Phrases by Lewis Noke Edwards
The Tonemaster vary of amplifiers was launched in 2019, and has expanded to cowl a few of Fender’s most well-known amplifier designs. They harness the reducing fringe of modelling know-how to precisely reproduce the amplifier circuit in addition to the reverb tanks, enter phases and acquire phases that make the amplifiers distinctive.
This 12 months, we see the end result of this within the Fender Tonemaster Professional; a floorboard fashion modelling unit with all of this tech beneath the hood after which some. After years of analysis and improvement, refinement all of the whereas with advances in know-how, the Tonemaster Professional packs over 100 of the world’s most well-known amp tones into. Along with amp sounds, there’s cupboards, microphones and results. The Tonemaster Professional has Fender’s proprietary modelling course of throughout all its fashions, providing gamers a slew of amps from traditional classic to tremendous fashionable amps.
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The Fender Tonemaster Professional harnesses a 7″ color touch-screen, coupled with a supremely usable interface. We are saying supremely due to the touch-screen nature of all of it, permitting you to shortly and simply navigate amps, results and tones. It options 10 foot switches that double as encoders, permitting you to make changes on the ground in addition to silently swap results, patches and banks out and in and up and down. Every of the encoders has an LCD scribble strip to speak its present state. There’s XLR and ¼” inputs and outputs, with 4 results loops along with expression management jacks, obtainable to be used with the Fender/Mission Engineering expression pedal if you want. The XLR enter is meant for us with a microphone however is a combo XLR/TRS enter for a line enter (for these enjoying at residence, you may reamp by way of the Tonemaster Professional with out a devoted field to get the road stage out of your DAW to instrument stage).
The routing of the Tonemaster Professional is unbelievably properly laid-out. The enter stage has the aforementioned XLR/line enter and an instrument enter. From right here there’s 4 results loops which could be routed internally wherever you need them in your chain, i.e. extra pedals to be inserted at completely different factors within the chain. There’s two units of stereo outputs, one with XLR and ¼” outputs, the second output providing stereo ¼”, being located beneath a headphone output for silent recording or apply, or to be used as an additional stereo routing possibility should you want it! Past this there’s expression pedal connections, MIDI out and in/through, in addition to USB and a microSD slot. All of that is powered by a sturdy energy cable, not a dinky adapter, the unit being full with a floor elevate swap to alleviate hum in any venue or studio.
The Tonemaster means that you can use it as comprehensively as you want, both as a world-class multi results processor including routing and patch choices to an present rig, or to interchange it solely. The XLR outputs mean you can ship your amp tone direct to FOH (entrance of home), the cab sims and amp tones offering an amazing sound for the viewers, you having the choice to observe immediately or use an amplifier if you want. Fender have additionally introduced the Tone Grasp FR-12 powered cupboard, a full vary, flat response (FRFR) cupboard used to amplify the passive sign from the Fender Tonemaster immediately. These are daisy-chainable for stereo rigs.
In use, the Tonemaster Professional is unbelievably simple to stand up and operating. Whereas preliminary startup takes a second earlier than opening in Preset Mode, pedals and amps seem on the scrub screens and LCD display screen. I felt a bit of overwhelmed for a second searching for a menu to scroll by way of, earlier than remembering the touchscreen contact display screen nature of the workflow had me shortly adjusting settings like I’d every other pedal or amp.
There’s an enormous quantity of presets obtainable, simply navigated by way of the display screen, and shortly leaping by way of the screens means that you can choose and alter the presets, customising them on your personal palms, guitar and rig. I used to be shortly in a position to bounce into switching pedals out and in, in addition to wandering by way of the menus to seek out the primary EVH 5150 III Stealth mannequin that responds with that spongy, tight backside finish of the top itself, very similar to the unique 5150s from the 90s. Dialling the tone is tangible, the touchscreen permitting me to tweak simply and shortly.
Leaping shortly into extra traditional British fashion amps, I discovered myself making an attempt out the fuzz ‘pedals’ obtainable, which is commonly an unlucky shortfall of quite a lot of amp modellers because of the advanced nature of no matter harmonic magic silicon and germanium transistors, in addition to the character of the impedance of fuzz pedals that usually shapes the distinctive sound of the grit they convey in your tone.
The delays and modulation vary from gritty, stompbox fashion sounds to correct digital, studio-quality results for expansive, crisp sounds, which sound nice when coupled with extra delicate stompbox-style results. Adjusting presets and sounds feels very similar to swapping pedals out and in, albeit having an enormous library of sounds to select from. The house and atmosphere of the profiles themselves are what units the Tonemaster aside, having the sensation of air actually transferring from an amplifier, even when utilizing headphones. The low finish gives the look of an amp in a room, the delicate ‘womp’ of a cupboard being a uniquely troublesome feeling to breed. Fender’s analysis, in addition to expertise producing amplifiers themselves for many years have culminated in over 6000 Fender-captured Impulse Responses (IRs) being obtainable as quickly as you energy the unit on. What’s extra, there’s third social gathering IR help on your personal sounds and tones captured!
The Fender Tonemaster Professional is a house run, little doubt about it. It takes one of the best of Fender’s personal analysis, in addition to a transparent eye on the business, utilizing the needs and wishes of gamers to tell their very own design. All of this ends in a sturdy, easy-to-use flooring unit, with routing to suit into your enjoying irrespective of the way you need to do it. Document and carry out immediately, use a pair additional stompboxes in results loops, and ship and obtain your sign wherever you need or want.
For native enquiries, go to Fender Australia.