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Topic: Fender Twin Master Tone |
Patrick Richards
From:
Arkansas, USA
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Posted 16 Mar 2021 7:06 am |
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I'm looking for comments from pickers using this amp for gigging (specifically) for steel guitar. I know there was an initial uptick in comments when they first came out but kind of quiet since. I appreciate your experiences working with this amp, any issues or warranty concerns, durability. Thanks a million, Pat.
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Breaking strings and gettin dings. |
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Larry Beem
From:
Iowa, USA
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Posted 16 Mar 2021 7:17 am Tonemaster
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I have been gigging this amp since before Covid. Of course things got real slow, but its picking up again. I have no issues at all. I play in a 5 piece band, and typically have the attenuator turned down to 22 watts. I run the line out to the front of house guy, and he loves it. Its sure nice to have the weight reduction too!! I like a BLack Box and Wet Reverb in front of it.
I would say, if you gig a lot you will like the amp. Its so close to tubes, I a bar atmosphere, you wont notice the difference. Plus, there are no maintenance issues with solid state. For me its a winner, and I run guitar through it as well, so win win!!
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Williams 700 series D10 8 and 5,
Rittenberry Prestige SD10 4 and 5
Stereo Steel, NV400, Fender Twin Tone Master, Sarno BB, Lil Izzy's, Goodrich Matchbox......on and on ...... |
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Ron Hogan
From:
Nashville, TN, usa
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Posted 16 Mar 2021 7:31 am
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I've played 3 live gigs so far. Still debating, but does the trick. More to come.
Here's another discussion with sample, but in the practice room.
CLICK HERE
Ron |
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David Spires
From:
Millersport, OH
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Posted 16 Mar 2021 10:56 am
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It's fantastic, if you want the sound of a Twin (no - a simulation is never exactly the real thing, but this is amazing at what it does). All the volume you would expect.
Weighs 33lbs... XLR out has speaker emulation, so great for having your amp on stage and sending a line to the board (no mic).
If a Twin isn't your thing, this won't be. If you are a tube-only guy, this isn't! Comes close. Close enough for me. Amazing how good emulations are.
I don't think anyone has had one long enough to know what the durability is, but I look at it like all other Chinese circuit board devices, probably good for 3-5 years. I don't have expectations that this will last 40 years.
David Spires
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2021 MSA Legend XL 10&7; Asher Electro-Hawaiian Junior Lap Steel; '79 OMI Dobro 66 w/ Scheerhorn cone and setup; '64 Hand-wired Re-issue Fender Princeton Reverb |
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Larry Beem
From:
Iowa, USA
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Posted 16 Mar 2021 3:17 pm
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| David Spires wrote: |
It's fantastic, if you want the sound of a Twin (no - a simulation is never exactly the real thing, but this is amazing at what it does). All the volume you would expect.
Weighs 33lbs... XLR out has speaker emulation, so great for having your amp on stage and sending a line to the board (no mic).
If a Twin isn't your thing, this won't be. If you are a tube-only guy, this isn't! Comes close. Close enough for me. Amazing how good emulations are.
I don't think anyone has had one long enough to know what the durability is, but I look at it like all other Chinese circuit board devices, probably good for 3-5 years. I don't have expectations that this will last 40 years.
David Spires |
I don't expect to last 40 years either..lol.
But, at 60 yrs old, I like the light weight, and like you say, its close to a twin!
_________________
Williams 700 series D10 8 and 5,
Rittenberry Prestige SD10 4 and 5
Stereo Steel, NV400, Fender Twin Tone Master, Sarno BB, Lil Izzy's, Goodrich Matchbox......on and on ...... |
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Joseph Napolitano
From:
New Jersey, USA
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Posted 16 Mar 2021 5:42 pm
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| Had one for a week . Did one gig. Returned it . Didn't sound anything like a tube amp. Wasn't happy with the sound. It sure was light. I really wanted to like it. Went back to my silverface Twin in Rick Johnson split cabs . |
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Patrick Richards
From:
Arkansas, USA
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Posted 16 Mar 2021 6:12 pm Fender Twin Master Tone
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Thanks to you guys for taking the time to respond. That means alot to me and I'm grateful. Pat
_________________
Breaking strings and gettin dings. |
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Larry Dering
From:
Missouri, USA
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Posted 16 Mar 2021 7:41 pm
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| Pat I own 2 tube twins from the 70s and the Tonemaster Twin. It does sound close enough to my old Twins to use for double duty both guitar and steel. It's not my pick tone but neither are the others. As Larry Beem said, use a favorite reverb pedal and the black box with it. I got used to the bigger tone of 15s in Peavey and my extension cabs. |
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Dave Campbell
From:
Nova Scotia, Canada
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Posted 17 Mar 2021 8:23 am
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i like mine. i have a silverface twin that never gets plugged in anymore.
it's easier to lift, and is more predictable at different volume levels than a real twin.
the reverb is not good. i've updated it, and somehow it is still not good. the decay is extremely long.
i use the attenuator constantly; at home at 12 or 22 watts, rehearsals and small clubs at 40, and once in a blue moon at the full whack of 85.
i replaced one of the originals speakers with a weber neomag for a little more of that jbl thing.
for me, the real twin sounds better at those perfect times when the stage volume is loud enough to really need an 85 watt twin, but in every other situation the tone master will be as good or even better.
did i mention that it is easier to lift? |
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Dave Hopping
From:
Aurora, Colorado
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Posted 17 Mar 2021 8:45 am
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Putting all that processing power behind an old-school control panel was the smartest idea since sliced bread.....Now, if they'll just make Tone-Masters in the USA with period-correct brownface cosmetics and a 15" option,I'm in!  |
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Dwight Breland
From:
New Orleans, Louisiana
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Posted 23 Mar 2021 3:48 pm
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I’ve been playing through the Peaveys for 30 years, and satisfied. When I’d do large shows with back line, I’d request a Twin. I noticed the inconsistency between ‘back line’ twins, blackface, silver and re-issues..... the ones I was able to dial in were the best tones I ever got, anywhere. So, I went hunting for the tube twin...couldn’t find the ‘magic’ I had witnessed earlier. I found it in a Vibrolux (believe it or not). And I bought the Vib for guitar only. I realized that guitar through one channel & steel through the other sounded GREAT as long as very loud volume wasn’t required. But sometimes even the 40 watts of the Vibrolux was a bit much. I did the research on the Mastertone for a long time, hard to pull the trigger. But I did.
