A DSP-driven blackpanel Deluxe that dares players to differentiate between tube and digital.
Super-accurate emulation of blackface Deluxe Reverb performance characteristics. Effective attenuator. Super light. Fair price.
Odd, thinning compression characteristics when paired with extreme fuzz.
$899
Fender Tone Master Deluxe Reverb
fender.com
A legacy as weighty as Fender's can be a curse and a blessing. On one hand, the visual simplicity, elegance, and enduring appeal of most Fender products means that they don't have to reinvent the wheel every day. On the other, deviation from classic formulas can incite minor riots among purists.
In the case of the Tone Master Deluxe Reverb, Fender found a way to have their cake and eat it too. They've adapted the look and operational feel of one of their most iconic products to an impressive digital engine that, in most critical respects, nails the sound of a blackpanel Deluxe. And while replicating a Deluxe's many nuances isn't exactly earthshattering news (several companies have engineered excellent emulations in the digital realm), the way Fender replicates the classic Deluxe Reverb user experience as a whole makes it a masterstroke of product design.
If It Ain't Broke, Make It Digital
From the opposite side of a club, you'd probably mistake the Tone Master Deluxe for a '65 Deluxe Reverb reissue. The only overt differentiating visual cues are the "Tone Master" plate on the lower right corner and the and the lamp that glows orange when the amp is muted. The front-panel control set is identical to an original blackpanel or a modern reissue, complete with "normal" and "vibrato" channels and bright switches for both.
Lift the Tone Master Deluxe by the handle, though, and you grasp that there's much more (or less) here than meets the eye. At just 24 pounds, it's freakishly light. In fact, when the amp arrived, I carried it, in its box, up three flights of stairs with a hand full of onions. The rear of the amp reveals more important differences and extra conveniences.
There's just enough ambient, amp-at-work hiss to make you wonder if you aren't just listening to a freshly tuned tube unit.
The power attenuator, which features settings for 22, 12, 5, 1, .5, and .2 watts of output is invaluable for home use and gigging alike. And the amp's ability to retain most essential performance characteristics at even the lowest output is impressive. The other important back-panel addition is the balanced XLR line out and cabinet simulator with three distinct impulse response simulations, which enables you to silently record (with the help of the "mute" switch that replaces the standby) or run out to a PA and use your amp as a monitor in mic-less situations.
Grace Under Pressure
At clean and low-gain settings, many listeners will struggle to tell a Tone Master and a tube-driven '65 Deluxe Reverb reissue apart. It's certainly quieter, but there's also just enough ambient, amp-at-work hiss to make you wonder if you aren't just listening to a freshly tuned tube unit. If you are among the many players who favor the Deluxe as a foundation for effect-based sound sculpting, you'll love the warm, soft, crystalline, and delicate dynamism qualities of the Tone Master at clean settings.
The amp is even more impressive at low-gain settings, which apart from a little extra excitability and sparkle in the top end, replicate the sounds and responsiveness of the Tone Master's tube counterpart. You can also start to hear very small differences in saturation characteristics here: Most tube versions will exhibit slight, but perceptibly softer compression. But I'd also venture that most players will prefer the extra clarity, which flatters many effects, including low-gain overdrive.
The tremolo and reverb, by the way, are superb. The reverb has a little less of the clanging, electro-mechanical resonance of a vintage tank, but comes dang close and is probably better suited to modern tastes and applications anyway. The tremolo, meanwhile, has a satisfying throb that would likely be indistinguishable in isolation, but which can sound a little less soft and contoured than vintage Fender tremolo side-by-side.
If there is any minor weakness in the Tone Master's performance envelope, it's when extreme fuzz is introduced into the picture. I subjected the Tone Master to an intentionally perverse fuzz brew pairing germanium Tone Bender Mk III and Ampeg Scrambler octave fuzz clones. This tandem can give any amp fits. It's hissing, chaotic, and searing in the high end. Under assault from the Tone Bender/Scrambler tandem, the Tone Master effectively communicated the gnarly ear singe and super-toppy tone profile of the combined pedals. But where my vintage Fender amps maintained a softly compressed and airy space around those tones, the Tone Master Deluxe compressed in a very different wayāthinning the overall sonic picture and squeezing the sound in a manner more like an outboard digital limiter than a tube/speaker complement.
The resulting tones are not necessarily harsh or unpleasant. Some players will prefer the way the Tone Master Deluxe makes such radical tones more predictable. But there's less sense of wrangling a living, breathing beast than I experience using the Tone Bender and Scrambler with vintage Fender amps, or the almost equally hectic SuperFuzz/wah/'65 Deluxe Reverb reissue I also use regularly. Such compression characteristics could be a function of the neodymium speaker or a limiting function in the DSP. But on this count, at least, Fender's digital magicians may find room for refinement.
The Verdict
The Tone Master Deluxe reverb is a brilliant, if not revolutionary, concept. It effectively makes what's arguably the greatest-ever gigging amp into a lighter, more flexible, and convenient version of itself. And while the Tone Master Deluxe Reverb is too new to gauge its long-term reliability versus a tube-driven Deluxe, we're guessing few players will miss the hassle and expense of changing and biasing 6V6s every few years. Given how effectively it replicates most of the performance profile of its illustrious inspiration, and the fair price, this excellent emulation may well have the staying power of the original.
