Was I WRONG About the Fender Tonemaster FR12 - Not As Good As I Thought?

For my Presets visit: johnnathancordy.gumroad.com/
For ArtistWorks courses: artistwork.prf.hn/click/camre...
For TrueFire courses and All Access Memberships: prf.hn/click/camref:1100lqzr3
Use the code JNC40 for a 40% discount off all courses, or JNC100 for $100 off all access membership!
‪@JeffMcErlain‬ asked me about the Fender Tonemaster FR12, and recently I had a couple of gigs that I wasn't necessarily in love with it...So I wanted to check in and just confirm whether it was me, or the venues...
/ johnnathancordy get my lesson tabs and backing tracks here
www.buymeacoffee.com/johnnath... - if you like what I do and
only if you wanted, you could buy me a coffee!
Get my PADs bundle here: www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr... (this folder will grow, and I'd encourage you to ask for different keys/songs and stuff that might suit this type of preset?)
I've decided to make it possible to grab both my Helix/HX Stomp bundles (the expression bundle with freeze presets has always been separate) together - www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr... - I will then email you a link to both bundles!
Try my general patches for Helix or HX Stomp in this bundle using this link - I will then send out the patches! www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr...
You can get my EXPRESSION patches in this bundle using this link - I will then send out the patches! www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr...
Try my patches for Pod GO using this link - I will then send out the patches! www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr...
/ johnnathancordy get my backing tracks here
www.buymeacoffee.com/johnnath... - if you like what I do and
only if you wanted, you could buy me a coffee!

[@brianmiller3287]

I'm not gigging, but I play mine for several hours every day and I LOVE IT!!!!

[@warrencraigjohnston]

I think we are all looking for consistency, but there are so many variables, indoor/outdoor, hot/cold, room size, how loud is the band, how many people.

[@Ganther100]

In earlier FR-12 videos you had the cut control set higher at about 12:00. Was wondering if you changed your strategy with that setting? I think you had recently mentioned being concerned about too much low end with the FR-12? Are you still using the hi-cut at 4K? I have a set of 10’s as well as the 12’s. Using a PRS JA-15 hollow body mostly but occasionally do gigs with an EJ strat.

[@nigelwilliams3311]

I use a Line 6 Powercab. You have said several times that the PowerCab needed too much tweaking, and I am curious as to what tweaking you mean. I just set mine to "Flat", and the only thing I change is the Input Level to cater for different output levels on various modellers (the output from Quad Cortex is significantly lower than others). What else is there that could need tweaking?

[@conorlarkin1111]

I’d also love more context on the Powercab comments. Maybe worth a revisit?

[@richo144]

I have a 212+ and loved it, but first I appliedto the frfr mode a low cut at 100, hi cut at 5.5 and hf trim of -4.5db

[@jobposthuma4068]

Ever considered phase issues between what you get from the FR and the IEM as the cause?

[@fransmolenaar8809]

My main gig setup for now is now pre amp mkII -> hx stomp ->lion uafx-> ox stomp uafx -> fr12. Really happy with it, playing regularly all kinds of music. main volume around 14:00. Was wondering if you ever had problems with noticable latency with amp modellers? Love your channel, cheers.

[@chrishinson7692]

I’m running 2 of the FR-12s with my FM9 and absolutely love them. I’m running considerable volume, usually around 2:30-3 on the volume knob with the output knob on the FM9 at 1 o’clock. FR-12 outs to our X32 based IEM rig, then out to FOH. Very happy with this setup.

[@nicky3533]

My opinion is something happens to the FM12 over a period of an hour or so of continuous use. I have noticed, after practicing for about an hour or slightly longer the sound of the FR12 starts to get thin and very ‘toppy’ with very high frequencies appearing. I thought it was just my ears fatiguing. I am now using my Redsound Elis 8 speakers instead and don’t have this issue. I think it was worth trying to recreate this…

[@Ganther100]

I really appreciate you sharing in this journey. Through re-evaluation we get to grow with you. Some will criticize the vacillation in opinions but I see this as a key ingredient to musical growth. All great musicians share in this trait. You are the finest example of perseverance and we are the recipients of your great gifts!

