Fender Tone Master

Late 1993 tube amp head with hand stamped serial - The QA sticker code on back is used to date this model. Sold with matching 2x12 cab. One input, 2 channel amp - each channel with its own effects loop volume & tone controls and "fat" switch (Adds a 3dB boost in gain to the Ch A, mostly to the low and midrange frequencies) but NO master volume. Single channel floor foot switch, speaker and extension speaker output. 2 Pre-amp and 1 Phase inverter12AX7's and 4 6L6GCs. An inspection of the PTP did not reveal any mods from previous owners. Switchable output transformer impedance thats confusing as hell to use as to what it does unless you stick with the original 16ohm cabs that came with the head - Used for alt and classic rock. Rated 8 for features as it is a basic non-master amp circuit with little frills.

Read up on this amp before purchasing - the designer (B. Zinky) was looking for a "brown sound" switching amp circuit with flexibility. This is not your Daddy's Fender Blues amp. Clean side Ch A begins to break up at about 3 due to the volume control placement and OD Ch B side gets nasty crunchy with the gain and volume up. Volume Ch A and Gain Ch B are placed before the respective channel preamp circuit so its expected the clean channel to get dark and dirty with increased volume and a dimed guitar. Volume B is after the preamp and phase inverter tubes and before the output tubes so that any front end attached pedals will be greatly colored by the gain tone and power tube volume circuit. I use a line 6 M13 with Ch A and bypass it when going to Ch B. It can get "Marshall like" all by itself on Ch B but with a tighter low end. Each string will be heard through this amp.

I use the original lower output humbuckers found on Gibson Standards and Deluxes but have not tried it with EMG's or other high output PU's - as some early reviews have stated one needs to know what they are doing when using this amp. Advice Bit 1 is to get the tone you want out of each side and then leave it. Advice Bit 2 is to use your guitar controls to adjust on stage. Advice Bit 3 is to use you pedals sparingly where needed on Ch A. Advice Bit 4 is that this amp responds to playing dynamics more than my Marshall 2210 or Mesa TR ever could - so if you suck this amp will not let you hide even on high gain.

This amp appears particular to the type of preamp tube used. Expect to try a few brands and variations of 12AX7 in all 3 sockets to your tastes - I settled for GT gold C's across the board and my review is written with this combination. The previous owner had a menagerie (tung-sol in the PI, a non descript chinese in CH B and a Mesa Russian in CH A) going on in the circuit and the personality of the amp changed drastically (to my enjoyment) when I made the final change. I tried an old RCA 12AT7 as recommended by some earlier here in the phase inverter but it made the output a bit muddy. I have not had an issue with the "ice-pick" treble output others here and on web pages have mentioned. Sovtek 6L6WGC's recently placed in the power section and bias adjusted by tech.

I like this amp as the tone controls are very responsive across the dial and will influence the output differently according to the volume setting selected. I've been able to dial both nice tube breakup and clean tones in Ch A and thick distortion on the B side at high channel volumes. So be prepared to spend some time getting to know this tiger and once you have it record your dial settings.

As previously mentioned by others this mother is LOUD - I've tamed the output for practice purposes with a Magus Ultimate attenuator while retaining the clarity of the tone from the output section. I gave it a nine as it is versatile but takes quite a bit of work and patience to get to a "holy grail" tone. But I'd rather have the diversity this amp offers than to spend the same amount and get a one trick pony.

I had this tiger for about 5 years and gigged on and off with it, switching at times with a Marshall 2210 depending on the band I'm with. The Marshall cannot get the switched cleans the Tonemaster has which is why I keep coming back to it.

I had the circuits inspected by my tech who stated this thing is built like the proverbial brick outhouse and all that was needed was changed tubes to taste. I do keep spare tubes and fuses but I now trust that it will not fail me aside from these expendables.

Bought used - Fender has manuals and schematics online. Techs can take it from there.

Been playing seriously for last 12 years - I am a converted bass player. I have or have owned other Fenders Marshall Mesa/Boogie and Line 6 amps which have their own positives. This is a unique amp in its own right - and that it can come close to other tube makes in tone has helped make it my number 1. If this amp were lost I'd replace it if I could find one. I love its versatility (a tweekers delight) , but conversely I hated using the amount of time it took to get there - definitely not a plug and play amp.

1993 Tone Master. Used for Alternative Rock. Loud. Really loud.

The advice provided by the reviewer below is golden: replace the Phase Inverter tube with a 12AT7. I really liked this amp but found it a bit pointy and loud at times, and replacing the Phase Inverter tube with a 12AT7 instead of a 12AX7 was the best investment: much creamier sounding, darker, better distortion. The second best replacement was putting in TAD 6L6WGC short-bottle tubes which improved the amp considerably. Tung-sol 12AX7's helped the preamp tone as well. I play this with a Marshall 4x10.

