Fender Tone Master Pro: Episode IV - A New Hope

[FractalAudio]

Does anyone else here currently have the TMP?

I have one for sale if you're interested.

 

[fazer]

I have one for sale if you're interested.

I think having one TMP is enough for the time being, thanks.

 

[metropolis_4]

This would be my constructive advice/feedback for Fender:

The Vox, Marshall, and Mesa amps just aren’t up to industry standards. Honestly, I think the TMP would have been better without them, but if they are going to be there they need to be up to the same quality that users expect from a top-tier modeler.

It’s hard to see the TMP as the digital standard for Fender amps that Fender wants it to be when other devices contain a better selection of Fender amps than Fenders own modeler. I think the TMP would greatly benefit from representing each era of Fender amps. Give us brownface, silverface, wide panel tweed. Give us some uniquely Fender esoteric offerings like a model of Leo’s first amp, or a red knob 85. Give us models only Fender could give us, that nobody else has to offer.

The Songs/setlist feature combined with near-gapless switching is great, but without “Scenes/Snapshots” within presets it falls just short of being truly great because you can’t keep the amp constant while changing effects.
For example, say I need a clean Princeton tone for a gig, but I need 5 different variations of effects along with that clean Princeton (dry, light reverb, chorus, delay, heavy reverb + flange). In order to access those sounds within a song I would need to create 5 separate presets. Then I get to a gig and realize I need to bring up the treble on the Princeton. Instead of tweaking that on one preset I now have to update 5 presets and try to keep them all in sync with each other.
With “Scenes/Snapshots” I would just tweak the amp in one place and it would automatically apply to all 5 of my variations.
This is a behavior we’ve come to expect out of digital devices.

A lot of us play more than just electric guitar at gigs and need more robust EQ options than a 7 band pedal EQ provides. A parametric EQ and 10+ band graphic EQ would make the device much more usable for bassists and other instruments besides electric guitar.

A lot of us also rely on MIDI to connect multiple parts of our rigs. It’s a critical piece to allow us to incorporate a TMP into our rigs.


I’m a lifelong lover of Fender. I read books about Leo Fender for fun. I wanted to love the TMP, and I still hope to see it grow and be successful. I wish the team at Fender nothing but the best and eagerly await updates and improvements in the hopes that someday it could be the piece of gear I need/want it to be.

 

[fretworn]

This would be my constructive advice/feedback for Fender:

The Vox, Marshall, and Mesa amps just aren’t up to industry standards. Honestly, I think the TMP would have been better without them, but if they are going to be there they need to be up to the same quality that users expect from a top-tier modeler.

It’s hard to see the TMP as the digital standard for Fender amps that Fender wants it to be when other devices contain a better selection of Fender amps than Fenders own modeler. I think the TMP would greatly benefit from representing each era of Fender amps. Give us brownface, silverface, wide panel tweed. Give us some uniquely Fender esoteric offerings like a model of Leo’s first amp, or a red knob 85. Give us models only Fender could give us, that nobody else has to offer.

The Songs/setlist feature combined with near-gapless switching is great, but without “Scenes/Snapshots” within presets it falls just short of being truly great because you can’t keep the amp constant while changing effects.
For example, say I need a clean Princeton tone for a gig, but I need 5 different variations of effects along with that clean Princeton (dry, light reverb, chorus, delay, heavy reverb + flange). In order to access those sounds within a song I would need to create 5 separate presets. Then I get to a gig and realize I need to bring up the treble on the Princeton. Instead of tweaking that on one preset I now have to update 5 presets and try to keep them all in sync with each other.
With “Scenes/Snapshots” I would just tweak the amp in one place and it would automatically apply to all 5 of my variations.
This is a behavior we’ve come to expect out of digital devices.

A lot of us play more than just electric guitar at gigs and need more robust EQ options than a 7 band pedal EQ provides. A parametric EQ and 10+ band graphic EQ would make the device much more usable for bassists and other instruments besides electric guitar.

A lot of us also rely on MIDI to connect multiple parts of our rigs. It’s a critical piece to allow us to incorporate a TMP into our rigs.


I’m a lifelong lover of Fender. I read books about Leo Fender for fun. I wanted to love the TMP, and I still hope to see it grow and be successful. I wish the team at Fender nothing but the best and eagerly await updates and improvements in the hopes that someday it could be the piece of gear I need/want it to be.