First Look - Fender Tone Master Deluxe Reverb
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Belltone Guitars has partnered Brickhouse Toneworks to create a one-of-a-kind, truly noiseless Strat/Tele-tone pickup in a standard FilterāTron size format: the Single-Bell pickup.
The Single-Bell by Brickhouse Toneworks delivers bonafide single-coil Strat and Tele tones with the power of a P-90 and no 60-cycle hum. Unlike typical stacked hum-cancelling designs, Brickhouse Toneworks uses a proprietary āsidewindā approach that cancels the 60-cycle hum without sacrificing any of the dynamics or top-end sparkle of a Fender-style single coil.
Get the best of both worlds with clear bell-like tones on the neck pickup, signature quack when combining the neck and bridge pickups, and pristine twang in the bridge position backed with the fullness and power of a P-90. Push these into overdrive and experience the hallmark blues tone with plenty of grit and harmonic sustain ā all with completely noiseless performance.
Key Features of the Single-Bell:
- Cast Alnico 5 Magnet, designed to be used with 500k pots
- Voiced to capture that signature Fender-style single coil tone without the 60-cycle hum
- Lightly potted to minimize squeal
- Made in the USA with premium quality materials
The retail price for a Bridge and Neck matching set is $340.00 and theyāre available directly and exclusively through BelltoneĀ® Guitars / Brickhouse Toneworks at belltoneguitars.com.
Xotic revamps a classic Vox-boost-in-a-box pedal, creating a new one in the process.
Smart, feature-packed update on a classic. Nice size and price.
Small boost knob.
$180
Xotic Effects AC Booster V2
Xotic Effects newest version of the Vox-flavored AC Booster, the AC Booster V2, adds a second, footswitchable boost circuit (tweakable via a small, clear knob tucked among the four main-channel controls), plus a set of four dip switches on the boxās righthand side which engage compression, modern or classic voicing, low-mid boost, and high-mid boost.
This new suite of features packs significant extra functionality into V2ās still-diminutive enclosure. The Vox sounds are all there, and with the high-mids juiced and treble nudged, youāre squarely in clanging Top Boost territory. The modern voicing trades some furry mid-range chunk for a bit more aggression and clarity, while the compression is useful for leveling leads and smoothing out unruly playing.
The boost knob is a little difficult to access, situated as it is in the center of the primary four-knob array. I donāt have particularly big fingers, but even I had trouble twiddling it. Thatāll annoy some. But itās a small price to pay for such a pedalboard-friendly footprint. The boost doses you with a healthy bump in level and gain thatās great for stand-out leads and solos. And speaking of standing out, the upper-mid boost switch is a treat. I found that creating a greater disparity between the high mids from the low mids made for a more precise and satisfying tone-shaping experience than I would experience using a standard mids knob.
There are no shortage of pedals that ape Vox AC30 mojo, but I havenāt seen many that will give you the range of utility that the AC Booster V2 will, for less for $200. Xotic nailed a smart and versatile redesign here.
Stringjoy has introduced the Ariel Posen Signature String Set, a heavy-gauge Nickel Wound set designed in close collaboration with acclaimed slide guitarist and singer-songwriter Ariel Posen.
The Ariel Posen Signature String Set from Stringjoy
Ideal for B Standard, Open C, and other lower tunings, this set offers exceptional tone and feel for players who want to explore new sonic territory while maintaining their guitar's unique voice.
Each string in this set is built with Stringjoyās trademark quality: wound at tension with high compression winds for maximum output, durability, and smooth playability. The result? Strings that hold up under pressure while delivering a natural, expressive voiceāperfect for hybrid playing and expressive slide work.
Ariel Posen Signature Set Specs:
⢠.014 ā .018p ā .026w ā .038 ā .050 ā .062
⢠Wound 3rd string
āIf you didnāt know these were 14-62 gauges, youād swear they were just 11s tuned down,ā said Ariel Posen. āThey feel like home and preserve the sound of the guitar, even in lower tunings. Thatās the biggest thingāit still sounds like guitar.ā
āWeāve spent ten years experimenting and testing together to find the right combination,ā said Scott Marquart, Stringjoy Founder & President. āThis release is more than just a new productāitās the culmination of a shared journey between friends and musicians. Arielās set is uniquely him, and I think players will love how it feels and responds.ā
Stringjoyās Ariel Posen signature string set carry a street price of $13.99. Learn more at at stringjoy.com.
Nashville luthier and guitar tech Dave Johnson shows us the baker's dozen of tools he thinks any guitar picker requires to be a guitar fixer.
3. Guitar Tech Screwdriver Set - 3000
4. Nut File Set (for medium guitar strings) - 0882
8. String Spacing Ruler - 0673
9. Nut and Saddle Files - 4556
The Ultimate Guitarist's Tool Chest Giveaway
Whether you're setting up your first guitar or fine-tuning a custom build, these are the 13 tools every guitarist needs. Now you can win them all. We've partnered with our friends at StewMac to give away a complete pro-level toolkit valued at over $750.
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