I play this with a Jazzmaster or Jaguar, and while the RAT used to be my standard pedal, I'm happier with the built-in distortion. The RAT can be too abrasive in the top end.

So far, so good. Built like a tank.

No repairs yet.

I've been playing for 18 years, and this is the best amp I've ever owned.

features have been covered, min you would expect for a modern amp

OK I review this about 5 years ago and wasnt too happy. I never sell gear and pulled this out of storage with its matching 2x12 to give it a go. I found the clean would break up to early and the OD had a bit of fizz to it. So i decided to change the Phase Inverter tube from a 12ax7 to a 12AT7. HOLY CRAP!!!!!! what a difference!!!! The clean is now excellent like a darker twin and the OD is thick/fat with a hot rodded marshall type tone. I've played session guitar for years, took this to a new project I'm working on and the guys were like WOW!!!!! Give the AT7 a try, it makes so much difference!!! (I prefer JJ tubes!)

Point to Point!!! No probs

never delt with them

with the 12ax7 in the phase inverter position I'd give it 5-6/10. with the 12at7 I'll give it 10. It eats my Budda superdrive (which I love!!!) and my Matchless DC30 sounds sterile next to it. I'm so happy i didnt sell it!!!

Hmm, don't know the year but since they don't make them anymore and didn't for very long guess it's heading for the Fender collectables arena which is always nice. I just play instro surf and this has the look of the old blonde Showman amps and mine is super loud & clean. Perfect surf amp imho. Two channels but I never use the dirty one. Channel switching is onboard if you want it. No need for any other features. This amp is the most powerful Fender clean amp I've owned. I normally run the volume on 4 to 41/2. Power is very flexible. With a 16 ohm cabinet the switch allows you to run it at 30, 60, or 100 watts. So if you're playing clean you've bought 3 amps in one. Very versatile for gigging. This thing is heavy and seriously loud when the 100 watts are switched on. Throw an outbaoard Fender tube reverb in front of it and just start grinning. So awesome.

Well, I bought it as a one trick pony for instro surf and besides a vintage 60's blonde Dual Showman nothing can touch (it if you want extremely powerful & rich & clean surf guitar). Hands down. Variety? There's a ton of it if you're playing a Jaguar cause it brings out the uniqueness of the switching only a Jag has. If you play a boring Strat you might need something else. This thing is perfectly matched to the needs of a Jaguar. At high volumes this thing is still clean. I couln't tell you about the distortion cause all distortion sounds like sh** to me. Very quiet amp - quiet enough to record with.

Bullet proof & I never bring a backup (I've been playing Fenders for 35 years with out backup). I just do periodic tubes changes every few thousand hours and I've never had any problems with Fender tube amps.

Never needed it.

I chose this just to try someting different from Fender and this is the most impressive Fender amp I've owned. Tone to kill for - best since the first Dual Showman. If you play clean this is a natural (not compressed like a Meas) high power workhorse. Unbelievable piece of craftsmanship from Zinky that does Leo proud. Fender - you lost a good man when Zinky left.

ok.. I admit it... i have MAJOR GAS... but i saw a good deal on a tonemaster with Vibroking 2X12 ext cab at Guitar Center (I know, i was shocked too!)and I checked it out.. and... well.. you know the story. This is IMO the perfect gigging set up for me. I get a pretty decent clean chanel, and a usable overdrive. I just put my 808 in front, and a delay pedal, and I'm happy. Features are basic, but suite my needs

I use primarily my ES 137, stock, and i get the tones i need. I also use my Les Paul special DC with P 90's and get more bite in this set up. I dig the tones, raw, straightforward, but with great clarity. You can hear the notes clearly defined, and the amp makes u better because it does not mask your mistakes

PTP, built fairly well... I'm hoping this amp outlives me. I'm not really one to swap tubes out a lot, so just the usual maintenance and it should be happy. This puppy does get HOT though!

um... yah, not so much..

I'm rating this pretty high... I try not to buy crap, and I really dig this amp. I think i got a pretty decent deal, and I haven't been playing my others which is usually a good sign with a new peice... and you gotta love the beige tolex with brown grill look.. great mojo is icing on the proverbial cake

You know the features - 2 f/sw ch's, fat switch on both, seperate FX loops for each channel(annoying), 3 way impedance switch(30/60/100watts).
And its a pretty blond colour. Kinda wish it had reverb, but I guess its just something else to stuff up!

I use fat strats but also have a PRS which I dont like as much thru this. With the strat its very versatile, the whole gamut - Clean-crunchy clean-dirt-holy crapballs dirt. No super saturated over the top gain, but I got a pedal to jump on for that.

