Amps Tone Master amps: Deluxe or Twin?

D. R. Miller

Good News Blues
This might be the definitive review of the Tone Master Deluxe Reverb:

From my short time experience with it I think he nailed it with his 2 cents comments. It will come down to personal taste and whether it meets the individuals needs. It didn't for mine especially at the price compared to the tube version. I picked up a Peavey Red Stripe Bandit used for $200 and it sounds as good as this if not better for my needs but still doesn't sound as good as the Name Pro 18.
 

Iheartbacon

Blues Junior
It's OK, I fixed it. Blasphemy means cursing, right? :confused:

No! The idea that you can SELL gear is blasphemous. Gear is something you always buy more of.

For example:

“I have a bunch of tube amps I haven’t played in years. I should sell a few.” = Sinful thought.

Whereas

“I have a bunch of tube amps I haven’t played in years. I should buy a few more.” = virtuous.
 

GuitarGeorge

Blues Newbie
I'd say the key factors would be clean headroom and moving air..
If they truly behave like the tube versions, the Deluxe will break up sooner then the Twin.
There will not be a huge difference in total volume though.
My guess is, for most smaller venues, that you're likely to play in, either one will be way more volume then you'll need.
I'd further guess, that you won't be relying on the amps for your break up tone anyways.
Once you start running O/D pedals into them it won't make any difference which one you pick because the amp tone will be clean and the O/D pedal will give you the crunch you'll want.

If you think your future will have you on a big stage that accepts loud amps for big audiences, get the Twin because the 2 X 12s will push more air to fill bigger spaces.
Having said that, if you're looking for less weight and more portability the Twin takes you in the wrong direction.

I own the deluxe, I traded in my 68 custom tube deluxe to get it. Well worth it. I agree with all the statements above. The deluxe even at the 12W and 5W level is loud enough for all but stadiums. Will work great in clubs and jams, I will have one next week and will report back. The weight is great. But if you weren't a guy that just needed a twin and didn't care what it weighed then yet get the TMT. Yes the cleans will be other worldly. But the ease of the deluxe, the just throw it in the back seat and I mean throw it cause it is that light makes this a no brainier get the deluxe! It is everything they say it is, all the demos are true. It is a deluxe that is light as a feather. The only difference me and my team of experts (ha) found is that initial wooosh when you hit the first note isn't quite there, but everything after that is identical, if you even know what I am talking about. But I will say I only did that wooosh test at GC when it was brand new and the speaker was yet to be broke in.

Get it, get it, GET IT!

Reading a few more posts about SPL and power and stuff. I say they are identical. Fender got it right. The deluxe having the 100W SS power available means it has all the headroom to model exactly what the 22W DDRI has. These are identical as far as loudness goes. If you tried 10 tube DDRI's blindfolded along with 1 of the TM deluxes you would not know which was the TM I guarantee it, other than that wooosh. Needless to say all 11 amps would be slightly different and the variation between the SS and the Tube version would be the same amount of variation that is between any two Tube to Tube amps.
 
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GuitarGeorge

Blues Newbie
This might be the definitive review of the Tone Master Deluxe Reverb:

I will say using pedals to play Offspring Come out and play all I need is to put the TMD at about 8 and 5W (could set higher wattage in bigger room no difference) setting so it already has a little over drive to it the add a BB overdrive and I get that hard rocking sound. MIght make a video latter today. But yeah listen to this, I get the same sound with very little effort so I don't buy the don't take pedals well. Which minutes of his video explains that I can't watch the whole hour.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtqEHBbbFj4
 
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