Fender Tone Master

The specs are described in countless reviews so not much need to go into that, this is the model with dual effects loops. Not alot of versitility which will be addressed in the next section, but does its sound very well. I would like reverb, but who cares. I like bare bones amps, and this is a proffesional straight to the point amplifier.

Here is where I have to strongly disagree with everyone so far. I bought this amp expecting a strong loud clean sound, and a possibly usable distortion channel. I was looking for an original soundng amp and thought this would provide a good basis for pedals. The reviews never could have led me to believe that this was the amp I got. Fortuantly the unexpected sound is a godsend. I have played around with all the settings, I have played it with all 3 of my guitars (LP standard, LP Deluxe with p-90's and a telecaster custom with a singlecoil in the bridge)and I can get nothing but pure rock distortion. I can not for the life a me coax a clean sound out of her on the clean channel, and the clean I can get on the lead channel is far too quiet to hear with drums. At home I play some surf and country for which this is bad news, But fortunatly when I play out, I play straight up dirty rocknroll (like a raunchier version of bands like the Cult, the smugglers, Social D, Rocket From the Crypt). I am tired of the marshall sound but couldnt find anything that still had the same overall feel with just a little different character. I have found it. I used to buy and sell amps monthly. This is now my only amp and will be around so long as I am playing out. It is very very loud, very very crunchy and very very perfect. I plug the guitars straight in and crank the clean channel to around 7 roll up the mids and highs and roll down the bass out into the matching 4x12 and I have the best rock guitar sound I have ever heard. Period.

Seems built like a tank

I have owned 3 marshalls (800,6100,JMP) a bandmaster, soldano hr50, Ampeg VL-1002(absolutly killer amp as well) and a 59 bassman RI. This is the first that feels like a keeper. I wish I could get clean if I wanted it, but the clean channel sounds so good cranked I can live with out it. I use the lead channel for solos sometimes. Amps feeds back sometimes, and is very expensive, but this is an absolutly killer rock amp. It looks totally hot as well.

I don't know when it was made. Tone Master head, 100 tube watts, two channels(A clean, B lead), has two effects loops,two FAT switches (clean and lead) not sure if rectifier is tube. Doesn't have reverb which is a major consideration. If I could afford this amp (I'm a working musician on a BUDGET) I might buy it. I play all styles, not metal or really hard rock but play jazz, blues, fusion, country, rockabilly, Irish, R&B, whatever. I wouldn't say this is a practical gigging amp but would be cool for bigger clubs/ festivals. Definitely enough power, 100 watts will melt your ears off on any volume setting past 3 or so.

I played an American Texas Strat (is that what it's called?) and a humbucker-equipped PRS through it. Sounded better with the Strat right off the bat but I'm sure you can tweak the amp for humbucker tones. I would recommend this amp to blues, blues rock, classic rock players, not so for jazz, fusion, country, R&B etc. The clean is very three dimensional and FAT, particularly with the FAT switch activated, isn't that interesting. Played it through a matched ToneMaster 2X12 cab, the sound was so bottomy I couldn't believe it. Very much like a Vibro King with more headroom. This is not from personal experience but the word is the amp was made to work with the Celestion 30's and not really anything else, so buy the matching cab that comes with it. At the music store I teach at some of the guys were saying that this head through Tone Tubby speakers was enormously trebly and piercing. I can't imagine needing more clean headroom but keep in mind those Celestions begin to distort pretty quickly lending a warmer character to the clean than the clinical spank of a Twin with Jensens, if you're a country or R&B blackface guy this isn't the amp for you. The lead channel was pretty explosive for Fender, had a crunchy quality rather than a violiny Boogie Nomad thing. There is plenty of gain on tap there. This isn't a metal amp but like I said, if you're a blues, rock guy you could do a lot worse than this amp. Everybody's got their tone that they're looking for so obviously you have to try an amp for yourself before you buy one. Anybody who would buy an amp unseen and unheard from a mail order catalog is begging to be disappointed, don't ever do that. The best way to describe this amp is a louder Vibro King head with two footswitchable channels and higher gain in the lead channel (Vibro King has only one channel.) I wouldn't say there's a lot of variety of tones, it has two great tones and if that's what you're looking for you could do a lot worse. I personally thought the clean was sensational and the lead was pretty good. Any lead preamp setting past 5 is pretty noisy, that is the nature of preamp distortion. For each increase in preamp saturation there is an appreciable noise increase in any amp. My real rating for sound would be a 9 for the clean and a 7 for the lead.

Don't know. It's not a good idea to gig without at least some tube replacements handy but generally I don't. I've blown power tubes on gigs and it's not pretty, this leads to expensive ass amp repairs. At least buy a POD and be prepared to go direct into a PA on any gig. Any tube amp needs yearly maintenance, 6 months if you gig for a living.

I've never personally dealt with Fender, being such a large company I can't imagine their tech support would be any good. Fender tube stuff is easy to work on, however, any competent amp tech can repair their stuff. I have a Fender authorized repair center right down the street from where I live.

I've been playing 16 years, about 10 professionally more or less (I've played gigs since I was 16.) I play a Fender Custom Shop Strat and a Parker Nitefly which I want to get rid of through a Boogie Mark 2 head and Boogie 1 12 speaker. Not really an effects guy, use a wah when I need to, Tube Screamer reissue most of the time, Boss DD3 for slapback or echo, sometimes Boss Octave Divider. You have to compare the Tone Master to other high end stuff like Soldano and ask yourself is this as good as a Soldano (or other such super expensive pro high end gear ) because that's the kind of money you're paying. Personally I don't think the Tone Master is THAT good for roughly $2000 brand new for the head alone. If you can find a used one for around 1100 or 1200 or so that's probably the way to go. I wish it had reverb. It's certainly a great amp.

perchased used/mint, it's a 1999. Dual channel, fat switch on both.
impedance switch ( which really only works at higher gain/vol. levels. )

I play americana blues power rock, using a pair of " HAMER " custom shop Monaco Elites, a re-issue 57 strat, re-issue 52 tele, and the amp works very good for me. BUT, this is not the amp for everyone.
I was looking for a clean, powerful, fondation with a certain tone.
The dissapointment with this amp is that it does not sound like anything else, and will not be what your looking for unless you want a TONE- MASTER.

zero problems so far, but i am easy with my gear.

