Hopefully....I'm going to eat some crow (Fender Tonemaster Pro content)

[Tritium3H]

I see some people (who don’t own the TMP) say this. But I see more owners who’ve had multiple units say they like the modelling of the TMP. There’s no deep parameters and the gui is a bit fisher price so I can see how looks might equate to “feel” or “lesser quality” maybe. But is there actually something tangible where the modelling is inferior?

For the rockverb, soldano and evh stealth which is the majority of what I use on it, sounds about right and on par with neural dsp sims

Absolutely correct. I have to imagine it is mainly coming from a minor, yet vocal Fractal and Helix (sub)cult. Don't get me wrong, the Fractal and Helix systems are awesome, and they deservedly have a large and very satisfied user-base. I am one of them. However, there always are some bizarro-world fan-boys (cultists) who have to justify their sad existence with hyper partisan (and unjustified) allegiance to their equipment...while bad-mouthing alternative solutions.

Those of us who know better, and own multiple modeling/profiling systems, recognize the deserved merits and excellence of the TMP platform.

 

[Mongillo19]

But is there actually something tangible where the modelling is inferior?

I've never played a TMP but we all know Fractal touts it's superior accuracy (which imo they have more than earned). Not everyone cares about accuracy given they've potentially

1) never owned the physical amps and don't have anything to compare it to (more and more common with passing years)
2) don't care and just want good toanz (which more power to these people!)

But with that said, I'd never recommend a TMP to a person who says they want a digital solution that is the most accurate to amps while I would also never recommend the Fractal if their priority was ease of use.

 

[mikah912]

I've had them all, and the TMP is pretty good amp modeling, honestly.

I rarely say that one platform's amp modeling is superior or inferior to another because none of them have a library of monolithic quality where they were all done the exact same way at the exact same time.

During my TMP ownership, I was happy with the Soldano, Friedman, Princeton and Silver Jubilee in particular. The rest ranged from meh (Vox) to prettayyyyy good (latest version of the EVH Stealth). The biggest sticking point was that you had to pair third-party IRs with an impedance curve, and it just never worked right. The factory cabs were not bad at all, but I didn't like being limited to them.

That's one of a few quirks (the super serial signal chain would be another) that'll probably be deal breakers for some on other platforms. But it is a mostly well-thought out piece of kit that's still maturing. I hope that December update is a banger, and I have no reason to think it won't be.

 

[AlbertA]

They really need to improve amp modeling too. Unless there’s been some major improvements since last December, it’s WAY behind Fractal and QC, and I’d even say behind current Helix.

@Jarick had a good comparison here - from those clips it certainly doesn't sound like its WAY behind to me:

Post in thread 'Fender Tone Master Pro: Episode IV - A New Hope'

Oct 16, 2025

I re-bounced all the tracks without normalization so the levels should be much more consistent. You should be able to hear the sonic differences between the two units a lot easier now.

With these clips I dialed effects levels down much more to focus on core amp tones. I also went back to my favorite old Ownhammer IR's from many years ago. With better ears and equipment to me these sound much fuller and more balanced than earlier clips.

• Jarick

• 

 

[Jarick]

I talked a lot of crap about the Fender TMP but after I got one I personally find the amp modeling in the same ballpark as my Axe FX 3. I'd say I've spent about 75% of my playing time on the Fender and maybe 20% on the Fractal over the last couple months.

Then again I'm not a Fractal fanboy and never heard the magical modeling fairy dust others did. I can't tell the difference when they release improved amp modeling updates. I do love their gear though and have basically had a Fractal of some form or another since 2016.

But the Fender sounds just as good to me while being way easier and way more fun to use, with no need to touch a computer at all. So I use that.

 

[timbuck3]

Agreed, so many variables to get your tone like the guitar, play style, entire patch and settings on the unit, impedence interaction with the cab, if you’re using IRs then impedance there, quality of IRs etc, it all matters

My mind is open to it being inferior but I just haven’t seen anything sort of conclusive about it. I see more people praise it than say it’s bad so that’s all I really go off. I’ve also never been playing an amp model and thought “this is the problem”

I’m sure it’s not fractal level deep but it’s no slouch

It’s still a contender at a good price. I just hope they get the SIC stuff ironed out

 

[AlbertA]

It’s still a contender at a good price. I just hope they get the SIC stuff ironed out

Wasn't that ironed out a while ago?

