AlbertoMilanese
Tele-Meister
So I've been on the wait list for a Tone Master for quite some time and its finally here!
Here is my short review over the first 5 hours of playing time.
It is a bright amp (might need more speaker break-in to truly give an accurate reading) and it sounds spectacular for some genres. Blues, Country (it has Don Rich written all over it) and the likes. I find it excells at breakup and mild overdrive much more than the other Tonemaster offerings, while the cleans also sound spectacular. It is also a breeze to carry, almost laughably light compared to "the real thing". The jumpering on the inputs also works quite well! It's easy to dial in a sound that just "works", and I find that is probably a joy for many players - me included.
However, it is also plagued by some issues (at least for me). This one has a strong hiss when engaging the "modern" mode on the amp. It is definitely noticeable and has begun to get on my nerves even just after spending 5 hours with the amp. Might even be a deal breaker if you're looking for something dead quiet when idle (something the TM Deluxe and Twin excel at). I also find it to be rather quiet. I have it on the 22W setting and I can run it fully open without much hassle. Even on the 45W setting, it just seems a little bit timid for a Bassman - I seem to remember them being much louder (and a good touch warmer, I feel the TM Bassman is lacking some bass). This loudness issue has also plagued the TM Deluxe and TM Twin for me, so I'm not that surprised about it - it might even be practical and beneficial for many who don't have the luxury of noise tolerance in their living situation.
I'm still on the fence whether I will keep it - I seem to enjoy its cleans and slight breakup a lot, even more than I did on the blonde TM Twin, but the hiss is definitely a deal breaker. I will post a few recordings of the DI and its IRs in the next post.
In short: it's an enjoyable amp with some downsides - I've been enjoying my time with it so far (even though - the hiss...) and I guess we'll just see where it goes from here!
Here is my short review over the first 5 hours of playing time.
It is a bright amp (might need more speaker break-in to truly give an accurate reading) and it sounds spectacular for some genres. Blues, Country (it has Don Rich written all over it) and the likes. I find it excells at breakup and mild overdrive much more than the other Tonemaster offerings, while the cleans also sound spectacular. It is also a breeze to carry, almost laughably light compared to "the real thing". The jumpering on the inputs also works quite well! It's easy to dial in a sound that just "works", and I find that is probably a joy for many players - me included.
However, it is also plagued by some issues (at least for me). This one has a strong hiss when engaging the "modern" mode on the amp. It is definitely noticeable and has begun to get on my nerves even just after spending 5 hours with the amp. Might even be a deal breaker if you're looking for something dead quiet when idle (something the TM Deluxe and Twin excel at). I also find it to be rather quiet. I have it on the 22W setting and I can run it fully open without much hassle. Even on the 45W setting, it just seems a little bit timid for a Bassman - I seem to remember them being much louder (and a good touch warmer, I feel the TM Bassman is lacking some bass). This loudness issue has also plagued the TM Deluxe and TM Twin for me, so I'm not that surprised about it - it might even be practical and beneficial for many who don't have the luxury of noise tolerance in their living situation.
I'm still on the fence whether I will keep it - I seem to enjoy its cleans and slight breakup a lot, even more than I did on the blonde TM Twin, but the hiss is definitely a deal breaker. I will post a few recordings of the DI and its IRs in the next post.
In short: it's an enjoyable amp with some downsides - I've been enjoying my time with it so far (even though - the hiss...) and I guess we'll just see where it goes from here!
