Tone King Imperial MK II Detailed Review
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- Опубликовано: 13 окт 2024
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Tone King Imperial MK II Amps
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I owned a 2013 20th anniversary Tone King Imperial with all the same features here and I loved it if you want to get another amazing tone turn the attenuator to 0 and turn the rhythm channel volume to 7 and bass to 3 and treble to 5 reverb to 4 with your R9 Les Paul and it breaks up perfectly you'll love it. It's super versatile 😍
I bought this Tone King about 4 weeks ago. Couldn't be happier, I love this amp!
I ve had the combo for a couple of years now and it's by far and away the best amp I ve ever owned vintage or modern. The versatility and tones are all there for whatever you re going for and the attenuator is an added plus. Can t say enough good things about this amp and Tone King overall!
War Eagle
Loud enough for bars??
@@stevewhite3753 Oh yeah.....big bars too. I've had my for about 4 years now. It's all you need - takes pedals v well. Pricey but in this case you get what you pay for.
It is a really really loud 20 watts without attenuation
l love my Tone King Imperial MKII!! The mystical amp you find and will never get rid of!! You don't even need pedals to get killer tones.
How is it for home use. Bedroom volume?
It's amazing with the attenuator
Hi Phil. your review was instrumental in my choice to go with this amp. I got the combo in blue and I have to say it's a superb bit of kit. Al the controls are effective and linear the attenuator is a revelation. What an amp. Its so sweet sounding on the clean channel and boy does it growl on the lead
I'd like to thank you for all the effort you put into your videos and reviews. Balanced, informative, objective, educational and great fun Keep up the good work!!!
This thing looks pretty awesome! Love the retro vibe, love the attenuator.
OMG I love these amps SO much!!!!
Phil this is a fantastic video! I really need to learn more about amps, all amps. I have a Spark 40 so the next step in my guitar journey is to learn all I can about amps and pedals. The first amp I plugged into was a Fender '57 Tweed Deluxe in the teaching room at my guitar store where I have my lessons. I had some time before my lesson so I plugged in and I instantly knew this was the sound I wanted.The Tone King sounds pretty damn good. Again thanks for the knowledge.
Thanks for talking about the attenuator in depth and the other things. Most people just read the specs off a sheet and don’t explain it. I understood what it did but I still wasn’t 100% sure if it did exactly what I thought I was hearing other people say. Good review.
Great review, Phil. And those were some juicy licks you were playing.
Wow! This is the perfect Fender amp!
That is one of the best sounding amps I heard in a long time especially listening on only my phone. When you demonstrated the tremolo that sounded like the intro to a song my friend wrote a long time ago. Very nice
Got one of these for my first tube amp recently and I LOVE it. The rhythm channel is exactly what you’d imagine, and the tweed channel is great. It goes from boxy tweed to magnatone territory with the mid bite, and with the attenuator… you can play while the children sleep.
If I didn't already have a Brown Deluxe with an attenuator and a Princeton, I'd be buying this immediately!
The lead channel and everything on this amp is top notch
Owned one for a couple months and sold it. Great amp but a couple reasons I got rid of it:
1. I never really used the tweed channel though it does sound good. As a pedalboard user it never really made sense to use it but I guess if you don’t like pedals then it could be exactly what you want!
2. I found the attenuator to not be super practical. Live it was nice to have but I always felt like the volume notches were never in the sweet spot and were always either too loud or too quiet at home. I always had to drop the actual volume on the front to make it usable at home which kinda defeats the purpose of having the attenuator to begin with. I wish it was just a knob with no notches and you could dial in the exact volume you want.
3. It’s not a super heavy amp but the size of it (like an actual deluxe reverb) is a bit awkward to move around especially when you’re like me and have to walk three blocks in austin to gig to the gig.
Great amp but I actually prefer my fender deluxe reverb tone master as it has similar features but is much lighter weight wise and super reliable given it having no tubes. But if you are a tube snob (like most of us are) this is a great option!
