Tonemaster pro

Screenshot is from the Fender site. I noticed they took it off the actual product page where you buy the item, but it’s on a part of the website that goes in depth about some things about the TMP. Also if you google something like “Tone Master Pro cores” you’ll see it on a bunch of websites.

I got the TMP as a toy with its fancy graphics :wink: because the QC still rules in terms of high gain amps, but I think the feedback generator is very good. You can for example put two feedback effects in one signal chain in order to get for example the octave and the third overtone and you can combine this with all kinds of swell effects. (Only a Freeze Effect is currently missing on the TMP.) It would be great if one day the QC gets a Feedback Generator. I also still use my Freqout because it is the only Feedback Pedal which can generate also a nice polyphonic Feedback. The TMP can only generate monophonic Feedback. So it is a big step in the right direction, but there is still room for improvement.

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Are there still no bass amps and cabs in the TMP? Feels crazy to me that they would skip adding anything for bass in that unit, esp when Fender makes basses and amps for them lol

man, they’re not too full of themselves are they /s

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I have had TMP for about 6 days
In short form there are enough things about it that I lwill keep it … for the moment.
I think this is a get it to market firmware version of what it can do.
As was the quad on release which I have also stuck with.
It is currently the TM … not TMP , I could write an essay on the things that need improving from clunky work flow to lack of useful metering … child like EQ options , lack of input / output gains and panning on effects loops , low pass cut down to below 3k to get warm and chewy sounds.
Limiting routing solutions … and on and on
The headphone out is really really good. It takes pedals well in the front and loops 1 and 2 … although no input / output gain control.
….
but … I like it. It’s staying if fender don’t start making the PRO a priority in the name .and updating the flexibity and work flow. The sound is good and the unfit feels good under the fingers.
There are other great well thought out replies on this feed from people who have the device. I would read those . Not sure about making a firm negative or positive opinion from YouTube demos is the way to go.
As for the QC waiting for plug-in integration to really see how I feel about the sound of both.

I was on the cusp of pulling the trigger on the QC, currently using an Eleven Rack, and suddenly Fender released tne TMP to muck it all up! Of course no chance to do side by side myself so spent lots ot time watching the YouTube and Sweetwater vidoes even going through the manuals of each. The TMP has the fancy looks on first viewing but that would be shortlived. Overall the QC won out for me, Sweetwater also sweetened it by another $100 off the already $150 price cut.

No regrets.

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I agree, right now the QC is much better, but the TMP will improve over time. I got the impression that for example the Mesa Amp in the TMP doesn’t sound as you say as warm and chewy as on the QC. So do you make a 3k cut on all presets of the TMP in order to resolve this issue? One thing I like very much about the QC is that a Mesa or Soldano sounds very full and warm even when you play at a very low bedroom studio volume. I will keep the TMP, but until now I haven’t found any Preset or Amp in the High Gain category that gives me such a pleasant feeling as a lot of the QC Amps… On the TMP all the High Gain Amps sound thin and not organic when I play at my usual bedroom volume whereas the QC shines and the tones bloom even at a very low volume. QC against TMP in this category reminds me a little bit of a Humbucker Neck Pickup against a Single Coil Pickup. With the right EQ settings you can make a Single Coil Pickup sounding more like a Humbucker.

At the moment the QC still appears to have a leg up on the TMP. If I were Neural though, I would step on the gas with firmware updates. They currently have the head start on the TMP, but that could start to erode if Fender ends up having a more frequent and aggressive firmware release schedule, and especially if they add capture capability. If that occurs, Neural’s current competitive edge will falter. I would rather not see that happen, owning the QC as I do. Would prefer to see both devices evolve, encouraging each other’s innovations.

I would also add that Neural needs to focus on its gig-view usability and footswitch assignability and layout flexibility immediately. The Fender already has a built-in advantage with scribble strips. To counter that QC needs to have a much more friendly and flexible gig-view with more options. Sales fund and drive future development, so we all have a vested interest in not seeing them slip.

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Yeah I got spooked after watching all the you tube videos that showed the need for such an aggressive high cut. I don’t love that. One of the things I love about the QC is that a high cut isn’t always critical… if I forget on a preset it’s not the end of the world but I feel like it would cripple the tone on the TMP.

On QC for driven sounds I don’t have to go below 8K usually…. There’s gotta be at least some valuable info between 3 and 8K that we would be missing.

I have a theory (based in absolutely no hard facts whatsoever) about why fenders models need such an aggressive high cut. I wonder if since they’ve always made their current fender tone master amps (deluxe, princess, twin, super) they all have a real guitar speaker, that does some cuts naturally. I bet running those amp models (assuming they’re the same algorithm) thru a FRFR was an afterthought. Let me know if you think that seems reasonable

If this was the case shouldn’t a cab sim / IR be enough and no aggressive high cut would be needed?

