Tone Master : Deluxe Vs. Twin (Is there a tonal difference?)

[Mike Manhost67]

I 've had a Tone Master Deluxe for over a year now, and absolutely love it and loved being able to play ultra quiet at night with with no extraneous hissing or hum.


I wanted a "tube" amp, so I bought a 68 Custom Vibro Champ last week.


I loved the sound, but the amp would start loudly hissing anytime I turned up the Reverb knob, and I couldn't deal with it when I played quiet, so I sent it back. Not sure if that's just the amp, or was just a special problem with the unit I had.


A friend has an almost brand new Blonde Master Twin they can sell me at an amazing price.


If I want to expand my tonal landscape, would the Blonde Tone Master Twin be a good add or redundant?


I know its two speakers (and different ones), more watts, and different attenuation.


But other than that, is there much of a tonal difference between the two, or is the twin just bigger and louder, with more headroom ?

 

[GoldenEagle0308]

Others may disagree, but you can get just about the same tones out of both amps by tweaking the bass and treble knobs. If you want more headroom and want to blow out the windows, get the twin.

 

[arct]

If you aren't gigging it isn't going to make any difference. At the volumes it seems you are using the Twin is just not worth it, it'll be the same thing. I have been using a TM Deluxe for about a year also, and I really like it a lot. When we are back to a normal schedule hopefully soon I will buy another, maybe even a Twin for flatbed festivals with mud filled mosh pits and suchlike.

rct

 

[Cerb]

I 've had a Tone Master Deluxe for over a year now, and absolutely love it and loved being able to play ultra quiet at night with with no extraneous hissing or hum.


I wanted a "tube" amp, so I bought a 68 Custom Vibro Champ last week.


I loved the sound, but the amp would start loudly hissing anytime I turned up the Reverb knob, and I couldn't deal with it when I played quiet, so I sent it back. Not sure if that's just the amp, or was just a special problem with the unit I had.


A friend has an almost brand new Blonde Master Twin they can sell me at an amazing price.


If I want to expand my tonal landscape, would the Blonde Tone Master Twin be a good add or redundant?


I know its two speakers (and different ones), more watts, and different attenuation.


But other than that, is there much of a tonal difference between the two, or is the twin just bigger and louder, with more headroom ?

If you want something to add to your tonal palette, check out the Quilter Aviator Cub.

 

[bbarott]

By and large twins in my experience are cleaner and, even when overdriven, a bit brighter. Yeah, there is definitely a tonal difference.

 

[AntStrat]

Is the tonemaster based off of a particular amp?

 

[Mike Manhost67]

Is the tonemaster based off of a particular amp?

The two are digital solid state models based on the Fender Deluxe, and Fender Twin

 

[Stratattack72]

Tone wise yes a twin is different from a Deluxe as a twin has mid control and a deluxe doesn't the other thing is a deluxe will go into overdrive at lower volumes whereas a twin will have to be about on full volume to get any kind of overdrive out of it . It's just a much cleaner amp.

 

[Jimi Lightning]

Just watched these as I am considering picking one up.
Interesting point is that the Blonde had some changes ( treble cap) that according to the comments are downloadable to the other.

 

[Mike Manhost67]

Just watched these as I am considering picking one up.
Interesting point is that the Blonde had some changes ( treble cap) that according to the comments are downloadable to the other.

You can update the Deluxe through Firmware (easy to do) and cut the bright cap

I did that to my Tone Master Deluxe.

There is another update as well where you can even out the Reverb making it more gradual as you turn the dial, highly recommended.

 

[arct]

The reverb change was a good one and it was painless.

rct

 

[Jimi Lightning]

You can update the Deluxe through Firmware (easy to do) and cut the bright cap

I did that to my Tone Master Deluxe.

There is another update as well where you can even out the Reverb making it more gradual as you turn the dial, highly recommended.

Is it able to be reverted? I like the over driven tone with the bright cap as for me its very Peter Greenish. I dont want to lose that.

 

[Mike Manhost67]

Is it able to be reverted? I like the over driven tone with the bright cap as for me its very Peter Greenish. I dont want to lose that.

Yes, here is a link to the updates, and they can easily be reverted

Deluxe
https://fendercustomersupport.microsoftcrmportals.com/en-us/knowledgebase/article/KA-01919

Twin
https://fendercustomersupport.microsoftcrmportals.com/en-us/knowledgebase/article/KA-01918

 

[kdines]

I’ve been having a similar debate with myself as I am really drawn to both of these Tonemaster amps. The Twin is hard to stop thinking about as I really like a lot of bottom end and do not like an overly ‘trebly’ sound - and I presume that the Twin would fit this description best. However, I am strictly a home player at very moderate volumes (~75 - 80 dB) so in my heart of hearts, know that the Twin is probably overkill. I just need to try them in person, once life gets a bit closer to normal! Take care.