I have delt with fender in the past, and hope i wont need to in the future ( know what i mean ? ).

Overall very good. It turned out to be what i needed and wanted. I believe this is it for me, and i will buy another one as a back-up.
Check it out, and be ready to love it or hate it.

-Effects loop
-Db/Fat switch
-Should have used a 50K pot for the Mids instead of a 25K (but almost all fender tone controls are set up like this)
-Channel switching (my relay is starting to go out a little)
-Solid state rectifier (wish it had tubes)
-Didn't like the tone from the dirty channel so I changed some of the caps values and used some really nice caps (low esr black gates, tight tol sprague blah blah blah)
-Auto biasing would be awesome

OK here's the deal don't buy this amp if you're looking for a marshall or a fender or a boogie or a hiwatt or an orange. Its got its' own character. The clean channel sounds like a dark twin and the dirty channel is like a buzzy marshall. If you want to hear in action take a listen to Chris Whitley's "Narcotic Prayer". The only thing he had hooked up to that was 50ft of speaker cord the rest was tonemaster. It's not a pretty amp and you may have to work with it but man I love this thing. I've put mullards; JAN GE's, Phillips and Brimars in the 12ax7 slots and I found that I like the GE's the most. First because they don't burn a whole in your pocket and second they take the edge off a little. In the output section I've replaced with svetlana, tung-sols and I stopped with 7581a's from phillips because they sound unbeleivable...what a great sound. I hate it when people talk too much about there set-up so let me say it sounds great with les pauls, strats, teles, es335s but it really doesn't like crunchy active pickups...way too much edge. By the way... mind band plays emo-ish indierock but I play delta blues also.

only reason I give it a 9 is because it's got tubes and you never know when they start to go out, increase in microphonics, etc...auto biasing would be great.

4 out of 5 e-mails were answered
2 of the answered e-mails took over a week
trying to find a educated person to speak to can be difficult.

I like...no...I love this amp but it won't replace a princeton or plexi. Listen and make up your own mind.

You can look at the other reviews for the basic features.

Interesting (and useful) features:

1. "Fat" switches on both channels. Does exactly that for single coils, adds even more grind for the HB's.

2. Variable Impedence selecor/Power soak: I've never seen anything like this on any other amp. The impedence selector has "High/Med/Low" for it's settings. The idea here (and the manual explains this better than I can here) is to set the switch to Low if your dirty volume knob is at 3.5 or less, Med for 3.5 to 7, and High for anything over 7. The output transformer on this amp is so massive that it will act as a power soak and give that "cranked" tube sound at any volume setting as long as your total impedance is 4 ohms or more. I've never got this thing over 3 yet (it is way loud) so I can't say whether it works or not, but it sure is a unique feature.

> Lots of volume, should handle any medium to large room easily.
> No reverb, bummer.
> Huge transformer. Very heavy.

First off, the guys who have given this thing the really low scores are full of it. They either don't know tone, are pissed at Fender for some reason, or thought they were buying some kind of Death Metal Marshall thing. This amp is all Pro, and is worth every penny.

I use just about any kind of guitar there is (except Rickenbakers).

The clean channel is typical Fender (like an old Twin) clean. The closed cabinet (w/Celestion Classic Lead speakers) and lack of reverb can lead you to think that the sound is kind of sterile, but it really isn't.

The dirty channel is warm, creamy and very "brown". Not like a Marshall at all. Again, the closed cabinet is very punchy and direct-sounding, so it's not going to fill a room with sound the same way an open backed cabinet will.

Just to prove my theory about the tonal qualities of the amp and the kind of affect the closed-back cabinets were having on this amp's sound, I hooked the output up to a pair of old Jensen speakers in an old Twin's open-back cabinet. Results?

The clean channel sounds just like an old Twin, except there is no bright switch and the Fat switch really beefs up the tone especially for single-coils.

The Dirty channel sounds just like an old Twin with a Ibanez Tube screamer in front of it! - I'm not kidding, it was identical. To prove this I borrowed a friend's Twin ('68) from down the hall in the rehearsal studio, hooked it's output op to a 4x12 Marshall cab, threw a Tubescreamer in front of it and used a DOD line switch and A/B'd it against my ToneMaster. Yep, same sound.

The moral of this story is that if you want a Tone Master on a budget, buy an old Twin and a re-issue Tubescreamer and an old 4x12 cab and you're 80% of the way there, plus you have reverb.

Aside from all that, it really does sound very nice with any guitar I use. Very pro, very quiet operation otherwise. I run some Morley effects through the front and a Midiverb through the effects loop if I just have to have reverb.

Brand new. No problems. It is very solidly constructed so I don't forsee any problems.

Point-to-point wiring.

Can't really rate it till it breaks down and I have to have it fixed.

This is my big hall amp. I don't use this thing unless I'm playing to a big hall (100+ people). When I do use it I don't need to have it mic'ed. Big, Loud American Tone to the Bone!!!

Downside: No Reverb, very heavy nd the 2x12 cab doesn't have casters.

Conclusion: Don't buy this amp unless you want reall tone and are willing to pay someone to haul it around for you.

Not sure what year it was made. Two channels, dual effects loop, 100 watts, very loud, You should know the rest. For the amount of money it cost You would think it would have reverb, but it does not. I never used effects loops in any amps I have ever owned, and I normally dont use the channel switching, but a built in reverb would be nice.