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I’m finding each cab model different. I’m reducing low pass to quite low . Setting up amp EQ and boost then increasing low pass to a level where to my ear it sounds warm. Not aliasing etc.
I’m not a high gain player . I play low to mid , or balls put fuzz
natural amp sound and mostly with a slide on both singles and buckers. Note definition and qaulity of gain structure are important to make the slide sound musical. Still battling with all modellers on this front as you can’t really not appreciate the simplicity of tubes and some kid of boost a bit of spring reverb.
TMP is just the next conversation
I hope as the elders of those tones ‘fender ‘ really push this unit to what is possible and fix the workflow issues and flexibility… I’d rather have a unit that uses all 8 core or 4 core chips on making the best gain with harmonic quality and depth rather than a million amps that people are semi satisfied with.
One example that is frustrating. You can’t just bypass a cab block if it’s part of a combo . Sometimes I like to stop using IRS and send the signal through a real cab with a real power amp just to hear it in the room.
but you can’t with out building a complete replica of the signal path I just spent hours working on .
There is not copy and paste function.
Workflow is pretty limiting
THE Qc is just brilliant in all routing and signal path conditioning.
Good chat . Beats me whining to an empty room:)

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OK, thank you for letting me know. This sounds like a lot of tweaking. I wish there would be an easier way like a applying a global eq or something like that to make everything „warm“ :wink:

Something I find weird is that a Fender rep talked in length on TGP about the latency being a fixed 2,5 ms. But Leo Gibson’s video shows very different results. :thinking: Also, TGP is a total boomer dumpster fire, but that’s beside the point.

One thing I will say about the TMP after experimenting some- I loaded a cab IR (from Valve Ir) for the mesa dual model and it sounds completely different, much closer to the real thing IMO. It seems the head model itself is pretty good in the TMP but the cabs are what seem to be off on some of the sounds.

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On TGP sombody is swearing that is sounds a million times better with the new UAD OX Stomp, but I don’t want to begin to mess around with this. I think it is human nature that we always want more. I am completely satisfied with the QC. Now I begin to mess around with the TMP. Why do I behave like a child? :wink: Until now it is just a toy. Every modeler can get you a decent Fender Clean or Midgain Tone. That is not a big achievement. I would like to have a “warm and organic”-button on the TMP for the Highgain Tones :wink:

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Yeah true. It does seems to work with the low gain amps but the attention to the higher end seems to be lacking with the higher gain amps.

Another TMP buyer here. For context, I’ve had the QC since late 2021 and have created a lot of presets and used them a lot.

  • The clean amps on the TMP are exceptional. You can get some nice solid, clean tones and edge of break-up. I would say on par with the cleans on the QC. They nailed the Fender tones (to be expected).
  • I play a lot of hi-gain stuff ranging from gritty to Monuments-esque gated djent style tones. Right now, the TMP isn’t good for hi-gain. If you want to do metal, currently, the TMP has a limited choice of hi-gain amps and the ones they do have miss the mark.
  • The interface is exceptional. As a QC owner, I’m jealous of the UI. I love how you can see the amps and pedals.
  • The touchscreen is sufficient but doesn’t feel as responsive as the touchscreen on the QC.
  • No capture functionality. I feel like capturing/profiling is a feature a new modeller should have in 2023.
  • No bass amps or cabs.
  • Routing isn’t as good as QC

If Fender does not abandon the TMP, it could be a solid modeller, but it could take them a few years. It clearly needs some improvements. Better hi-gain amp models would be a good start. Besides the fancy UI, the TMP isn’t a competitor to the QC… yet. If Fender keeps improving this, I think NDSP could inevitably find itself in trouble (especially in the prosumer market). I don’t think it will ever have capture/profile functionality, but there are people out there who don’t care about those features (especially if you come from the Line 6 world of modellers).

While the QC may never get a fancy UI like the TMP, with plugin support, a stable desktop editor, and more amp models and fx, I think the QC will always be ahead of the TMP.

However, it is nice to see another company jump into the modelling arena and validate modellers. For such a long time, Line 6 and Fractal dominated this space (the proof is in the maturity of their products), so more competition is good, and it’s more motivating for Neural to keep updating the QC.

The TMP currently feels like a toy and very much like a new product. I will keep it because I am curious if it gets to the point where it has a place in my recording setup. Right now, the QC is my main unit and hard to beat.

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Each time I look at the Tonemaster Pro I think, Who is this for?

Hardware systems that have already been on the market (Fractal, Line 6, Kemper, Neural DSP) appeal broadly toward more nerdy guitarists, especially metal guys. There’s a lot of tech talk in this sphere about high gain models, tweaking EQ, finding the right impulse response, input/output impedance settings, etc.

Gatekeeping sucks, but there’s more than enough of this tech talk in the modeller space (however unintentional) that may feel intimidating to some guitarists.

The Tonemaster Pro feels different from that. For a guitarist who is less inclined to understand or care about all of the tech stuff, but is still curious about modellers, the TMP may be a win for them. Being able to look down and see a simple, full-color screen representation of a Fender amp you love is pretty damn cool. Maybe it’s not for the metal purist or the touring professional, but rather for the blues guy who gigs once a month.

Time will tell if the TMP gets the updates and features it needs to stay competitive in the market. But as the saying goes, “A rising tide helps all ships float”, I hope that it brings more guitarists to the party–which means more development for all of us.

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Yes, I have the TMP and I think the same.

I think maybe it’s intended for the Fender execs and their wallets

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