Tone King Imperial Amp: 20th Anniversary Tone Review And Demo

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Item Details
Tone King Imperial : LIMITED EDITION 20TH ANNIVERSARY

Music Store Live is an authorized dealer for the incredible line of amps from Tone King.

Happy Anniversary. Meet a limited edition tribute to the 20 year-old vintage tone classic that started it all for amp master builder Mark Bartel and the Tone King brand. Builds on the Imperial's magic tonal recipe with hand wiring and a built-in Ironman attenuator (6 levels of attenuation, from 0db-36db) . No tweaks to the main signal path, but you'll find the reverb especially spacious and the trem especially smooth. The Ironman makes this the ultimate home or club amp. Loaded with the new Celestion G12M65 Creamback speaker.

Rhythm Channel : The rhythm channel really delivers the classic blackface sound, instantly reconizable to fans of the Princeton or Deluxe Reverb, but with a more organic feel, like a really good vintage tweed deluxe. It gives you the shimmery clean tones and gritty, ringing overdrive that this style of amp is known for, but with an improved ability to control the timbre and expression of the notes with your fingering and pick attack.

Lead Channel : The unique and effective Mid-Bite control makes the Lead Channel a lot more versatile than you would expect from a channel with only 3 controls. The Mid-Bite control is an exclusive Tone King design feature which does a lot more than simply adjust the midrange level - it completely transforms the overdrive character.

With Mid-Bite fully off, the Lead Channel reacts much like a tweed deluxe. When played clean, the woody resonance of the cabinet, liveliness of the 5AR4 tube rectifer, and the expressive dynamic response of the cathode-biased output stage work together to give you the raw midrange, silky top end, and loose feel of a genuine well-worn tweed deluxe - perfect for honky tonk or blues rhythm playing with a tele.

As you dig in harder, you'll feel the sweet, round top end begin to develop a stinging bite. Crank it up into the distortion zone, and the tone gets even fatter, thicker, and looser. Think tweed deluxe meets vintage Supro. Compression from the cathode-biased output stage softens the pick attack as single notes and chords swell and sustain in endlessly evolving shades of thick, meaty grind.

As you turn up the Mid-Bite control, a midrange peak appears while the bottom end is simultaneously tightened up, which transforms the tone into more of an English-style crunch. The amp develops a tighter feel as single notes really start to sing, and chords become chunky with rich midrange overtones, a lot like an early Marshall.

Reverb : The Imperial's reverb circuit uses the same 12AT7 driver tube, 12AX7 receiver tube, and long-format 2-spring pan as those classic amps from the 1960s, to give you that same authentic spring reverb sound.

Tremolo : The Imperial uses a vintage tremolo circuit which creates the tremolo effect by modulating the bias current of the output tubes. Compared to other methods (e.g. the opto-coupler method used in the Fender "blackface" era amps), this method creates the most gradual, smoothest, and roundest tremolo effect.

The tremolo effect can be turned on and off via the footswitch.

Specs
Tone King Imperial : LIMITED EDITION 20TH ANNIVERSARY
Output Power : 20W
Speaker : 1x12" Celestion G12M65 Creamback
Ouptut Tubes : 2 x 6V6GT
Preamp Tubes : 4 x 12AX7, 1 x 12AT7
Rectifier Tube : 5AR4
Features : Handwired Circuitry, Built-in Ironman Attenuator
2 Preamp Channels : Rhythm, Lead
Rhythm Channel Controls : Volume, Treble, Bass
Lead Channel Controls : Volume, Tone, Mid-Bite
Reverb : Tube Driven Spring Reverb
Tremolo : Tube Driven
Footswitch Included : controls both channel switching and tremolo
Cabinet : Dovetail jointed birch with solid pine baffle board
Weight : 30lbs
Dimensions : 22 5/8"(w) x 10 1/2" (d) x 19 1/4"(t)