Fender Tonemaster (1990s Fender Custom Shop)

S1 is for comparing a real amp in a loop

The rest are my dialed in Tonemaster model with the tone match

My real tonemasters settings on channel B were normally:

Gain: 4
Treble 4
Mids 8
Bass 7
Master 8
Fat switch on

& Thats what I modelled
 

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S1 is for comparing a real amp in a loop

The rest are my dialed in Tonemaster model with the tone match

My real tonemasters settings on channel B were normally:

Gain: 4
Treble 4
Mids 8
Bass 7
Master 8
Fat switch on

& Thats what I modelled

Those settings are nearly the exact same as Dave Grohl uses on his primary Tone-Master! What a coincidence. I actually use settings very similar to yours as well. And great job on the tone matching!
 
Never heard of these before. So I found a schematic and studied it a bit. It's a Triple Crown!!!

I was wondering about the Triple Crown. The preamp is nothing I'd seen before. Nothing unusual but not the usual Fender/Vox/Marshall derivatives. Now I know its lineage.

The Triple Crown isn't exactly the same but it's close. I'd start there.
The thing that strikes me is how fortunate we are to how someone as knowledgeable as you, Cliff Chase, working on our behalf. I've had a happy long-term relationship with Fractal gear and it's due to you -- keep it up, I appreciate what you do.
 
Oh man. I loved these amps when they came out and bugged the hell out of Bruce Zinky one year at NAMM.
I enjoyed seeing Dave Grohl run them with an AC30. I believe his tech convinced him to move to Mesa Road Kings for reliability.
 
Oh man. I loved these amps when they came out and bugged the hell out of Bruce Zinky one year at NAMM.
I enjoyed seeing Dave Grohl run them with an AC30. I believe his tech convinced him to move to Mesa Road Kings for reliability.
Truth be told, Grohl has played Tone-Masters for the past 10 years as his main amp. They are usually rackmounted out of view. But lately he’s had one on stage atop a 2x12” cab, in plain sight.
 
Truth be told, Grohl has played Tone-Masters for the past 10 years as his main amp. They are usually rackmounted out of view. But lately he’s had one on stage atop a 2x12” cab, in plain sight.
I’m simply quoting his tech in an interview. You’re probably right though.
 
I’m simply quoting his tech in an interview. You’re probably right though.
We are both right :). I read the same interview. Dave played the Road Kings and AC30's up until he bought the Tone-Masters for "Wasting Light." I read an interview where Dave mentions buying the Tone-Masters from Norm at Norman's Rare Guitars. He wanted something raw and raucous and the Tone-Master delivers that in spades. Dave has two PT-100's and two Tone-Masters rack-mounted for touring. The Tone-Masters have been used heavily on every Foo Fighters record since "Wasting Light." And for smaller gigs, Dave will put a Tone-Master on stage with a 2x12 cab. There are a ton of Live Foo videos on YouTube released in the past month or two showing a Tone-Master, 2x12 cab, and THD Hotplate behind Dave. Also, in nearly all the Sonic Highways episodes, you will see the Tone-Master setup for recording. Dave replaced the Fender grille logo with a custom Foo Fighters logo on both his Tone-Masters. Phew, sorry for the drawn out post. I'm a mega Foo/Grohl fan going back to the demo tapes. Dave inspired me to start playing guitar in 1995.
 
Very cool man, I appreciate all of the info. I honestly focus more on Chris Shifflet when I watch Foo guitar playing, but that is really neat. I've tried to approximate the tones over the years when covering them live.
 
I think this amp has been asked about before, but I'd LOVE any tips on nailing the tone since I don't think it is modeled by FAS and that really surprises me. The matching cabinets had V30s.

Joe Perry, Brad Whitford Jimmy Page, Richie Sambora, Johnny Lang, Guitarist from No Doubt, Josh Klinghoffer among others, were all users. I remember watching the Grammys in the 90's and I just thought Joe Perry sounded awesome playing them and they looked really cool on stage.

Anyone?The Tone Master Head and 2x12 Matching bottom has been my main Amp at my Church( Straight Gate International) since 1999. Whata workhorse. Very versatile. Takes pedals great
 
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