I leave it on the lo (30watts) setting for all my playing - makes the clean break up nice with the strats. Havent played a big enough venue to go the whole 100 watts yet. Tried it on the med 60watts a couple of times, but the clean was too bright, and the OD lost a bit of balls, because of not as much natural compression.
Not overly noisy, especially considering I use a strat and a bunch of pedals!

I used a Fender pro reverb before this and was always having to fiddle to keep it reliable, so far with 6 mths of gigging under its belt, the TM hasnt even hiccuped. It still has the original tubes in it as the guy who had it before me only drove it to church on Sundays (WTF??)
I havent taken a backup for this ever. Just keep some valves handy.

I got it second hand, so I havent been bothered with a warranty. I know Fender in Australia are pretty good, having worked for a Fender Dealer for 5 yrs, I did ask them about the matching cab for this and they answered pretty darn quick. Cant really comment here.

Ive had a room full of amps and gigged with a bunch of them, other Fenders (will it work tonight?), marshalls(clean - wot clean?), boogies (hello fart town), Soldano (well this one rocked but it was single channel!).
So far this has been the easiest to squeeze extremely satisfactory clean and dirty tones out of, and is very FX friendly.
When I first got it, the cab I was using it with made it ear piercingly bright. I finally got some V30's (which it was designed for) for my soldano 2x12 - goddamn - what a difference. It was one of those moments where you just couldnt stop smiling and giggling to yourself. Reverb would be nice, but I had that on my last amp, and it caused dramas, so I guess theres ups & downs. The seperate FX loops kinda shits me too, but I just use pedals in line now.
I like it a lot.

I had a 1999 Tone Master that came with a 4 x 12 Cab. I bought separately a 2 X 12 Cab. Both had V30's. 2 channels and two effects loops which I found a complete pain.

Looked amazing though! Very pretty amp in blonde tolex. Plenty loud enough at 100W the power cut down switch was good too.

I'll knock 3 points off for that separate effects loop.

I'm not the only one that was HUGELY disappointed by the gain channel - sounded so brittle and harsh. No sign of a nice fat overdrive in sight.

I got rid of the entire set up because of this - I've now got a vibroking which although lacks the headroom, sounds infinitely better.

No probs

A big let down - I wanted a much better overdrive - this sucked. Half the total points for that.

I bought my Tone Master new in 2000? somewhere around there.
The Amp is very versatile although I must say I haven't found a way to get a perfect (subjective of course) dirty sound. 2 channels with Fat options. Of course I wish it had reverb. I don't use the dirty channel as I'm not a fan of Fender distortion but the clean sounds are all I really need anyways,

I play American Standard Tele's and occasionally a Strat. Single coils for the most part. The Amp is not noisy under optimal conditions. The only time I have trouble is if I'm on a circuit with some ground issues. I've never messed with the Ohm settings, I need to research that. The clean channel will distort a little when I crank her up around six (ow...).

Amp definetly has a characteristic Fender "sweet spot". Unfortunately It's a little too loud for some situations. Yeah right!

I've never changed the tubes and I gig / jam constantly. The amp has given me zero problems.

N/A

I've been playing 15 years or so. I own lots of Fender (and Martin) guitars and a couple of Twins reverbs in addition to the Tone Master.

The thing I love most about this amp is the pure power it pushes. It just jums out and physically thumps you in the chest. Solid state amps simply cannot do this and even my 100 watt twins can't do past 15 feet or so.

The thought of losing my amp is unfathomable and I refuse to even think of life without it. This amp is not for amateurs, buyers beware!

I don't know why so many guys complain about the lack of reverb. Do you dog Marshall amps for not having reverb? Bruce Zinky designed this as a hard rock amp, as he said in an interview I read. I like the separate effects loops. I don't think the tone controls are entirely independent. Tweaking the clean channel controls seems to affect the drive channel somewhat. I like having separate effects loops for each channel. This allows more flexibility for the user.

Articulation. Every note is separate and distinct. No overemphasis on the bottom, like a Marshall, or twanginess like in traditional Fenders. The Celestion Vintage 30s give it a softer attack than Jensens or Oxfords. I rarely use the clean channel. I can A/B the TM with my '65 TR or my Magnatone 260A (even better), if I want outstanding cleans. If I want to use effects, then the TM gets the call. The OD channel is OUTSTANDING. I can't get off it. It makes a casual guitar player like me sound like a pro. No chops? No problem! Great crunch, great single note tone. It is brighter than my roommate's '74 Plexi, but I consider that a plus.

I've had it for 6 months and so far, so good. It should be easy to repair -- no PCBs. I am concerned that it runs so hot. In that case, a SS rectifier was a good choice.

