WITH ARGUABLY THE richest history and deepest track record for groundbreaking tube-amp design and manufacture in the industry, Fender was bound to make big news when it joined the digital competition with a modeling rig. Indeed, the introduction of the Tone Master Pro late in 2023 sparked some of the most frenzied gear buzz of the year, and immediately changed the calculus for every old-school holdout who might consider a future move to modeling.
The modeling format in general is familiar to most guitarists by now, whether or not they have ever played one, and the Tone Master Pro presents no obvious surprises. It’s a foot-switchable, floor-based unit that includes digital processing for more than 100 amp and effects models, 6,000 Fender-captured impulse responses (IRs) of speaker cabs and mics (plus support for third-party IRs), a
