Fender Tone Master Pro Demo | First Look

[@premierguitar]

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[@artistlovepeace]

Great demo. John is a great player and host.

[@Winman9999]

Johns playing at the start was the best I've ever seen him. Honestly brings me a whole new level of respect for him.

[@premierguitar]

thank you!

[@ReedHarrison]

The level controls built right onto the switch is genius. This thing is the future

[@Necca_UK]

This is the best interface I have ever seen.

[@recordatron]

Love the knob control on this. I'd actually entertain getting one of these if I was in the market for a modler. The interface seems more like something I'd be happy using than some of the other ones on the market. Great demo John!

[@stratdoc]

John I had a fender contact and got my device early. I have been able to gig with it. Interestingly and maybe not surprisingly I set up 3 boards with Fender Princeton and Superreverb, the EVH on the blue setting, a marshall set up, and a vox set up. Pretty much put the usual cast of pedals in front and behind them. I tweeked all of them to get rid of this hiss issue and to brightening the tone. Global equalizer is handy. The effect was that live in a cover band I nailed the tone and most important the inspiration of playing in front of these favored amps. Not selling off my amps and pedals yet but really I think this nails the needs of 90% of guitarist. I ran a reference amp and through the stage monitor. Honestly the stage monitor was great! I ran stereo to the board and got some left right for several songs..Mick Ronson on MoonAge Daydream creates this amazing circling effect or at least tries to on the live version. I found this easy to set up and indeed I was bringing the spaceship! So I think I am in love! Thank you Fender..

[@bluesman815]

I can't get over how good the Fender amps sound. I'm a blues guitarist so I can't really speak to any of the metal sounds, etc. Honestly, the Fender amps will most likely be all I need. However, the Vox amp sounds great, too. Also, I don't gig at this point in my life so all I've been doing is playing through it at my house. Folks that speak about the price cause me to shake my head. I own and have owned boutique amps that rivaled the price I paid for the TMP and I bought those years ago. May not work for some, but works for me.

[@lawlaw1]

Incredible They really thought this out. The moving of pedals blew my mind

[@J.C...]

The knobs got me lol. How did I miss that until now?

[@paulb808]

Fantastic playing and demo. I think I need one, now.

[@robhaskell4043]

OK, ordered and on the way! Looking forward to this.

[@gertzpalma]

THANKS, JOHN BOHLINGER!

[@AAA-kc7he]

Great demo. And what a great reminder of how great John is on guitar! I have purchased modelers in the past only to sell them off. The simplicity of this unit is pretty impressive. For me it’s not impressive enough to drop $1,700.

[@premierguitar]

thanks for watching!

[@stickman55100]

John is such a fantastic player and does an excellent job of demo’ing gear!

[@Extremistno9]

Great demo John! I started watching this with the phone speakers and then moved to headphones to finish the second half. WOW! Watch this review with headphones as the effects really come alive. There was some harshness with overdrive but not sure if that is just my headphones or compression of the video. As others have mentioned, way better in person. This unit has me interested but not sure I’m ready to give up my MS-3; haven’t had it long enough.

[@jeffsadie9496]

Fantastic. Best sounding multi-effect I've heard. I wish I could afford it.

[@CBGypsy03]

Johns a beauty !! This unit sounds very good too. 👍🏼

[@Liam_Doherty_UK]

Hi, I met you the other week, while you were performing at AJ’s bar in Nashville. We were visiting from the UK. Loved your playing, and your Les Paul with the B bender. I’d been over to Joe Glaser’s earlier that day, to pick up a Tele I’d had a bender fitted to. It was a pleasure to meet you. Regards Liam Doherty

[@johnbohlinger]

Great meeting you Liam. Enjoy that Glaser Bender.. They are so much fun

[@Liam_Doherty_UK]

Thank you. Please let us know if you ever come to the UK. :) @@johnbohlinger

[@MrRiverlord999]

Hi John. A great review. Good to see you having fun mate!😊

[@user-qd9mm5mt4i]

John's playing great, the Fender digital modelling sounds fantastic. It's pricey but *is also every high quality tone* you'd want.

