The Tonemaster Pro has really impressed me

[fastredponycar]

Disclaimer - Zzounds sent this to me to try out for a few weeks and then send back to them. Not sponsored and not paid.

Back story: I owned the AxeFX III for a year, downsized to the FM3 and used that for a year, gigged with a helix LT for 6 or so months, spent over a decade with the kemper and a few weeks with the Quad cortex. The TMP has been the most enjoyable unit, the easiest to work with and the easiest to dial in a great sound and edit/tweak quickly on stage. In my opinion, it takes the high end digital unit crown.

I know that modelers don't get a lot of love around here but for me, this thing just ticks all the boxes and I also think it's the highest quality unit on the market from a build/materials perspective. It FEELS like it can take an absolute beating on stage.

I had a lot of fun with this one and will 100% be getting another one on the channel after Fender releases their next big update (Which I believe they've said they plan on doing 1 or 2 a year).

I did quite a few TMP videos on my channel but this is the review vid. I honestly think that if I didn't have other stuff coming and going for review and just had to settle for a while on one thing to take on stage, this would be it and when (not if) I got bored and wanted to change things up, I would still be using it at every acoustic show as it did exceptionally well for those gigs.

Could I take an amp and cab? Yep. Would the sound be better? Almost certainly. But do I enjoy a 5 minute setup with 1 trip with gear from the car? Absolutely.

The day after doing this video, I spent a good 5 hours messing around with my FM3 and an AYB switch connecting to the TMP just going back and fourth trying to get the FM3 dialed in with a similar Jubilee sound that I was able to get from the TMP and it was just what felt like hours of endlessly tweaking little settings here and there digging into all the preamp and power amp settings and on the TMP, literally the default jubilee amp with 2 seconds of knob turning and a greenback cab just nails a great gigging sound.



Bonus vid I did yesterday blending the jubilee and the 5153 and Mark IIC+ with great results.

[Chris Z]

Watched your first review video, going to watch the second later. What do you rank it, overall, in the digital amp world?

[I'MAPUNKROCKERDAMNIT]

Great videos!!! You do a fantastic job of explaining things!!!

I bugged out when you rotated one of the foot switches, like a potentiometer, when fading between the greenback cab and the blackback cab.
I never knew they made footswitches that could also be dialed. Amazing!

If I hit the lottery, I'm getting a Fender Tonemaster Pro...... I may, God forbid, consider selling an amp for one!!!

[Guitarbilly]

It sounds good. But modern modelers always sound good by themselves and on recordings. Do you have any videos of the live gigs with it? That would be a better test for me.

[fastredponycar]

It sounds good. But modern modelers always sound good by themselves and on recordings. Do you have any videos of the live gigs with it? That would be a better test for me.

I've used it for 5 shows. One of them was using their FR12 FRFR and it was great too. Not amazing but really solid for the $600.

I can't post any live stuff because youtube copywrite strikes it.

Edit: I forgot I do have one small clip in my Chapman guitar review vid of us playing california love live. That one slipped through the copywrite filters.

[bonano]

Interesting guitar. I associate that headstock with a NR Firebird, yet the body looks like an Explorer.

[Vladimir Putin]

That doesn't sound like a Jubilee, and has too much gain. Reminds me of most modelers in that the top end is buzzy and it doesn't have the body like an actual tube amp. The 5153 part didn't sound any better and just got a thicker layer of buzzy gain.

I can't hear any of the dynamics of the amps, and reminds me of modern music production where everything is under a hard limiter at all times.

This sucks.

[bonano]