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Fender has launched a new update for its flagship amp modeler, the Tone Master Pro, delivering a whopping 15 new effects and a assortment of fresh amps and cabs to boot.
The update – v1.8.45 – finds Fender leveraging its exclusive EVH brand endorsement, adding a 50-watt 5150 III combo to its roster. Three different models, covering their Green (clean), Blue (crunch), and Red (high-gain) tones, are included.
The rest of the amps are all from the Fender stock, with a ’57 Champ and ‘65 Twin Custom 15 offering some vintage loveliness, while two models from 1968 – a Deluxe Reverb and a Princeton Reverb – make their Tone Master Pro debuts. For bass players, a Rumble 800 adds another tone-sculpting option.
The eight new cabs strike a balance between matching the new heads and filling the void left by the above combos. The new cabs include a 1x8 ’57 Champ, 1x10 ’65 Princeton GB, 1x10 ’68 Princeton, 1x12 ’65 Deluxe GB, 1x12 ’68 Deluxe, 1x15 Twin Custom, 1x12 EVH 5150 G12H, and 4x12 British G12H.
But the real fun can be found in the effects department. Highlights included the Rockbox 100, which is Fender’s take on the Scholz R&D Rockman X100 headphone amp; the Grunt, designed for modern metal tones a la the Fortin Grind; and the Lightyear, a take on the Greer Lightspeed overdrive.
Two EarthQuaker Devices pedals, the Plumes overdrive and Blumes bass overdrive, are represented by the Pinions and Runes. At the same time, the Integrator Boost draws inspiration from the TC Electronic Integrated Preamp. Finally, the Seventy Sixer Compressor is a much-welcome impression of the Universal Audio 1176.
But there are Fender original effects to play with, too, including a Step Tremolo, Prismatic Delay, Spectral Reverb, and a Pitch Sequencer, which could be a whole world of fun.
Aside from those new toys, Fender has introduced a few handy quality-of-life tweaks in the update. A second page of footswitch button assignments, bumping the total up to 16 available footswitches per preset, is most welcome, and players can now switch between needle-mode tuning and strobe tuning.
The looper is also said to be improved so you can Ed Sheeran your heart out.
With fierce competition in the modeler world growing, every update helps Fender keep apace with its rivals and maintain its position alongside those at the very top of the table.
See Fender for more information about the update and how to download and install it.
In related news, Fender appears to have also scored a major victory by convincing Joe Bonamassa to test-drive a Tone Master modeling amp.
