Marshall take on Tone Master - likely?

Gassage · October 2023

As I think the Tonemaster series is bloody dreadful I have no idea why anyone would want to release their take on it.

guitargeek62 · October 2023

Nerine said:

fretmeister said:

They really don’t seem to be able to react to market demand. At least not without a lot of procrastination.

For years, they could have made a proper Plexi + JCM 800 in the same box and given it power scaling and an FX Loop or something. Y'know, classic tones, flexibility, not too much junk in there.

Wasn't that the YJM100 and AFD100 models? Both sounded excellent to my ears, it's a shame they were relatively short-lived.

fretmeister · October 2023

guitargeek62 said:

Nerine said:

fretmeister said:

They really don’t seem to be able to react to market demand. At least not without a lot of procrastination.

For years, they could have made a proper Plexi + JCM 800 in the same box and given it power scaling and an FX Loop or something. Y'know, classic tones, flexibility, not too much junk in there.

Wasn't that the YJM100 and AFD100 models? Both sounded excellent to my ears, it's a shame they were relatively short-lived.

I had an AFD100.

It needed winding up even more than a regular JCM800 to get it to sound fat, and even then it was a bit thin compared to the 800.

Jalapeno · October 2023

On the pedals they need some "Waza Craft" mojo, I don't know ... "Bletchley Born" ? Then they could charge £100s per pedal

EricTheWeary · October 2023

Jalapeno said:

On the pedals they need some "Waza Craft" mojo, I don't know ... "Bletchley Born" ? Then they could charge £100s per pedal

I am surprised that they haven't done more with pedals. The cockroach shaped ones are very old now, the reissues gave them a bit more of profile in this sector of the market. Something based on the reissues in a modern box and a string of pedals with the Marshall logo (or indeed Bletchley in Marshall script) covering delay, chorus, etc. If we assume that the BCC range makes money for Laney surely the potential for Marshall is even greater?

Nerine · October 2023

guitargeek62 said:

Nerine said:

fretmeister said:

They really don’t seem to be able to react to market demand. At least not without a lot of procrastination.

For years, they could have made a proper Plexi + JCM 800 in the same box and given it power scaling and an FX Loop or something. Y'know, classic tones, flexibility, not too much junk in there.

Wasn't that the YJM100 and AFD100 models? Both sounded excellent to my ears, it's a shame they were relatively short-lived.

Not for me, no.

The YJM and the AFD just seem like (for want of a better word) toys to me.

There is an element of tackiness to both of those amps in my opinion. If you spend time with a Plexi and an 800, you can start to understand the difference.

Both the AFD and YJM had other unnecessary stuff engineered into them (boosts, gates) etc adding complexity, cost and gimmicky shit no one asked for.

They also engineered the sound into those amps rather than letting them be natural. Made them sound like a recording of an amp and the whole experience was less visceral.

I do not feel the same about the reissues. They still have some class about them. I’d legitimately take a JCM 800 reissue over pretty much any other high end modded Marshall style amp, be that Soldano, Friedman, Bogner etc. I also love the original 2555SL Slash sig and the 2203ZW Zakk sig head, too. Both of those are fire breathers.

I think that’s because they were just amps spec’d slightly differently rather than being loaded with bullshit cheap gimmicky rubbish. The Kerry King sig is nasty too. Looks cheap, shitty plastic buttons on it.

Neither the YJM or AFD sounded anything like as good as the amps they were based on, and in my opinion are facsimiles of their lineage. You know a marketing team have tried to put that sound in that box for marketing’s sake and added needless bells and whistles to fill a feature quota. Think that’s the best way to put it.

I feel similarly about the JVM, but possibly a bit less so than the YJM and AFD as they are just contrived beyond belief.

Rant over… lol

jeztone2 · October 2023

ICBM said:

If everyone and their dog posts ‘want’ threads about ‘Marshall Tonemasters’ on every internet forum including the official Marshall one, we should see them in about 2029…

Based on the Guv’nor reissue. We’ll all be long dead before they’ve even prototyped it.

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Marshall take on Tone Master - likely?

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