 

[timbuck3]

I've had them all, and the TMP is pretty good amp modeling, honestly.

I rarely say that one platform's amp modeling is superior or inferior to another because none of them have a library of monolithic quality where they were all done the exact same way at the exact same time.

During my TMP ownership, I was happy with the Soldano, Friedman, Princeton and Silver Jubilee in particular. The rest ranged from meh (Vox) to prettayyyyy good (latest version of the EVH Stealth). The biggest sticking point was that you had to pair third-party IRs with an impedance curve, and it just never worked right. The factory cabs were not bad at all, but I didn't like being limited to them.

That's one of a few quirks (the super serial signal chain would be another) that'll probably be deal breakers for some on other platforms. But it is a mostly well-thought out piece of kit that's still maturing. I hope that December update is a banger, and I have no reason to think it won't be.

In this day I think many seek a balance of tones/ effects in quality and quantity user interface ease on the unit and in/out ad quality plus price point. It’s a balancing act but fender came out of the gate ahead on some fronts and lacking in others. At this point.
All fractal needs is the interface update and it will ride the wave

 

[Mongillo19]

All fractal needs is the interface update and it will ride the wave

Safe for another day

 

[[Nathan]]

Safe for another day

Incentive for Cliff to never update it honestly

 

[Jarick]

Wasn't that ironed out a while ago?

It's a lot better than launch but still a bit weird. At launch they forgot to model speaker impedance curves (I think) for aftermarket IR's so everything sounded completely dead and dull. Then they fixed it by adding the impedance curves with a selector for the IR, but it seems to be more like and EQ curve applied to the IR and not a true modeled impedance curve in the amp.

Still, it seems to sound pretty good and IMO feels really good as well. All my clips were done with aftermarket IR's FYI. I find the Fender to have a pretty realistic "thump" to the low end I don't get on other modelers.

 

[ChordInversion]

Agreed, so many variables to get your tone like the guitar, play style, entire patch and settings on the unit, impedence interaction with the cab, if you’re using IRs then impedance there, quality of IRs etc, it all matters

My mind is open to it being inferior but I just haven’t seen anything sort of conclusive about it. I see more people praise it than say it’s bad so that’s all I really go off. I’ve also never been playing an amp model and thought “this is the problem”

I’m sure it’s not fractal level deep but it’s no slouch

I've seen relatively few people talk about it at all, which is interesting to me given the huge brand name. Even the two (count 'em) substantial TMO threads here have been pretty sleepy overall. Sure, it's only been out for a bit over two years, but it's still Fender.

My beef with it is that other than the skeuomorphic interface, about which I honestly care very little, it isn't distinctive at all. Selection is low, feature set is catching up or "us too" (still not quite fully baked scenes) in nature. Yes, some especially good reverbs, but that's not all that compelling to me all by itself. And they seem very content to play catch up very slowly - talking about how very long it takes to add a new amp model, as though that means theirs are so much better. They may not be much worse if at all, but they're surely not (IMO) obviously better.

I still use mine almost exclusively as a practice device. Fun for getting a half hour of practice in. The interface does help for that kind of simple plug in, dial in use. But when I'm sitting down to write or record, it doesn't work for me. People tell me I'm "lazy" or "collecting amps" or some other pejorative dismissal that really says "you don't do it like I do, and that's wrong," but I don't care. To me, the ability to page through various different and distinctive amps to try out ideas or to pair with different guitars and pedals is not only part of the fun, but part of the creative process. Fender doesn't provide that to me yet, focusing much of their low-mid gain sounds heavily on black panel amps (with similar circuits) and inexplicably putting months' with if time into two Blues Juniors and two Bassbreakers - which were both there ahead of the Bassman or the Tweed Deluxe.

That priority speaks to a market, I get it. But that market isn't me. Ironically, the fact that I have an FM9T and other modelers is probably the main reason why I still have the TMP. I'd be losing (or would have lost) patience with them otherwise.