Tone Master Deluxe Reverb

[kidblast]

31 minutes ago, mihcmac said:

Both the Black and Blonde TM Deluxe Reverb cabinets use Pine construction, the Blonde is about $50 more possibly because it uses a (neodymium magnet) Celestion G12 Neo Creamback speaker, while the Black uses a (neodymium magnet) Jensen N-12K speaker. So other than the colors they both seem to check out very similar but with few differences.

Black Vs Blonde.........

 

From what I discovered when I was shopping for mine, the Black (1st version they released) has a bit of a mess with the reverb, where anything past 4 or 5 and I read it was not all that usable.   The blonde version fixed that, and also they modified the amp to not be quite as bright so it would take OD pedals with out getting harsh sounding.

the reverb really is one of the best "on board" reverbs I've heard yet.  

The reverb and bright issues on the Black version are both fixable with a firmware update and yes, it is a different speaker. 

The blonde version also includes a fender amp cover the black one does not.

I know it's not the "real" deal, and I came very close to buying the valve version but man I have so many tube amps now..  I wanted something light and simple to use and move.. 

 The lower wattage modes w/the attenuator really make this amp sing, you can get that "spanky" fenderish tone at the lower attenuation with cranking the volume and not drive your family running for cover.

it is kind of unfortunate they omitted a FX loop, would have really been a great add on.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 12, 2021 by kidblast

[badbluesplayer]

The Jensen speaker retails for $260 itself.  That's pretty impressive.

[rct]

The reverb was a tad on the harsh side for me, in the end I fired up the junky MXR 'verb pedal which has always made me happy, and I use the short side of the amp.  Ten band eq on top to get the room right.  And a wireless receiver on top too.  Still light enough to toss around easily for an old guy.

rct

[mihcmac]

2 hours ago, badbluesplayer said:

The Jensen speaker retails for $260 itself.  That's pretty impressive.

I think that may be the MSRP as most of the Jenson neodymium speakers on the net are about $100 less than that..

[mihcmac]

3 hours ago, rct said:

The reverb was a tad on the harsh side for me, in the end I fired up the junky MXR 'verb pedal which has always made me happy, and I use the short side of the amp.  Ten band eq on top to get the room right.  And a wireless receiver on top too.  Still light enough to toss around easily for an old guy.

rct

There is supposed to be an update for the first version to make it like the Blonde, the newer version Blacks may already have updated controls, possibly the one Phil has  is more recent.. 

Note;  that I did try a TM and a Blues Jr next to each other, but cost wise and just the desire for tubes, I was going for the Blues Jr. Until I tried a few used Blues Jr's and found they were getting noisy, anyway I ended up going a completely different direction.

Edited April 12, 2021 by mihcmac

[rct]

I did the update not long ago, it worked.  Still using the short side and my own reverb.  I never use tremolo.

I've used Blues Jr three or four periods of my life.  You end up chasing different tubes and cap jobs and every pedal under the sun.  It's just a little box of noise that isn't worth carrying.  That's been my experience with them.

rct

[merciful-evans]

13 hours ago, kidblast said:

 

it is kind of unfortunate they omitted a FX loop, would have really been a great add on.

 

 

 

 

 

It probably the thing that would stop me buying one. 

[kidblast]

3 hours ago, merciful-evans said:

It probably the thing that would stop me buying one. 

wasn't a show stopper for me,  If the choice was the attenuator, or the loop, give me the attenuator.

16 hours ago, rct said:

The reverb was a tad on the harsh side for me, in the end I fired up the junky MXR 'verb pedal which has always made me happy, and I use the short side of the amp.  Ten band eq on top to get the room right.  And a wireless receiver on top too.  Still light enough to toss around easily for an old guy.

rct

I run a compressor in front of my signal path, that feeds a DL4, -> MXR Compressor, -> TC Spark boost last.  I really like the reverb on the TM, it's probably one of the best sounding reverbs on any amp I've owned.

 

14 hours ago, mihcmac said:

I was going for the Blues Jr. Until I tried a few used Blues Jr's and found they were getting noisy, anyway I ended up going a completely different direction.

I've had 2 B Jrs,  in the past 15/20 years  and moved on from both of them,  I like the concept,  but they just don't quite deliver.  With the associated costs Fender is fetching, and the added costs to bring them to something more palatable, just not worth it.  There are quite a few more offerings like that, that I think are much more to what I like.  

[Larsongs]

Check out the new Pro Reverb Amp. That is on my list right now...

[Dave F]

Since they’re so light, I opted for the Twin Reverb TM 

So far, so good. 

[rct]

On 4/12/2021 at 3:04 PM, rct said:

The reverb was a tad on the harsh side for me, in the end I fired up the junky MXR 'verb pedal which has always made me happy, and I use the short side of the amp.  Ten band eq on top to get the room right.  And a wireless receiver on top too.  Still light enough to toss around easily for an old guy.

rct

So I need to clarify and update this, in the event anyone is interested in one of these amps.

We have been rehearsing direct into the board and out the headphone mix to our heads so we can be quiet, some issues with neighbor.

I was using my TM Deluxe DI, and it was working well.  I started getting some super harsh stuff going on, worse than the usual terrible sound of playing direct.  I'd fiddle with stuff and nothing much changed.  Then I turned reverb all the way down on the amp and it improved.  Improved is a funny word, because it was still direct awful.

So I went straight from my pedalboard to whatever junk he has over there, and put the junky MXR verb on the board because I can't play without some verb.  Man.

Been changing some pickups and stuff so lots of amp time and the reverb has been just fine.  Last night we were lucky that neighbor is away for a week, so we used amps and we recorded a couple songs.  So I used TM Deluxe like normal and also as a DI for the recording.  Sure enough, direct sounded just awful, scritchy and harsh.  So I went straight from pedal board to that corner of the room.