I had the Tone King Iron Man 2 attenuator. I felt the same way. Even at its lowest setting, it was loud. I sold it and bought an OX Box instead and it works perfect for me.
@@bennyharderguitar hard to beat the Ox Box!
I have the tone king falcon grande..love it but some of yr points I do agree with especially the attenuator…a deluxe is great..get a decent drive pedal for overdrive ..you can’t go wrong..🤙🏻🤙🏻
I own an Imperial as well as a Sky King. I've also owned several others made by Mark (not B.A.D). I think it would be fair to say that if you made a list of ALL the "positives" it would be staggeringly long. Cheers!
@@-DILLIGAF absolutely it’s a fantastic amp! I definitely recommend it overall.
Phil if you have this amp and have spent some more time with it, could you do a follow up vid on this? I would love to see the different tones you can dial in on this. I have been trying to find a DEEP dive on this amp before I pull the trigger. Much love from a huge fan!
The imperial is one of the best amps ever. I've tried a lot...
I got turned onto these amps in the late nineties when they first came out and I had been lusting after one ever since! I finally got the mark one version about 4 years ago without going into my resume I've been playing for 50 years and have owned dozens of amps. My favorite rig that I had was a 1966 super Reverb and a 1965 Pro Reverb that I ran stereo! I used that rig for a number of years and it was the best. But this amp right here, I don't think they come any better and they do fender better than Fender does fender! I will say that I bought the attenuator and didn't care for it. I couldn't get to The Sweet Spot because the notches just didn't allow me to get to there. I use it as a pedal platform and just run the clean Channel and couldn't be happier. Oh yeah and I did change the speaker out to a celestion gold alnico and it took that amp to the next level! If you're on the fence get off the damn fence and by one!
With Fender amps becoming so expensive, this looks like a really cool alternative
Really enjoyed that tone and really enjoyed your playing on this Phil!
Great review and you can hear the blackface tone which is just gorgeous but the added mid-pot just adds what Fender missed on the deluxe. Then you add the attenuator to the recipe and BAM! You just made the perfect tool for guitar players. I was holding up for a pre-CBS but you might have changed my mind and even saved me a few bucks.
The guy who founded Tone King has a new company called Bartell amps. He makes some really high dollar stuff but they're amazing.
This is going on my list of potential pedal platform amps. It’s so cool! It’s between this, bogner shiva, orange ad30, Suhr badger 30/35, or milkman amps the amp.
Had mine for 6 months it's amazing
I have been lusting for this masterpiece for years...drooolllll
nice sounding amp! thanks Phil!
Been saving for about 10 months, still about a month away, but very soon. This video did not dissuade me in any way 😂
I have 2 falcons the first version…by mark bartell…..the 1x10 no reverb…then I got the tone king falcon grande..love it…more headroom…1x12…footswitch..the reverb is to die for…it covers blackface ,tweed,and that Marshall Supro…type overdrive…too.
Thanks for the review Phil. I've been on the fence on this one for a while. Actually since I read that Knopfler uses one (which he bought from Anderton's) but for my never-leave-home purposes I'm not sure this doesn't cover a lot of ground that I already have with my DR Tone Master and some pedals. Sure the real life tube break up would be an upgrade but for the money I wonder if I couldn't do better getting something totally different than the Fender sound I already have (and love).
It's between this and the Morgan RCA35R for me. Each week I am leaning more towards the one or the other
Thanks Phil for the demo. Have you tried it with pedals - good pedal platform? Particularly if wanted some extra gain ??
This might be the “best” pedal platform out there. Would love to hear your take on the rhythm channel differences from your 65 Deluxe Reverb. I’m guessing the Tone King is similar but tighter bottom end. I like a tight bottom 👍
nice review. Never thought of a Tone King - will look into it now.
