Fender Tone Master Pro: Episode IV - A New Hope

MindCrime said:
@dean701 This tone reminded me of VH ( Hagar era ) "Top of the World" intro. And "Runaround", it's in there !

Bravo my brother....righteous tone for sure. ( and yes I have a TMP ! )
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I returned the unit. Not based on the sounds. I want to pick up a QC as v3 comes out on July 31 and run it through the gamut.
Unfortunately I can't own everything. If it passes I might dump my axe3.
I'll revisit the tmp if more features are implemented
 
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dean701 said:
I returned the unit. Not based on the sounds. I want to pick up a QC as v3 comes out on July 31 and run it through the gamut.
Unfortunately I can't own everything. If it passes I might dump my axe3.
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I totally understand. I also picked up a QC about 2 weeks ago at a killer price from SW (demo). I did this with the intention to see what
"evolves" between now & next summer. They can only get better. I do have the 2 year warranty on both...so there's that , haha.

I want to spend time with the TMP & QC, but more than 30 days. I also have a Helix LT.
My "Swiss Army Knife" backup is an HX Stomp...that STAYS !

Looks like I can take advantage of NDSP offerings on the 31st. Should prove to be interesting.
 
MindCrime said:
I totally understand. I also picked up a QC about 2 weeks ago at a killer price from SW (demo). I did this with the intention to see what
"evolves" between now & next summer. They can only get better. I do have the 2 year warranty on both...so there's that , haha.

I want to spend time with the TMP & QC, but more than 30 days. I also have a Helix LT.
My "Swiss Army Knife" backup is an HX Stomp...that STAYS !

Looks like I can take advantage of NDSP offerings on the 31st. Should prove to be interesting.
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good luck with your testing. I hope you ultimately find what you're looking for. Deep down I have a problem with the Fractal ecosystem. I like the sounds but.....................then there's the fact that the AXEFX3+FC12 costs as much as the QC and TMP combined. That's makes me second guess things. Going back to either an FM9 and a QC or dismissing the Fractal idea altogether and doing the TMP plus QC thing. I no longer bond with the Helix stuff but I can see why people still like it....as I type I continue to change my mind.....I think I'm going crazy.
 
dean701 said:
good luck with your testing. I hope you ultimately find what you're looking for. Deep down I have a problem with the Fractal ecosystem. I like the sounds but.....................then there's the fact that the AXEFX3+FC12 costs as much as the QC and TMP combined. That's makes me second guess things. Going back to either an FM9 and a QC or dismissing the Fractal idea altogether and doing the TMP plus QC thing. I no longer bond with the Helix stuff but I can see why people still like it....as I type I continue to change my mind.....I think I'm going crazy.
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In the end, I just want simplicity & really great tones. I don't require complex signal chains and I don't record so its pretty simple for me.
 
I think that the tone master pro is a Hefty unit. It’s solid. It looks good and it’s coming along nicely but for some reason I feel by the time it catches up to fractal tractor will have a new iteration of the FM and the ASX line out so will again be kind of in the dust, same with a new helix replacement by the time the TMP gets rolling and gets all these updates that are coming companies will already be into their next generation of modellers the same kind of goes for the Quad core however I think the Quad core or Quad cortex seems to sit between the TMP and the fractal units in so far is offering more because it does have the profile and capability while the Quad cortex has not come through on everything that’s been promised since release years ago it seems like a more unique piece of gear than even the fender TMP is however I cannot argue that the TMP is very solidly built and looks good The gooey is definitely well thought out but needs work as the pictures are cute but the space on the screen is not used efficiently but I’m hoping that Forward will incorporate the trend of at least using switches that are knobs as well as the Quad tech says used and the TMP uses That to me would be a very good upgrade for a fractal helix units in general even if they don’t go touchscreen
 