[@algorithm007ify]

It’s cheaper than all of the other big boys by a fair margin in Australia

[@QuickSticks8771]

@@algorithm007ifyand actuality available

[@gamjammer]

Awesome demo John...that lead in was fire man.

[@Gilyslas]

Outstanding demo John Great playing too.

[@Scott__C]

Nice demo, John! Love that Black Falcon, very slick!

[@rwest8905]

Congrats. Best review I’ve seen of this yet. Thanks!

[@1981FlyingV]

You are such a great guitarist

[@johnbohlinger]

You are too kind

[@przemyslaw1235]

​@@johnbohlingerYes you are😊

[@metalgodinwaiting]

Fantastic job John, looking forward to seeing you around Nashville!

[@snapfinger1]

Fender R&D did their homework. Knobs, straightforward touch screen, negligible latency. Possibly 90% of the real things.

[@user-qd9mm5mt4i]

It's sound effing great

[@xb5883]

Agreed. People complaining about the price don't get it.

[@Scott__C]

Didn't hurt that they got one of the Helix developers onboard. Kind of like like hiring the guy from Taylor to work on the Acoustasonic stuff.

[@AudacityWorks]

@Scott__C That particular guy from Fender likes to tell everyone who'll listen that he "created Helix" (perhaps he got the Fender gig in part by lying?) but he contributed almost nothing to the Helix project. He also told everyone at Line 6 that he "created the [different company's wildly popular audio interface]"; turns out that was a lie as well.

[@Scott__C]

@@AudacityWorks Well, OK then. Is this detailed somewhere? Would love to read about it. Sometimes people are just good at interviewing to impress someone.

[@xb5883]

Generally not a fan of modeling but this seems awesome!

[@davidsummerville351]

Nice playing. I've been looking forward to your opinion on this unit. 😎🤓

[@j.jester7821]

Great demo. killer. neat gadget. love the idea of the buttons quick functionality.

[@westsiderider5150]

This is so awesome. You the man Johnny.

[@UnboundOdysseus]

Great playing. I’d love to hear what it sounds like “live” through a Fender FRFR cab. A lot of bands don’t have the luxury of playing direct to front of house or even mic’ing their “amps”. It would be cool in the future to see how Fender’s FRFR cabs handle that situation.

[@QuickSticks8771]

You guys are so fortunate to have all these units be around the same price In Australia the fm9 and QC are a thousand dollars more expensive than the TMP if they are even available

[@_o__o_]

sometimes i wake up in the middle of the night from the sound of my own farts

[@RodRanDusted]

In stereo??

[@_o__o_]

@@RodRanDusted dolby atmos

[@palitolitola]

@@_o__o_cool !!!

[@MusicChannel-rf5zz]

Wow! Great playing.Where did you get that loop in the background?!

[@przemyslaw1235]

Great player😊this is just next gear😊

[@kevinbrennen6773]

Been loving my PodGo but not gonna lie, this is pretty impressive and for me, the movable knobs is a pretty killer addition. Everything I do I mostly do in the PodGo Edit software as doing on the device is just a little clunky. This makes making changes "live" and even temporary changes a lot easier to deal with. Gonna have to check one out sometime.

[@BreauxBobby]

Woe - that chicken' picken' setting sounds awesome! I watched a country band play and this guy had a Tonemaster amp. I thought it was a real Fender Deluxe Reverb. Been checking out the Tone Master Pro on demos. Man, this thing is sounding good! I haven't been a fan of digital amps, but they are starting to sound amazing!

[@CesarGonzalez-bq4sr]

I know what I want for Christmas. 🤣🤣🤣lol. John , I watch every vid. Great job. Fan from San Antonio. 🎸🎸🎸🎹🎹

[@DrewTurock]

Sorry if this is a dumb question: you said that you could use this as a pedal board run into a "flat response" amp. Are there any amps out there that are better at this than others? I get that you would level all of your EQ settings at like 5(?) to flatten it from that perspective, but are there any head/speaker combos that are better than others for a flat response. I sort of have the microphone analogy in my head where some mics color your sound more than others. And I know some amp speakers have different profiles. In any case, thank you for this and everything you do John! I'm a huge fan of your playing, your videos and your writing! (the first thing I read when I get my PG magazine every month!).

