Whereas fans are nonetheless fussing over tube amps and drooling over results pedal collections, gigging musicians are within the midst of a digital revolution. Choices from manufacturers like Kemper, Line 6, Fractal Audio, and Neural DSP all permit musicians to mannequin tube amps digitally, with outcomes that come astonishingly near the true deal.
These new digital modeling amps are straightforward to arrange, dependable, and far lighter and extra compact than earlier rigs. Nowadays, the sounds are additionally exceptional. Except they’re within the studio, many fashionable musicians are utilizing digital choices for his or her sounds, and lots of of these choices are making their manner onto hit tracks.
Fender has competed within the digital amp area for many years, however its new $1,700 Tone Grasp Professional, which launched late final yr, is the primary really pro-tier possibility that we’ve seen from the model in latest reminiscence. It’s additionally probably the most intuitive I’ve ever laid eyes on. With traditional fashions of iconic amps and results, a touchscreen, glorious onboard controls, and a stunning quantity of digital processing energy, it’s primarily a transportable guitar studio. It additionally has a four-channel audio interface and tons of of microphone modeling and cupboard modeling choices that simply compete with the true deal—even within the studio. It’s even fairly superior for karaoke.
If I have been looking for an all-in-one guitar answer that works each in my bed room and on stage, particularly if I didn’t wish to fuss round in menu screens endlessly, that is the one I’d decide.
{Photograph}: Parker Corridor
The New Black Field
The Tone Grasp Professional appears practically equivalent to many of the different all-in-one amp/pedalboard options I’ve seen. Basically, it’s a black slab that’s supposed to sit down in entrance of you whilst you play, both on the ground or on a desk. A 7-inch touchscreen sits between two silver knobs on the highest of the gadget, flanked on the backside by 10 pedal switches and related LED screens. It’s all very clear and fashionable, straightforward to cover whilst you play on stage.
One quirky and acquainted factor I like is that Fender included its traditional crimson energy gentle on the again of the gadget, so you may simply inform it’s on like a “regular” Fender amp. The remainder of the rear of the Tone Grasp is a smorgasbord of inputs and outputs the likes of which I’ve by no means seen on a guitar amp.
There are stereo outputs in each quarter inch and XLR; 4 separate results sends and returns (two stereo) for utilizing outboard pedals and results with the gadget; two expression pedal shops; a mic/line and instrument enter; in addition to a foot swap management, 3.5-mm aux in, headphone output, MIDI out and in, USB-C, and MicroSD. And in addition, Bluetooth. If you happen to want extra, you most likely want a mixing board or a patch bay.
{Photograph}: Parker Corridor
