Favorite Amp preference with Gibson…

[GoPappy]

The Deluxe Reverb Tonemaster only weighs 23 pounds, and it has 5 attenuator settings: 0.2, 0.5, 1, 5, 12 and 22. Gives you a lot of flexibility whether at home or a gig.

Never played one, but all the comments I've read indicate that the Blonde one is the one to get.

[rmp]

I'm with Steve 'n Pappy

A Fender Tone Master Deluxe Reverb.

You will not regret it. I love mine.

My son has a brnad new 68 Reissue, tube version honestly cannot tell the difference side by side.

[FrankHudson]

OP wants details, I'll supply some.

I have lot of different moods, and my composing Project which has devolved over the years more to me playing all the parts means that I want to get all kinds of different sounds and feels. Over the years I've played a lot of inexpensive to moderate priced electric guitars (I like to rotate "the herd" and buying used or on sale allows me to do this over the decades within a modest budget). I'm more of a single coil guy, but that doesn't mean I don't always have humbucker guitars, and currently that includes a low-end satin finish Gibson Les Paul with 57 Classics and a recent Epi 335 with Alinco Pro 'buckers (which are not bad).*

I tend to set my amps in my studio space and leave them be, not changing their tone, volume or gain settings. I play straight-in with them at times, but lately I've used a pedal board more often. Still, this means that I'm not optimizing my amps for the humbuckers. Not saying this is the way to go, just reporting that this is what I do. I tend to switch guitars often when I'm playing for pleasure or trying to record a part. I like doing that, and tweaking the amp each time would get in the way.

Overall, the best amp I've used for 'buckers is my 1990's original generation Blues Deluxe 4x10 combo. I like multiple 10" speakers. I've liked the general sound of folks who played Fender Bassmans, and this can do something like that sound. But it's heavy and loud when you want to push it at all. It currently needs service and my back doesn't want to deal with that. I used to pair it with a Strat when I'd want to do my "I think I'm Jimi Hendrix" thing, and yes you don't want to do that without an isolated studio space!

Second place: my first generation circa 2000 Hot Rod Deluxe 1x12 combo. I think this amp gets less respect than it should. It can have enough headroom to play nice "Fender Clean" and it takes dirt pedals well, and I'm in the small group that has used its drive channel with intent. That featue is one so many complain about and then use single channel amps instead, which the HRDlx is glad to be if you don't use its drive circuit. I have carefully placed the volume knob at about 1 on the amp. This model is famous from going from "is it on" to "way too loud" in less than one integer on the knob.

I've had a couple of 1990's generation lower-end Marshall combos, never a head and cab like a real rocker. I myself never got the kind of drive tone I wanted from them with humbuckers or single coils. The last one I had I used mostly for my fake jazz playing, and oddly enough it really shone in that mode. Yes, I love the Beano LP and have heard lots of Les Paul into a Marshall Stack sounds that I wouldn't mind making, but with my budgets and volume levels I never found it. Closed cab sounds also don't please me in general.

Filling out the podium in 3rd place, my 1964 Fender Princeton non-reverb model. For a 10" combo with lower wattage and the like, it has more headroom than those who don't know this model might expect. Still, it's not the amp if you want to push a heavier low-end sound. Loves a Tele, and so do I. I've had, and have, "Fat Teles" with neck humbuckers and the longer Fender scale allows them to work well with my Princeton. By the way, I bought mine for $110 at the old B-Sharp music around 1981 or so, so I've gotten my money's worth out of it for sure.

Worst amp for a Gibson with humbuckers? My 2008 Fender Champ 600 reissue. Dark amp, particularly with the stock combo speaker. Intolerably dark with Gibson style instruments. I use it now as a head to a 2x10 cabinet I have. Still doesn't like humbuckers much.

