Fender Tone Master Super Reverb Review
As one of Fender’s most famous tube amps, the Super Reverb also enjoyed one of the longest unbroken residencies in the catalog, arriving in 1963 and remaining there for nearly 20 years.
After surviving the CBS silver panel transition, the Super underwent various circuit evolutions for more efficient performance and higher power: the original GZ34 rectifier valve was replaced with a 5U4GB and then diodes at the silicon, as well as the average control of the Normal channel, the pull boost and the master. volume characteristics.
By the mid-’70s, Fender’s amplifier line was in a somewhat muddled state, with a mix of older silver-panel products and newer black-panel products – such as the famous 180-watt Super Twin head and 400 PS designed by famed engineer Ed. Jahns – as Fender scattered ideas to regain its dwindling market share.
The very last Super Reverb models reverted to black-panel cosmetics (but not electronics) before being discontinued along with Fender’s entire line of amplification in 1982. This was to make way for the famous Rivera amplifiers, created by a team led by the legendary amp guru. Paul Rivera Sr, who were the last hand-wired products to leave Fullerton’s old production line, after the company was sold by CBS in 1985.
Fortunately, the story does not end there. In 2001, Fender added a much-loved ’65 Super Reverb reissue to its catalog and now comes the highly anticipated all-digital version, the Tone Master Super Reverb.
Seen from the front, there’s nothing but a discreet badge in the lower right corner of the vintage silver grille to distinguish the Tone Master Super Reverb from its valved cousin. The rest of the black-panel cosmetics are spot on too, with sturdy Tolex, chrome corners, tilting legs, and a single black top carry handle.
From the rear, however, it’s clear that the Tone Master is a completely different animal. The steel frame is similar, but there are no valves or heavy transformers hanging from it. Instead, the sounds come from a powerful DSP used entirely to recreate a single amp, driving a specially designed 200-watt Class-D output stage.
Fender has wisely kept Jensen’s excellent P10R Alnico, the same speaker found on the all-valve reissue, while the baffle is meranti plywood, a slight disappointment as the other Tone Master products use solid pine .
Inside the chassis, the electronics are mounted on high quality modular printed circuit boards joined by ribbon cables, with Molex connectors for easy maintenance. Compared to the hand-wired bird’s nest assembly of ’60s valve wings, the internals are clean and uncluttered – with almost too much empty space.
The front panel stays true to the original early ’60s design and features two non-footswitchable channels: the oft-forgotten normal channel with controls for volume, treble and bass; and the Vibrato channel with controls for volume, treble, middle, and bass, as well as reverb level control, and speed and intensity for the historically correct misnamed tremolo effect. Both channels have high and low gain inputs and Bright switches.
On the back, there’s a universal AC outlet and a variable-wattage rotary switch that steps the emulated valve output from 45 watts down to 0.5 watts over six steps.
Alongside this is a balanced XLR line output and a choice of two IR speaker emulations with bypass, level control and effective mass lift. The Tone Master Super Reverb looks the part and has superior build quality and classic styling that has lost none of its visual appeal over the past six decades.
Feelings and Sounds
The Tone Master Super Reverb retains the two mains toggle switches, which have similar functions. Powering up causes the red and orange jewel indicator to flash for a few seconds while the amp boots up, before settling into red for live mode. Flipping the standby toggle switch puts the amp in mute mode, which changes the color of the jewel to amber, with the rear panel line output remaining active for recording or silent stages.
The original Super earned its reputation through the hands of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Robben Ford, Robert Cray and many other stellar players. The sounds of the Tone Master version are typical of the early 60s black panel, but better because there is virtually no background noise.
The massive digital processing power goes far beyond other modeling amps and plug-ins, with smooth, shimmering highs that turn into an aggressive bite as the volume is turned up.
Just like the originals, low frequencies can be overwhelming, so the bass tone control is usually left at 3, with treble and mids at 6 or 7 for great sound with a natural “scoop” in the mids . Bright switches are useful for taming overly bright single coils.
The amp starts to show its teeth once the volume control is turned above halfway, chewing up notes and spitting them out with a fiery vocal distortion that’s very US-centric and ideal for blues and classic rock, especially using a beefy humbucker with the Volume control set to 10.
The wonderful overdrive can be enjoyed at painless volume levels when needed thanks to the rear panel rotary power switch. We found some great tones with a borrowed original ’72 Les Paul Custom and our Duncan Alnico Pro-loaded Strat.
You can take Super Reverb from its 45 maximum emulated valve watts to 0.5 watts in six steps, quickly dialing in the amp for any stage size. For the average pub gig, we think the five-watt setting is more than enough for pushed sounds, but if you need clean volume, there’s plenty.
Four speakers and 200 watts of Class-D power equals a mountain of headroom, making the Super a great platform for pedals. In the absence of an effects loop, you must plug your card into the front-end. We got great results with overdrive and modulation in the low gain input of the Normal channel, using a rotary speaker effect to get a satisfying approximation of the old Vibratone sound.
IR and balanced line out effects are generally superb. The convolution reverb might be a bit too bright for some ears, though the incredible detail makes it possible to detect the individual spring oscillations as the reverb level is increased, while the tremolo goes from slow atmospheric pulses to stuttering psychobilly to maximum speed and intensity. The effects are ordered the same as the original, so the tremolo cuts off the reverb tail.
Verdict
Fender’s Tone Master Super Reverb captures the original 1960s vibe so well that we think many players will struggle to tell the difference. The tone, effects and dynamics make it very easy to forget you’re not using a tube circuit. The big digital advantage is sonic consistency and reliability from gig to gig, with no valves to sputter, pop, fizz, lose bias or mess up your sound.
This is increasingly relevant as there are only a few valve mass production lines left to meet global demand. There is no immediate risk of supplies drying up, but the quality of new valves is likely to fall, while prices will inevitably go the other way.
Which brings us to the other compelling argument: the Tone Master Super Reverb retails for £1,000 less than the valve-operated ’65 Super Reverb reissue, making it much more affordable and easier to carry around. Aimed at professional and amateur players of all skill levels, this is a great amp for the money. If you want to experience the classic ’60s Fender tone and your car has trunk space, we’d say go for it!
Specifications
- THE PRICE: $1,249 / £1,299
- ORIGIN: United States
- TYPE: Digitally Modeled Preamp, Class-D Power Stage
- EXIT: 200 W into 2 ohms (simulating a 45 W valve), switchable down to 0.5 W in 6 steps
- DIMENSIONS: 629 (h) x 638 (w) x 267mm (d)
- WEIGHT (kg/lb): 16.5/36
- CABINET: Meranti tablecloth
- SPEAKERS: 4x Jensen P10R Alnico 10″
- CANALS : 2
- CONTROLS: Normal channel: Bright, Volume, Treble, Bass switch. Vibrato Channel: Bright, Volume, Treble, Middle, Bass, Reverb, Vibrato Speed, Intensity switch. Line Out Level, IR Select, Ground Lift In/Out
- ADDITIONAL FEATURES: Balanced XLR line output with ground lift and level control, 3 switchable impulse response booth simulations. Firmware updates via the USB port on the bottom of the chassis
- FOOT SWITCH: 2-button footswitch (included) to toggle vibrato and reverb
- RANGE OPTIONS: Tone Master Deluxe Powered Reverb by Jensen N12-K (£919); Celestion Neo Creamback blonde option (£959). Tone Master Twin Reverb with Neodymium Jensens (£1,099); Celestion blonde option (£1,139). Reissue ’65 All-Valve Super Reverb (£2,299)