Fender Tone Master Twin

Ben Lawson · Post by **Ben Lawson** » 24 Jan 2022 9:10 am

I recently bought one of the Fender amps and I can't get the tone I like with it. My steel is a '76 Emmons P/P D 10. What settings are some of the others with this amp using? My Nashville 400 sounds better but the weight was too tough on me after cancer surgery. Fortunately, the doc cleared me of the weight restrictions but if I could get the Fender to have a fuller sound, I'll still use it. If not, I'll probably sell it. Thanks.

Larry Dering · Post by **Larry Dering** » 24 Jan 2022 1:30 pm

I found the mids have to be set at or near max on this amp. Try that and set bass and treble to 5 then tweak to your satisfaction.

Ben Lawson · Post by **Ben Lawson** » 24 Jan 2022 4:15 pm

Thanks Larry, I'll give it a try. One of my greatest memories is playing in front of Buddy Emmons. I asked him what he thought and he said "turn down the mids". it stuck and I usually do that. I'm just glad he didn't say give it up kid!

Larry Dering · Post by **Larry Dering** » 24 Jan 2022 7:25 pm

Ben I totally agree and on most Peavey amps it's necessary. It's hard to wrap my head around it on the Tonemaster. I was ready to sell mine. Jack Stoner gave me this tip after I all but gave up. I did the update on the reverb and it's much improved and usable. I considered a speaker swap but a few members already did that with poor results. Let me know how it works out.

Dan Beller-McKenna · Post by **Dan Beller-McKenna** » 25 Jan 2022 3:59 am

Also, there is a marked improvement once those neo speakers break in. Totally subject to taste, conditions, etc., but I go with Treble @4.5, mids @5.5, bass @7. Took my Carter to my steady gig last Saturday (as opposed to my usual Super Pro) and had to engage the bright switch.

Norman Evans · Post by **Norman Evans** » 25 Jan 2022 6:15 am

I'm playing a '71 S10 PP, and I just got a new Tonemaster Twin. I've found for mine, Bass 8, Middle 8 1/2, Treble 6 and then I tweak the treble a little, bright switch down.

Ben Lawson · Post by **Ben Lawson** » 25 Jan 2022 7:22 am

Thanks for the responses. I'm going to try them out today. I know it might change in a larger room but I appreciate all the advice.

Roger Crawford · Post by **Roger Crawford** » 25 Jan 2022 7:44 am

Yep, don’t be timid with the mids. The TM is modeled to emulate tubes, and tubes like mids. Those speakers like to be pushed a little.

Jeremy King · Post by **Jeremy King** » 25 Jan 2022 9:54 am

With my Tone Master Twin, I found that going into input 2 on the amp gives me the sound I like.

Mike Petryk · Post by **Mike Petryk** » 25 Jan 2022 3:40 pm

Hi,
I did the reverb update which improved reverb quite a bit. I have the bass & mids just over 5. The treble is at 5 with the bright off. Right now power (rear panel) is at 22W.

My set up also has a steel guitar black box with the veri-Z turned up. I added a Baby Bloomer. That has improved the harmonics noticeably. It's set at about 9:30. I agree that the speakers take a while to break in.
Regards,
Mike

Dan Beller-McKenna · Post by **Dan Beller-McKenna** » 25 Jan 2022 3:48 pm

Like Jeremy I go into the second input as well (for steel; not for tele).

George Macdonald · Post by **George Macdonald** » 25 Jan 2022 4:51 pm

In what way does the second input affect the tone differently? Thanks

Brooks Montgomery · Post by **Brooks Montgomery** » 25 Jan 2022 5:15 pm

There’s some interesting comments here about input #2
https://www.tdpri.com/threads/using-inp ... rb.538835/

Larry Beem · Post by **Larry Beem** » 25 Jan 2022 5:21 pm

I use a wet reverb pedal, and a baby bloomer in front of mine. I also like a black box right after the pickup.
I am very satisfied with my tone, and get lots of compliments. Usually have it set at 12 watts and run the volume sat around 4. These amps come to life around 4 on the volume. There are so many advantages to these besides the weight..

Ken Metcalf · Post by **Ken Metcalf** » 26 Jan 2022 7:05 am

I use a Black box on mine.
All Tone controls stay around 5 with minor adjustments for the rooms.
Using an XR-16 humbucker pickup.

