I considered the valve version and the black tonemaster but discounted both as the valve version is too loud for home recording, there is no way to crank the amp to it’s sweet spot without seriously annoying the whole neighborhood! I chose the blonde version as it has bright cap already modded, so takes pedals better & the celestion speaker was more appealling to me and it looks fantastic!
I wanted the amp mainly for home recording and occasional gigs, the Tonemaster is a no brainer as unlike its valve sister, it has an attenuator and DI out with 2 IRs simulating two well known mikes, so it can be recorded silently yet still sounding as cranked as you desire. I took it to a small gig and still had to use the attenuator, I like to set the amp at the point of break up which is around 5 and on full power that was too loud for the room, so I backed it off a couple of notches and it was great! It doesn’t have an effects loop but doesn’t really need one as it takes pedals in the front without any issues.
A huge advantage is the weight, it weighs virtually nothing, I can’t see me using my VOX AC15 for gigs much in future! That said I,ve used it in stereo with the Tonemaster and they sound epic together!
There will be some purists who will still crave the valve version but the difference is not significant, I could not tell in a blind test situation and the additional features and the weight convinced me to go for the Tonemaster, I do not regret that decision, it’s perfect for my needs! Additionally its cheaper but that said I didn’t consider that in my decsion process as it was purely down to features/ requirements!
