Why We Love This

We're tube geeks here at The Music Emporium, no question - so when a new digital amp claiming to equal the tone and feel of a real tube amp comes along, we'll admit we're skeptical (okay, we're tone snobs about it). In all seriousness, we're also open-minded which is good, because we'd have missed the splender of the Tone Master series.

From Fender:

"In a bold Fender first, the Tone Master Deluxe Reverb Blonde amplifier uses massive digital processing power to achieve a single remarkable sonic feat: faithfully modeling the circuitry and 22-watt power output of an original Deluxe tube amp. A high-performance 100-watt digital power amp is used to achieve the headroom and dynamic range of a real vintage Deluxe tube amp. The resonant pine cabinet is paired with a single Celestion® NEO Creamback speaker for a more distinctive rock 'n' roll flavor. The result is tubeless Deluxe Reverb tone, volume and dynamics virtually indistinguishable from the all-tube original. The amp model has been modified to remove the virtual bright cap on the Vibrato channel, which gives modern players greater tonal flexibility when using distortion and overdrive pedals. Additionally, the reverb control now provides easier fine tuning at lower settings. Perhaps most notably, even with all these features and more, the Tone Master Deluxe Reverb is in fact about only half the weight of an all-tube Deluxe.

The blonde vinyl covering elegantly evokes classic early-'60s Fender vibe, and front panel features give guitarists a playing experience identical to the tube version, including Fender's world-standard reverb and tremolo effects. Additional rear-panel features deliver modern convenience and flexibility - including an output power selector for full power and five attenuated settings, balanced XLR line output with impulse response (IR) cabinet simulations captured with Shure SM57 and Sennheiser MD421 microphones, mute switch for silent stage or recording use, USB port for firmware upgrades, and more."