When we were done I went over there to look at what the recording guy had going on over there.  Two racks spaces of di stuff, rack eq, rack reverb, into Pro Tools and all of the eq'n and effect'n that goes on in there.  I asked him if it was always set up like this and he said yes, it is.  I pointed out that my amp was it's own DI and he said no wonder you sound like sh1t using that thing.

So there it is.  When we rehearse, bass player is in command of all that stuff and he's been studio leveling and eqing and reverbing my eq and reverb that are already at studio levels.  So yeah, no wonder it's been sounding like sh1t in the amp.  So it wasn't ever the reverb after all.  But I'll just keep going direct from pedal board, but I'll be using the amp verb when we are out.

rct

[mihcmac]

22 hours ago, rct said:

So I need to clarify and update this, in the event anyone is interested in one of these amps.

We have been rehearsing direct into the board and out the headphone mix to our heads so we can be quiet, some issues with neighbor.

I was using my TM Deluxe DI, and it was working well.  I started getting some super harsh stuff going on, worse than the usual terrible sound of playing direct.  I'd fiddle with stuff and nothing much changed.  Then I turned reverb all the way down on the amp and it improved.  Improved is a funny word, because it was still direct awful.

So I went straight from my pedalboard to whatever junk he has over there, and put the junky MXR verb on the board because I can't play without some verb.  Man.

Been changing some pickups and stuff so lots of amp time and the reverb has been just fine.  Last night we were lucky that neighbor is away for a week, so we used amps and we recorded a couple songs.  So I used TM Deluxe like normal and also as a DI for the recording.  Sure enough, direct sounded just awful, scritchy and harsh.  So I went straight from pedal board to that corner of the room.

When we were done I went over there to look at what the recording guy had going on over there.  Two racks spaces of di stuff, rack eq, rack reverb, into Pro Tools and all of the eq'n and effect'n that goes on in there.  I asked him if it was always set up like this and he said yes, it is.  I pointed out that my amp was it's own DI and he said no wonder you sound like sh1t using that thing.

So there it is.  When we rehearse, bass player is in command of all that stuff and he's been studio leveling and eqing and reverbing my eq and reverb that are already at studio levels.  So yeah, no wonder it's been sounding like sh1t in the amp.  So it wasn't ever the reverb after all.  But I'll just keep going direct from pedal board, but I'll be using the amp verb when we are out.

rct

So you are saying you like the your TM Deluxe for live sound with the built in Reverb, but not through the DI for recording?

[rct]

34 minutes ago, mihcmac said:

So you are saying you like the your TM Deluxe for live sound with the built in Reverb, but not through the DI for recording?

I'm saying that the people responsible for what goes on "over there", that is, where our stuff goes in for both recording and the DI rehearsals, don't know what they are doing, and that I'm not getting involved in all that nonsense. 

 I would say the reverb via  DI would be just fine if the knob fiddlers knew what they were doing.  Straight off the pedalboard is the lesser of two really bad choice evils, because playing direct into headphones just sucks no matter how you do it.

rct

[mihcmac]

10 minutes ago, rct said:

I'm saying that the people responsible for what goes on "over there", that is, where our stuff goes in for both recording and the DI rehearsals, don't know what they are doing, and that I'm not getting involved in all that nonsense. 

 I would say the reverb via  DI would be just fine if the knob fiddlers knew what they were doing.  Straight off the pedalboard is the lesser of two really bad choice evils, because playing direct into headphones just sucks no matter how you do it.

rct

The headphone mix is difficult to get the mix that each player needs, unless you are doing individual tracks one at a time. For band practice it can be very challenging. Any way thanks for your in-depth explanation..

[Twang Gang]

My band is defunct now, but just for anyone who is doing the same sort of thing as RCT for keeping practice volume down, here is what we did.  Now granted my drummer was a pro sound man/recording engineer and he controlled the mix as opposed to some bass player who may or may not know what he is doing when it comes to recording and mixing a band.  But the bass player ran direct into the sound board (through a DI box), I ran my Eleven rack into the board (in stereo) and the drummer ran his electronic gizmo drums direct into the board (in stereo).  The mix we used into our headphones was the same for all three of us, and it was the same as it would sound coming out of the large PA speakers for a performance.  We wanted to know what the audience would hear overall as opposed to a specific monitor mix where the guitar player wants to hear mostly the guitar, bass player mostly bass etc.  When we performed we eliminated wedge monitors (and their feedback/balance issues) and used in-ear buds.  The result (again benefit of a pro engineer/mixer) was a very hi-fi sound for the band that was well balanced between all the instruments and vocals.

[rct]

The mix is fine.  It's the sound.  Nothing direct sounds like the real thing, it sounds like sh1t.  No air, no latency, no bounce.  Flat, one dimensional.  It's fine for recording, that will sound completely different when we are done with it.  It's awful for rehearsing with the exception of getting the harmonies right.  Other than that, sounds like sh1t dipped in sh1t with sh1t gravy.  

rct

[Sgt. Pepper]

4 minutes ago, rct said:

The mix is fine.  It's the sound.  Nothing direct sounds like the real thing, it sounds like sh1t.  No air, no latency, no bounce.  Flat, one dimensional.  It's fine for recording, that will sound completely different when we are done with it.  It's awful for rehearsing with the exception of getting the harmonies right.  Other than that, sounds like sh1t dipped in sh1t with sh1t gravy.  

rct

So it sounds like U2?

[rct]

Sorry brutha, U2 is good.  And they have some fabulous recordings.  And in the time you and I spend going back and forth about U2 they will have earned enough off the music they've made to pay for one of their houses while we pay comcast for the privilege of arguing about U2.   

rct