Fender ’65 Deluxe Reverb Or Tone Master? – That Pedal Show

Neither. You're going to go get a Vibrolux Reverb and you are going to add a negative feedback switch and change out the cap on the vibrato by speed pot to allow it to vib little slower and the You're going to call it a day.

To my ears At around the 25 26 minute mark I could really hear the clarity and cut of the real tube amp. The tone master sounded more broken up and lacked that nice assertive mid range.

Use a Vintage 30 speaker to add some mids, help the lows and tame the highs.

Revisiting this video due to considering I deluxe reverb. Could I take the TM. Yes sounds great…..but I would always know the DRI is out there sounding like it does !

Man that business at the 22 minute mark with both amps on 7 said it all. Or I dunno, maybe im hearing with my eyes, but I dont think so.

I think the tone master is perfect for someone who wants a deuluxe reverb but is on a budget, someone who has to frequently move their amp around, or someone who could benifit from its power attenuator or di out

When I'm not watching the video, I can't tell the difference.

The tube amp sounds more purple than the tone master. Take that fwiw 😂

A balanced and thorough review and comparison, thank you!

You put more reverb and trem on the reissue than the TM at the end - absurdly unfair comparison.

The time it takes you 2 to do a video' the tube amp will need new tubes and the tone master will need to be thrown out in the dumpster.
Ridiculous amount of time spent blah blah blahing instead of getting to the point. Blah Blah Blah.

That tonesmasher sucks.

I realise this demo ia 2 yrs old now, but the question in my mind is: how long will the Tone master last? It is basically a laptop in a box. All laptops are obsolete within 2 or 3 years. Will Fender upgrade the firmware or try to sell us a v2 or v3? Where are they going with this? Great demo btw. Thanks.

Any thoughts on a Rivera amp?

Run far and fast away from the Tonemasters! NEVER AGAIN..I feel for the hype and let me tell you first hand.....Dialing it in was painful and if you change anything even the slightest you have to start yet again very very carefully dialing it in again! You want you waste your money then go for it! Stick with the Tube version folks!

I am hearing here what I have demo wise with the tone master, it’s sounds like a hifi mastered recording of a dr. But nothing like a dr in the room.
It’s like a blanket come off when you switch to the reissue dr, digital stuff has come a long way, for sure, but fender blackface tones are something
I don’t think anybody has pulled off yet, I also hear a difference In a reissue blackface and a vintage blackface. They are how ever in the same ballpark, I just don’t think the tonemaster is. It’s way different . It’s not bad, but it’s not blackface, and I own just about every blackface amp ever made. Excluding the champ anyway, They are my thing. Out of the two, the reissue gets my vote.

Don't you guys know a song what a horrible review

Excellent video! I’ve been playing rock n roll electric guitar for 50 years (yes, 50). Acquired TM Deluxe Reverb when they were first introduced. Loved it so much I bought another (I don’t care how much they cost). Keep one at rehearsal room, the other I use at gigs. I use Fulltone OCD when I need a high gain sound. And it’s LOUD‼️🔥🎸. Only 23 pounds ‼️‼️

Gents - not sure if you'll see this, but I've been a viewer since WAY back when TPS kicked off. Well, I'd love some input on an amp purchase. I have a Mesa Cali Tweed that I love, and a Victory Copper Deluxe that I don't. I play mostly clean tones (light overdrive when I do) through mainly humbucker guitars (semis- and solids) and I want to add an amp. I need a db reducer (like Carr's use) or a master volume and wonder what you recommend I look at/ check out as an addition. The Mesa Fillmore 50 really catches my ear, but I wonder if it's too much like my Cali Tweed. ANY thoughts and recommendations are appreciated (including from subscribers). Stay well! Thank you.

Tone master is very BRITTLE sounding!!!!
Bottom is missing

I really wanted and hoped that the Tone Master would do well. I don't think it did though. Cutting edge technology still doesn't seem able to harness the magic of great valve amps. The '65 sounds so much sweeter.

This isn’t necessarily an apples to apples comparison. The Tone Master isn’t modeled after a ‘65 Deluxe Reverb. Fender has been very clear that they decided to take the greatest hits of all the Deluxe Reverb amplifiers from over the years. On a different but similar note, the Tone Master really shined in that clean demo in the untreated room. It sounded like the ‘65 on steroids.

