Fender Tonemaster

[kidblast]

Good stuff Ann,  there's not a lot you can do about the window shoppers in these stores.   It's one big plus for Mail oder!! 🙂

[GuitarsAnn]

Thank you!! Yeah, that guy was just flogging the hell out of that poor guitar and amp.

I try to keep the local shops busy. Dave's has been really good to me. Really gave me a good deal trading in my old amp. Their new store in Milwaukee, WI is really nice. Ben is an Outstanding Manager and the Repair Guys are the best. I asked for a bit of a tweak on the neck relief on my SG-12 and they were happy to accommodate me. Dave's in La Crosse, WI is their Parent store and is Guitar Heaven. The one in Madison, WI is also great. They all do On-Line shopping and have a great selection. I'm Glad I live close to the Milwaukee shop. The Custom Shop will be shipping my Les Paul there. They will ensure the setup is right for me.

[rct]

Woo Hoo for Daves!  And Cream City.  And Wade's Guitar Shop.  And the Brookfield GC is pretty good too!

I know, it says South Jersey.  We love us some Wilwaukee.

rct

[GuitarsAnn]

They all got some of my money. All good places.

[rct]

000-16 and M-36 from Alex at Wade's, and quite a few drinks at the Starbucks up the street.  I had a few cases from Brookfield GC.  

rct

[rct]

Well alrighty then, picked up the Blonde today.

After a couple hours of doinkering around with it, Two Words: Nice.

The speaker is the difference.  The Black is a bit brighter, more ice pick in the recipe.  The Blonde is definitely rounder, grunts way better, thumps really well.  The Black roars more than grunts, it thumps pretty good though.

Next weekend I'll put an A/B box between The Pedalboard of Doom and the two amps and step on back and forth.  Might be leading to a speaker change in the Black.  Rehearse it this week and out this weekend and next.  Looking forward to putting on the cabinet and bashing at it.

rct

[mihcmac]

 

[kidblast]

11 hours ago, rct said:

Well alrighty then, picked up the Blonde today.

After a couple hours of doinkering around with it, Two Words: Nice.

The speaker is the difference.  The Black is a bit brighter, more ice pick in the recipe.  The Blonde is definitely rounder, grunts way better, thumps really well.  The Black roars more than grunts, it thumps pretty good though.

Next weekend I'll put an A/B box between The Pedalboard of Doom and the two amps and step on back and forth.  Might be leading to a speaker change in the Black.  Rehearse it this week and out this weekend and next.  Looking forward to putting on the cabinet and bashing at it.

rct

Cool !!!

I was wunderin how you would get along the difference in the top end of these two versions.

when I was in the pre-purchase phase, all I could do was read about it, they only had the black in stock down the road.

I've had enough fender amps to know quite enough about the ice picky top side to go headlong into another round of that.

(this was before I knew the firmware updates were sound, as there were some issues where guys really farked up their amps with bad firmware releases from Fender early on)

So that along with the Reverb sitch, I instead ordered the blonde.

I bet, if you run that a/b switcher, you may find your self running stereo more often than not.

let me know how the speaker situation ends up.

[rct]

I think the two amps are as up firmwared as they can get, so any differences now are going to be the speaker.  I think.

I've done the whole stereo thing and no, that won't be happening, I'm afraid those days are gone for me.  There isn't a venue within 100 miles of here worth all that.

I have yet to put the attenuation feature to good use, I have to get to that too.  And I'm putting actual speaker out jacks on the backs at some point.  I'm just so busy.  😄😄😄😄

rct

[kidblast]

I would never bother a stereo setup for a gig,  but in my cave,,, with my biggest fan (a 19" Lakso pedestal fan)  I do stereo a lot.

It don't mean nuthin much, however it makes me happy!!!!!  and don't we all want happiness???  Hmmm?

[rct]

Oh I enjoy a stereo rig up as much as the next guy, too much chorus, super duper delay and stuff.  It's delicious.

rct

[GuitarsAnn]

I'm really digging my Blondie Deluxe. Cranked it up to do Credence version of Midnight Special. WOW.  Fender nailed the digital version.

 

[mihcmac]

I really like Blondies.   One way or another..

Edited September 7, 2021 by mihcmac

[Tman]

Reviving this necrothread because I  just got the Black paneled Deluxe Reverb (formally known as Blackface Deluxe Reverb). Floor model extremely good price. Damn this thing is amazing. My research before the purchase consisted of this covid era thread. Loads of good stuff.

Because of the attenuator, I can play it overdriven without blowing everyone out of the house. Because of the weight, I can move it without asking my son. Strong work on many levels Fender.

[Dave F]

13 hours ago, Tman said:

Reviving this necrothread because I  just got the Black paneled Deluxe Reverb (formally known as Blackface Deluxe Reverb). Floor model extremely good price. Damn this thing is amazing. My research before the purchase consisted of this covid era thread. Loads of good stuff.

Because of the attenuator, I can play it overdriven without blowing everyone out of the house. Because of the weight, I can move it without asking my son. Strong work on many levels Fender.

I have the Twin version. 
Same sentiments. 

[kidblast]

On 11/28/2022 at 10:20 PM, Tman said:

Reviving this necrothread because I  just got the Black paneled Deluxe Reverb (formally known as Blackface Deluxe Reverb). Floor model extremely good price. Damn this thing is amazing. My research before the purchase consisted of this covid era thread. Loads of good stuff.

