to in-ears. It would be defeating the purpose (i.e. bringing down stage volume) for me to haul the original Twin and crank it. Of course it weighs too much (even split into two pieces!), so the Tonemaster is getting the call anyway.

I will never sell the '71. Fed into a 15" Peavey/JBL speaker it sounds too good to let go. But it only comes out for select shows.

[Larry Dering]

Dan I fully agree with your statement. The real twin has to be up in volume to enjoy it's magic. And direct is another thing the Tonemaster has and that tone is very good. Plus the weight factor. So it has several good qualities to make it usable.

[Danny Naccarato]

Been playing my TM Twin 2 years now. Love the sound, weight. Settings for bass, Midfle, Treble sit around 5, give or take 1/2. Playing with a loud band, vol can be 7ish. My only wish is that we could adjust/eliminate the breakup via software… attenuator stays at 85w