[@gdawgs101]

What he's talking about is an FRFR speaker or a "full range - flat response" speaker. It's a different thing altogether from your regular guitar amp or speaker cab.

[@DrewTurock]

Thank you @@gdawgs101

[@gdawgs101]

@@DrewTurock No problem!

[@iagobroxado]

Be aware that "everything at noon" on amp doesn't mean "flat EQ". It's often far from that.

[@QuoVadis88]

Fender provides companion FRFR cabs to the TMP. Best in the industry. Tone Master FR-10 and Tone Master FR-12. I ordered two FR-12 cabs for that stereo Wall of Sound. Selling like hotcakes.

[@mycosten-12]

I’m about 2 weeks in. Just got my backordered FR-12 and I’m not saying I’m gonna go out & sell all my pedals but, I may just go out & sell all my pedals…

[@rumy6871]

John does EVH with a Gretsch! He is a mad man.

[@Gertrudus.]

Fender crushes it.

[@picksalot1]

Cools tones. Does the 60-second Looper have an auto-sensing feature so it will start recording when you start playing, instead of having to press a button?

[@QuoVadis88]

Not yet, but a future update could have that feature.

[@josephl7077]

My unit produces hissing/grounded noise when plugged with auxillary cable. The same when it is connected to the mixer or amp. Do you think this is normal or a factory defect? My headrush doesnt have issue like this.

[@johnnyelvis]

Nice piece of gear, sounds amazing. I personally wouldn't buy it myself unless i was a musician using it to make money. For the price, just for someone like myself (bedroom jammer) it wouldnt be worth it. Being said though, would be great for someone with a stuido and or a money making musician.

[@russellsherman9358]

Well done! Thank you very much 🎸

[@bnastali]

Must buy this. John!

[@rickysleeper]

Incredible John! Are you running through your amp or using the Fender monitors?

[@johnbohlinger]

guitar intro box with XLR outs. Thanks

[@soofitnsexy]

this comes with monitors?

[@QuoVadis88]

@@soofitnsexy Sold separately. Tone Master FR-10 and Tone Master FR-12.

[@nickp440]

Funky intro! Not what I expected from the lapdaddy

[@RubyDimasStudio]

you can turn Switchs Left and right like the Neural DSP !

[@robhaskell4043]

Can this unit be connected to regular guitar amps? I'm having trouble finding this info. I have two Mesa Boogie combos.

[@Prousto]

John did a great demo, as always, but I’m not sure this merits it’s absurdly high price; there are far less expensive modelers that cover the same sonic territory.

[@rumy6871]

Go talk to your local store. I surely did not pay the advertised price.

[@dansomerville]

It’s priced the same as its direct competitors. How is that absurdly high?

[@mixedfruitjam]

@@rumy6871could you please give me an idea on how much discount you got?

[@gdawgs101]

Like who? The full Helix is basically the same price, the Quad Cortex is the same price, the Kemper is only slightly cheaper, the FM9 is MORE EXPENSIVE. The only ones that are significantly cheaper are the ToneX and the more affordable line 6 models, but you're making some concessions there. The TMP is priced right in line with all of its competitors

[@derred723]

@@gdawgs101 Headrush core is way less. The prime is less and you get an expression pedal too.

[@QuoVadis88]

November 20 TMP Update V1.1.111 is out. Firmware and Control app updates.

[@soofitnsexy]

how are we hearing this? through a fender amp when John plays or thru speakers?? monitors??? thanks

[@QuoVadis88]

John said guitar plugged straight into TMP then mixer/computer then you. You can use speakers, Fender FR-12 cabs as Ola Englund does and mics the cabs for you to hear.

[@grahamcharlton9704]

A very useful demo. - thanks. Does it include patches which are identifiable as Page, Gilmour, Iommi? Ta.

[@stratdoc]

Presets on those but you need to tweak for your hands, guitar and amp. Thankfully they made this pretty easy with the dial in feature for each amp and effect. You then save and perhaps retitle it for your tweak. There is a lot of patches up but at least for the moment I think I can match most of them better. I live in LA and I met the Fender video guy at an event. He says they have a team in place and are going to provide quarterly updates that address the real world feedback. I have gigged with it and during sound check I made some changes that are so intuitive to the pedal chain with an EQ pedal and choosing a different drive. Nailed it. My fractal was a nightmare if you need to adjust on the fly. I am listing a lot of pedals and probably some amps on Reverb..