Well said Met … That would be a critical, and good start!

 

[Foxmeister]

Does anyone else here currently have the TMP?

Got mine on pretty much the first day they were available to buy, and still have it.

I must confess though, I'm not really using it very much...

 

[laxu]

The Songs/setlist feature combined with near-gapless switching is great, but without “Scenes/Snapshots” within presets it falls just short of being truly great because you can’t keep the amp constant while changing effects.
For example, say I need a clean Princeton tone for a gig, but I need 5 different variations of effects along with that clean Princeton (dry, light reverb, chorus, delay, heavy reverb + flange). In order to access those sounds within a song I would need to create 5 separate presets. Then I get to a gig and realize I need to bring up the treble on the Princeton. Instead of tweaking that on one preset I now have to update 5 presets and try to keep them all in sync with each other.
With “Scenes/Snapshots” I would just tweak the amp in one place and it would automatically apply to all 5 of my variations.
This is a behavior we’ve come to expect out of digital devices.

I think the other way to solve this is global blocks, or blocks you can lock in place so they remain the same even if you change presets. This way your fx around say the amp/cab blocks can be anything but the amp/cab stays consistent.

When the TMP's processing limits seem to be hit a bit sooner than on competition, maybe the "lock" type functionality would work out better? Like say you have a demanding block A in preset 1, but need some other demanding block that cannot fit in preset 1. You could just ditch demanding block A in preset 2 and put demanding block B in preset 2 in its place.

 

[jellodog]

@metropolis_4 +1 for Brownface amps.

Fender Concert is fantastic with a Jazzmaster!

 

[Stone]

I have not tried any Fender amps in Fractalverse yet, but from what I saw from @2112 demo they sure do sound Noice
Ive been in Marshall, Friedman, Bogner & Boogie land since i have my FM9
The Only time Ive ever used a Fender was in My Helix, was the Twin Reverb with a Boss SD1 slamming the front for Nirvana's Teen Spirit

 

[2112]

I have not tried any Fender amps in Fractalverse yet, but from what I saw from @2112 demo they sure do sound Noice
Ive been in Marshall, Friedman, Bogner & Boogie land since i have my FM9
The Only time Ive ever used a Fender was in My Helix, was the Twin Reverb with a Boss SD1 slamming the front for Nirvana's Teen Spirit

Try a Bassman into a cab with greenbacks and pretend it's a Plexi. Great rock amp.

 

[metropolis_4]

I think the other way to solve this is global blocks, or blocks you can lock in place so they remain the same even if you change presets. This way your fx around say the amp/cab blocks can be anything but the amp/cab stays consistent.

When the TMP's processing limits seem to be hit a bit sooner than on competition, maybe the "lock" type functionality would work out better? Like say you have a demanding block A in preset 1, but need some other demanding block that cannot fit in preset 1. You could just ditch demanding block A in preset 2 and put demanding block B in preset 2 in its place.

Yeah, I like that idea too! Basically anything so you don’t have to go manually update every single preset

@metropolis_4 +1 for Brownface amps.

Fender Concert is fantastic with a Jazzmaster!

You know, thinking through this concept a little more, Fender is essentially an amp company that started making guitars as well (and invented the electric bass). And they have the longest, richest history of any company in the world when it comes to guitar amps.

So give us that history in the TMP!

I bet somewhere in its archives Fender has documents/schematics about the amps Leo built for Junior Barnard so he could be heard over the Texas Playboys in the dance halls of SoCal in the ‘40s. Or the amp Dick Dale blew out Leo’s eardrums with!

How cool would it be to replicate that history in the digital realm

 

[la szum]

Fender premature ejaculated the TMP out into the wild.

It happens. There are techniques and skills that they can all learn to keep it from
happening on the regular. Nothing to be ashamed of. Really.

Oh, and the product actually has no feelings, people. Let's not get carried away here.

No one is dying or being maimed or dismembered. There is real and legit suffering
in this world and none of it is related to TMP and whether it measures up or not.

I'd even go so far as to say no real suffering happens on Gear Forums, period. We sure
can get carried away about it all, though, can't we? Human beings being human and all.