I play a Gibson ES-347. I play basically blues, blues based rock-n-roll, sloppy punk, sloppy country, or just plain sloppy period. I would say that the amp suits my style fine. I must admit this is the first amp that I have owned that uses a separate speaker cabinet, I normally only owned open back combo amps...Re-issue twin reverb, Vox AC15, MusicMan HD130, Peavy Renown. This was supposed to be the Holy Grail amp that I always wanted, but I will explain how it was not. THis amp was on sale in a local Very large national chain guitar store. It was brand new aside from not having its original box, owners manual etc. I bought it and ordered the 2x12 cabinet with vintage 30s made for it. Initially I was happy and impressed with it , but after getting it home and playing with it in the comforts of my own home I noticed that the gain control had a bad spot in it. What I mean is that around 3 or 4 on the control setting you could hear a loud pop and crackle and loss of sound. No, this just wasn't dirt or dust in the pot it was internally broken. Well after having the amp for aprox a week I took it back to have it looked at, they had it for about three weeks, and finally they told me that ,yes, it did have a bad pot in it. They had to send it to their out of store "CERTIFIED FENDER SERVICE TECH" to finally arive at this conclusion. Well at this point I still had a positive attitude and was told by the stores repair manager that their tech had ordered the part and at this point it was just a matter of waiting for the part to come in. I asked if I could pick up the amp and bring it back in to the tech when the part came in, hopefully in a week or two, they said that would be fine. Well to make a much longer story a little shorter I waited for FOUR MONTHS and still had a VERY EXPENSIVE BROKE AMP. I waited and called and waited and called and waited and raised some hell at the store and then waited some more. At this point I was fed up , this was a five dollar part that I was waiting on. Finally after FOUR MONTHS I walked into the store and said I NEED TO TALK TO A MANAGER< NOW!!!!!! FORTUNATELy for me they gave me a full refund on the amp and speaker cabinet that I had to order. 1700dallars. I know that a broken pot is not a big deal ,but after waiting so long I was at the end of my rope, I figured if they cant get me a five dollar part in a resonable amount of time,LESS THAN FOUR MONTHS, what would happen if something more expensive broke down on it. To me how the amp sounded or how well it may or may not play was irrelevant now.

Cant tell you how reliable it would have been in the years to come, JUst know that I was terribly let down during the whole ordeal.

Never talked to Fender directly, but I really doubt that I could have. Hells bells I had a hard time talking to someone in the store I bought it from, let alone contacting CORPORATE FENDER COMPANY. Dont get me wrong, I love Fender amps, but I will never plunk down that kind of cash for a new Fender ever again. I suppose a lot of people have had great support from them, the store I dealt with is a larg chain and you would think that thats a Good link to Good service, I was wrong. In contrast, after getting my money back I bought a Dr. Z amp, My support from that company has been absolutly wonderfull. Its blows my mind.

I dont have an overall rating, I just have a bad taste in my mouth.

See other reviews.
I bought mine in '93 when i lived in L.A..I think at West Music ?
Serialnr. is 0027 so it must have been one of the first.

When i bought this amp, i was just in the beginning of
learning about tone. Today - 10 years later - i would have saved a lot
of money and found something better. I was able to get much more
convincing sounds from a second hand evil twin (red knobs) and some
good overdrive pedals. This thing doesn't sound warm and fat.
It is way overpriced and maybe overhyped.
I was young and had too much cash....now i am getting old and need it badly !

>>>>No problems

I never really liked this amp but i kept it cause i thought that
one day i would understand...
I finally understood and i am going to sell it.

I got this amp way back in 1994 and sold it two years ago. All the reviewers that gave this amp a low rating are right - but it's important to know the following:

This amp has been voiced for Celestion Vintage 30 speakers. It's crucial to have either the original Fender cabinets designed for this amp or at least a cabinet with these speakers. If not, like it has been said, this amp can sound like shit.

When I bought it I only got the head and it sounded horrible both with my Marshall 1936 (two Celestion G12T-75W speakers) as with any other non Vintage 30 equipped cabinet. It sounded brittle and shrill, thin, buzzing and there was no way to get rid of that sound, even with the treble turned all the way down.

I called Fender back then and got the chance to speak with Bruce Zinky himself (Designer of the Tone-Master), and he seemed to know about it and suggested to remove one or two cap's in the tone circuit. He was cool and even helped me doing it over the phone and on this occasion he told me this amp was designed around the Vintage 30's.

On the other hand, with the V30's the overdrive channel sounds good or at least better, but as others have said, the clean channel is not the classic, lush Fender clean but rather dry and dark sounding, it's different.

Therefore, if you're intrested in this amp, try it with V30's and, for comparison, with some other cabinets.

Never had any problems with it.

B. Zinky, the man himself, helped me doing the mod over the phone. He was cool. As far as I know he's not at Fender anymore.

Taste is subjective.
With the right speakers and if you like the sound it's a good amp. It's reliable, easy to service, well built and looks cool - but, in terms of sound, it's not your typical Fender, neither the clean nor the distortion channel.
Check it out before you lay down your cash.

the rest of the reviews cover this, but lets face it for a modern amp 2 channels, efx loop is the min you expect

this is were I was really let down, I expected a cross between the bassman of the 60's and 70's and a really nice SRV-led zep OD. What I got was nowhere near as good!!! I tried changing the tubes to NOS philips,GE,Mullards and even svetlana costing me a fortune and still nothing. I get better clean sounds out of my cousins peavey bandit. I must admit I'm a bit of a tube snob when it comes to amps and currently own VHT 3 channel classic, Boogie Dual rec, Marshall Slash, fender bassman 50, and have owned orange vox hiwatt. So I figure I have a pretty good ear for tone and this thing just didn't deliver. I sounded dead and dark compared with other amps. even the clean on the dual rec killed it and that isn't great

channel switching popped, but it is point to point so it should last but it still sounds crap

you try and talk to anyone who cares!!! I found VHT to be excellent, Marshall UK good, boogie crap! Fender non existent

if you want the fender clean get a bassman or similar head and stick a good OD pedal infront as this head is not going to do it. I'm pretty sure the people who gave it good reviews are happy with it or confused at the amount they paid for it! but I would avoid it like the plague. Is it any wonder they have gone for as little as $600 on ebay when a peavey bandit produces more tone!!! TRY BEFORE YOU BUY!!!

This amp has everything a real player needs!