timbuck3 said:
I think that the tone master pro is a Hefty unit. It’s solid. It looks good and it’s coming along nicely but for some reason I feel by the time it catches up to fractal tractor will have a new iteration of the FM and the ASX line out so will again be kind of in the dust, same with a new helix replacement by the time the TMP gets rolling and gets all these updates that are coming companies will already be into their next generation of modellers the same kind of goes for the Quad core however I think the Quad core or Quad cortex seems to sit between the TMP and the fractal units in so far is offering more because it does have the profile and capability while the Quad cortex has not come through on everything that’s been promised since release years ago it seems like a more unique piece of gear than even the fender TMP is however I cannot argue that the TMP is very solidly built and looks good The gooey is definitely well thought out but needs work as the pictures are cute but the space on the screen is not used efficiently but I’m hoping that Forward will incorporate the trend of at least using switches that are knobs as well as the Quad tech says used and the TMP uses That to me would be a very good upgrade for a fractal helix units in general even if they don’t go touchscreen
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I don't think the TMP will ever fully "catch up" with Fractal, Cliff is always working on something new.
 
Frodebro said:
I don't think the TMP will ever fully "catch up" with Fractal, Cliff is always working on something new.
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I see what you mean and just meant at the same price point as fractal fm9t it’s always gonna be playing catch-up anyhow. If the price point was on the 1k ballpark it may have been a diff story vs others.
 
timbuck3 said:
I see what you mean and just meant at the same price point as fractal fm9t it’s always gonna be playing catch-up anyhow. If the price point was on the 1k ballpark it may have been a diff story vs others.
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Absolutely. The main reason I think the TMP has gotten so much heat is because they priced it right alongside Helix and the FM9, which was just begging people to compare the units on a 1:1 basis. And on release, the TMP simply wasn't even close to the competition in that price point. It still isn't in many ways, but it does sound good and has a very "newbie friendly" UI, so on those counts it still is a very worthy unit.
 
Frodebro said:
Absolutely. The main reason I think the TMP has gotten so much heat is because they priced it right alongside Helix and the FM9, which was just begging people to compare the units on a 1:1 basis. And on release, the TMP simply wasn't even close to the competition in that price point. It still isn't in many ways, but it does sound good and has a very "newbie friendly" UI, so on those counts it still is a very worthy unit.
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My predictions are that a lot of the companies are probably going to be getting into some next Gen stuff
I think Namm 2025 for Line6 probably and earlier in 2025 for Fractal
Neural has a smaller unit apparently called the NANO
There are no details on it other than it’s small and compact , if I was guessing it’s most likely going to target the Stomp XL and Kemper player offering more CPU their GUI and amp modelling captures
 
I think if Fender plays their cards right in a few years they could be top dog. (and by top dog, I don't mean the best overall modeler but possibly the most popular/most sold)
I actually felt bad returning mine but it needs more elaborate effects, a few more solid amps and some sort of scene functionality. The user experience is unparalleled.
I never thought I would like the skeuomorphic display as much as I did. No questioning or needing to drill down on what amp was chosen, it's all right there.
 
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dean701 said:
I think if Fender plays their cards right in a few years they could be top dog. (and by top dog, I don't mean the best overall modeler but possibly the most popular/most sold)
I actually felt bad returning mine but it needs more elaborate effects, a few more solid amps and some sort of scene functionality. The user experience is unparalleled.
I never thought I would like the skeuomorphic display as much as I did. No questioning or needing to drill down on what amp was chosen, it's all right there.
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in a lot of ways they are best placed to take on Line 6. But they have an unbelievable amount of catching up to do IMO. Line 6 have had a ton of attempts at various kinds of modellers, and whatever they do next could easily make TMP instantly feel dated, clunky and lacking.

The more competition the better for everyone.
 
MirrorProfiles said:
in a lot of ways they are best placed to take on Line 6. But they have an unbelievable amount of catching up to do IMO. Line 6 have had a ton of attempts at various kinds of modellers, and whatever they do next could easily make TMP instantly feel dated, clunky and lacking.