[@grahamcharlton9704]

@@stratdoc Many thanks for your detailed reply.

[@OhanaFilms]

The only problem is how paralyzed you can become when given so many options.

[@QuoVadis88]

I have a TMP. Very easy to get great tones. Don't need a manual. Just play.

[@angusorvid8840]

A cool device but very pricy and there are other options. Besides that, I'd rather use something a lot simpler. I'm okay with a Deluxe Reverb and some pedals.

[@angusorvid8840]

I think this class of device is overpriced to begin with. If they knocked the price in half I'd be more accommodating. I'm not doubting the many advantages of a multi fx. I just personally don't think it's worth it.@@NS-tc9kk

[@QuoVadis88]

In Canada it's $2,349.99. Bought it anyway. Love it. Heard the nasty comments about the EVH preset vs Fractal FM9. Max Gutnik of Fender saw the Sonic Drive Studio's unfair comparison and is on the case to provide an update to the EVH preset in the next TMP update to make the TMP better rival the Fractal FM9 preset. That minor temporary issue aside, my TMP sounds great thru headphones and FRFR cabs.

[@UnboundOdysseus]

I’m concerned a bit about that too. I’ll wait and see how well Fender keeps up with their updates. Fractal is apparently the best on the market on product updates.

[@MG-cd7wi]

"The EVH Wide" Preset is the one I use most. Hard to take the opinions of reviewers who play everything in drop C with the gain on 11 seriously.

[@JayKughan]

I wanna know how you'd use a wah with this unit?

[@QuoVadis88]

3 Wah presets right now. More with updates. Can use the Mission Engineering companion expression pedal or myself I already have a Boss EV5 Expression pedal and a latching Boss FS5-L for the Toe Switch

[@StratsRUs]

Great sound for a thousand dollars.

[@tedblumstein6772]

$1699 at Sweetwater

[@StratsRUs]

​@@tedblumstein6772Like I said.. great sound for a thousand dollars ! 😉

[@QuoVadis88]

4 years of R&D. Those engineers don't work for minimum wage. Updates coming that will rival Fractal FM9

[@QuoVadis88]

@@tedblumstein6772 $2,346.99 in Canada.

[@guitarmike6757]

Killing it!!!💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻

[@GordonPavilion]

What? No Gorilla Amp model?

[@billyjoseph]

👍

[@briank6789]

Can anyone answer this: A normal pedal has the input/outputs going right-to-left. Why do all these multi-effects with touchscreens have the signal going the opposite way, left-to-right??? It's like they're replicating everything about a pedal BUT this. Just seems odd to me.

[@jrtme]

Signal flow is left to right or top to bottom. Guitar pedals are the only thing that are backwards. If ya think wiring diagrams they go left to right.

[@QuoVadis88]

Also, when you read, it's left-to-right.

[@gdgeo]

Remind me of 18 years ago when I purchased a Fender CyberTwinn 1/2 stack with the Midi foot controller, great tone and plenty of adjustability. Took me 3 years to find somebody to purchase it 18 years later for 1/2 of what I originally spent. Unlike the simplicity of a few pedals through a Fender hand wired all tube amp that retains its value.

[@roscius6204]

Imagine this had a multi track looper. Then we'd be talking.

[@QuoVadis88]

Wait for the update. May incorporate features of Boss RC-500 two track looper. RC-500 has 99 patches and 15 hours of stereo recording time.

[@qualaup]

Sounds like Sylvester Stallone introduces Rocky 26

[@w1zard0f0h]

Yes it does fender sounds pretty good. But that is about it.

[@QuoVadis88]

Updates coming that will rival Fractal FM9

[@douglasaxtell]

The new generation of the GTX amps without a cab. Many of the menus look exactly the same. How does it sound on the hard stuff? Hard meaning complex signals or if you adjust and save a profile then copy and edit it, does it respond the same or get nonlinear?