N/A

I've been messing around on guitar for about 20 years. Now it seems like my home has become a guitar museum. Now my main axes are a '79 LP 25/50 Anniversary, a '59 LP Jr. 3/4, and a Firebird V. I also have a modified American Standard Strat, a G&L ASAT, a Rickenbacker 381V69-12, a DeArmond Silver Jet copy, and a Jazzmaster and Gretsch Double Anniversary sitting around waiting for me to work on them. If I ever went pro, I would probably get another TM as a backup. I much prefer it to a Marshall.

2 channels both great. Made in 2001 I believe. Reverb is always good but kind of nice NOT to have that crutch. Makes me play better and more consiuos of what I'm doing. A little too loud for the guys I play with but I like it loud. Gets a 9 for no reverb.

I use mine on the lowest ohm setting. It's supposed to be 30 watts, seems more like 300. Very quiet but not very clean on the clean channel set like this, which I prefer. You can boost the ohms to clean it up easily. The distortion channel is great too. I go back and forth with this amp but I have been using my twin amp and splitting the speakers so I have two amps running at once. Effects are run through the twin. I tried running the twin cab alone with the tome master and like the last reviewer said it really does have a more open feel and sound in this config. Our sound man asked me which amp was on which channel because one of the speakers sounded WAY better than the other. Guess which one? So I play without a reverb from time to time and I have not missed it much. Will sacrifice reverb for tone any day.

Never a problem...yet.

not needed

playing almost 30 years and would have to find another if I lost this. I had a chance to open up the "clean" channel set to low ohm setting in my garage recently and once it gets over 3 or 4 it never really gets louder just more crunchy and creamy. Totally SRV but in it's own Strat kind of way.

Mine was made om '98 and the later ones had the best performance and tone (ask Bruce Zinky). Modern point to point wiring no PC boards whatsoever just like the vintage Fenders that you buy then have to spend another $500 to make roadworthy. These had VINTAGE TONE AND MODERN DEPENDABILITY RIGHT OUT OF THE BOX WITH 2 FOOTSWITCHABLE CHANNELS. THESE HEADS WERE THE EVOLUTION OF THE RIVERA DESIGN FENDERS THAT HAD LIMITED TONAL CHARACTERISTICS. THESE HEADS WIN ARTISTS GRAMMYS'... ASK MAROON 5... Channel 1 does vintage Fender and even rivals Vox and Matchless' tone. I know 'cause I played 'em side by side. I've watched John Mellencamp's guitarist play vintage slide tones with his. I've watched John Oats(Hall and Oats) play his like a chimey Bassman or Twin. I've watched Maroon5 play theirs like Fenders on CH1 and Marchalls on CH2. I've watched Joe Perry play his during tha 2003 superbowl(I think that was the year...too wasted). I've watched Lenny Kravitz who switch from VoxAC30's to Fender ToneMaster stacks. Need I say more????

Listen to the aforementioned artists' more recent recordings and judge for yourself. Don't be pussified into thinking 100 tube watts is too much. These are played by actual recording artists at all volumes, each one achieving their own tone signature with pedals and effects. Sounds damn awesome played straight through also with Strats, Teles, and Pauls. Sounds awesome at low volumes and high ones. Lows sound very vintage tweed/Vox... high sounds very Marshall.
100 watts give this animal ball shaking lows when dialed in. HEAD ROOM JUNKIE'S DREAM. I am amazed by the artists who know about these heads. DO NOT BE MISLED INTO THINKING THAT THESE SOUND GOOD ONLY WHEN MATED WITH CLOSED BACK CABS WITH VINTAGE 30'S. i USE MINE WITH AN OPENED-BACK 2X12 PINE CAB WITH g12m70'S WHICH i USE TO REPLACE THE VINTAGE 30'S I GOT WITH THE HEAD. I LOVE THIS COMBO. YOUR EXPERIENCE MAY VARY.

Notice that vintage Fender amps are brought back to life with simple cap jobs and new tubes. Their point to point wiring survives 30-40 years. Well these modern gems are wired in the same manner, AND THEY'RE DISCONTINUED. WHERE ARE THESE MODERN ARTISTS GETTING THESE CUSTOM SHOP HAND WIRED HEADS?? SINCE MORE AND MORE OF THEM ARE DISCOVERING THESE WORKS OF ART, ONE CAN ONLY IMAGINE WHERE THE PRICES WILL GO...FENDER HANDWIRED QUALITY, BRANDING, AND TONE. I ALWAYS WONDER WHY I SEE THESE FOR SALE FROM $825-$1200. ONE CAN ONLY SPECULATE WHAT THESE WILL BE WORTH ON 2007 AND BEYOND.