[@TheBluesman511]

Hi. Can i know what pedal or stom you use ? You don' t play it just direct way - guitar / amp so we can hear how really it sounds itself withour any other effect except the amp reverb. Thank you.

[@michaelbanach9972]

Curious what your thoughts are on the 10. ive heard it has a better and clearer sound. Curious if you would be able to do a head to head and what your thoughts might be. Cheers

[@IAmTello]

I purchased your "Helix and HX Stomp General Presets" and have not received it or heard anything. Please advise

[@NedJeffery]

There's a Google drive link that you go to to download them. Should be on the site where you paid I believe.

[@user-jy3io4iz2p]

Could also be something on the mains out socket. Gear responds to "voltage wobbles". Are you using a power conditioner? Also check on the cables, they can pick up all kind of interference. Try not to run cables parallel to another but preferably crossing eachother.

[@mgie22]

Do you disable cabs in the modeler when you use it?

[@swardmusic]

No

[@hybridnoisebloom]

Mind-blowing playing. Thoroughly enjoyed.

[@Place_to_keep_videos]

Don't the Boss Katana's do this just as well though, through the "Power amp in"? Even quieter power amp?

[@rwest8905]

Yes

[@glyman1212]

Nice slow-hand phrasing on Little Wing.

[@trickfall8752]

I love the FR-10 and my EQ settings are pretty similar to yours. I find it's extremely beneficial to have the EQ controls on the amp because even switching guitars I can just make a quick adjustment to dial in a little more treble if say I'm going from a single coil guitar to a hum bucker.

[@jansvajcik]

Does anyone have experience with Laney LFR 112 vs Fender Tone master FR 12 ?

[@mrgoul1]

Been looking for that everywhere but can’t find a direct comparison anywhere

[@fastacesus8499]

Gigs can be like that with gear. Some nights everything sounds just right others not so. There are just so many variables. Great playing btw.

[@JeffMcErlain]

Hey man! Just Seeing this now! I appreciate the shout out. Thank you! And thanks for the invaluable advice!

[@yikelu]

I've had some similar weird experiences where something sounds great one day and trash the next. Exact same setup etc. Could be anything from humidity, temperature, frequency masking from different ambient noise, to just my subjective hearing being different that day.

[@ChrisBucheit]

I continue to be impressed by my FM3 with my recording setup (i.e. direct into Logic while monitoring through studio near-field monitors) BUT I continue to be frustrated by how it sounds through all the FRFR options that I've tried including the Fender Tonemaster FR10. I wish I could implement my FM3 for live settings/performances but for now it just lives in my home studio.

[@crispyguitar7695]

FR10 or FR12? Which is the best choice?

[@jasonb5898]

John you are apparently wrong about all the gear you have. It will catch up to you one day.

[@ekuzy]

I love it. Mostly home usage. One side of the room I have the FR12, the other my two audio monitors. I use the FR as righ and two monitors as left. Also, I'm making good use of the EQ in the amp all the time.

[@aaronvalure178]

I would love to see a comparison between red sound FRFR and the fender cab

[@nlmal4]

Hi Nathan, our opinion changes constantly. 🙌🏾

[@user-nq3op6vv8b]

Interesting that others have experienced oddness with this cab. I have also played it live a number of times with a Kemper rack doing 80s covers and I also noticed the sound seemed to change as the night went on. For me it seemed to clean up more on the overdriven patches. I thought it might be the Kemper but now I am thinking it’s the cab. My all time favorite BTW is to play the Kemper through a Powerstage tube power amp to a guitar cab. Nothing sounds better to me and I’ve tried a lot of different setups. Just more and heavier stuff to carry. I still think the Tonemaster is a great value though.