The ToneMaster line has interested me. The weight, DI, and volume control features are tempting. I've always felt I've "missed" the Deluxe Reverb combo in my journey (love Bill Frissell who usually specs one in his backline) and this'd be one way to experience that, but then I think of how many American acts in the late 60s used Twin Reverbs and the TM version makes the weight and volume of such a beast plausible. And then there's the newer TM Super Reverb. Often when I'm using a software modeling plugin to record I'll go with Twin or Bassman or Super model.


*My Gibson SG has Firebird minis, I have a Gretch, and three DeArmonds with sort-kinda Gulid-alike humbuckers. And I have two Fender style instruments with at least one full-sized humbucker too. You don't want to hear the full list of what has rotated through my accumulation.

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by GoPappy

The Deluxe Reverb Tonemaster only weighs 23 pounds, and it has 5 attenuator settings: 0.2, 0.5, 1, 5, 12 and 22. Gives you a lot of flexibility whether at home or a gig.

Never played one, but all the comments I've read indicate that the Blonde one is the one to get.

Yes, the quality modeling done on these Tone Master amps so that they sound like the real tube amps, plus the light weight and the attenuator all make this amp series a real winner to me.

- Glenn

[Glennwillow]

I thought this was a pretty good demo of the Fender Tone Master Deluxe Reverb. It's worthwhile watching the entire video because it's quite dense with information.

- Glenn

[Bushleague]

In the late 90's I had a Marshall JTM60 head on a 2x12 cab, and that thing sounded glorious with a Gibson run through it, it didnt seem to like Fender's so much though. It had a beautiful warm tone with plenty of punch, and all the grunt you'd need for anything besides metal... although messing with the EQ and the contour knob could get you pretty close.

It was only after years of gigging the crap out of that thing without a single hick-up, and then parting ways with it that I heard they were prone to overheating and melt downs due to the tubes being mounted horizontally, and that the common fix was to wire in a small computer fan. Oddly enough I'm almost 95% sure that mine had the tubes mounted normally (never had to change one), and all the complaints I've seen seem to be about the combo's rather than the heads, so thats something to look into.

Either way, if I ever ran across one again for a good price I'd snatch it up in a heartbeat.

[PTony]

Originally Posted by GoPappy

The Deluxe Reverb Tonemaster only weighs 23 pounds, and it has 5 attenuator settings: 0.2, 0.5, 1, 5, 12 and 22. Gives you a lot of flexibility whether at home or a gig.

Never played one, but all the comments I've read indicate that the Blonde one is the one to get.

Intriguing for sure. Why Blonde over the BF version? My local shop doesn’t have a blonde to compare it with.

Originally Posted by rmp

I'm with Steve 'n Pappy

A Fender Tone Master Deluxe Reverb.

You will not regret it. I love mine.

My son has a brnad new 68 Reissue, tube version honestly cannot tell the difference side by side.

This amp has come up in many a discussion recently. It must be that good! Going to try the BF version tomorrow.

Originally Posted by FrankHudson

OP wants details, I'll supply some.

I have lot of different moods, and my composing Project which has devolved over the years more to me playing all the parts means that I want to get all kinds of different sounds and feels. Over the years I've played a lot of inexpensive to moderate priced electric guitars (I like to rotate "the herd" and buying used or on sale allows me to do this over the decades within a modest budget). I'm more of a single coil guy, but that doesn't mean I don't always have humbucker guitars, and currently that includes a low-end satin finish Gibson Les Paul with 57 Classics and a recent Epi 335 with Alinco Pro 'buckers (which are not bad).*

I tend to set my amps in my studio space and leave them be, not changing their tone, volume or gain settings. I play straight-in with them at times, but lately I've used a pedal board more often. Still, this means that I'm not optimizing my amps for the humbuckers. Not saying this is the way to go, just reporting that this is what I do. I tend to switch guitars often when I'm playing for pleasure or trying to record a part. I like doing that, and tweaking the amp each time would get in the way.

Overall, the best amp I've used for 'buckers is my 1990's original generation Blues Deluxe 4x10 combo. I like multiple 10" speakers. I've liked the general sound of folks who played Fender Bassmans, and this can do something like that sound. But it's heavy and loud when you want to push it at all. It currently needs service and my back doesn't want to deal with that. I used to pair it with a Strat when I'd want to do my "I think I'm Jimi Hendrix" thing, and yes you don't want to do that without an isolated studio space!