Let me say up front....â€I HATE AMP MODELINGâ€!!!! So, I’m a sceptic. For guitar, I’m ‘all tube’. The Peaveys catered to pedal steel with power & reliability, some Session 400’s even had some warmth.
I LOVE it!,,, Is it the real Twin? It’s better than MANY, maybe better than most. To my ears, it’s 95% of a great Twin. And it’s CONSISTENT. No wear or cracking of power tubes or sockets. Does it sound like tubes? Pretty dammed close. In fact, after a little time I quit comparing and let my ears enjoy. I’ve used it on quiet gigs and outside venues and get the same tone at any volume. The amp is always volume appropriate. And, it’s ‘warmer’ than the Peaveys.
And let me add, for guitar?, just turn the attenuator down to 22 watts and PUSH. Great for guitar.
Me and my guitar buddies A/B ‘d next to a early ‘70s silver face and ALL concluded that the Mastertone was better than this particular tube Twin.
The direct out is great and the attention selector is phenomenal. And of course, 33 lbs is heavenly.
For those who ‘double’ on guitar & steel, I highly recommend if you want it all through one amp.
Once again. I’m not a ‘gadget’ buyer... I’m not a gear head....I had to talk myself into spending a GRAND on new technology. But after 5-6 gigs, I ordered a road case, it’s a keeper.
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‘80 Push pull D-10. “Don’t worry ‘bout the mule goin’ blind, just load the wagon†|
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Patrick Richards
From:
Arkansas, USA
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Posted 24 Mar 2021 4:11 am Fender Twin Master Tone
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Dwight,
Thanks for taking the time to do such a detailed response. I'm on the fence yet, but the input is making it easier to decide. And thanks again to everyone for all the help!
Patrick
_________________
Breaking strings and gettin dings. |
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Bill Terry
From:
Bastrop, TX
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Posted 24 Mar 2021 5:37 am
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| Dwight wrote: |
| For those who ‘double’ on guitar & steel, I highly recommend if you want it all through one amp. |
I bought a blonde ToneMaster Twin for just that purpose, and also because I have a '69 Twin drip-edge and I wanted to see how it compared. The Twin in a flight case is a widow maker so I've used mostly a Quilter Steelaire for the last few years.
So far, I've only used the ToneMaster around my studio, and as we all know, the true test is on a stage, but it compares pretty favorably. In a moment of insanity, I also profiled it into my Kemper.. yes, I "Profiled a Modeler".. LOL. That works too, although the ability to use the DI on the ToneMaster for recording (with speaker disabled) is fairly similar.
I've finally got a few gigs on the calendar again and I'm going to take it out on the next one on Apr 2. This happens to be an outdoor gig, which for me is always a bit of a test of an amp. All that said, I'm glad I have it, it sounds good so far, and just on weight alone it's a keeper.
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Lost Pines Studio
"I'm nuts about bolts" |
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Ken Metcalf
From:
San Antonio Texas USA
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Posted 24 Mar 2021 6:12 am
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Use mine alot. TM Twin and Deluxe.
Dial back the power attenuator and set the volume on 4-5.
Works for me.
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MSA 12 String E9th/B6th Universal.
Little Walter PF-89.
Bunch of stomp boxes |
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Michael Sparks
From:
Houston, Texas
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Posted 27 Mar 2021 4:10 pm
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I recently got a Tone Master Twin - played through a Twin years ago and although I loved the sound, just got tired of lugging that 80 pound thing around to clubs and venues. Shifted to Telonics and then to Quilter - was going back and forth between the two, but as good as those amps are, just wasn't really happy with the tone from either. Heard about the Tone Master Twin and decided to try it out and I'm delighted with it. It seems to me to have much greater purity and clarity. Although I'll likely hang on to both the Telonics and the Quilter - the Twin's the hands down winner.
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Regards, Mike "Web" Sparks
Emmons Resound 65 (any minute now...), 2017 Mullen G2, 2010 Emmons Le Grande II, 2003 Emmons Le Grande III, Emmons PP x 2, Telonics VP, Milkman 85W Pedal Steel Amp, Milkman Mini-40 |
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Dan Beller-McKenna
From:
Durham, New Hampshire, USA
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Posted 28 Mar 2021 2:31 am
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Gigs? People are playing gigs?
Just got my second vaccine shot last week; hope to be back at it soon too!
But to the point: I only got to play mine live for a couple of gigs before everything shut down. Pretty much what the others have said: not the real thing, but close enough given the various advantages others have mentioned. I would add that it has been fabulous for recording during the great lost year. That XLR-out sends a great signal to the board.
To be honest, I will probably pick up with the Deluxe reissue for smaller gigs when things start back up. I'll try the Tone Master for louder stages, but could imagine sticking with my 71 split Twin for those.
That said, I don't regret purchasing the Tone Master; for now, it's a useful amp for a variety of situations, and as I get older, the reduced weight may trump the tone trade-off, especially if my hearing gets any worse to where i can't hear the difference anyway!  |
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