I use a 98'Tom Anderson Hollow Cobra,a 02'Tom Anderson Hollow T,And a 97'Tom Anderson Hollow Drop Top.
I have never had an amp that I like more than this one.If you have an understanding of tone,and how to get it from your amp(which I
have noticed a fiew kids on here don't)this is the only amp you will ever need.I play in three bands,all with very different styles.And this amp fits all of them perfectly.From "Doyle Bramhall"to the "Afghan Whigs","No doubt"and "Al Green"back
to "Pearl Jam"and "SRV".
It is not at all noisy,unless you are running the pre gain past 7.And in that case what amp isn't?
The clean isn't as sparkly as a "Twin",or A "Deluxe"But it is still better than that of a "Boogie"or "Marshall".
The gain Is beautiful!From "Crunch" to "Cream" it satisfies all of my needs and gives me the confidence to know that I can get any tone I am going to need on any job.I can't see me playing any other amp anytime soon.From "Two Rocks"to Shiva's"the Tone Master holds its own and is far more practical.

I have been using mine for 4 years and it has been perfect!

I service my own

I have played many,many other amps.And I can honestly say that for me the :Tone Master is the very best.
I have used:Carr El Moto,Budda Super drive 30,Fender Pro Sonic,Fender Hot Rod Deluxe,Marshall JCM 800&900,and a Soldano HR50.
When purchasing this amp I was choosing between a Shiva,a Dual Rec,and an AC30.

Not sure exactly what year this head was made, as I bought it used, but I'm thinking its probably 3-4 years old, barely played, and in pristine condition. Your standard 2-channel, 100 watt screamer, with dual effects loops, impedance switch, etc. As good as Fender is at making reverbs, I'm witholding a perfect "10" here because it didn't include one. (Yeah, I know... they're trying to push the reverb tanks, no thanks, I'd rather have my Replex!) I play everything from Stevie Ray Vaughan to Nickelback, From Skynyrd to Savatage, and when coupled with a nice, 808-modded TS9 and a few other choice foot-goodies, it nails 'em all.

My two main axes are my USA Jackson Soloist SL2H and my American Fat Strat Texas Special. With these two guitars, especially the Strat, you're just a tweak of a volume knob & a flick of the pickup selector away from virtually any tone you want. Channel 1, the clean channel is fantastic... not quite as "sparkly" as a Fender Twin, but very, very buttery... very "brown", with outstanding dynamics and a nice, creamy touch of overdrive when pushed hard. Use the TS9 on this channel to cover all your Stevie Ray/Hendrix needs, from "Little Wing" or "Riviera Paradise" to "Voodoo Chile" or "Couldn't Stand the Weather", this channel will make even the most anal of tone-whores (me, for instance) dreams come true!
Channel two is where you go for a heaping helping of Eddie's mystical "brown sound". Do yourself a favor and have a competent tech re-tube and bias it with a nice, hot set of Svetlanas to bring out the soaring mids needed to recreate Ed's "Unchained Eruption" of tone. Gets kinda buzzy with the gain much past 7, but that's about where you need to be anyway, mids cranked, treble just past half and bass just below. (Careful with the bass, it muds out quickly if you push it too far.) I'm running a Hughes & Kettner Replex through the amp, with an Analog Man Silver Mod TS9 & Clone Chorus, MXR Phase 90 & Flange in the loop to cover everything else. If you have actually have a clue, spend a little time with it, and pair it with a few choice pedals, this amp will make you spooj your shorts, and it will cover any sonic territory like it was born to it, and with the warmth, dynamics and sublime feedback that a great tube amp can deliver. If you're only into baggy pants, de-tuned 7 strings (while only using the top 3), scooped mids that sound like equal parts mud tsunami and amplified flatulence, have yet to figure out what a clean sound is for and need a wall of muddy distortion to cover your lack of skills then look elsewhere, this isn't the amp for you, sport.

Well, I bought it used, and even though it was totally immaculate when I got it, the volume pot on channel two was tweaked, but Roy the Amp God (a former engineer for Groove tubes, and a guy who knows more about amplifiers than any 5 people I know combined) told me it was probably just because it had been sitting in the store for a long time without ever being used. It's all good though, it turned out for the best anyway, while I was having him fix the pot, he suggested we swap out the preamp and power tubes with a hot set of Svetlanas that really made a noticeable difference in the tone, for the better... bringing out some seriously happenin' mids and tighter lows. Other than that, it's built like a tank and weighs almost as much, plus it's the Fender Custom Shop for Crissakes, it oughta hold up!

Again, I bought this amp used, so no warranty, and I have a guy close by who is the freaking Stephen Hawking of tube amps, so I've yet to deal with Fender, and probably won't, at least not on the amp.

This amp goes for about $1610 new on Musician's Friend, and considerably more from your local Fender dealer, but I got it shipped to my door for under a grand, used, but in brand new condition. I've seen others on E-bay go for around the same. Tube nirvana at your fingertips, I've wanted one for a while, since seeing guys like Nuno Bettancourt, Vinnie Moore and Joe Perry playing them live, and when I saw one listed for under a grand with a reputable place like Elderly Instruments, I jumped on it and haven't looked back. I've been playing guitar for well over 20 years now, both professionally and just for the sheer joy of it, and I've tried 'em all, believe me... and in my book, there simply is no better sounding tube amp. I'd absolutely replace it if something unimaginable ever happened to it, even if I had to shell out the full $1610 asking price for a new one, and without batting an eye. I'm just getting used to this amp, and already it has inspired me far more than anything else I've ever played through, it is indeed... the "Tone Master". Oh yeah, do yourself a favor and pick up the matching Tone Master 4x12 cab with Vintage 30s to go with it, slightly smaller than a Marshall cab, but actually heavier, it is the punchiest, best 4x12 cab I've ever played through.

Standard for vitage amps. No more to say...

Fenders faith in the naivety of their purist useres is incredible! This amp sound really like a plate of shit thrown against a wall. Hey - you Tone Master players: Look out for a ear doctor!

It's a very reliable amp! As reliable as a woodblock - but it also sounds as a woodblock...

not needed

Do not buy such expensive trade names, until the manufacturer is not able to ship a respectable device for a fair price!