 

[eggpl@nt]

Fender premature ejaculated

they just like me fr

 

[la szum]

they just like me fr

Haha! A lot!

 

[redsnapper]

I got your back Cliff! (not that it's needed, I just think Fractal is the best!) Dude said this on the TOP:

@Fractal Audio you are really going to insert yourself into this thread?

Give it a rest please.

And I responded... Maybe shouldn't have, but I did:

@Fractal Audio you are really going to insert yourself into this thread?

Dude... You need to walk away with your tail between your legs... Take the loss. You are WAY over your head. Cliff has more DSP expertise than you have pimples

 

[Mongillo19]

That thread is giving me flashbacks to the old QC thread. It's pretty much 1:1 at this point lol

 

[Lorne Malvo]

I'm going to ask nicely that y'all cut out the cross-forum tribal crap in this thread. It's not good for you and it's not good for this place.

The next time I'm not going to ask nicely.

 

[redsnapper]

I'm going to ask nicely that y'all cut out the cross-forum tribal crap in this thread. It's not good for you and it's not good for this place.

The next time I'm not going to ask nicely.

I apologize.

 

[laxu]

When Fender releases fixes to the speaker impedance curve and/or poweramp modeling, I hope this thread gets renamed to "Episode V: Empire Strikes Back".

 

[Stratzrus]

I'm glad Fender released the TMP. Like the original Axe FX Standard, perhaps in time they will release improved versions and eventually catch up with the current state of the art modelers.

I have no interest in buying one but to have a major player like Fender entering the modeling world can only be a good thing and yes, some people like it just as it is.

Their FR cabs have received more widespread acceptance. Fender is more than capable of producing great products. Perhaps the TMP will evolve into one. I truly hope so.

 

[MadMaxG79]

This approach has worked out well for the QC here. Sometimes there's some cross-over, but that's mainly a result of both owners and non-owners agreeing on the same points.

I think there's a bit of a line we, as a forum, not so much owner/mods, need to clarify when we're throwing around "We're not like TGP" because that can very easily go the other way of "We can bash the shit out of products and the people saying dumb things about them" which to me is more like TGPx10 rather than being 'opposite of TGP'

Have some fun, for sure, point out hypocrisy or something over the top, technical errors and hold companies accountable, but don't become worse off than the people or thing you're discussing.

I can absolutely understand how the guys who dig the TMP dig it. What I don't understand is the failure to recognize what it took to make a unit like that which they can dig. I won't pretend to understand the value someone else sees in something, I pay stupid money for convenience sometimes (I ordered Tijuana Flats the other day via Uber Eats....it's literally behind my apartment, I paid $6 so I didn't have to walk and get it) and I have dumb idiosyncrasies I'll allow a certain of money to entertain.

One man's curated collection of SIC's is another man's touchscreen and the span of players is so wide that the guy stoked with his SIC's may not even fathom a need for a touchscreen while the guy with the touchscreen can't fathom a need for SIC's and even if you explained it they wouldn't give a shit.

A little OT, but what the heck are SIC's? I'm pretty sure it's not the Standard Industrial Classification that I just googled...

All jokes aside ..... I think its a pretty solid first gen hardware release and it has HEAPS of potential for the algo-coders to make it a "top tier" unit.

If they wanted to, Fender are big and rich enough to very easily pay and poach the best of the best out there if they want and it wouldn't even be a ripple in the TMP Pro Project Budget - I dont know if they will do this, but they and L6 / Yamaha are both in a position to do so if needed or wanted or warranted.

Remember how many years, different hardware units, software changes etc... it tool Fractal and L6 to get to where they are today.

If it was easy ... and it clearly isnt .... , Mooer, NUX, Donner etc..... would already have released modelers for $700 that were as good as if not beterr than the Fractal or Helix.

Ben

Regarding budget for their modeling platforms, be that Fender, Line 6 or Fractal, I don't think that's true at all. A product has to be profitable, first and foremost. Spending enormous amounts on coding talent and not making that money back through sales is just bad business. Besides, it's not like people good at guitar modeling algorithms hang on trees, ripe for the picking. It has to people who have really good ears, most likely have to be decent guitar players (in order to know what a "good" vs. a "bad" guitar sound is) AND be good at writing code.