Nothing that beats that blast of sound coming back at you when you play a guitar through an amplifier. That squeal of feedback and crunch of distortion – it’s what makes the electric guitar such an addictive instrument.
Sometimes though, I’d like to be able to get that same effect when I plug straight into my computer, and that’s where the Fender Tone Master Pro comes in. With this device you can plug into any amp, or direct to your computer and get that same great sound.
I’m not the best guitarist in the world but I love to play my Fender Telecaster, and love to record tracks using a mixture of live mics and direct line-in connections to my Mac. For my most recent track, I tried out some new equipment, including Logic Pro on the iPad Pro and the new Fender Tone Master Pro.
This combination not only freed me from my desktop but also from having to lug a full size amp around. That’s because the Tone Master Pro is a full digital amplifier that can replicate the sounds of over 100 Fender Amps and effects.
Price and availability
Priced at £1499 / $1699.99 / AU$2799 the Tone Master Pro isn’t for the casual musician. This will replace all of your pedals though – which is easily a few hundred – and can replace your amp too, so that price isn’t excessive. If you still want to use it with an amp, you can use your existing one, or add one of the Tone Master amps, such as the FR-10, or get it as a bundle with an expression pedal and an FR-12 amp.
The world (of amps and effects) at your feet
The Tone Master Pro is a little bigger than a multi-effects pedal (measuring 37.1 x 26.15 cm or 14.6x10.3 inches) but sits neatly either in front of an amp or a mic stand. For home recording you can even sit in on a desk. The top half of the device includes a 7-inch touchscreen display and two large textured chrome dials. The left dial allows you to scroll quickly between hundreds of presets, while the right dial controls the master volume. Everything else you can do on the touchscreen.
You can either edit the preset offerings or create your own setup from scratch, combining different amps and pedals. There are around 70 amps to choose from, including combo amps, half stacks, heads and cabinets and over 70 effects pedals in the system – with more being added with software updates.
Once you’ve chosen your amps and effects you can then adjust all of the settings on these as you would do the physical versions, and then assign the six of the eight footswitches for the pedals and effects. You can even assign one to change the settings on the amp.
The two far left foot switches allow you to scroll up and down through the presets while the right two operate the footswitch mode (for extra functions) and the tuner and tempo functions. Once you’re properly set up, this is really easy to operate with your feet alone.
What really impressed me was the amount of options you have on the back of the Tone Master Pro. Rather than just line in and out ports, there’s an additional XLR line in for vocals, four send and return loop connections, and inputs for four more pedals. There’s also a 3.5mm Aux In socket, if you want to add audio from a computer or drum machine and both in and out Mini ports. For outputs, there are two channels, both with left and right options for stereo sends, as well as a choice of jack and XLR sockets.
The selection is a little overwhelming for home recording, but if you connect to a computer via the USB port, you can ignore the rest. That USB port is also used to update the firmware. The latest update unlocked the Tone Master Pro’s loop function, which allows you to record and overdub, just like Ed Sheeran – but much cooler.
If you’re planning to gig with it, I’d recommend buying the gig bag to keep it safe. As the box is comes in is rather large and though it protects the device well, is likely to get a bit battered.
Bluetooth and USB connections
To connect to external devices, the Tone Master Pro offers a Bluetooth connection. This allows you to link to the Tone Master Pro Control App, on Mac, PC or iOS. I used it to connect to my iPad Pro. With this connected you get the same display as on the device, but bigger. You can change the presets and customise new ones in the same way as you would on the 7-inch touchscreen.
I used a USB-C cable to connect the Tone Master Pro to my iPad Pro and it was instantly recognized as an audio source by Logic Pro. With a little adjustment of the input gain, I was then able to record directly from the Tone Master Pro to Logic Pro, giving you full stereo inputs for guitar or even vocals.
In use
There’s not a lot that the Tone Master Pro can’t do. The presets are a great place to start but I also loved building my own arrangement from classic amps and pedals that I’ve either used in the past or always wanted to try.
While you can get some of these digital effects from software these days – especially for recording – I love that these match the original Fender products. Having this vast array of amps and pedals at my fingertips is perfect for gigging too. It means I could plug straight in to a PA system or any guitar amp, and instantly get the trademark sound that I need.
One nice touch is that the USB connection will send and return, so if you’re adding to a multitrack recording, you can play the whole thing back through the Tone Master Pro and connect your headphones directly to it, instead of to the computer, which eliminates the risk of delay.
The tap footswitch is handy for setting your tempo, as is having such a visual tuner on a single press too. The footswitches are a lovely balance between a manual switch and digital controls, thanks to the LED ring around each one when pressed, and the digital text display above it, telling you exactly what the switch will do.
Should I buy the Fender Tone Master Pro?
If you’re looking for a way to condense your effects and amp collection into something more portable, the Tone Master Pro is certainly an appealing prospect. It’s also ideal if you are looking for a multi-effects unit to use at home or in the studio, as it really can act as a central hub for all of your recordings. I put vocals through it, using the Acoustic and Vocals preset and they sounded amazing.
For the more casual musician though, it might be a bit overkill. A couple of carefully selected pedals and the right amp will usually do everything you need, and won’t cost quite this much. What I’d really like to see is a Tone Master Lite – a smaller, lighter version with a few fewer footswitches and connections on the back, to make it lighter and more affordable. Something designed more for home studio use and a single set of outputs to an amp or PA.
As effects units go though, the Fender Tone Master Pro is difficult to beat. So, if you want the best, this is worth investing in.