I've owned Marshall Plexis' and JCM800s' and TSL 100, Matchless Chief combo, Vox A/C 30s', Top Hat King and Club Royales, Holland Magma heads, Bedrock BC75 and The Royale 1x12, Budda Twinmaster, and more and I'm telling you I can nail alot of the tones with this head and a few pedals. I've beem playing since the early seventies. Am I a tone expert? I'd say not, but maybe you'd be better off asking the multi-million dollar artists who are beginning to hoard these rare amps. I almost had to sell my TM, but played it one last time at a gig, and the response from the crowd and musicians in the crowd and a sudden influx of mega cash made me change my mind. i fuckin' love this amp!!

I think I bought one of the last ones in Germany in 2002!
It`s a two channel amp with two separate effects loops. It has got
one hundred tube watts, combined with a tricky impedance switch which
allows the choice between 30, 60 or hundred watts!
I use this amp in a pop/folkrock/americana-style band.

I always looked for a "vintage" clean sound, but the old Bassman,
Super Reverb (and I mean the ones from 1966 or earlier, forget the
silverfaces, I hate that JBL-sound!)are not trustable on the road
and I don't have a personal roadie. After trying nearly any amp
available in Germany, I tried the Tonemaster and since then, for nearly three years, I played nothing else - I found my amp.
With a Stratocaster guitar - I play a Morgaine Mintage 61 (built by
Master Luthier Joerg Tandler in Germany) I can have all kinds of clean sounds I want to have: Push the impedance switch on "low"(that means 30 watts) and turn the volume on 2,5 - there you have the
clean sound of Tom Petty, John Mellencamp, The Jayhawks! I found myself playing chords all the time and there was no situation til now, where the amp was too quiet...! Wherever you are on stage, you can hear yourself playing, perfect! The amp is totally quiet, no hum. In contrast to the USA we have a good electricity system over here in "old Europe"...! The distortion sound is dangerous because the amp sounds good when you like blues settings (gain on 4). Then it sounds great, rich harmonics - when you are looking for a high gain distortion sound, find another amp! The Tonemaster has no problems with effects between guitar and input: I use several Boss
stomp boxes and I can hear no loss in sound quality!
Setting the impedance switch on medium (60watts) or high (100watts)
changes everything: then you have a nearly Twin Reverb sound of the
silverface JBL era, which I don't really like - funny enough, with a Gretsch 6120 or a Duo Jet the sound is again great!!!
What you should keep in mind is the importance of the right speakers: the Tonemaster 2x12" box fits perfectly to the amp. But I give credit to the Celestion Vintage 30 speakers which are essential to the sound. With other speakers the amp sound harsh, without warmth. I own a Marshall 1960AV 4x12"-box with the same speakers included - and it sounded good, too!

I use this amp for nearly three years by now, with regular rehearsing and having concerts in clubs. Although the amp gets really
hot (I took the backplate away, so he can cool down faster) nothing
ever happens til now. I have fuses and a pair of tubes as spares, but
only for psychological reasons. A word to the "I change my power tubes every year for the best sound etc. guys": Most of my amps have the original power tubes still on board, that means for nearly 6 to 8 years and they work perfectly and sound good. Just check the correct bias and get a set of matched tubes and give the amp a chance of getting warm (5minutes) and cooling down (15minutes)
before using or carrying.
I think the amp will never break down!

Nothing has ever happened with the amp. Nor has anything ever
happened to my Super 60 (from 1990) and my Super Amp '93 (from 1994),
so I can say that Fender Tube Amps are well made.
But if anything happens, the Fender guys here in Germany are very
helpful!!

I play the guitar for 26 years, I play in bands for 15 years but that
don`t mean anything, I`m just an average player who loves the sound
of guitars in a band. I play a Morgaine Mintage `61 , a Gibson Les Paul Standard, a Telecaster, a Gretsch 6120 and a Gretsch Duo Jet.
I like to watch my Paul Reed Smith Custom 22, but I don`t like the sound! I use beneath the Tonemaster a Fender Super Reverb, a
Soldano Hot Rod 50 and a Marshall 1987X.
If the Tonemaster was stolen or lost I would do everything to get
another one, because that's the amp I want to get old with!
I love the look of the amplifier, too, so I never leave "him"
alone!

I don't know what year this amp was made. It's versatile enough for the styles of music I play. I play everything but manly classic and modern rock. This amp can do modern rock pushed with a super overdrive or tube screamer. 2 channels.2 effects loop.channel switching.these features are enough for me.Iuse this amp for everything.And it has plenty of power for anyone.All tube amp!

This amp sounds amazing! I've tried many different guitars with this amp and all sound great.Almost every setting on this amp sounds great within reason.

This amp is very reliable. I play out 4 nights a week ( I been doing this for the past 2 years ) and don't use a back up. The only thing I do is replace the tubes about ever 8 months.

Never dealt with them

I've been playing 18 years. I own a Gibson les paul custom and a Gibson les paul standard. This is the only amp I have. I've had a few differnt marshalls, laney, Soldano,Fender.

