The Fender Twin Reverb Has Been Modernized (Tone Master Blonde Review)

[@trueblueclassicrock]

I'm a gigging musician and have used tube amps all my life. But I'm getting older and lugging a 70 to 90lb Marshall amp is not an option. First, I was very skeptical but did my research and push the button for a TM Blonde Twin. I have gigged with it, and it sounds great. I cannot say it is perfect when compared to a tube amp but it is close enough and it uses a pedal very nice. Weighs only 33 lbs. and my back feels great and so do my ears. Diehard tube enthusiasts will never admit the amp sounds like a twin, but until you own one and gig with it I would hold back your opinion.

[@imlostinthewoods]

Really nice review. It cracks me up that people dismiss it out of hand because it’s “solid-state“. I own both the Twin and the Deluxe Blonde versions and they are two of the best amps I’ve ever owned. The Celestion speaker makes all the difference in the world in my opinion. Not only do they sound great, but they “feel” correct and that to me is everything. I have 14 pedals on my pedalboard and everything sounds good through this. I’ve owned $2000 hand wired amplifiers, and none of them satisfied me in the same way as my two Tonemaster amps. I have used one of these amps at every show over the last two years and have no complaints whatsoever.

[@serbianwarrior4876]

do you prefer the twin or deluxe for live playing?

[@jschwam1307]

@@serbianwarrior4876 both work equally as well. If you ask me which amp I prefer, I’ve had the deluxe longer and I really like to focus of the single 12 inch speaker. That being said, I’m slowly learning to dial in the twin, and I’m becoming really happy with that one as well.

[@serbianwarrior4876]

@@jschwam1307 which one would you say is the better pedal platform?

[@imlostinthewoods]

@@serbianwarrior4876 both are equally good with pedals on the tremolo channel. I currently have 14 pedals on my board:-)

[@imlostinthewoods]

@@serbianwarrior4876 I’ve owned the Blonde Deluxe, and then picked up the Blonde Twin in a trade, here is an update. I want to preface this post by saying that I have owned a number of tube amps, including several Fenders, and several expensive boutique amps. My background is playing in a cover band, and we cover a lot of genres. My favorite combination is my Vintage V100 LP, pedal board, which has a total of 14 pedals on it, and the amp mostly clean to edge of break up before engaging pedals. I play a lot of rhythm and some lead. my favorite tone would probably be something along the lines of focused overdriven blues/rock, or even a southern rock tone. That being said in a live setting, I play everything from clean to distorted 90s songs but no metal music.  To start out, when I picked up the Twin, out of my own ignorance, I just thought it would sound the same as a Deluxe, but be a bigger sound. That is not true though, they are uniquely different amps. The entire time that I owned the Twin, I struggled to dial it into my personal tone preferences. I tried every combination of tweaking that I could think of and never really got the sound I was looking for. I should say that I’m a big pedal user though and while my pedals sounded good through it, they sounded different than they do through the Deluxe.  A number of people were asking me, which I liked. “better“. The reality is, they’re both great amps, but in the end, for my needs, I ended up selling the Twin and believe it or not, purchased a second Blonde Deluxe so I can have one at my practice space, and one at home and dial them both in in the same exact way. To my ears, the Blonde Deluxe is maybe the perfect pedal platform amp. It just has this focus through that 1X12 Celestion speaker that just sounds right to my ears. With pedals I can get so many unique tones out of it and they all seem to sound good, and it’s easier for me to dial in that tone than it was using the Twin. Either way, now I’m extremely happy 🙂 

[@Lomoholga2]

For a split second I thought you were wearing a t-shirt of Quebec but in red. I have a twin reverb and of course it needs repaired. I’d love to check out the tonemaster version and if it is comparable, I would jump ship immediately Ppl tend to favour them highly, but the only issue seems to be they are considering too expensive!

[@Santaheckler]

The Twin TM is the only realistic way a Twin can be used live at most venues/bars. I have one and gig it 100+ times a year. It’s fantastic. I’m tempted to get a Princeton version too.

[@doctorskull8197]

I have two Tonemaster Deluxe Reverbs. They are great! 23 pounds! Nobody can tell the difference.

[@DrRussPhd]

I had a Twin TM a while ago but it was the black tolex and even with the software upgrade it didn't sound good. I have been looking at the Blond version but I can also buy a used '70's silver face Twin with a master volume for a cheaper price . Yes the weight is miles apart. Tone Masters are not "solid state" amps, they are digital. I own a Vox Pathfinder 15 and that is a solid state amp as it has no CPU. Digital has come a long long way now, Fractal, Kemper etc have made huge strides , I own an AX FX III played thru a Mission Gemini II 2x12 cab, but nothing beats a real amp in the room. We live in wonderful times where all of these choices are available to us. All of them are to be enjoyed. Nice demo, thanks for doing this. Also, love the "Pulp Fiction" poster. :)

[@stevecraig7643]

I have one. My over kill amp is my Masa Mk 5 35 combo with extra cab

[@Dantespeako]

Comment for the metrics

[@Dantespeako]

Replying to my own comment for engagement 😆

[@Randolphguitars]

😂😂😂​@@Dantespeako

[@lenniejosephful]

Not a fan of solid state.

[@giles3211]

Yup I'm a tube guy through and through. My father worked on the first tube based computers, and I had my first tube amp at 10 years old. Even now I'm listening to this audio through a tube digital to analog converter. Nothing beats the sound of a good tube cranked at the local bar on blues night after a hard day at the office.

[@diabx0r]

I mean, this isn't a solid state amp, but I get your point.

[@robinrosenberg9065]

Solid State ? Nope ...