Ben Lawson · Post by **Ben Lawson** » 26 Jan 2022 10:47 am

Using the tip's you all posted, I think I got the amp to sound a bunch better. I'll be using it Friday night to see how it does. I'm filling in for Jack Dougherty and he left his Nashville 400 so I'll have one to fall back on if the twin doesn't cut it. Thanks everyone.

Brooks Montgomery · Post by **Brooks Montgomery** » 26 Jan 2022 3:29 pm

Interesting to hear a couple of you like using the Blackbox with your Twin TM’s.
I like the Blackbox with my Quilter 201 (thickened it up) but I couldn’t discern any difference in tone on the Fender Twin, so I quit using it (one less thing).
Maybe I’ll give it another try. You guys really noticed a difference, eh?

Brooks Montgomery · Post by **Brooks Montgomery** » 31 Jan 2022 9:43 am

Well, in answer to my own question, I got my Black Box out again and gave it an A/B test, and I can hear it thicken it up on the Tonemaster Twin. It is much more subtle than on my Quilter Toneblock, but it is there. I’m still messing with cranking up the mids and I do like it—thanks for the tips on that.
Funny, on my pedal board, the only other pedal I’m using is the Wet Reverb (sounds better than the Fender), and for some reason I don’t care for adding digital delay.

Of the few amps I have, it is still my favorite for plugging in direct with no pedals.
Of course, I’ver never owned a “real” Twin, but have had a Hot Rod Deluxe (sold it), and still have a ‘65 Blackface Princeton that I love (for other stuff).

Ken Metcalf · Post by **Ken Metcalf** » 31 Jan 2022 10:27 am

Turn the volume up to at least 4 and dial back the power attenuator to the volume level desired. It gets a nice growl when turned up.

Brooks Montgomery · Post by **Brooks Montgomery** » 31 Jan 2022 10:43 am

Ken Metcalf wrote:Turn the volume up to at least 4 and dial back the power attenuator to the volume level desired. It gets a nice growl when turned up.

Yes, use that a lot.
That amp makes a great blues harp amp also when dialed down to 5 watts and turned up to 7 or more

Larry Beem · Post by **Larry Beem** » 2 Feb 2022 6:03 pm

Ken Metcalf wrote:Turn the volume up to at least 4 and dial back the power attenuator to the volume level desired. It gets a nice growl when turned up.

I second turning it to four or more. It comes to life there. I also like a black box and wet reverb. I also really like the baby bloomer with this amp!

Ben Lawson · Post by **Ben Lawson** » 3 Feb 2022 4:50 am

Wow, lots of good advice. Thanks to everyone. I'll try it out at home today. You all are what makes steel pickers the most helpful musicians of all!

Larry Dering · Post by **Larry Dering** » 20 Sep 2024 3:46 am

I know this is a 2 year old thread but I need to amend my former settings. Using a GFI Ultra SD10 4X5 with BL 705 pickup, black box, Goodrich passive L120 volume pedal, Boss DD3. The Tonemaster Twin Reverb 1st input on the reverb channel, bright switch off,
Volume 5
Treble almost 5
Middle all way off
Bass just over 3
Reverb 2.5
Power attenuator at 40 for home use.
These settings have made me more aware of how well this amp can sound. I compared it to my quilter 202 and TT 12 speaker, Peavey Nashville 400, Peavey Nashville 1000, and a Session 400 limited, Boss Katana 100 and a number of other amps and speaker systems. Try it and post your results. Cheers.

Thomas Alexander · Post by **Thomas Alexander** » 13 Nov 2024 11:20 am

Would be interested to hear any updates from other TM Twin players in response to Larry's suggestion re: cutting the mids.

Dave Campbell · Post by **Dave Campbell** » 15 Nov 2024 3:43 pm

my love affair with the tonemaster is mostly over. we had a recent fling when my session 400 was on the fritz, but it didn't last. i have two complaints with the tonemaster. first, i cannot dial in a well balanced bass and treble. to get definition in the bass, it seems like you need thin highs. i've tried using a para eq with sweepable mids with it, but it's still a trade off.

the second thing i don't like is that you can't seem to improve on the stock speakers. i've tried pretty much every common pedal steel holy grail speaker with it, but it never really gets much better. i thought i had it dialed in with a black widow, but at the jam it did not sound good to me.

one thing i do like about it is the feel. it just feels looser and more fun than the session 400, which always feels a bit on the tight side. you have to mean business when you play through the peavey.

in terms of mids i have been all over the map chasing it. it's funny how they don't seem to have all that drastic of an effect on the tonemaster like they do on the original twins.

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