Great video, thanks! One question that keeps coming up is how much clean headroom is there? The guys on That Pedal Show said there's not enough for them, but maybe they play really loud. It's hard for shoppers to know the answer without a db meter or a comparison to something like a Deluxe Reverb. Those would be on my wish list. Otherwise love your video. Thanks!
The attenuator on this thing is amazing. I bought a Tone King Iron Man II mini after using this amp for so long, for my other amp. That Iron Man II mini doesn't even come close to how well the built-in attenuator works on the Imperial.
I almost bought one of these -- instead I got a '62 Princeton Chris Stapleton from Fender... it's probably the amp in the middle of Blackface and Tweed, and I LOVE it!! Tone Kings are fantastic amps though...
Hey! I just bought one of these combos! I love this amp. Now I just need a Captor X to record it!
The Captor is a great unit
Is that a new strat?
Man this amp is bucket list material for me. in my opinion this line of amps is as good as it gets. They dont do EVERYTHING and they dont have and effects loop but I actually like that. It gives it sort of an oldschool thing. I mean they even look old school lol. Thanks Phil im wishing that was mine but Enjoy it anyway lol. Always good Videos. Enjoy and Know Your Gear.
Wow... the whole time, just WOW!
been curious about these amps
Sounds good Phil and I've been looking at a few Amps which I just put an order in for Rivera Stage IV 1x12" 25-watt Tube Combo Amp from Sweetwater. Have a DIY kit (Tweed Deluxe) on the way from Weber Amplifier Kits. Keep the content going!!!!
I got a Stage IV a couple months ago. Life has kept me from spending any real time with it, but so far it's what I hoped-a Deluxe Reverb on steroids!
It's a great sounding amp. But I still prefer the HandWired Fender Deluxe Reverb sound to the Tone King. I just wish that Fender would do a Handwired Deluxe with an FX loop!!
Falcon Grande is even more versatile, with blackface, tweed and supro tones, the same attenuator and a reverb. You miss the trem, but darn it’s versatile.
That amp sounds fantastic. The switchable attenuation is a bloody good idea. If I didn't have a DRRI and a Laney LC15R which I use together I would consider getting this.
Getting mine tomorrow....and it will immediately have to battle my son's Hamstead Artist 20 sitting next to me (fantastic amp BTW)...it's the reason I went looking for a 'boutique' amp and settled on the TK Imp Mkii.
how is it?
@@wildinthe70s for sale
Liking the Tortoiseshell pickguard on the SG. I've got the same exact guitar, choice totally influenced by yours. Do you prefer it to the standard black one? The only half decent one I can find is from WD Music. Thanks Phil
Nice amp. Out of my price range, but still a nice amp. (As a side note - I really like the color of Phil's SG.)
This is a wonderful idea. And I feel I should say: it's frustrating that Fender has gone ALL IN on the black panel amps. I know there are other variations though you have to get into the boutique cost to get a solid reliable tweed option and it leaves me shaking my head.
Purchased the head about a month ago, waiting on the cabinet to be back in stock. It’s the perfect amp for me.
I had the same thing happen when I ordered my Egnater Tweaker. The head came first and the cab was like 2 months later. I believe it was a fire at the factory.
@@daleturner3507 yep. Hard times for them.
On my homepage the video is named different than it is on the video 😲 never been that early to a Phil video
excited for that s2 in the corner!
Nice amp. I like the tone and it’s look. It has a vintage type of look to me. Thanks Phil. I’m gonna watch a second time 😂😂👍🤘
I think I’ve watched this review at least 4 times now 🤣😂 maybe I should just get it already!
Sounds fantastic!
Wow, what a great sound!
Great amp & very nice playing👍🏻
The separate cab sounds a lot better than the combo, which is much tighter sounding than a real pine blackface.
This dangerously sounds like me spending more money again. Phil thanks for the vids
I’ve got several amps, I’ve been trying hard to sell my Mesa Boogie and my Twin Reverb so I can buy one of these.
Great Demo Phil
I have a 2019 "Sky King" which is a 6L6 with duel attenuator modle ... very nice indeed
maybe they can catchup on their backorder from back in 2021. I've been waiting for mine for a long time now.