[@Douglas117955]

I'm still happy with my mark iii, I've had it for 6 years and it still amazes me

[@sixtyaffairs]

I have a FR12 now since a week , at home and in my Rehersal room. First of all : No hiss. Nothing. Absolute quiet. Any other problems ? No. Perfect sound to my ears. Tested with my GX100 solo and with the band . It will replace my Harley Benton G212 FR ( too heavy ) , Headrush 12 ( don't like the Sound )and a Kemper Power Cabinet ( not loud enough ) . It is really light weight and loud enough for upcoming live shows.

[@richo144]

What do you think about the Harley Benton g212fr?

[@sixtyaffairs]

@@richo144 It's great. Loud enough in all situations , stereo if you want . But weights 45 pounds , thats too heavy for me for gigging. I had it 2 years in our rehersal room , there it was perfect.

[@TCMx3]

I ended up picking the fr12 up and it seems fine to me. Seems to reproduce the speaker sims in the UA stuff fine so hard for me to want more I guess.

[@GearAGoGo]

Has Fender fixed the hiss so many reviewers including John mentioned in reviews when the FR 12 was introduced?

[@joshuabenton3785]

Yes! It was problem and now the fr12s have a very commendable noise floor. No louder than a usual amp, actually much quieter.

[@NickGranville]

I really like my FR10. I was loaned both the 10&12 and much preferred the 10. I have found that like a real guitar amp it is affected by the room acoustics, which should be no surprise. Sounds like that’s what was happening for you

[@musiccreation1198]

I love my FR12 with the FM9. Would I prefer a Quilter rig vs the FR12? YES.

[@jdk6584]

I’m using a da capo 75 acoustic amplifier/PA sounds amazing. Perfect for a gig. And very versatile. Ive set it all flat and popped it onto a monitor stand. I’d imagine the AER stuff will sound good too and probably close to the same price as these. So much more versatile.

[@matthewdurham4365]

I was using a Mission Engineering Gemini, which I was not happy with. I recently got the FR-12, and it blew me away. It sounds much more like a real amp, and responds well to all different types of tones. It's a keeper.

[@JKGuitar]

Almost impossible to buy FR10 or 12 new in the UK at the moment. Looks like Fender not sending out any stock before fixing the hiss.

[@musiccreation1198]

The hiss was fixed months ago.

[@geraintpusspuss]

There is no hiss anymore

[@JKGuitar]

@@musiccreation1198 Not true. Purchased a Fender FR10 on Friday. The stock was delivered to the retailer in late May from Fender and the hiss is there

[@musiccreation1198]

@@JKGuitar Fwiw, according to Sweetwater, your experience is an outlier. Mine is..quiet as a mouse.

[@JKGuitar]

@@musiccreation1198 Perhaps Fender fixed US units first.

[@Claimjumper55]

I really like my FR-10. It sounds great with everything I've tried (Helix, HX Stomp, Tonex, Tonex One and Boss Katana Go).

[@davidraymond8994]

I get my Fender Tonemaster FR12 on Wednesday will report my experience with it with my Helix LT.

[@raimondwamelink5208]

Don't know about the Tonemaster, but love the Truxton.

[@matthewdortona237]

Had the FR 10 and really didn’t like it with a HX stomp. Seemed grossly underpowered. For what it’s worth I had better luck with a katana 100 mark two via power amp in but it was very ice-pickey. Might try the FR 12. I’lm coming more of the opinion that I’m just not a modeling kind of guy.

[@kylefletcher8489]

I commend all of you who have never wavered on how much you love a piece of gear… I, like John, will love a piece of gear one day and then at other times will question it. This is real life. Give him a break. If you are immune to this phenomenon then good for you but I would expect your in the minority

[@junahvideoplayer]

I think it is well understood that we guitarists dial in a tone at a point we are happy with it, but it is usually as our ears have shut down some frequencies that were too harsh due to the volumes we were monitoring at ( hence the ringing after). We then go off and come back a day or two later and our tones are not as good as we remember, so we tweak and tweak. It’s the tone rabbit hole actually think our mood effects our perception as much as anything. Anyway I think on your time based drenched lead patch, the verbs were quite harsh, distorting my poor iPhone speakers. That’s a terrible way to make that judgement you might say, but is it? I’ve listened to hundreds of your videos and they don’t usually sound like that. Put that speaker in a room that has a weird shape and it’s going to affect those frequencies that are most resonant. Food for thought. Try face the cab to a wall or window to emulate weirdness and early reflections, see how you feel after.

