Guitar’s tectonic plates have shifted: self-professed tube purist Joe Bonamassa has released a Tone Master amp with Fender
Digital amp modelling has come a long way – especially for vintage gear head Joe Bonamassa to count himself a convert. Earlier this year, the bluesman made the surprise announcement that he’d been “beta testing” a Fender Tone Master in his live rig.
He’s so convinced by the technology, in fact, that he’s just become the first person ever to attach his name to Fender’s much-loved line of digital modelling amps.
Yep, the Tone Master ’59 Twin-Amp JB Edition has officially arrived, and it faithfully – digitally – recreates the tone of Fender’s 5F8-A tweed Twin circuit, and is voiced after Bonamassa’s own prized late-’50s amps.
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At the core of the amp are a pair of custom-designed lightweight 12” Celestion JB Neodymium speakers, which are said to “capture the warmth, punch and articulation of Joe’s touring rig while reducing overall weight”.
As any tube amp aficionado will know, the best tone often comes at ever-so-slightly antisocial volumes. Fortunately, Joe Bonamassa’s new Tone Master comes equipped with a Stage-to-Home power control, which offers players six settings: full power, plus five attenuated settings. This makes the classic tweed Twin tone accessible at any volume.
Credit: Fender
Elsewhere, the top panel features a convolution spring reverb and an effects loop for time-based effects, while the rear panel sports a “Vintage Tight” switch for “enhanced low end response”.
In terms of connectivity, the amp features a balanced XLR line output with three onboard cabinet impulse responses, as well as full customisable speaker IRs via the Tone Master IR Manager app.
The guitarist acknowledges that he’s done a U-turn over the last few years in terms of his attitude to digital gear. It’s good to be open-minded, we say!
“I wanted to hate it,” says Joe Bonamassa. “We’re all in agreement that this amp was tighter, punchier, and better. I never thought I’d see in my lifetime the fact that I’d be sitting next to a digital amp. Sound makes you play. Sound inspires you to play. You just need to know how to unlock the sound you hear in your head and get it out.”
“Joe Bonamassa is one of the world’s foremost authorities on vintage amplifiers, and he knows these original Twins as well as anyone,” adds Max Gutnik, Chief Product Officer at Fender Electronics & Digital.
Credit: Fender
“For someone with Joe’s ears, experience and deep commitment to vintage tube amps to choose a digital Fender, and say it sounds even better than the original, is a real inflection point for our industry. It demonstrates just how far this technology has come and, more importantly, the extraordinary accuracy with which Fender can now recreate the sound, feel and response of our most iconic amplifiers. That’s what Tone Master is all about: preserving everything players love about these legendary amps while making them more useful for the way musicians play today.”
The Tone Master ‘59 Twin Amp JB Edition is available now, priced at $1,999.99 / £1,789 / €2,099.
Head to Fender to learn more.
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
