Fender Tonemaster (1990s Fender Custom Shop)

MikeBrooklyn

Inspired
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?
 
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.
 
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.
You're amazing! Can't wait to try it out thanks!!!
 
They say “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” I always wondered who “they” was. Now I know. Randall Smith.
 
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?

Man, that brings back memories of around 1996 when I was hoping and praying for a guitar for Christmas, and I grabbed those Fender Frontline magazines with these amps and ads for these amps in them. Thanks for the trip down memory lane! :)

Brandon
 
It's a Bruce Zinky design if I'm not mistaken. I'd look it up in my Soul of Tone book but I lent it to a fellow musician and never got it back before he dropped off the face of the earth. :mad:
 
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?
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.
It's a Bruce Zinky design if I'm not mistaken. I'd look it up in my Soul of Tone book but I lent it to a fellow musician and never got it back before he dropped off the face of the earth. :mad:

I owned one for years. It was a solid amp. I didn't much care for the gain channel, but the clean channel was unlike anything I've heard before or since. Very aggressive. It made a great platform for pedals.

One thing to note, I think the amp was biased about as hot as could be without requiring some sort of waver to operate, so however you'd tweak the bias on the triple crown model to make it hotter is something worth considering. I've not delved deeply enough into the expert level parameters to do this yet.

And yes, Zinky designed it. Once he left Fender, he was technically not supporting the amp anymore, but I emailed him some questions some years ago and he responded with answers, which I felt was nice of him. He certainly didn't need to.
 
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.
I owned one for years. It was a solid amp. I didn't much care for the gain channel, but the clean channel was unlike anything I've heard before or since. Very aggressive. It made a great platform for pedals.

One thing to note, I think the amp was biased about as hot as could be without requiring some sort of waver to operate, so however you'd tweak the bias on the triple crown model to make it hotter is something worth considering. I've not delved deeply enough into the expert level parameters to do this yet.

And yes, Zinky designed it. Once he left Fender, he was technically not supporting the amp anymore, but I emailed him some questions some years ago and he responded with answers, which I felt was nice of him. He certainly didn't need to.
Good idea. The original amp had 6l6s also so I'm going to try switching those too. I'll update when I get home (healthcare worker)
 
I owned a Tone Master, beastly amp, super clean.. no reverb circuit.. I believe it came out along with the Vibro-king, as that was the other available from the Fender Custom Shop the year I bought the Tone Master, which I’m pretty sure was the first year it came out. I bought the matching blonde 2x12 closed back cab along with it. Never could really fall in love with that amp, so loud & so clean. Always wished at the time I had bought the VK, which I ended up buying years later.
 
Thats super interesting
about the crown
i know Matthias Jabs used the Tone master for many years and i could never figure out how that would be similar to his soldanos
 
Yup, I lusted for a tone master for a while back in the day. I use to go into guitar center to play one all the time. Yes I was THAT GUY!🤣
 
I owned a Tone Master, beastly amp, super clean.. no reverb circuit.. I believe it came out along with the Vibro-king, as that was the other available from the Fender Custom Shop the year I bought the Tone Master, which I’m pretty sure was the first year it came out. I bought the matching blonde 2x12 closed back cab along with it. Never could really fall in love with that amp, so loud & so clean. Always wished at the time I had bought the VK, which I ended up buying years later.
The Vibro-king is one my favourite models on the III.
 
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.

Wow, great insight! Thank you.

Dave Grohl bought two Tone-Masters from Norman’s Rare Guitars and they have been his main amps, in studio and on tour, since “Wasting Light.” I own two as well, and yes, they run very hot. It’s my favorite amp now! I have the matching 4x12 V30 cab that sounds amazing and the 2x12 Lead 80 cab that sounds great too. I prefer the Channel B master volume at 6 or higher and Fat switch enabled. These amps have to be cranked up for a fat, punchy drive sound. Using an attenuator is a must for me. The OX Box has been a great addition. I always get psyched to see any discussion on these amps 😉.
 
Maybe Cliff would appreciate a drive-by with that Tone Master amp in tow so he could take a peak under the hood in preparation for a possible next AXE-FX III iteration. ;)
 
I Just replaced my Tonemaster with an Axe Fx 3 for lots of reasons, really killer amps.

I loaded down my tonemaster & A-B'd between the real amp & using the triple crown model to get as close as I could.

I'll upload a preset with the tonematch I made this evening, its pretty much 99% after I changed some settings in the power section.
 
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