by Andy McDonough March 16, 2022, 6:05 pm

It’s not exactly a reissue, because it’s newer digital technology, but Fender’s Tone Master Super Reverb has a lot to offer—even if you are looking for a classic Fender sound.

The original Super Reverb married the analog power of a pair of 6L6 output tubes with four 10-inch speakers and the resulting sound became a classic. For some guitarists, it is the sound. So it is understandable that many were sad to see the original Super Reverb discontinued in the early ‘80s. The amp was re-introduced in 2001, but the latest version of this classic, a Tone Master Super Reverb in digital form, might be the best yet. Rather than tubes, it employs a digital design to recreate the classic sound of the original 45-watt output section into four Jensen P-10R alnico-magnet 10-inch speakers. 

Why did Fender’s designers choose to use a 200-watt digital power amp for this effort? Because they could. It adds a lot of headroom to the original 45-watt design, but with some clever design moves, its tone remains in keeping with the original in many ways.

Some design features that digital technology provides include a back panel switch that makes this Tone Master’s power variable in five stages, from 45 watts all the way down to .5 watts. The back panel also offers a balanced line out with a three-position switch that selects two different cabinet Impulse Response (IR) settings or none. Because it is digital, a USB port is provided for firmware upgrades.

For many players, the most significant feature and the most distinguishing of the physical features is the physical difference in weight between a tube version of the Super Reverb and the Tone Master digital Super Reverb. The latter is about 30 pounds lighter! The difference when you lift at the handle is striking. 

I didn’t have a tube version to set beside it, but A/B testing with classic amps can be very subjective. More so than digital amps, analog amps are very much a product of their journey. You might get one that has been in a climate-controlled closet since it left the factory or one that has been repeatedly left overnight in bars or in a leaky trailer. Some have been “ridden hard” and others barely broken in. With that in mind, a legitimate comparison could be hard. Rather than try a comparison, I attempted to see just what this digital amp would do and compare that to what I expect from a classic Fender amp. 

Using a recently acquired Player Plus Stratocaster HSS, I wasn’t looking so much to recreate classic sounds but to find some settings I liked. Starting with the full power setting, and with the volume starting around five and moving up to eight range on the Vibrato channel, the amp was solid and loud. I’ve noted other players’ comments that by working the guitar’s volume and pickup selection with this amp you can achieve a very wide range of tones–from clean to gutsy–and I found that to be very true. There seem to be very few limitations from funky strumming to dramatically sustaining leads. Plus, for those who like or need to get a smaller amp sound, you can cut the power in half (or even lower) to get more character at less volume. That worked really well in my small studio.

So the obvious question is: Does the Fender Tone Master Super Reverb get the analog sound of older amps? In my opinion, it is very close, certainly, for playing local gigs it covers all the bases and then some. The amp also provided a lot of practical features that come along with a digital design. One that I’d surely appreciate when trying to create parts for recording includes how much quieter a digital amp is versus its analog cousin. I would also not hesitate to use the balanced line output with IR cabinet simulations where that was called for. 

Even considering all the great sounds I was able to get in just a couple of minutes–some of which I thought were quite authentic and very close to the Fender tube amps I’ve played–what is likely to win players over to this version of the Fender Super Reverb is the weight differential I mentioned earlier. For working players who have to move an amp around, weight can be a game-changer—as long as the tone is in the ballpark. 

Great sound, more affordable, lighter than the tube version, power switch, balanced line out, cabinet emulation, quiet.

Some might miss the slightly warmer sound of a tube amp.

Great amp for those looking for both the big sound of 4×10” speakers with classic Fender sounds and modern digital features.

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