Fender Tone Master Twin Reverb |
The Specs |
Year: 2023
Builder: Fender
Series: Tone Master
Model: Twin Reverb
Serial Number: B946997
Color: Black Tolex
Grille: Silver
Speaker: 2x 12" Jensen N-12K Neo
Impedance: 4 ohms total
Amplifier Type: Solid State
Output Power: 200 watts
Simulated Tube Power: 85 watts
Inputs: 4 (2 Normal/2 Vibrato)
Channels: 2 (Normal/Vibrato)
Volume Controls: 2 (Normal/Vibrato)
Normal Tone Controls: Bass, Mid, High
Vibrato Tone Controls: Bass, Mid, High
Effect Controls: Reverb, Tremolo (Speed/Intensity)
Reverb Type: Digital
Attenuator: 6-Way (85W to 1W)
Footswitch: 2-Button (Reverb/Vibrato)
Cover: Fender Nylon
Height: 20.24"
Width: 26.15"
Depth: 10.375"
Weight: 33 lbs.
The Fender Twin has always been the standard that I measure all other amps against. As a player who loves clean tones, the Twin's ability to stay clean even at high volumes is highly desirable. The Tone Master Twin Reverb is a digital model of the classic amp, with a few significant advantages—it's much, much lighter, doesn't require any maintenance of the tubes, and it has a power attenuator that allows you to dial the output power from its full 85 watts down to 40w, 22w, 12w, 5w, and even 1w. This makse it a very viable home-use amp.
Does it sounds as good as the tube version? No—but it's pretty darn close. Close enough for me that the advantages outweigh the difference in sound. Over the years, I've owned and loved at least a half-dozen Fender Twin tube amps, so I have plenty of references for comparison. Having said that, I haven't had the opportunity to demo the Tone Master side-by-side with its tube-driven twin (pardon the pun).
There's something about Fender's clean tones that just sounds right to me, and the TMTR nails that classic sound. I've also used Roland JC-120s, Vox AC-30s, Ampeg Reverberockets, and a multitude of other Fender amps—but I always come back to the Twin as the gold standard.
I bought my first Fender Twin in 1990 when my long-time band, Shiver, was just getting started. It was a red-knob "The Twin" version that delivered 100 watts of clean power and weighed a ton—77 lbs., to be more precise, which is well over twice the TMTR's 33 lbs. After gigs, the guys in the band would gladly leap at the chance to haul one of our Peavey SP-1 PA speakers instead of the Twin, since even though the SP-1s were close to 100 lbs. they were much too bulky for just one person to carry. The Twin, on the other hand, had just one handle and was therefore a one-man job—and of course, since it was mine, I usually had to haul it myself.
It was worth the workout, however, since it sounded so good. I'd eventually replace that version with the 85w '65 Reissue model, and I've also owned a 100w 70's Silverface model and the 100w "Twin-Amp" version from the late 90's that was affectionately marketed as the "Evil Twin" due to its separate gain channel.
When I got back into playing electric guitar after many years of focusing primarily on acoustic, I was happy to discover the Tone Master Twin Reverb, since it delivers the classic tones I love without some of the hassles associated with traditional tube amps. It's good enough and portable enough (due to its greatly reduced weight) that I'm currently happy to use it as my only amplifier.