There are a lot of pros to owning the TM DR and very few cons. I do like the sounds coming from it, I like the wieght, I like the attenuator and the XLR DI out. The tube version can undergo surgery to have a few components upgraded and a few other things done that will turn it into a monster. It does sound really good as is though. For most people the TM is the right choice. I'd still rather have the tube version but I'd rarely have the opportunity to go wide open throttle to get that sweet spot. The TM would be more practical if I were honest.

If I missed it, sorry, but did this amp have the firmware upgrade?

Thanks for making this video one thing that I've never been able to reproduce with a solid-state amp is the feel of the amplifier the way that it connects to the guitar as far as Dynamics go and I don't know how to explain it may be just the way it reacts to you're playing ss almost always seem fast super sterile I don't know how to put into words really what I'm saying the feel of the amplifier if that makes any sense

To be honest..i actually prefer my Roland Blues Cube Artist to these two ....beautiful amp ❤

I would love to see the Tone Master compared to the Roland Jazz Chorus, seeing as they occupy the same price bracket and serve similar purposes.

I’ve finally just bought a deluxe reverb (although heavily modified) and I love it. Mines had the vibrato disengaged in order to make room for an extra gain stage. The left channel has had a midrange control added in place of the second input, and the Jenson has been replaced by a Tone Tubby Red speaker. I’m also able to blend channels instead of them being out of phase. But it puts out a TON of volume right out of the gate.

Even a stock deluxe is quite loud. I used one in a studio with a live band, and even at 5 I was well above the band, and I’d just started to see a bit of breakup. These amps are phenomenally powerful for their size.

The biggest issue with the tonemaster is that it should be way cheaper for what it is. Mostly because in 10 years noone is going to be willing to service it

DRRI you cannot improve on perfection. Just face it they knew their shit in the 60s

Honestly, if I didn't know any better, I'd chalk any differences up to component tolerances.

I still think the tube version sounds better. But the variable power on the Tonemaster is a game changer.

Sorry no new fender amps are worth my look. They die at warranty expiration. So much better available elsewhere

The Tonemaster amp sounds dryer and more sterile.........................The tube amp sounds fuller.
If I was a gigging musician going in and out of clubs/pubs I would take the Tonemaster as it's 95% there and 1/4 the weight to move. But for at home I want the real one.
The Tonemaster will fool 98% of your audience, but like a good fake Rolex..............YOU will always know it's not real, and will want the real one at home.
The tone master will be worth 50% of it's value in 2 years, and 5% in 10 years...............The tube version will always be worth 60% of it's original value, and the 64 Hand wired upwards of 75%.

The perfect time for a pedal channel to use an A/B pedal but here we are plugging and unplugging lol

I think the bandage on your finger tip is affecting the tone more than anything.

THE Reverb ON Tone Master is very different

@ASK ZAK really rates the Tonemaster Deluxe Reverb Blonde ... yes, a completely different beast to this one being reviewed here.
( He really likes it ... but not quite as much as His original tube D/R ) ... but that is good enough for me! ... Maybe do a review of the D/R Tonemaster Blonde?

Can someone make a super cut video of these guys just looking at each other in silence?

Was going to buy a tone master! Not anymore!

i like them both equally- could have either one

I honestly couldn’t tell the difference.

Help me understand why a company would produce new amplifiers which are of such regressive quality that they need to be modified to equal
their older stuff.

Hi Mick and Dan! I know I'm a few years late to the party for this one, but I've been under the weather and have had plenty of downtime to binge watch TPS's archives. Anyways; as a ToneMaster owner, I was quite pleasantly surprised at the plugged-in acoustic tone. I recently watched the 2 part show regarding acoustic amps and pedals, and I would like to posit that the tonemaster is an excellent acoustic amp with a few "helper" pedals.

Really useful video. While I agree that the Deluxe '65 sounds better, this video has actually convinced me to buy the Tone Master, simply because the majority of my playing will be in my apartment and the attenuator and direct out will be really useful. For rehearsals and gigs, it still sounds decent enough. I had been thinking of getting a Hot Rod Deluxe IV as it's a similar price to the Deluxe Reverb Tone Master, but having done some research it seems the Hot Rod would still be too loud for home use.

Tone Master amps are less fluid sounding and a bit brittle. TM FDR is not the same as a FDRR at all.