Correct me if I’m wrong but……
Wasn’t the bassbreaker 18/30 an amp with “tweed” & “blackface” in the same amp?
So happy for you Phillip, you finally got the tone King in, great sounding amps... You should buy a lottery ticket today 😁
I'm thinking about getting one now. However I'm wondering if there is a MKIII version coming very soon since MKII was released in 2016. They just updted the Royalist, so maybe this is next. I'd hate to purchase and then miss out on any new features.
"SG" with break-up on bridge pick-up, WOW!
I have a tweed/blackface hybrid. It's a Victoria Victorilux 1x15 combo. It's creeeeeamy.
Hi what strat is that,,, thank you Chuck
I've got a Phaez amp that is similar that is a Blackface and Hotrodded Marshall in one.
How does it take pedals? Especially high gain pedals ………
My immediate thought is the built in attenuator is cool but not super practical because why pay more for an amp when I can just buy an attenuator to use for all my amps. I’m sure it’s more convenient and like you can attenuate a single channel but idk I digress. Also if you’re buying a Tone King amp, high chance you already have an attenuator.
I think that the Ironman attenuator is very pricey. Sure, it will work for all of your amps, but it costs almost 1/2 to 1/3 the price of this amp, if memory serves me correctly.
Ok forgive my ignorance but what is an attenuator?
@@JaniceLalla an attenuator is a device that allows a guitarist to "krank" their tube amp. A tube amp has a sweet spot where it's tone and dynamics are optimized. Usually that spot is too loud, especially with today's noise restrictions. An attenuator gives you a chance to turn up your tube amp to achieve a kranked amp sound at lower volume levels
@@cchavez248 thanks!
@@JaniceLalla just to add on, without diving too much into the technical stuff, one may think well I can just turn the master volume down and the gain up. That is not the same as attenuating and considered inferior by just about everyone. However that is just fine in a lot of cases, It all depends on the amp and the type of sound you're looking for. For example, if you're interested in a real plexi sound at reasonable volume, I'd highly recommend an attenuator, where as if you're going for like a blackface fender sound than its not as necessary.
Great playing and a nice amp.
Have you done a video on that beautiful stratocaster?
Mam Thank You for great testing. Stary cool 😁🎸👍💪
I've always thought these amps were a cut above the rest. The note separation is awesome. Did I hear some Thin Lizzy ;-)?
I’ve owned this amp… It was cool but I like higher wattage amps.
Is the Imperial combo's speaker worse than a Celestion from the Imperial cab?
Beautiful amp
I've been shopping for a new amp for about a year. The only thing I'm sure of is I love that SG burst!! 8) JMHO --gary
I have Fender Super-Sonic 22 combo with upgraded Jensen P12N and it's absolutely fantastic little amp. Inexpensive and tons of sounds. It's like Vibrolux and Bassman in one amp. So practically Fender already built the amp Phillip is wishing for in here. You can have Super-Sonic 60 if you want more headroom and power. I'm fine with ~20W, it's more than enough for what I do.
Thank you for a very informative video Phil, I really like Soldano but had no idea about the Company Umbrella/structure...great info on this Tone King amplifier, I really like it.
💯😎✌🏼
🎸👑🏴
Made of solid wantronium. Someday, if my fingers ever learn how to do the things I want them to.
I want this amp so much
Glorious amp.
Now thats a review
But for the price of the ToneKing you can buy both a blackface and a tweed style amp from fender.