Because of the attenuator, I can play it overdriven without blowing everyone out of the house. Because of the weight, I can move it without asking my son. Strong work on many levels Fender.

I bought the Blonde version in February of 2021.    It's become one of my favorite amps.  Incredibly easy to move and the power attenuator is worth the price of admission.  I generally run it on one of the lower wat settings, and keep the volume around 5 or 6.

It's got that spank that you can only otherwise get by cranking a tube version.  My son has a 65 RI, and side by side, these two are very close when playing at "use your indoor voice" volumes.

I have used it a few times where I've needed to power setting upped, and it's performed great 

I know it's the the "REAL deal", and there's no arguing that those are hard to beat.

But I do like these amps a lot.

was yours one of the original firm ware releases?  or a later one?  May be worth checking, because the firmware updates for the Rreverb and Bright Cap mod can really make a difference.  

[Tman]

6 hours ago, kidblast said:

I bought the Blonde version in February of 2021.    It's become one of my favorite amps.  Incredibly easy to move and the power attenuator is worth the price of admission.  I generally run it on one of the lower wat settings, and keep the volume around 5 or 6.

It's got that spank that you can only otherwise get by cranking a tube version.  My son has a 65 RI, and side by side, these two are very close when playing at "use your indoor voice" volumes.

I have used it a few times where I've needed to power setting upped, and it's performed great 

I know it's the the "REAL deal", and there's no arguing that those are hard to beat.

But I do like these amps a lot.

was yours one of the original firm ware releases?  or a later one?  May be worth checking, because the firmware updates for the Rreverb and Bright Cap mod can really make a difference.  

Not sure about the firmware but I'll check it tonight, good advice and I remember comments made about it in the original thread. I do know the reverb is very impressive when I played the amp.

[kidblast]

16 hours ago, Tman said:

Not sure about the firmware but I'll check it tonight, good advice and I remember comments made about it in the original thread. I do know the reverb is very impressive when I played the amp.

one way to know..  without the firmware update, the reverb setting anywhere past 3 is way too much.  

[GuitarsAnn]

I need to do an update. Tried a while back, but I think my cord was only a charge cord and didn't work. I recently got, hopefully, the correct cord. Just haven't got to doing it yet. I've been having a lot of fun with my Mustang Micro and not disturbing the household. LOL

[Larsongs]

 lost me with Firmware updates…. 

 

Edited December 1, 2022 by Larsongs

[Larsongs]

Thats great, if you’re into that… I’m old school.. Nothing wrong with my Reverbs in my Tube Fender’s..

I’ve been using the Virtual Amps in Apple Logic Pro X.. They’re about as close as you can get to the Tube Amp Sound.. There are also a jillion FX, EQ’s, Compressors etc..

While they are great, they still don’t sound as good as real Fender & Vox Tube Amps to me… I’ve gone back to my Tube Amps.. 

If I want light, I use my 65 PRRI… They’re good for just about anything. If I need Pedals, which sometimes I do, I have a small Boss Pedalboard that closes like a Briefcase.. Works great!

I have too many Amps now!

But, I know guys who use the Tonemasters & love them.. That’s great!

Different Strokes..

Edited December 1, 2022 by Larsongs

[Tman]

2 hours ago, Larsongs said:

Thats great, if you’re into that… I’m old school.. Nothing wrong with my Reverbs in my Tube Fender’s..

I’ve been using the Virtual Amps in Apple Logic Pro X.. They’re about as close as you can get to the Tube Amp Sound.. There are also a jillion FX, EQ’s, Compressors etc..

While they are great, they still don’t sound as good as real Fender & Vox Tube Amps to me… I’ve gone back to my Tube Amps.. 

If I want light, I use my 65 PRRI… They’re good for just about anything. If I need Pedals, which sometimes I do, I have a small Boss Pedalboard that closes like a Briefcase.. Works great!

I have too many Amps now!

But, I know guys who use the Tonemasters & love them.. That’s great!

Different Strokes..

Lars you made the point abundantly clear the first few times you said it in the thread🙂

In a perfect world I'd play with a tube amp, I even have a Tone King which is the best sounding amp I have ever owned period but I am selling it. Just too heavy to lug around and that includes to the studio where it is infinitely easier to just use the digital sounds already included in the DAW and tweak them. On the album I recorded in 2017 it was 100% digital. Can't tell listening to it. Things are even better today.  Regardless I won't try to sell you on it, I'm sold because of convenience, great quality and most importantly, light weight.

 

[Larsongs]

7 hours ago, Tman said:

Lars you made the point abundantly clear the first few times you said it in the thread🙂

In a perfect world I'd play with a tube amp, I even have a Tone King which is the best sounding amp I have ever owned period but I am selling it. Just too heavy to lug around and that includes to the studio where it is infinitely easier to just use the digital sounds already included in the DAW and tweak them. On the album I recorded in 2017 it was 100% digital. Can't tell listening to it. Things are even better today.  Regardless I won't try to sell you on it, I'm sold because of convenience, great quality and most importantly, light weight.

 

No worries.. Enjoy your Tone King.. There’s nothing wrong with people liking Digital Amps.. There’s nothing wrong with people liking Tube Amps.. 

[kidblast]

7 hours ago, Larsongs said:

No worries.. Enjoy your Tone King.. There’s nothing wrong with people liking Digital Amps.. There’s nothing wrong with people liking Tube Amps.. 

I like both!