[@timlongworth5808]

Tasty playing. Getting Eric Johnson vibes there. Top notch

[@robfurnari8840]

You're a terrific player!

[@aurora3655]

I hate presets, but I can’t afford the gear I really want.

[@jasonb5898]

Hi, when the money calls,Im there!

[@michaelschneider7590]

Tell us about the whale with the yellow hat! Are you having to share your studio today?

[@daveschellenberg5894]

you sound the same on every piece of gear. doesn't matter. you sound great. proving... it's in the hands.

[@toliskoskinas]

sounds quite scooped for my liking 🤷‍♂

[@Newnodrogbob]

He definitely likes a dark sound…

[@picksalot1]

Doesn't sound anywhere as good as the audio in your usual YT videos. 🤷

[@themchangesband]

You mean a phone mic, vs straight to the board? What a surprise.

[@picksalot1]

@@themchangesband No. I meant it was difficult to assess anything about the quality of the item due to the poor quality of the recording.

[@embreesmith7613]

Eric Johnson coming thru a bit r. 😊

[@Abdul-Amburadul]

Next video “ Lets talk about Fender FR12”

[@roofkorean6948]

I've heard people say the 10 sounds better.

[@swardmusic]

Should have got the 10

[@TheBbtlegit]

Sounds good to me

[@efosefpsefjpos]

this guy cant keep is opinion fixed

[@LivinginLosAngeles-re5yx]

I can't either. Some days my gear sounds great to me, some days it sounds lackluster and unimpressive, particularly true of my modelers. Is it me day to day or variability in the gear....I still don't know.

[@risteardohaodha23]

Welcome to real life

[@dustylense]

He does it for clicks. Next week it will be "Why the TM FRFR is the best piece of gear, again..."

[@roofkorean6948]

@@dustylense Correct. One week it's 'Check out some of the best Helix sounds" and the next week it's 'Is the Helix still relevant?" No one cares if a piece of gear is 10 years old or 60 years old as long as it sounds good. I get that certain topics aren't so simple, but these videos border on the line of quantity over quality. I feel like it's only a matter of time before he starts making the "😮👉" clickbait face in all his thumbnails.

[@fives.]

I, for one, love that shit, I want John to be making coffee in the morning and deeply introspective about how his amp's power section is breaking up This channel is for endless speculation about how much more you can get out of what you have or what you want

[@LEUNN_]

now we're just turning the camera on and saying whatever lol

[@themchangesband]

Kind of a click bait style of title, no?

[@ryanc2465]

This dude flip flops more than a drunk gymnast. “Why I don’t use modelers”. Followed by “why I only use modelers”. Now it’s “fender frfr no bueno”. Enough.

[@swardmusic]

Changed his mind at the end of the video though 😁

[@ScrubDaddy265]

Why are we still buying and selling guitar combo amps in the 2020’s? I have a Zoom MFX and a couple 8” woofer portable PA cabs or a couple 15” woofer cabs and I’m as loud as a human could want. The rig is light and they reproduce the tones I program with very minimal tweaking and it was all super cheap relatively. I’m so confused why we are trying to make triangle shaped wheels.

[@christianyanez2449]

You play great but regarding to gear you change your mind more often than you probably change underwears....

[@O0O0OO0OO0OOO0]

What’s the point of this video? Thanks for wasting my time. Unsubbed.

[@dustylense]

Just proves your channel is full of BS. "Why I love the Helix again".."Why I'm moving on from Helix" Why I like it this week and wont next week... This channel is hilarious.

[@AndyDrudy]

I think most people tune in for the staggeringly awesome guitar playing at the front of each video.

[@NedJeffery]

If the only thing you care about is the conclusion then why watch? The whole point of the video is to understand why it's good/bad. There are always nuances. And reasons to change your mind.