HI!
My new amp is a Fender Tone Master. It was handmade in USA, by Fender Custom Shop in 2000. This amp head has 100W, all tube circuit, with 7 tubes (3 are 12AX/ for preamp).
There are 2 channel, normal and vintage. The clean one is really really fantastic! It's very vintage and sparkly sound. It has the following knobs: Volume, Treble, Mid, Bass and the FAT control.
This one adds 3 db in the sound, in the Mid frequency.
The dirty channel is very loud, full of power and really good!
Like the first one, it has Volume, Mid, Treble, Bass, FAT and the Gain control. There is no reverb (which is really a mortal sin for the Custom Shop, for a amp that, new, costs about 4000 USD (in Italy)). The footswitch is included. It has 2 different effect loops (one per channel), and the impedance control, with allow to have 30, 60 or 100W in the amp, for pratice, little clubs, or stadiums (I think I won't use the 100W option right now....).
I play Rock, HardRock, Blues, Pop, just like Bon Jovi, Ozzy Osbourne, Aerosmith, Cramberries, Alanis Morissette... And the Tone Master really stand the heat! I give his 9, due to the missing reverb.
Anyway it's marvellous!

I own a 1997 Fender Richie Sambora Stratocaster (the USA model), which has 2 Custom Shop Texas Special single coil, and 1 DiMarzio PAF humbucker in the bridge position. With all this pick-ups the sound is OK! With the single coil, playing with low volume (just the guitar one), the sound is very blues, sweet and funny! With the DiMarzio...the sustain never ends!
It isnt' noisy (I mean: if you stand next to the GE212 V30 speacker, with the volume @ 10...well yes, it buzzs! Even if I own it since a couple of weeks, I cannot say much, but it seems to be very versatile (especially with the Boss GT-3 pedal unit I have).
A very good quality of this amp is that It can keep the clean sound even if the volume is at his maximum levels! Really a good ad!
The distorsion is exeptionally, too!
With the DiMarzio setted on, the active circuit of my Sambora switched on, and the Gain setted to 10, If I play a full chord, I can listen at all the single notes, and all the single string! MARVELLOUS!!!
I own a 1989 Kramer Sambora model and an Ovation acoustic.
It's basically the perfection, for me!

Sorry, but I own it just since 2 weeks, and I can't anwer to this question!

I live in Italy, and I bought it used from USA. There the warranty is 5 years, but here in Italy is just 1!
Anyway I haven't dealt with Fender since now.
The only problem I had is that in USA the electricity runs at 120V, here in Italy at 220V! So an electrician tech, here, had to change the plug and to chance a couple of connections inside. (Nothing more that 20 USD!)

I've been playing for 6 years, and I owned a Fender 110, a Roc Pro 700 and - finally - this definitive amp! My guitars are a Fender Stratocaster Richie Sambora, Kramer Sambora model, an Ovation, and a 1967 vintage 12strings EKO (it's an Italian acoustic guitar). For the effects, now I own a BOSS GT-3 pedal unit.
I think I won't change it. Never. I simply love everything about it, from the vintage and aggressive look, to the marvellous sound!
I just wich it had the reverb inside...but I can use the GT3 to supply to this problem!

Made in '95. Two channels, clean 'n' dirty. I have used this amp in arenas to clubs to churches to studio. Read on to see what I did to make it more versatile. Originally this amp was a little bit of a monster.

I have had this amp for 5 years. This one is a keeper. I did do some modification to it. I pulled the tubes and put in a pair of THD Yellow Jackets. I put the chassis in a homemade combo cabinet, open back loaded with a single Celestion Vintage 30. While I was at it I covered it in "Marshall Green Tolex" with "aged Fender Blackface grill cloth" Looks better than the cream/oxblood duo from the factory. Much, much better. Not as punchy as the 2x12 G12 cabinet being pushed by 100 Watts. Has a little more of a Vox/Matchless sound to it. And it is a heck of a lot easier to carry around. I mainly play a Tele through Menatone KOB-Fulltone Deja Vibe (old white one)-Custom built Germanium fuzz-Zvex Lo-fi Loop-MXR Phase 90-Maxon Analog Delay. I don't mess with the dirty channel too much. It sounded like crap until I modified it. Now it is pretty descent. Not near as harsh and buzzy. I am sure some different preamp tubes could do new harm.

This amp has been so reliable. I bought it in '97 and took it in the next day because I was getting a buzz. They took it apart and a wire was pinched somewhere or something...I can't remember the details. Anyway, that is the only time she has seen a shop. I travelled 3 years with this amp and put it through some stuff.

No complaints.

No reverb is a bummer. I hooked up a digital unit but it hurt the sound. It sounds so good alone I wouldn't mess with it.
I will probably buy a Fender reverb for it. Gets an 8 because of no reverb. (same thing everybody else says!) They probably didn't want to make the head any heavier with more tubes ect.!!

Guitars are the basics: A 91 strat and a 91 Paul. Strat has (2) Texas Specials and a humbucker style lace sensor. Effects: Wah Wah and a tube screamer.
I don't have any idea what the hell is wrong with the other reviewers who said this amp is thin sounding or lacks balls. They must have had a bad tube or a shitty speaker cab ( or maby their head up their ass) because this amp sounds f'ing amazing! I won't get into the 12-24 other amps I have bought trying to find this tone but I do have a Twin (the evil one) I bought last year because I was too cheap to fess up the cash for this and it sounds like a toy in comparison. Even after I put in V30's to help it out a little. I was going to run the twin with it but it would only hurt the sound. I have the 2X12 loaded with the G12 speakers that I was going to use with the twin and a 4X12 with v30's for the TM so now I have two cabs for the tone master, one for small gigs and one for large.
The clean is awesome and if you have any technique you just need to back off on your attack to keep it clean unless you turn it up past 5 then your fucking deaf anyways and shouldn't be playing. It isn't like a twin reverb but I love it anyways. I prefer it to be a little hot so it works for me but I can see why some Fender clean lovers would be turned off a bit. Enough about that let's get to the good stuff.
Channel two is incredible!! I always wanted an amp that would respond to exactly what I was playing and not have to fight with it or worse have to tweak 10,000 knobs to get it close then come into the gig the next night and have it be completely changed (probably in my head I know but still) That's what is nice about just a few knobs, if the amp is good it is all you will need. (had a Boogie Mark IV...I think some of those knobs were fake just for looks WAY too much to f around with!)
Here's how I have it set now if you care. The impedance on Med then Fat switch on Gain on 5 Treble on 4 Bass on 7 Mid on 7 and the Vol on 3. My tube screamer drive is just below half and the vol just above half. Tone in the middle.
With this setting and using my volume controls on my guitar(s) they both sound rifuckingdiculoushusly good! For a mega cruchy lead or rythm just hit the tube screamer. The guitar will cry like a baby. I love SRV/Beck/Allman Bros./Black Crowes/ Alice in Chains or any 70's era rock, the good ol stuff and this amp delivers with style!
You can tweak it and get a variety of different tones but after two days since a brought it home this was the best sound I got for me so far. I'm addicted to guitar again. I haven't played steady for 6 years after playing out for 15 straight but I am so ready to go.
Let me at em!! My fingers are fucking killing me and I don't give a shit. Let em bleed!!!!!!!!!!
This amp sounds Awesome!! Save your cash get a GOOD reverb and go get one, you'll be gald you did. Don't F it up with a crappy effects rack or you might blame the amp.