I have one of the first ones made,serial 0104. One fx loop. Other features as described by other users. I do miss a reverb but an added T.C. GForce does the job perfectly.

I am using several guitars such as Gibson LP custom, Gibson MIII, Vigier Passion Custom III, Parker fly deluxe, Ibanez Artist 500, Ibanez Maxxas II, a 1961 Fender stratocaster, Tele, Music Man Steve Moorse, Gibson Flying V, ... and they all sound fine. It is my impression that this amp works better with single coils but the actual difference is minimal.
My main stile is blues but I also play hard rock and rock. This amp covers the range easily. I am giving it an 8 just because I have lately purchased a Tony Bruno Underground...and it kills the Tonemaster anytime, anywhere and in anystile.
If you are expecting a traditional Fender clean - you are wrong but, the Tonemaster's clean is perfect in its original way. If you are looking for a OD tone of a TWIN with a booster you are wrong again - the OD is very original, "ToneMasteesque" and perfect. There is abig difference in sound depending on the box/speakers you use. I have tested it with 4x 12" Vintage 30, with 2 x 12" Electrovoice, 1 x 12" JBL, and they all sound well but very different. There is a huge difference of sound when using the same model od speakers in a box with closed back versus the box with an open back. The rule is do experiment and you will be able to find your tone or the tone you are loking for. My favourite is to hook two boxes: a closed back 4x12" vith Vintage 30 and a 1 x 12" open back box with a JBL E120 ( 103dB!!!) speaker.

You can depend on this amp! I use it for gigs, concerts,...it works without any problems if the basic rules are followed: biasing, changing power tubes regularly,NOT MOVING THE AMP at least 15 minutes after you switc it off, etc... I have also added a cheap but reliable fan ( the one that is used for PCs) and the life of the power tubes has increased for some 30%. Make sure that the fan is installed in such way to "aspirate" the air from the amps compartment instead of blowing air in.

never had to deal with Fender.

I am playing for some 30 years and I have owned a lot of gear. All gear I have now is for my studio as well as for gig purposes.Presently my amps are Toni Bruno Underground, a 1969 Orange OR120, a 1969 Marshall Plexi, a 1969 Fender Super reverb, Marshall JCM 800 and JCM 900 (4102 model), Marshal 45,a Boogie Heartbraker, Boogie Mark II C, Boogie dual rectifier and all of these were picked and played for years and are with me to stay ! It is simply not possible to compare the ToneMaster with any of the above as each and every have their own sound and character. However, the ToneMaster is a part of the equipment that is not for sale and if stolen I would buy another one.

I was going to buy a Dr. Z when this Tonemaster came up on Ebay. I play blues, rock, country...whatever, and needed a versatile amp. this came with a 4x12 cab and the impedance of the head is adjustable, basically emulating a 30, 60 or 90 watt amp. I was looking fot a vibrant clean channel, and an overdriven sound with a good bottom end. This amp could theoretically do it all.

I gig with a strat, a custom built soloist, Les paul and occasionally a Tele or Gretsch. The amp has a fairly nice clean channel...not as nice as a Twin, but "Fender" clean. Nice crunch on the overdrive...but it really won't sing on it's own without a little help from a pre amp pedal. It's NOT a Marshall.

It's used..so a lot of this may not be fair, but the knobs are constantly falling off the fromt of the amp and the volume pot on the OD channel went out on me in the middle of a solo. It's a handwired amp..but it seems a bit delicate. Bring a back amp if you gig with this one.

I've never called Fender support in 35 years....have any of you?

After playing with this amp for a few months, I can say that I'm happy with it, but it isn't the Holy Grail that many have said it was. It is not as versatile as I'd hoped. It does not have the sag of a high gain Marshall and it does not have the crystal clear clean sound of a Twin. I like the 4x12 cab and I am now testing the combo of a Marshall JCM 2000 head and the ToneMaste cab...and so far it really rocks. It's a nice amp...but not a great amp.

i don't know what year it was made. this amp can do everything! i play blues to hardcore. 2 channels are all you really need. this is the only amp i use with the 4x12 cab with vintage 30's. this has more power than i will ever need.

I have a les paul standard with burstbucker pro pickups. and a les paul custom with a duncan jb humbucker in the bridge and a duncan 59' in the neck. this suits my musical style perfect. it sounds great no matter where i play.sounds great at high and low volumes.

it's a tube amp. so tubes can go out at anytime.it's never broken down. just replace the tubes at least evert year or so. I've been playing without a backup.

i've been playing off and on for 14 years. i have gotten rid of alot of other gear because this sounds the best. and all i have to do is plug in and play. every guitar i have played through the tone master sounds great. this has not been the case with other amps i have owned. i sold my jcm 800 head, soldano slo, marshall jcm 900, marshall jmp, marshall 1987, fender bassman, ect. not to say those were bad amps. just something about the sound of the fender tone master.