For many the chance to have multiple boutique quality tones in one great package is very alluring. Plus reissue Fenders don’t have the same features. Other customers will love to have a dual mono rig with multiple lower priced Fenders. They’re all good and one persons dream tone is another’s nightmare. It’s all just personal preference :-)
Phil, the purchase of a Tone King Imperial II is between $2600.00 (for the Combo) and $3000.00 for the Head plus Cabinet is a heavy financial lift. I feel that the USA Assembled 'Fender '65 Deluxe Reverb at $1,599.99 or a Mexico Assembled Fender Custom '68 Deluxe Reverb at $1399.99 could get the job done nicely instead of going to a USA handmade Fender '64 Custom Deluxe Reverb at $2949.99. Also, why did you not compare it to the Mesa Boogie MkV 25, which has a reverb tank and drops from 25w down to 10w (so no attenuator is needed)? All that would be needed is a tremolo and they would still be close in specifications for much lower price than the Tone King or the Fender '64 Custom Deluxe Reverb. Respectfully, my vote is for the Fender "65 or '68 or buying up to a Mesa Boogie 25 head with cabinet for about $2300.00.
Just a different feature set and all products sound/feel a little different. This was just a single product review so not really any effort given to comparison. None of the amps you mention give the same tones or functionality in one box as the Imperial mkii. The attenuator with multiple options is also quite different compared to a full/half power switch. If a customer is looking for proper volume control then attenuators are of great interest. Just different functions, tones and features for different folks and we all take our pick. Such a great plethora of choice these days. Something for everyone🤷♂️
@@djt6546 Ok, I stand corrected. If someone want the attenuator, I can provide no argument. As I recall Rivera used to modify Fender Deluxe's and Princeton's for the session recording artists of the '70's and '80's. In fact as I also recall they made a Sweetwater exclusive modified Fender that is now called the $2,299.00 Rivera Stage IV 1x12" 25-watt Tube Combo Amp as an alternative, albeit I grant you that if you really need the attenuator and do not want to lug an external attenuator around with you then you are right, as of this date only the TK Imperial II seem to fit the bill.
$2300 head and $2500 combo-and just like Fender Deluxe Reverb RI-no dedicated input/output effects loop for pedals? What gives?? Amp sounds beautiful!!! I am still a bit of a novice on tube amps-would a dedicated effects loop add an astronomical amount to cost of producing this amp? Or would it in some way interfere with or alter the base tone of the amp even if you were not using any pedals in the effects loop vs same amp without an effects loop?
The effects loop changes the tone of the deluxe reverb. Fender has never put it in for any variant of the deluxe reverb because it’s no longer the black face sound. same thing with tone king. Value is in the eye of the beholder, but 2k used price isn’t crazy for this amp. 2.6k new. It’s a well designed PCB/hand wired hybrid. The materials are high quality and absolutely none of it feels cheap
An effects loop is meaningless in a Deluxe Reverb because any distortion would come in the power section, not the preamp section, and that would come after the effects loop in the circuit.
Amazing 👍
Very cool
I’m kinda MAD, because that’s Dope AF! But I suspect that the days of lugging analog gear to get mic’d into the PA seem to be going away. I mean if you have a Kemper or a Helix or whatnot then why carry extra gear.
And before the hate comes I played Many wonderful Tube Amps, some of my favorite ones didn’t even have a master volume (so yeah, there was no effects loop either), BUT is it really “the Tube Sound” if you have more than a few effects in it?
Had mine for 6 months and man its beautiful takes pedals so nice since you can use the attenuator just to the point of breakup
Nice!
One question pls...Is it point to point or circuit board?
Sounds great. $2600 is pretty steep
Sorry Tone King originally started in lower upstate NY then moved to Maryland.
let me guess it cost more then a black face and tweed amp combined ? pricey but not as bad as i thought , 2500,00 for the combo ..
My old MusicMan 210 65 blows that thing away
Warning for the Kids: Hyperbole Alert! That amp is not in the same category of this amp in any meaningful way. A Tractor can out pull a Pickup Truck. A Corvette can outpace a Chevette. Comparing them is meaningless.
The tone king sky king is not much more expensive but handwired
The SkyKing is not the same as it used to be either. But to be honest it’s not relevant in the hands of quality engineers as the end result is greater than the sum of it’s parts. 🙂
Sounding nice, playing great bud!