Plain Jane amp

Mr.Scary

A Blues Legend in My Own Mind
Using the latest in Fender modeling technology, the Tone Master is able to capture the sound and performance of the seminal tube Twin Reverb.

This is what fender says about there new ss tone master twin reverb. Well if that's the case why the hell is it $999. If they can put out the gtx for 5 bills will 15 or so other amps in it they sure as heck don't need to charge 999 for the twin alone.
And why are all the amps nowadays modelers? Uuggghh
 

blackcoffeeblues

Student Of The Blues
YEP; I agree....never played either one ---but it still makes no sense to me. I remember the 1st Ibanez
TS-9 pedal I bought (but hardly ever used) for less than $70 new . Once it came out that SRV used a Ibanez TS-9 pedal--The originals went up on E-BAY to $300 ---"A fool and his money, are soon parted"..I think it was W.C. Fields that said that.
 
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PapaBear

Guit Fiddlier
Why would pay $999 for a Twin Reverb model when you can get a real one for the same used and the reissue is only a couple hundred more

Edit: Well the new ones are 5 bills more these days, but stil you can get used for $700 up
 
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snarf

making guitars wish they were still trees
I'm sure that a LOT of it is marketing, but, if you go in and read the descriptions, there do appear to be some pretty significant differences.

The GTX has a LOT of bells and whistles stuck into a generically described cabinet using a generic speaker. Reading through the ad copy, it looks to me like an amp that they packed a bunch of stuff in, some things I would never use (yes, I'm basing this on what I would or wouldn't do with it). It's an amp that's trying to cover a lot of bases so that you could find an acceptable sound no matter what you needed.

Looking at the Tone Master amps (specifically the Twin), it appears that they're trying to make a fairly faithful non-tubed version of the original amp. It has vibrato and reverb. It has the the Bright switches. All of that is on the face, not something you have to go into a menu to change. They actually specify that the cabinet is made out of pine. They use a specific Jensen speaker and not one that's just labeled as "specially designed." Looking at the back, it also has an attenuator built in (that has setting between 1w and 85w). This one isn't trying to be a jack of all trades, it's trying to do one thing, and it appears to be trying to do that one thing well.

Personally, if I was looking for a Fender amp to gig with, I'd skip the GTX line and look at these. I like the simplicity of the control face. I like the fact that there are no menus. I like the fact that it's the same thing all the time. That said, if I was out to buy a Fender amp to carry out, since they're only $200 more, I'd skip the Tone Master and look at the real thing. For the price difference, the real tube amp would probably be the better deal, but that built in attenuator could sway me towards the cheaper one.

And, to be honest, since I'm not looking for an amp to gig with, if I was out to buy another Fender, I wouldn't be looking at any of these. I'd be looking for an old Vibro Champ.

YMMV
 

Shodai

Blues Junior
I've had modeling amps for years and don't have much bad to say about them. They're solid state, but sound every bit as good as anything else out there once they're dialed in.
If I had a complaint it would be that it has 16 amp models, 20 onboard effects, speaker emulation, over 500 presets... But I only use two.
 

Silicon Valley Tom

It makes me happpy to play The Blues!
If you find something you like, keep it and use it. I realize that does not help the economy, so if you must, by all means, buy one of each amplifier until you find "the right one". In fact buy more than one of each.

My Mustang had all these wonderful presets. All that I had to do was to memorize what was equal to what. I did consider purchasing a roll of toilet paper, to write down the preset equivalents. Then along came the virus, and toilet paper sold out. So I got rid of the Mustang. But not to fear! Life is good. I have a little Celestion that makes me happy. I also have a few other amplifiers somewhere. A VOX, and a few more. Since the move, we have not been able to find many things we know we have, but where the heck are they? :unsure: :confused: o_O

Tom
 

Silicon Valley Tom

It makes me happpy to play The Blues!
The important thing when purchasing anything is the marketing! Truth and reality mean nothing. What is important is how well the product is presented. If you have to step into 6 feet of manure, just to read the hype, do be careful. :cry: Marketing is never in your best interest. :eek:

Tom
 

sdbrit68

Student Of The Blues
If you find something you like, keep it and use it. I realize that does not help the economy, so if you must, by all means, buy one of each amplifier until you find "the right one". In fact buy more than one of each.

Tom

such true words

been through the Marshall code, Mustang V, acoustic, hot rod deville, crate etc etc

Once I fell in love with the Bugera 1990, its all I really ever play anymore
 

Shodai

Blues Junior
The important thing
when purchasing anything is the marketing! Truth and reality mean nothing. What is important is how well the product is presented. If you have to step into 6 feet of manure, just to read the hype, do be careful. :cry: Marketing is never in your best interest. :eek:

Tom

Just like politicians.

Sorry, hope this doesn't violate the prohibition on politics.
 

CapnDenny1

Student Of The Blues
I’ve heard SS amps that sound good. I’ve never heard one live that I would prefer to hear over a nice tube amp.

I think that amp is intended to give the advantages of SS, but in stealth mode. Nobody will know it’s SS.

In the hifi world you can have a SS 20w audio amp that sounds ok, and is cheap. You can also have a 20w very expensive amp, that sounds fabulous, and costs 10 times what the cheaper one costs. So in the expensive SS Fender, I would expect they made an effort to make the SS amp better. But that also costs more.
 

artyman

Fareham UK
For me these days as long as it sounds good I'm looking for a light amp, that's why the new Fender GTX range is tempting.
 

snarf

making guitars wish they were still trees
In the hifi world you can have a SS 20w audio amp that sounds ok, and is cheap. You can also have a 20w very expensive amp, that sounds fabulous, and costs 10 times what the cheaper one costs. So in the expensive SS Fender, I would expect they made an effort to make the SS amp better. But that also costs more.
They also mention in the ad copy that, for the Deluxe Reverb version of the Tone Master to get that super clean sound that the DR is known for, they're actually using a 100w amp in order to get all the headroom it needs.

Which, at least for me, that leads to some confusion on the amp. Fender seems to be advertising it as a 22w amp like the original. Sweetwater, GC, AM, and ZZ all advertise it as a 100w amp, but they all have that Fender verbiage that talks about 22w. AND on the back of the amp, the built-in attenuator goes from .2w (yes, that's 2/10w) to 22w. Do they have the 100w ss amp dialed back any to replicate the 22w of tube amp? Or does 22w of tube amp equal 100w of ss amp? Or is it all marketing and the 22w and 100w have no bearing on each other and it's all just advertisement? These are the questions that keep me up at night.**

**Not really, but that sentence gives a more dramatic sounding conclusion.
 

Al Holloway

Devizes UK
On the blackstar ID series amps they do a similar thing. Their TVP (true valve power) is advertised "as loud as valve". I had a ID:60 60w amp. However in the small print itactually had 150W. I had all the same questions as you. And one extra as mine was a head. If you cranked it into a 60w cab would you fry the speaker with 150w output or was it tamed to 60w some how?

cheers

Al.
 
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