All-purpose modern handmade guitar amplifier. Out of production.

A true modern classic, however hard to get as it is out of production. I have many HIWATT amps and I am a little spoiled by mil-spec. build quality. This was a really good amp for Fender in many ways. Component choices were very good in every way. They use Jensen transformers in the effects section...Also, the simplicity of the amp was something I really liked. I was getting really good sound(s) in no time at all. Nothing like a 1st generation PRS McCarty through a short tube stack! I was playing for hours the first day. I was running the Tonemaster through my best stock HIWATT 4 x 12 cabinet.

Seems very serviceable from most parts suppliers. I should have no trouble keeping this amp in top shape.

Fender's customer service was very good in telling me about my particular amp. I had a date code and a serial number and they had the build date range for me right away. It took 3 calls to get someone really willing to help before I got the info.

If you can get one of these babies, do it. $1000.00 is well worth it.

100 watt head w/ 2-12 v-30 cab.same amp everyone else is talking about. wish it only had one effects loop, so my reverb would hit both channels.

I bought this with my black american strat, maple neck in mind. It has 62 reissues in it. I also use 12 gauge strings. In the world of amps this one exists by itself.not because its better than every other amp but because it is very unlike anything I have ever played before. I use this amp to power long exploratorative solos. If you are trying to find a good sound then you must first decide where to put the impedance swith. on LOW the amp will push just 30 watts. this is good for getting a dirty sound in a small room. MED will deliver 60 watts. this is what I like. High uses all 100 watts for a clean at all levels sound. I usually have my volume knob around 7 or 8 . I very rarely use the distortion channel, for it sounds more compressed, which doesn't utilize my heavy strings. It is not necessary to put the tone controls up very high. none of mine ever get any higher than 6. When the clean channel is cranked this amp sounds most like Hendrix in Band of Gypsies. The highs, lows and mids are seperate, every note on the guitar had its own designated area inside of this amp. If thats what you want than buy it. The distortion channel sounds a little like Mitch Stien's tone.

haven't had it long

bought it used but youd never know

I use this in combination with a polytone mini brute 15. with a raezers edge twin 8' tower cab. American strat, wine red les paul , and my main axe, a 1982 guild x 175

My amp is a 1997 and has two channels both with its own effects loop. Each channel has a fat switch which gives it a nice warm tone and they have the typical bass, treble, and mid. The 1st channel has a great warm tone that?s a little beefier than most Fender black faces amps but has a bunch of head room. The 2nd channel has a nice overdrive to it that?s nice and thick (Marshall Plexi Like). The one thing that some people may consider it?s down fall it that it has no reverb. I however feel that this amp does not need the reverb so I won?t mark it down for it. If you are thinking of getting the head you should also consider getting one of the matching cabinets, either the 2 12? or the 4 12? cab. This amp was definitely made for the matching cab and the vintage 30s inside of it. I?ve heard this amp through other cabinets and it?s definitely not the same amp. When played through a Marshall cab it?s sounds a little thin and lacks the same punch that the matching cabinet offers.
I have the matching 4 12? cab which sounds amazing and rich.

I play a 52 Fender Tele reissue through it and it sounds incredible. I play a in a brit pop rock style band and I use a lot of clean tone. Some might say I kill the amp?s tone with all my effects but I disagree. I run my T.C. Electronics D2, Lexicon MPX 500, Line 6 Echo pro modeler, and Alesis Quadraverb through the effects loop. The effects loop is incredibly quiet and the effects sound amazing. I love the distortion n this amp it?s perfect for what I?m looking for. It has a nice think brit rock sound and the perfect amount of low end to give it the pefect punch.

I have yet to have any problems with it. I?ve never had a problem with any of my fender amps, including my 65 Bassman.

I have not delt with Fender before but by the looks of the other reviews it doesn?t look like a great experience.

I would have to give this amp a nine because nothing is perfect. I have been incredibly impressed with this amp both the clean and the distortion are amazing and well worth checking out if you?re considering buying it. If you look closely you can find it for a really good deal. I got mine with the 4 12? speaker cabinet for 1250.00 used Not a bad deal considering the quality and the tone that this amp has

this amp is not for the weak of heart. It is a tool to be used not to be admired. It is not a going to do everything sort of amp. It is what it is and it ain't no more. This is my main amp. I play about ten gigs a month in a sonic three peice.

