Fender Tone Master Pro: Episode IV - A New Hope

Yeah, I'm not quite feeling the hate for Fender as much as others with this. I don't expect every modeler to work the same way, some companies are just going to do their own thing and/or change it up as they move along. While I haven't seen one in person yet, by all accounts there was some effort in building a pretty robust unit and that doesn't appear to be something they'd invest time into if they thought it could possibly be abandoned in a short amount of time. Not like they can reuse the touchscreens on Strats or Twins.

There's a few things I give them props for that are a pretty big difference when it comes to another 'recently' launched modeler-

Fender didn't hype the shit out of this for over a year before shipping it.
I don't believe it's advertising anything it can't do?
Their reps have been in communication daily with customers and the general forum members. Certainly times when they haven't had to.
It doesn't appear customers are needing to 'just plug some shit into it' to make it stop making noise, provide effects that weren't included or switch the fucking footswitches because WTF.

Bonus points for rolling out a cab solution at the same time that seems many people are digging outside of just TMP users.

Overall, it doesn't matter to me if they make it as accurate as a Fractal or Line 6 unit, as long as they're catering to their larger customer base's requests and concerns, sell a reliable unit, it's all good in the hood.


Would you buy one?

🤔


$1500 from Clifford
 
That would be me. I've been here for a while just lurking, but figured it was time to jump into the fray.
Welcome! I genuinely want you to succeed, the TM has some cool ideas in it, just keep up with development because expectations are pretty high and the bar is set by a madman (Cliff of Fractal).

Suggestion: you should probably put a company logo as your profile pic if you're here in an official capacity and put something in signature to avoid people accusing you of all kinds of bad stuff. Better to be straightforward about your affiliation.
 
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That would be me. I've been here for a while just lurking, but figured it was time to jump into the fray.

Welcome. And now that you're here, please tell your developers that the TMP needs global blocks. Much more important than SICs or whatever. And yes, I'm serious.
 
Suggestion: you should probably put a company logo as your profile pic if you're here in an official capacity and put something in signature to avoid people accusing you of all kinds of bad stuff. Better to be straightforward about your affiliation.
His posts has had the following signature since his first post here:
FENDER
Director, Product Management - Guitar & Bass Amps
 
Yeah, I'm not quite feeling the hate for Fender as much as others with this. I don't expect every modeler to work the same way, some companies are just going to do their own thing and/or change it up as they move along. While I haven't seen one in person yet, by all accounts there was some effort in building a pretty robust unit and that doesn't appear to be something they'd invest time into if they thought it could possibly be abandoned in a short amount of time. Not like they can reuse the touchscreens on Strats or Twins.

There's a few things I give them props for that are a pretty big difference when it comes to another 'recently' launched modeler-

Fender didn't hype the shit out of this for over a year before shipping it.
I don't believe it's advertising anything it can't do?
Their reps have been in communication daily with customers and the general forum members. Certainly times when they haven't had to.
It doesn't appear customers are needing to 'just plug some shit into it' to make it stop making noise, provide effects that weren't included or switch the fucking footswitches because WTF.

Bonus points for rolling out a cab solution at the same time that seems many people are digging outside of just TMP users.

Overall, it doesn't matter to me if they make it as accurate as a Fractal or Line 6 unit, as long as they're catering to their larger customer base's requests and concerns, sell a reliable unit, it's all good in the hood.

I'll be honest: I'm intentionally poking at its flaws to help provoke competition between all the brands :rofl I mean, look at how much new stuff Cliff pumped out after this thing was released! If it keeps improving, so will everything else!

evil bug GIF
 
Does anyone who primarily plays metal have one of these yet? I know at launch there was a lot of knock on the lack of choices in high gain amps, which made this a non-starter for me. But, I spent most of yesterday jamming thru a preset I made in my GTX50 and just love it - if the TMP has that same set of sims, there would be at least one solid choice in it for me.

However, my Helix Rack has "kid in a candy store" level high gain options, from SLO to Uber to DZL to 5150 to... well, you get the idea. For the TMP to make a dent in the metal world, it's going to need to at least match the Line 6 options, then worry about keeping up with Cliff's Fractal frenzy.

For the record, after jamming through the GTX50 yesterday, my Marshall DSL1 is getting traded in towards a new guitar today. The GTX50 is the single most versatile practice amp I've ever played through and really eliminates any need for any other practice amp. Wish the phone app would stay connected better, but that's small potatoes.
 
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.
I am guessing the SIC does not refer to "Sisters In Christ".

So, um, what does it actually refer to? I can't find anything useful online.
 
I'll be honest: I'm intentionally poking at its flaws to help provoke competition between all the brands :rofl I mean, look at how much new stuff Cliff pumped out after this thing was released! If it keeps improving, so will everything else!

evil bug GIF

Hahahah I get it, I’m just willing to let Fender take their shoes off and get comfortable before they get held to the flame as hard as they have been. And where I’m sitting as an already-content modeler owner, it’s not that important to me that every company starts spitting out rapid fire updates in sake of competition. I’m stoked when it benefits me, but I’m not seeking it, maybe a better way to say it. My actual needs were met a while back.

I also can completely relate to some frustrations I’m sure they feel right now; sometimes at work we’re making a roadmap for the whole year ahead of us, all the constructions/improvements/changes we want to make. I keep that roadmap quiet from our tenants because when they hear we’re making changes, they perceive it as a time to throw their hat in the ring as if we’re asking them to contribute to that roadmap, or they have requests that they believe will fit right into that roadmap, despite their surface level understanding of it, or they don’t understand how 5 big things are contingent on 20 smaller things all lining up first.

A perfect example of this is a suite we’re doing now, they’re giving back several thousand feet of space and remodeling in another area to make their workflow more efficient, while adding some awesome features for their employees (rec room, an awesome break/lounge area). I found a way I can upgrade all their toilets for about $5 but it’s all contingent on several other things happening. These plans are made behind closed doors with upper management. One of my employees opened his mouth to the tenant in the office and next thing I know I’m getting emails from their upper management freaking out because their staff thinks they’re downsizing due to giving back space and now they want these new toilets ASAP because they heard it was on the table.

Am I going to sit there and detail the contingency to make the toilets happen when they have no understanding of the scope? Hell no. That’s a waste of both of our time. So I have to find a way to manage expectations until I have enough ducks in a row to move ahead with my plans. And the whole downsizing turned into a ruined surprise because the company was forced to tell their staff “We’re not firing anyone, we listened to everything you’ve been asking us for and you’re getting it. We wanted you to come back from the holiday break to a surprise”

Every individual will have their own way of navigating those discussions and it’s never a one size fits all thing, I handle every tenant differently because I have the luxury of doing so. Big companies offering products for the masses do not have that same luxury.
 
Mensa Quiz:

Which one do you not pick for value?

A) Fender Tone Master Pro $1699.99 USD

B) Fractal Audio FM3 MKII Turbo $999.99 USD

C) Line 6 HX Stomp $649.99 USD
 
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