Tonemaster Twin Speaker Swap

[Dan Beller-McKenna]

I love my Tonemaster Twin Reverb. For a while now, however, I’ve felt like it was sounding a little dark, as if once the neo Jensens got broken in they mellowed to the point of losing their edge. Not to the point that I wasn’t using the amp as my go-to rig, but enough that I often found myself needing to hit the bright switch, which I don’t recall ever doing with my ’71 Twin. I have been thinking about trying a different neo speaker opposite one of the Jensens to see how it would sound, but I haven’t felt strongly enough about it to make the time.

But this week I picked up a Marsh Mello-verb Jr.— which I’m loving—and side by side it sounds much brighter and ballsier than the Tonemaster (and at least as loud with its 40 watts). A/B-ing them confirmed that the Tonemaster wasn’t as bright as I wanted, so I finally felt compelled to try a speaker swap. I put the Celestion Copperback 250 neo from my Quilter Mach 3 in place of one of the Jensens, and the difference was remarkable. As I had hoped, it put the edge right back on the Tonemaster—I had to kill the bright switch immediately. I’m going to have to consider making this a long-term change.

Of course all this is in my 15x15 study/music room(/laundry room), and how all of this plays out on stage is a separate matter. Moreover, both of these amps have XLR out with cab sims, so what the room hears may have little to do with what I hear on stage. But I still play enough gigs where I am not going through the PA, so it will make a difference. For example, I’m sure I’m going to want the “bigger” sound of the Twin’s 2x12 cab when I’m outdoors and not in the PA. I have a boatload of gigs coming up in the next two months, so I’ll have a chance to see how each amp sounds in all kinds of different settings.
Still chasing the tone-tail…….

[Larry Dering]

Dan, that's interesting stuff. I find as my ToneMaster Twin has aged I like it better with my Derby SD10 3X5 and a Lawrence 705 pickup. I experimented with a Twin Reverb cabinet loaded with Eminence Legends and another with EV and Eminence delta pro12a. The tone was slightly better but not enough to make me swap. Of course the added weight would defeat the benefits. I can't remember anyone trying TT speaker. I'm typically not a fan of the Celestion speakers.

[Jon Light (deceased)]

That's not inconsistent with the fact that I replaced the Celestion Copperback in my Mach 3 because it was a bit too bright. TT tames it some. So it stands to reason that an amp that could use some of those Celestion highs would benefit.

[Dan Beller-McKenna]

On the flip-side, the Marsh has a Legend 1218 which I had never heard of, and it sounds damn good. Anyone ever use one of these in a steel amp?

[Dave Campbell]

i put a weber neo mag in mine. initially i used two neo mags but it was too bright. one neomag and one jensen is just right.