[@QuoVadis88]

Not GTX. TMP is a different league. 6,000 IR's for accurate sound. If you have used the Tone Master amps, it's far beyond the GTX stuff. When you turn the volume up on the Tone Master Deluxe Reverb it behaves like a tube amp. I have a hand-wired '64 Custom Deluxe Reverb tube amp and and Tone Master Deluxe Reverb with the updates. On both amps, up to 5 on the volume dial is clean. After 5, the loudness does not change but the SAG, compression, gain, overdrive pushes the sound into wonderful territory, all musical. So linear up to 5. After 5, non-linear as on a real tube amp. The Tone Master will produce even-order harmonics as a real tube amp will. It's not transistor distortion which produces terrible-sounding odd-order harmonics.

[@rickjason215]

I am listening through my phone through the highly compressed KZbin algorithm. I can't tell anything.

[@mikelundquist4596]

Sadly, that is how most people listen to most music these days.

[@QuoVadis88]

My new phone allows me to use Bluetooth earbuds. Which is better than the non-musical speakers in a phone.

[@rickjason215]

@@QuoVadis88 It is far better than phone or IPad speakers, but it still reduced by the KZbin algorithm. Most performers use in ears. Isn’t that a digital reproduction of the music they are playing. Often I see them pull them out when playing something difficult.

[@J.C...]

THOSE ARE KNOBS?!? WHAT?!? 😲👊👍🙏👌

[@thekindacooldad]

I dated Voxee Bitz 😏

[@DanteWilliams728]

If that thing is more than $400, they are ripping the consumer off. Price gauging.

[@tedblumstein6772]

Nice, but it better be for $1699.00 ..... That buys a lot of pedals.

[@vedder10]

Right but you're getting pedals, amps, and cabinets with this. Plus updates adding more models even with the first firmware they just released.

[@paulb808]

It's just too bad it doesn't have an expression pedal built in. Oh well.

[@vedder10]

@@paulb808 Funny thing is then you have people complaining that the unit is too big and heavy. You just can't please everyone. Crazy how people complain about the Headrush Prime size but then they are willing to carry huge pedalboards and heavy amps to and from gigs.

[@J.C...]

You'll need more than just pedals to make any of these sounds.

[@gdawgs101]

​@@paulb808 a lot of people, myself included, actually prefer the expression pedal to be separate. That's actually one of my biggest gripes with the Helix. Also someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think you have to use the Fender proprietary expression pedal

[@klinkokos67]

It's a cool gadgets, but insanely expencieve - Couldn't afford one if I saved for ages in these economically unstable times! 😕

[@guitarplayer1969]

So I am stomping on those switches with my feet, and then I reach down and twist them with my fingers, and then fret my guitar strings and use my pick. Does it come with a year's supply of hand sanitizer HaHa....

[@QuoVadis88]

You use your knob twisting fingers at home when you have the TMP on your table top. Or you can just use the Control App on your computer. I use a 32 inch computer monitor which is beautiful to work with. Then you are using a mouse and keyboard. You don't edit on stage. You edit at home. Don't bring something to a gig if you are not ready to plug and play it.

[@ericdamien3825]

Made in China à 1700 euros. retour chez Woodbrass mains contrairement à Thomann, le retour est payant ( 36 euros et 40 cts). Pour info, vous êtes responsable du renvoi, la poste assure au maximum1000 euros le colis. Ce qui veut dire si le colis est perdu, c'est 700 euros de moins sur votre compte. Woodbrass c'est fini pour moi, je passe chez Thomann, fini les embrouilles.

[@j.jester7821]

Dont get me wrong, its cool design. and you did great demo. but to my ear it sounds plastic. particularly the distortion is harsh and the modulation is terrible.

[@QuoVadis88]

I have a TMP. The other guy is right. It sounds WAY better in person. And it looks better in person. You can watch someone drive a Ferrari on TV or you can drive one yourself. You'll never get the thrill of acceleration by watching TV.

