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GUITARIST JANUARY 2020

first play

FENDER TONE MASTER

DELUXE REVERB

£869

WHAT IS IT? A faithful digital

recreation of a black-panel

classic with reduced weight and

no valve reliability issues

FENDER TONE MASTER

TWIN REVERB

£999

WHAT IS IT? A digital black-panel

Twin that you can lift with one

hand and attenuate its output

ver since its introduction in 1963,

Fender’s so-called ‘Blackface’ series

has represented a zenith for the

vintage era of American amplifier design.

Such was Fender’s dominance that two

amps in particular, the Deluxe Reverb and

Twin Reverb combos, went on to become

standard equipment for clubs, recording

studios and stages all over the world. Fender

has reinvented the Deluxe and Twin several

times, including digital versions with the

Cyber-Twin and Cyber-Deluxe, both of

which were introduced nearly two decades

Words Nick Guppy Photography Olly Curtis

Fender’s latest amp releases put a different

spin on digital modelling in a very

familiar-looking package. But are the

Tone Masters better than the real thing?

Mastering

Digital

VIDEO DEMO http://bit.ly/guitaristextra

GIT454.rev_fender.indd 22 28/11/2019 16:10

Summary of content (6 pages)

PAGE 1
f i r st p l ay VIDEO DEMO http://bit.ly/guitaristextra FENDER TONE MASTER DELUXE REVERB £869 WHAT IS IT? A faithful digital recreation of a black-panel classic with reduced weight and no valve reliability issues FENDER TONE MASTER TWIN REVERB £999 WHAT IS IT? A digital black-panel Twin that you can lift with one hand and attenuate its output Mastering Digital Fender’s latest amp releases put a different spin on digital modelling in a very familiar-looking package.
PAGE 2
FENDER TONE MASTER DELUXE 112 & TWIN REVERB 212 COMBOS first play JANUARY 2020 GUITARIST GIT454.rev_fender.
PAGE 3
first play FENDER TONE MASTER DELUXE REVERB & TWIN REVERB VIDEO DEMO http://bit.ly/guitaristextra 1 1. One of Fender’s bestknown features, the Tone Master power jewel glows red in use and amber for standby when the speakers are muted but the line out remains active – perfect for quiet stages or late-night recording 2. The supplied twobutton footswitch, which toggles the onboard reverb and vibrato effects 2 24 ago. Digital technology has come a long way since then.
PAGE 4
FENDER TONE MASTER DELUXE REVERB & TWIN REVERB first play 3 4 microphone. A single jack socket connects to the supplied two-button footswitch, which toggles the effects. Hidden on the bottom of the pressed steel tray chassis, there’s a micro USB socket together with a small button switch and LED indicator, intended for firmware updates. The standby switch mutes the speakers but leaves the line out active.
PAGE 5
first play FENDER TONE MASTER DELUXE REVERB & TWIN REVERB VIDEO DEMO http://bit.ly/guitaristextra 5 Feel & Sounds They certainly look the part, but the big question is how close has Fender come to replicating the complex tones of the Deluxe and Twin in the digital domain? The answer is very close indeed. With no preamp gain controls, if you wanted to hear overdrive on a valve original you had to turn it up to around halfway before anything exciting started to happen.
PAGE 6
FENDER TONE MASTER DELUXE REVERB & TWIN REVERB 6 may hear a difference, but in a live band mix we’d challenge anyone to identify the Tone Masters from the real deal. They also represent a different yet equally credible approach to digital modelling: if all you want is a single amp model, why have all the editing frippery? Perhaps there’s also an element of Fender looking into the not-so-distant future, with just a handful of mass-production valve factories left serving the entire world market.