Fender’s Justin Norvell has been discussing the future of the firm’s modeling platform the Tone Master Pro, teasing the potential for both compact and expanded hardware formats and revealing that a tweed version of its popular FRFR speaker is in the works.
In a new interview with Guitar World, Fender’s EVP of Product says the firm has a long wishlist for the Tone Master Pro and that last year’s launch – the biggest in the firm’s history – is just the beginning.
“If you just look at a very base level, there's different delivery systems [in terms of the physical unit],” explains Norvell, when asked what’s next for the popular modeler, which received its first major update last month.
“Is there an expanded one? Is there a smaller footprint version? Is there a native version? You know, all of these things. You end up with a modular beast.
“And then, of course, there's more voices, more sounds, more tones, all that stuff, but then there's a list that's sheets and sheets long of new things that can continue to be added. So, right now, we're kind of battling through prioritizing what those things are going to be.”
As Norvell explains elsewhere in our interview, Fender faced a lot of hurdles in bringing its floor modeler to the market – from chip shortages and factory fires, to getting the sign-off on the first digital models from the fastidious ears at EVH Gear.
However, now the platform has launched, it’s turning its development power to a list of ‘what-ifs’ – and Norvell says it’s only growing.
“We're also starting to hear, now that they're out there in the wild, what players want,” says Norvell.
“We want to make this [a] community and we want to crowdsource what's important to people, instead of just giving them what we think. Whether that’s being able to do rooms and stuff like that… a bunch of different things.”
One of those things looks likely to be new options for the accompanying FRFR speaker (designed to work both with the TM Pro and other modelers).
The launch options, the Tone Master FR-12 and FR-10, were immediate hits with players who were fed up of gazing at PA-style full-range speakers and wanted a familiar amp styling.
However, one of our first questions on seeing one was, ‘Will we get a tweed option?’ Well, there’s no one better to ask than the man in charge of all Fender products, so we put the same question direct to Norvell.
“Definitely,” responds the Fender exec. “That's definitely on the list and in the conversations, for sure. And I think that we’re not done on the amplifier side of the Tone Master – we’re gonna continue to do [head/combo format] amps, including tweeds, on that platform, as well. So yes.”
All of which feels fairly definitive, though there’s no ETA supplied.
Fender is currently focusing firmly on the new 70th Anniversary Strat range – most recently, launching a futuristic Ultra Strat, and a Vintera II Antigua Strat, the latter of which tips the cap to the divisive ’70s finish – so it may be little while yet.
In the meantime, for more on the inception and future of the Tone Master Pro, the longevity of the Strat – and what all this means for the future of tube amps, check out our full chat with Justin Norvell of Fender.