[@bluesman815]

I'm a 59 yr old blues guy playing 40+ years that WAS a tube amp purist. I was first introduced to the world of amp modeling with the Strymon Iridium during covid lockdown and haven't looked back. I went all in on the Fender TMP Christmas 2023 and yet to even scratch the surface. I've always loved the Fender iconic amps and the ones in the TMP are nothing short of amazing. I'm running mine through a tonemaster FR-10. I went with the 10 because of portability and I dig the tightness of a 10" speaker. In all honesty, when the TMP arrived I plugged into one of the presets and wasn't so sure so I went directly to making my own without reading the manual. Way better and couldn't be easier. After that, various KZbin videos showed how to utilize some of the different settings, which only improved it. It really nails the character of the Fender iconic amps. The thing has a plethora of amps, speakers/speaker cabinets, mics that you can actually place wherever on the speakers, etc. The technology is incredible. I was never really a pedal guy, so it's opened a whole new world in all of that, as well. In fact, I recently fired up a boutique tweed pro tube amp I paid more for than this thing and felt IT was missing something. That being said, I feel I'm getting the best tone I've ever had with this new technology. So there you have it.

[@darrencunningham4782]

I’d say a nice little pay check was had for this ridiculous review

[@TommyRogersAlabama]

It is an excellent pedal but @ $1700 I think I'll pass.

[@QuoVadis88]

$2,349.99 Canadian. I have one. Love it. Sounds great thru headphones or FRFR cabs. Xmas updates and more after that.

[@DavidEidelberg]

Paid promotion?

[@QuoVadis88]

Van Halen said, If it sounds good, it is good. I have a TMP. It's great now and will be greater with the updates. I also bought the accompanying FRFR cabs, two FR-12 cabs, for that stereo Wall Of Sound. Not paid on my part.

[@pippydog28]

Can't get into the modeling stuff. Maybe if I played around on monitors and made KZbin vids . But they just don't feel or sound right . From the old zoom effects to the high dollar stuff now .

[@QuoVadis88]

Start with a Fender Tone Master Deluxe Reverb amp. It looks like a tube amp. It sounds like a tube amp. It behaves like a tube amp. On the back panel, you have power scaling down to 0.2 watts. You have an IR Shure SM57 direct out to PA/Mixer/Recorder. Nobody will know it's not a tube amp, not even you, if somebody does an A/B comparison behind your back. Years of R&D went into those amps and the TMP to get you to the point where it's so close, you can't tell. Extra features that I love is how good the TMP sounds through studio headphones. You'll play more and become a better guitar player, guaranteed.

[@pippydog28]

@@QuoVadis88 I have one it's ok . Difference is , it's one sound for 1000$. It does that clean pedal platform thing good . The Kemper and neural stuff to me you just spend too much time looking for a decent sound. And to me that sound doesn't sound as good as just switching on like a bad cat amp . Headphone thing I can see. I just don't like headphones . I like to hear the noise and feel it all around me . Even good headphones sound like shit to me on guitar . Same with studio monitors . I need that pushed air!

[@TheBoomtown4]

An amp is the closest sounding thing (to my ear) to an amp so I just buy amps. Cheaper than this gadget too! Tube amps really nail that tube amp sound! ;)

[@gdawgs101]

On the other hand, 1700 bucks gets you dozens of amps (will be hundreds soon) whereas buying each of the amps themselves will cost you at least that for each one. $1700 for all the amps you could ever need + an audio interface for recording and making live sound mixing infinitely easier vs $1700 for one amp. Idk seems like an easy choice to me, and this is coming from a guy that loves tube amps and was a tube purist for the longest time. The difference in sound between tube and digital (provided you're running it through a good FRFR speaker or cab to push some air) has become so negligible at this point that the convenience that modeling offers is just too good to overlook anymore IMO.

[@QuoVadis88]

Except like me when you get the urge to play at 3 am or when the baby is alseep. Then I use studio headphones out of the TMP, which sound GREAT. I also have two Fender FR-12 cabs that also sound great for that Wall of Sound

[@derred723]

price is absurd. sadly a deal breaker. A headrush core is touch screen, good enough and like $700 less.

[@QuoVadis88]

4 years of R&D. Those engineers don't work for minimum wage making 6,000 IR's. I have a TMP. It's worth it now. The upgrades will make it more desirable. Drive a Ferrari before you say no.