The more competition the better for everyone.
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With regards to Line 6, I think that competition is already on. From my own personal experience with the TMP, out of the box, I think the TMP already sounds better than the Helix. I don't like the Helix effects and with a Tonex pedal in the loop of the TMP, it beats it hands down. Albeit, I think the TMP compressor is not very good.
The other major players are a different story and are purely speculation on my part as below.
-I'm not sure how long Cliff will stay interested with retirement as a possibility. I've sensed his frustration on the Fractal forum and eventually he has to relax sometime. Deep down I've been wondering why he's been blasting so many firmware versions in the past 6 months. Is this the end game? I have no idea.
-Doug Castro's head, as far as I've seen, has never really been in the game. Early on he was quoted that if he had to do it all over again he wasn't sure he would release a modeler at all, not really words of encouragement. Perhaps he can sell the company off or be a silent owner but where is the goal line for NDSP? All of this reminds me of a Lee Anderton video where Christoph Kemper was plugging a carrying case. Christoph was quite relaxed and satisfied with his product even though it was about 9 years old. I have a lot of respect for Christoph. He put out a fantastic product and for the most part has enjoyed quite a ride with minimal adjustments.
 
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dean701 said:
With regards to Line 6, I think that competition is already on. From my own personal experience with the TMP, out of the box, I think the TMP already sounds better than the Helix. I don't like the Helix effects and with a Tonex pedal in the loop of the TMP, it beats it hands down. Albeit, I think the TMP compressor is not very good.
The other major players are a different story and are purely speculation on my part as below.
-I'm not sure how long Cliff will stay interested with retirement as a possibility. I've sensed his frustration on the Fractal forum and eventually he has to relax sometime. Deep down I've been wondering why he's been blasting so many firmware versions in the past 6 months. Is this the end game? I have no idea.
-Doug Castro's head, as far as I've seen, has never really been in the game. Early on he was quoted that if he had to do it all over again he wasn't sure he would release a modeler at all, not really words of encouragement. Perhaps he can sell the company off or be a silent owner but where is the goal line for NDSP? All of this reminds me of a Lee Anderton video where Christoph Kemper was plugging a carrying case. Christoph was quite relaxed and satisfied with his product even though it was about 9 years old.
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I think Line 6 have a huge advantage with experience of bringing products to launch, have learned a ton of lessons on what works and what doesn’t, and most of all, they have a full line of products using Helix tech that gets into the hands of a WIDE section of the market.

Bands can have a Helix rack, Helix pedal, HX stomp, HX Native in the studio, delays on the pedal board, pod go backstage and god knows whatever else. They also have a long standing brand reputation, comparable sales channels to Fender.

As much as I love Fractal, they aren’t going for the market like that - they’re more like a boutique company appealing to a niche of the market. I’d love to see them licence their tech if Cliff ever decides to retire.

NDSP kind of forged a new market of plugins, and have tried to supplement their success there with a HW modeller. I suspect they’ll struggle to match Line 6’s dominance although it seems like they’d like to attempt it. Fender TMP seems a bit more like that, albeit without the plugin users.
 
MirrorProfiles said:
I think Line 6 have a huge advantage with experience of bringing products to launch, have learned a ton of lessons on what works and what doesn’t, and most of all, they have a full line of products using Helix tech that gets into the hands of a WIDE section of the market.

Bands can have a Helix rack, Helix pedal, HX stomp, HX Native in the studio, delays on the pedal board, pod go backstage and god knows whatever else. They also have a long standing brand reputation, comparable sales channels to Fender.

As much as I love Fractal, they aren’t going for the market like that - they’re more like a boutique company appealing to a niche of the market. I’d love to see them licence their tech if Cliff ever decides to retire.

NDSP kind of forged a new market of plugins, and have tried to supplement their success there with a HW modeller. I suspect they’ll struggle to match Line 6’s dominance although it seems like they’d like to attempt it. Fender TMP seems a bit more like that, albeit without the plugin users.
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The next few years should definitely prove interesting. Fender acquiring Presonus is another thing that piques my curiosity. Presonus could always start branding Fender plugins in their DAW.
 
dean701 said:
The next few years should definitely prove interesting. Fender acquiring Presonus is another thing that piques my curiosity. Presonus could always start branding Fender plugins in their DAW.
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Yep. A native version of TMP for Studio One would be very cool. Probably the only way I'd try the Fender modeling at this point.
 
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