Once again this amp is a tool and does not have the ability to sound like many amps. It does two jobs well clean and distorted. This amp cuts through the mix and demands athority. It not an amp you can hide weak skills behind walls of saturation. If you suck the amp will suck. If you have skills the amp will sing. I think the amp's breakup is like rapture. The amp is a bit noisy in the gain channel. but that's what you get with 100 watts of point to point wiring. I play a stock American Tele and a early 90's Hammer FM speacial. One thing to note is the amp I own is within the orignal run with the stamped imprinted serial number. One more thing I've noticed is you have to use the matched fender cabs or the amp's sound is very thin.

I have used this amp flawlessly for about the last 75 gigs. Never a problem. Always huge in the tone department.

Gigging about 14 years. My opinion is this amp is a tool. If you don't know what your doing this amp will not help you.

don't know what year the amp was made. I wanted a Fender head with the flexability of clean and over drive. on this score it has what I need

i play a variety of guitars-- gretsch 6120, Strat ocaster, SG special.
I have found this amp to accomodate the different guitarsand the differnet styles i play. I've read a lot of bad reviews about the tone of this amp. I think the problem stems from guitarists who are unused to haveing tone controles that are sensitive and resposive. If you crank this thing up with eveything at 10 it's gonna sound abused. i've found that the sound you want from this amp really depends on manipulating the tone controls.

I've been playng for 20 years. i've own Rivera Fandango, Fender hot Rod Deluxe, Hiwatt studio/stage-- imported from England. My Tone Master adds another dimension to the sounds I need

same features as the other postings though you really cant give this more than a 6 rating

this is what I dont get, I read the reviews and thought great a fender amp that can come up with vintage and modern sounds. It could not be further from the truth, muddy OD with a flat 2D feel and clean that is worse than a peavey!!! This was one of the last models my local store got it and the tubes were like new. I played a used prosonic in the same store and it sounded way better. I'm sure people spend alot of money on an amp and make themselves love it when it really doesn't cut it. I'll go back to my blackface bassman with pedals!!!

just tried it, I'd not give it the chance to break down as it sounded so poor

never needed them

I'd avoid this one and buy something that sounded better (like a peavey!!!!) it looks great but lacks the fender magic I'd expect from a custom shop amp

Two channel head (clean and gain). Two effects loops. Blonde tolex with oxblood grill. If it had reverb, it would be the perfect amp.

I have had the amp (with the 2-12 Celestion V30 cab) for about 9 months now. I believe I may have gotten one of the last ones (thank god). The tone is amazing. I play rock (e.g. Steve Morse, Eric Johnson). I plug my NOS Nocaster in and I am in heaven. The clean channel brings out every nuance of the guitar. The gain channel is rich, warm and smooth--not good for metal, but for rock it's perfect. I don't understand some of the previous reviewers' comments about the poor tone. Maybe this is just testimony to Fender's lack of quality control and producing a consistent product. All I know is, I got a winner and this is the last amp I will ever buy.

No problems yet, but I have had it less than a year. Effects loops work great (using TC Electronic's GMajor), except I notice the effects take the edge off the tone slightly. It (and the speaker cab) seem built to take it.

Don't know--have never dealt with Fender.

I have been playing most of my life (40 years(!)), but seriously only the last 5. When I was a kid, I had a Princeton and a Vibrolux Reverb (am I sorry I got rid of them!). The Tonemaster is a modern amp with a vintage look. I know the workmanship on some leaves much to be desired, but mine is immaculate. The tolex and grill are very well done. I think the value of this amp will only increase. It was expensive, but I feel lucky to own one.

Don't know what year but, is a late model. The amp is versatile for blues, rock, heavy metal. You won't get massive distortion but enough to were you don't lose clairity when you play more than a power chord. I play Kiss, Van Halen, 70's, 80's, 90's rock, pop and blues. It has all the features I want and need. This amp has plenty of power. I use this head and the 4x12 cab with vintage 30's to practice at home,with a band, and live.

I use a Gibson Les Paul standard with a Seymour duncan JB in the bridge, SD 59 in the neck. And a Gibson Les Paul with a SD Custom in Bridge. This is veery good for the style that I play. Sounds great everywhere.

It's a tube amp so tubes can alway go bad at any time. But that is not a amp ploblem. Has not broken down.

I've been playing 14 years. I own a Soldano SLO-100.And I like the Tone-Master a lot more. I've tried a lot of amps over the years ( too many to list) and this is my favorite to this day.

This is just an addition to the last post I made. I have recently found that a LP standard through the dirty channel set at med ohmage and Gain at around 5, treb full, bass at 3, and mids at 7 gives far less compressed, but almost identical version too what is most likely the person with one of the greatest live guitar tones playing right now, Allison Robertson of the Donnas. I have been chasing this sound while trying to avoid her JCM2000. This nails it with sound, but is more natural, which is absolutly perfect. It produces alot of harmonics. I just can't decide which channel to use now.

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.