2 days old and still ticking
I traded in an entire studio to get this, DA88 and MAckie 8 bus included and I was worried if it would be worth it ( what I traded cost me $15,000 5 years ago!)
IT WAS WORTH EVERY PENNY!!!!!!!!

hope I never need it

Playing 21 years already listed other equipment would replace it (probably with my wife if I had to come up with the cash) Love everything wish it had a reverb.
Best amp I have ever owned. Period.

Two channels..vintage and drive(Footswitchable). Fat switch for each channel. Simple straight foward features. 3 12AX7s and 4 6L6s, 100 watts. Dampening switch on the back panel for switching impedences. Great feature..allows the amp to be run at different wattages. 2 effects loops. One for each channel. Vintage early 60s looks, like a Blonde Bassman or Showman (awesome!!!!). Wish it had reverb, but oh well. Just about perfect features (I like simple and straight foward).

This could possibly be the best amp I've ever played through or owned. Simply amazing tones.

Clean - Very lush and warm clean channel, but can get sparkly like a Twin. Starts to break up around 4-5 on the volume (single vol control, no gain or preamp control). Cranked, it reminds me of a Bassman (I know because I own 2 Blackface heads). Easy to get that Keith Richards/Black Crowes type of grind going. Can get very SRV like with a Strat. Fat switch adds some girth and edge to the tone. One of the best cleans I've heard.

Drive - WOW!!!!!!! This channel is amazing as well. This is not a high gain metal amp!!! It's a rock n roll amp. Very smooth overdrive and gain. Very up front sounding. Kind of a cross between Marshall type crunch with that Fender grind. Thick and fat sounding. Clarity is right there. You can hear every single note sing in chords. Punchy. Gets a Aerosmith/Led Zepplin/AC/DC tone with the gain on about 4. Putit at 7 and you get a thick GnR type crunch. Maxed, it just screams, but retains it's clarity. Not muddy or mushy like a Mesa. Lead tones just cut right through. Very thick sounding. One of the smoothest overdrives I've ever heard. Sounds great at low volumes, and cranked it's just beautiful. Like I said, it's a Rock amp.

I use a wide varity of guitars from Les Pauls, SGs, Strats, Teles, and Gretsches. Speaking of....great Brian Setzer type tone on the clean channel.

No probs so far.

Fender is kinda hard to deal with. Don't reply to emails very well. Bought it used so no warrenty.

Been playing for 13 years. I own 7 other amps including 2 Marshalls, Soldano, Mesa Heartbreaker, 2 66 Bassman heads, Victoria. This is one of the best, if not the best amp I've ever heard (and I've heard a lot). I would buy it again in a heart beat. I love everything about it, except I wish it had reverb. If you want a Rock N Roll amp, this is one that must be looked at!!!!

See other reviewers

"Clean" channel :
- very dark, no brightness for a fender amp !
- distords very very quickly : impossible to get passable clean tones !

"Overdrive channel"
- rather good tone but far too polite and thin
- limited sustain
- lacks balls

Overall good volume power
Excellent noise rejection with the totaly isolated ( signal transformers ) fx loop : good idea that might be deserved to other amps !

Much much too expansive amp, big bucks for poor tones !

The features you already know from other reviews, but you must know there is no reverb (ca! Ca!) Starting off bad already! When I have to add efeects to the signal, I begin to get nervous. What was Fender thinkin? Dont mess with outboard stuff at the start man! Cheesus K. Reist!!

I use a Les Paul Custom and a strat with lindy Fraelin's Baby!! These guitars smoke! But I am dissappointed with the distortion of this amp. I simply thought it would be fatter. I prefer the beefiness of a Boogie (Heartbreaker) or a Bogner Ecstacy, or a VHT. anyway, the cleans were surprisingly less Fenderish than some cheaper Fender models, Im gonna subtract mucho points for that. Also, this amp does not sound good at lower volumes when using distorion mode, even with the boost, not very warm. Loud, any tube amp can sound decent! But if I have to use a fuzz pedal, what is the point? I do not want to have to use a fuzz pedal with a TWO THOUSAND DOLLAR AMP!!!!!! I can get a piece of junk and get the best pedal in the world right? WRONG!!!! great tube sounds come from TUBES! any way, I kept this amp for three months and lost money on EBAY, what a waste! i bought a Tophat combo and the distotion on this amp is the real deal, this Fender is just not wotrh the price!

Did not have the amp long enough, but it looks like it can last as long as a roach after an atomic bomb was dropped!

Never had to deal with them.

Not very impressed with this amp. I am a devoted Fender man and own a twin and a Vibrolux and my new TOPHAT, but this amp does not do it for me, yeah its loud, but where is the real tone? just playing loud? Low this amp really blows, add a pedal and you have wasted your money.

Confession - this is actually a modded out "bastard" ie. a Tonemaster pre-amp handwired to a 60W Prosonic power stage all inside the chassis of a silverface Bassman 50 Head! But OH MY GOD it has the most hellacious guitar tone of any amp I have ever played (10 years exp, 300+ live shows, 2 eps, 1 album). This thing is wired so that it IS point to point a Prosonic on channel one - for gorgeous cleans - and a power-dropped Tonemaster on Channel 2, for pure making mesa-boogie cry filth ... The swtiching is noiseless and real-time. It also has a valve-buffered, mono (obviously) effects loop with adjustable send and return levels. This can do it all with the right order and combination of pre- and post- loop toys.