Second place: my first generation circa 2000 Hot Rod Deluxe 1x12 combo. I think this amp gets less respect than it should. It can have enough headroom to play nice "Fender Clean" and it takes dirt pedals well, and I'm in the small group that has used its drive channel with intent. That featue is one so many complain about and then use single channel amps instead, which the HRDlx is glad to be if you don't use its drive circuit. I have carefully placed the volume knob at about 1 on the amp. This model is famous from going from "is it on" to "way too loud" in less than one integer on the knob.

I've had a couple of 1990's generation lower-end Marshall combos, never a head and cab like a real rocker. I myself never got the kind of drive tone I wanted from them with humbuckers or single coils. The last one I had I used mostly for my fake jazz playing, and oddly enough it really shone in that mode. Yes, I love the Beano LP and have heard lots of Les Paul into a Marshall Stack sounds that I wouldn't mind making, but with my budgets and volume levels I never found it. Closed cab sounds also don't please me in general.

Filling out the podium in 3rd place, my 1964 Fender Princeton non-reverb model. For a 10" combo with lower wattage and the like, it has more headroom than those who don't know this model might expect. Still, it's not the amp if you want to push a heavier low-end sound. Loves a Tele, and so do I. I've had, and have, "Fat Teles" with neck humbuckers and the longer Fender scale allows them to work well with my Princeton. By the way, I bought mine for $110 at the old B-Sharp music around 1981 or so, so I've gotten my money's worth out of it for sure.

Worst amp for a Gibson with humbuckers? My 2008 Fender Champ 600 reissue. Dark amp, particularly with the stock combo speaker. Intolerably dark with Gibson style instruments. I use it now as a head to a 2x10 cabinet I have. Still doesn't like humbuckers much.

The ToneMaster line has interested me. The weight, DI, and volume control features are tempting. I've always felt I've "missed" the Deluxe Reverb combo in my journey (love Bill Frissell who usually specs one in his backline) and this'd be one way to experience that, but then I think of how many American acts in the late 60s used Twin Reverbs and the TM version makes the weight and volume of such a beast plausible. And then there's the newer TM Super Reverb. Often when I'm using a software modeling plugin to record I'll go with Twin or Bassman or Super model.


*My Gibson SG has Firebird minis, I have a Gretch, and three DeArmonds with sort-kinda Gulid-alike humbuckers. And I have two Fender style instruments with at least one full-sized humbucker too. You don't want to hear the full list of what has rotated through my accumulation.

Thank you for that detailed post. I truly appreciate the information. You’ve provided a variety of options to consider. Fender seems to keep rising to the top regarding it’s pairing with Gibson. But, I must say that I’m not opposed to Marshalls either.

Originally Posted by Glennwillow

Yes, the quality modeling done on these Tone Master amps so that they sound like the real tube amps, plus the light weight and the attenuator all make this amp series a real winner to me.

- Glenn

Thank you, Glenn. I appreciate the vote of confidence in the TMDR. I’ve been looking for some decent footage on that amp with someone playing hum-buckers.

[PTony]

Originally Posted by Bushleague

In the late 90's I had a Marshall JTM60 head on a 2x12 cab, and that thing sounded glorious with a Gibson run through it, it didnt seem to like Fender's so much though. It had a beautiful warm tone with plenty of punch, and all the grunt you'd need for anything besides metal... although messing with the EQ and the contour knob could get you pretty close.

It was only after years of gigging the crap out of that thing without a single hick-up, and then parting ways with it that I heard they were prone to overheating and melt downs due to the tubes being mounted horizontally, and that the common fix was to wire in a small computer fan. Oddly enough I'm almost 95% sure that mine had the tubes mounted normally (never had to change one), and all the complaints I've seen seem to be about the combo's rather than the heads, so thats something to look into.