I play a Fender Strat Plus deluxe and/or an Ibanez Futura (rare Gibson Moderne copy) through nothing in front of the amp - straight in. Yes, the tone is that good. In the loop I have Whammy II, original Ibanez Flying Pan, DOD Echo FX (and soon a Roland Loop Station and Digitech Space Station). I play Swervedriver-meets-Radiohead-meets Gish-era Pumpkins aggressive psychedlically-inflected ROCK. My cleans need to be Persil white, and my dirt must allow for much manually controlled adjustments and shadings, gradually tapering up to sheer filth (but well-defined, textured, screaming midrange filth). This bastard does it all - 60W of tits-oot power driving two pre-Rola Celestion greencaps is the sound of god whispering tonepoems just for me ...

Never had a problem. The guy who did the mod has 20 years experience and knows everything there is to know about thermionics.

N/A

Simply the best amp I've ever used - and I've owned and loved JCM 800s, Musicman combos, Fender Bassmen, all sorts of stuff. Hopefully you'll get to hear some of it soon ... My Mesa Boogie V-Twin was made redundant by the gain of this beauty - who would've ever thought it from a Fender ...
To those who claim high-endyness or tinnyness ... what's the power rating on your cabs and how hard are you driving the output stage? You're not going to get that delicious harmonic distortion and tube high-end roll off until you star making your output valves sweat a little, which means turning these sorts of all-valve (no IC or op-amps) gain circuits up past 5. Yeah it's loud, but this is rock - if you're scared, stay home. And for practice level, use a pedal of some kind, that's just bedroom antics anyway. Rehearsals, recordings and performances should be loud. You gotta feel it. Music is a physical thing, Move some air.

This amp doesn't come with many features and that is the point.Simple 100w (Four 6L6's) 2 channels of point to point tube tone. No reverb. (2)Effect loops (1) per channel, which is a set back really unless your effects are stereo and you can run them mono (1) for each channel.
Variable (impedence)gain switch, regardless of the cabinet impedence. Cool feature.

Excellent A+++. If you are into the older amp tones then this amp is a dream. Clear, punchy and very up-front tones.100w gives massive head room. Distortion is the breakin up' type, Similar to Marshall Plexi. For those seeking high gain metal tones this is not your amp.
Im playing it with Gretsch hollowbody,s and a Space echo. I am using the matching 2x12 cab. Great rockabilly,psychobilly tone.

It is as I said, Simple. It is built to last and built like any great old amp. Always carry backup tubes but would easily gig without a backup amp.

For this amp I have never tried to contact Fender. In the Past Customer service at Fender has been brutal. Absolutley terrible.

Been playing 13 years and play primarily Rockabilly, Psychobilly, stuff. I own only Hollowbody,s . Great tone. Simple. reliable. I would buy it again if it were lost or stolen. Wish it had 1 effects loop for the whole amp instead of 1 per channel. There are few amps made today like the old ones, This is an old amp with many years left to its life. Expensive, but considering the price of everything else out there that can't touch it for what it is, it is worth it.

New bought it in 97.Never used it ore than three times.
Loud but no tone.I tried a tubeworks reverb with it and hated it more.

I have some wonderful vintage guitars and they all sound bad.

works great but who cares!LOUD tin can tone.Distortion sounda like a BIG HORNET.

None and all the amp gurus around Canada can't save it.

I changed the tubes and no better results.Wanna trade?
I bought a Rivera M-100 now I'm saved.Please steal it so I can get my money back.It akes a great coffee table.

2 channel, all tube, hand wired. Clean channel is like a deluxe on steroids, dirty channel is all Marshall. Designed after the tone on Vanhalen's 1st album.

I use a '76 Les paul standard, A '96 PRS McCarty and a Charvel Sandimas Strat. The single best feature of this amp is no matter what guitar I plug into it, I geat immediate great tone! With out adjusting the amp! Every guitar sounds good. The clean sound is one of the best I've heard. I play in a couple of cover bands playing everything from the Eagles to God Smack to Stevie Ray to Stone Temple Pilots and Alice in Chains. The most Important Thing to do with this head is to match it with the right cabinet. I owned 2 Marshall 4x12. One with Vintage 30's and one with green backs. The vintage 30's are the speakers. The 25's could not handel the quick response ane power of this amp. The head room and punch caused the 25's to be shrill and sound like an ice pick in the ear. The 30's on the other hand sound huge. I also own a re-issue plexi that I put a Hoffman board into with a gain stage mod. This amp has a better dirty tone, but is no where near as versitile. Other reviewer's have said that this amp does not get "heavy enough" for them. Thats a matter of opinion, But I use a Full tone Full drive in front to add more when necessary, which isn't very often. The trick is to read the owners manual and experiment with the impedance selector. I miss match it depending on the volume the amp is set at. I set it at 8 ohm's in a larger room and 4 ohm's in a smaller one. When set at 4 ohm's with a 16 ohm cabinet you get the power tubes working an the low end pumping. I prefer the 8 ohm setting as there is a slight loss of definition at the 4 ohm setting.
The clean channel is the best sounding of the 2. If I played in large places, where volume was not an issue, I would consider using it exclusively. Using the guitars volume pot to adjust the gain.

Reliable amp! I did switch to Svetlana 6l6's, which smoothed the amp out. I bought the amp used about 4 years ago. When i tried it in the store, I was blown away. When I got it home and hooked up my Alesis quadra verb, I got pissed. This version of Tone master has a single effects loop. The clean channel worked fine, but the dirty channel absolutely killed the quadra verb, way to hot. I called Fender a total of 6 times. It took that many to get thru to an engineer who knew what I was talking about. The 1st 2 people just talked down to me like I was a moron. "Are you using professional equipment, because the amp is for professionals". Man did that asshole piss me off. But any way, The last guy I spoke to said they did have problems with the effects loop and there were 4 versions of this amp out. Mine, serial # 0066, is one of the prototypes. I could not understand why a large company would sell a product that did not work propely, neither could he! My tech ended up making the amp useable by making a buffer to reduce the signal before it enters the effect, and modifing my hush unit to bring the signal back up to the same level it left the amp at.
I gig with out a back-up, and am very happy with the tone I get, just kind of leary of Fender.

I think I said it above. Customer service sucks, but if you get to the people who do the work, you will get results.

I've been playing for 25 years.
I would try out other amps, But would probably end up with another Tone master.

It's a new amp. Two channel with bass, treble, mid equalizer for each channel and channel switching through a footswitch. A separate "fat" switch for each channel gives "edge" to the tone if you want it.

100W Top with enough power for every club.

For me it's versatile enough, the only thing I sometimes miss is a switchable second volume level. And I miss the reverb.

It sounds very very good with almost every kind of guitar. I use it with different strat's (the '62 reissue sounds pretty good) for texas blues style. A 335-like Ibanez Artstar has pure Jazz through it. And my LP classic delivers the early zz top tone with the drive channel ("fat" with gain at 3.5).

The dynamic response of the amp is absolut wonderful. The amp has tone tone tone tone tone.

The amp is not good for the heavy things, therefore i use my Mesa/Boogie DC-5. (Although the boogie for itself has a thick fat tone, it sounds thin when you compare it to the tone master)

I play it for about one week. My other amps are a Mesa/boogie dc-5 and an old Marshall 4203.

I compared the tone master with my Hot Rod deVille and a prosonic. Forget the other ones.

The features I like the most about the Tone Master are as follows:
-It has INDEPENDENT EQ controlls for both channels. There is nothing I hate more than a good tube amp that uses the same EQ controls for the clean and lead channels.
-It has independent "FAT" switches which allows for a boost in gain on either channel, which will alter the overall character of the channel.
-It has independent effects loops for both channels, which is great for pre-setting what efeects you want for you clean, and lead channels...I hate it when I have to click off my effects for my clean, then swich channels for the heavier parts....way too much work for a singer/guitarists. Just one click and your on your way. Also you can loop both channels together if you want and have a universal (like a standard effects loop) chain, just run one into the other.
-It has an ipeadance selector that will regulate the wattage from the head to the cabinet, also very usefull to fine tune the tone of the amp.
-HAND-WIRED 100 watts...no circuit boards in this baby...which translated to a very powerful tone. There are no dull sounds in this bad boy.
-I also have to add it looks way cool, and is built like a tank.

First off I have to say that I have been looking for the right amp for my band for about 3 years now. I have owned 2 Mesa Rectifiers, 2 Marshall JCM2000 heads, A Fender Hot Rod DeVille, A Fender Twin, A Budda Stringmaster, and a Johnson Millenium 250 head. I have sold, or taken back every single one of them for one reason or another. The closest amp I had that almost did the trick was the Dual Rectifier, but the clean was just lame. I can now honestly say I have found the amp I have been looking for for years. As soon as I plugged my guitar into the head (without adjusting any knobs) I was in tone heaven. The clean is very similar to the Fender Vibro King, accept it can get much louder without breaking up unlike the V-King. The lead channel is pure beef, but very versitile. At certain settings the gain can get buzzy sounding, which is fine for certain applications, but with a minor adjustment to the gain setting it loses the buzz and keeps on rockin. My band plays a very aggresive, but melodic modern rock style...like the Foo Fighters / Lit / Plankeye / Nada Surf. We do a lot of channel switching clean, to drive. I use guitars with humbuckers (single coils are too thin, unless in the neck position)... Guilds, Schecters, Ibanez, hopefully a Parker soon. A very good pickup to use with this amp is a 57' classic plus from Gibson. The humbuckers add a fullness that single coils can't. I am sooooo picky about tone, so please take my advise and get a Tone Master. I got a great deal on a barely used one. Check around.

Built like a tank. Very heavy due to a hand wound transformer. Was made for touring bands.

Fender has a great warranty, that is transferrable. Call the 1-800 # and talk to them about anything.

I can't say enough about this amp.....but I'm tired of typing so....All I can say is I have used this site to help in aiding me when tring to find any music gear, and I have never owned a product worth leaving a response on. Today I consider my self the luckies man-man-man-man on the face of the earth-th-th. The Tone Master isn't going anywhere without me. Rock the party off the hook.

I was looking for an amp that would give me a decent clean sound for my Les Paul, JB in bridge & Seth Lover in neck, and the Tonemaster was my answer. For years I have used a Vibrolux and a Pro reverb which resulted in great classic Fender sound, you know when the power tubes start to cook and you hit that bit'o'breakup area on the volume knob (2.8 to 3.5). For playing classic rock all night long this was fine. These days,to get more gigs,we have to play current material, thus I had to find an amp that would yield more clean headroom. The Tonemaster solved this problem.
At 100watts you think the clean channel would be like a twin, but this is not the case. It is more like my Vibrolux on steroids,you get a loud tight sound with a bit of punch, that is just about to break up. Actually with the volume set at 3.6 you get a beautiful crunch. Turn the clean to 5 and you get an amazing crunching Marshall sound, and mabey some hearing loss. Now the clean setting I use is the volume at 2.3 to 2.5 with the bass at 4, treble at 4, mid at 6, and the fat switch on. This setting will give you a lovely clean sound that will be more than enough volume for most club gigs. For the lager rooms you would put the amp to 3. All of the mentioned settings will give you excellent of clarity and definition to your sound.
With the dirty channel I put the volume to 7 and the gain to 3.5-4. This will give you a moderate crunch sound, very close to a marshall. I tend to keep the base low, at 3.5, the treble at 5 and the mid at 6, with the fat switch on. If you play around with the pre amp and gain settings in no time you can get a nice 70's Billy Gibbons tone, or even a Thin Lizzy, Cowboy's Song, type of Crunch. I have directly compared this amp to a 50 watt Marshall 1987 head, for those of you not in the know this amp was made in 1972 and the model is 1987, and the similarities were striking. At any Marhall setting I could come very close to mimicking that sound on the Tonemaster. Infact I could even go 1 step higher in gain than the Marshall cranked and I had more definition and a tighter bottom end, which could be contributed to the extra 2 powertubes.
All in all, this is one hell of an amp. If you need versitility, clarity, headroom and crunch, this amp is it.