Either way, if I ever ran across one again for a good price I'd snatch it up in a heartbeat.

This intrigues me as well. My bro-in-law has played Gibson’s with Marshall’s for years. He is encouraging me to look into the Marshall line as well.

My concern with the Fender “Tonemaster” series is…

1. It’s a digital platform. I’ve tried digital amps. None have made it very long. No matter how convincing. I’m not sure that I could move away from valves.
2. 2 year warranty. This is digital. And a bit pricy considering. And I’m sure techs to repair it (if there were an issue past the 2 year warranty) would be challenging to locate. At least where I’m from.
3. Lack of a midrange option. I realize that I can add an EQ, but my plan is to simplify and downsize. Not add.

Thx for the input. I’ll look into the JTM60!

[jseth]

My 345 seems to love my '76 Deluxe Reverb...

[GoPappy]

Originally Posted by PTony

Intriguing for sure. Why Blonde over the BF version? My local shop doesn’t have a blonde to compare it with. . . .

My understanding is that it's because of the Celestion Creamback speaker in the Blonde vs. the Jensen speaker used in the BF version.

[rmp]

Originally Posted by Bushleague

In the late 90's I had a Marshall JTM60 head on a 2x12 cab, and that thing sounded glorious with a Gibson run through it, it didnt seem to like Fender's so much though. It had a beautiful warm tone with plenty of punch, and all the grunt you'd need for anything besides metal... although messing with the EQ and the contour knob could get you pretty close.

It was only after years of gigging the crap out of that thing without a single hick-up, and then parting ways with it that I heard they were prone to overheating and melt downs due to the tubes being mounted horizontally, and that the common fix was to wire in a small computer fan. Oddly enough I'm almost 95% sure that mine had the tubes mounted normally (never had to change one), and all the complaints I've seen seem to be about the combo's rather than the heads, so thats something to look into.

Either way, if I ever ran across one again for a good price I'd snatch it up in a heartbeat.

I bought this rig in 96. Still have it. It's a great sounding amp. I don't see me ever selling depsite having two other newer marshall rigs, (DSL 40 combo, JVM 50w head w/2 2x12 19

[Bushleague]

Originally Posted by rmp

I bought this rig in 96. Still have it. It's a great sounding amp. I don't see me ever selling depsite having two other newer marshall rigs, (DSL 40 combo, JVM 50w head w/2 2x12 19

Soo jealous, I regret the sale of mine more than anything else I've ever sold period. Not just guitar gear either, motorcycles, rifles, old cars etc. And to be clear, I've also owned a few other Marshalls, and I always liked that JTM60 best.

Its sort of like an old JTM tone on steroids.. but without getting the harsh sound of a JCM or other modern Marshall amps. Plus being able to footswitch to a great clean channel, reverb, and the contour filter... that amp can pull off just about anything and sound amazing.

[Glennwillow]

This is a video of a Les Paul and ES-335 (w/ humbuckers) through the Fender Tone Master Deluxe Reverb. Hope this is helpful...

- Glenn

[PTony]

Originally Posted by GoPappy

My understanding is that it's because of the Celestion Creamback speaker in the Blonde vs. the Jensen speaker used in the BF version.

Ty for the clarification. I appreciate it!

Originally Posted by rmp

I bought this rig in 96. Still have it. It's a great sounding amp. I don't see me ever selling depsite having two other newer marshall rigs, (DSL 40 combo, JVM 50w head w/2 2x12 19

Ty for that. I’ve heard some great things about the JTM60. Great looking rig!

Originally Posted by Glennwillow

This is a video of a Les Paul and ES-335 (w/ humbuckers) through the Fender Tone Master Deluxe Reverb. Hope this is helpful...

- Glenn

Thx, Glenn. I’ll check it out.

[Bob Womack]

I've had the 1x12" version (JTM612) since '95. It is a great, solid amp. It is now the amp I play my Helix through at home.

My favorite amps on the Helix are a Deluxe Reverb and a Marshall 1987 (50w).

Bob