Tone King Amps

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The Tone King Mission

Tone King doesn't simply reproduce a vintage design, but instead strives to create those certain magical qualities found in some well worn vintage amps which usually only develop after a lifetime of use and aging. The result of Tone King's endeavors is a uniquely musical guitar amplifier, carefully hand-built by a skilled and singularly dedicated artisan.

In the Tone King design philosophy, the speaker, the cabinet, and electronics are all equally to an amp's tone, so Tone King applies just as much effort to the design of the speaker cabinet as to the chassis electronics. Decades of constant design development work have resulted in the Tone King you can purchase today at World Music Nashville.

Only The Best from Tone King

Only the best quality components go into Tone King Amps. While some amp builders, (and some would say far too many), slap together their amps with common off-the-shelf parts, Tone King chooses to work closely with U.S. based manufacturers to design custom transformers and speakers for Tone King. These critical parts are the heart of an amp's tone. With these customized ingredients designer Mark Bartel exercises total control over the design specification in order to create that unique Tone King sound and feel.

Hand Built By the Amps Creator

Each Tone King Amplifier is hand built one-at-a-time in Baltimore, Maryland by designer Mark Bartel. No compromises are accepted in Mark's approach to building one original smooth powerhouses. These vacuum-tube guitar amplifiers are totally unique designs that aim to take classic guitar tones a step further through an obsessive attention to every single component of the Tone King design. Each precise feature of the amp including woodworking, upholstery, chassis assembly and wiring are hand done by Mark with an unmistakable attention to precision and quality.

In fact, you can even hear the woody resonance of the amp cabinet by knocking on the sides. Mark's intention is to tune the cabinet to produce its own sound, like the body of an acoustic guitar. Pretty cool in principle, and way cool in action when you hear these beauties sing!

The Vacuum-Tube Guitar Amplifiers for Tone Fanatics include:

the Tone King Metropolitan

New for 2009, the Metropolitan is the finest amplifier ever produced by Tone King. It is an entirely new design, with an exciting new sound, driven by the warm resonance, midrange chime, and three-dimensional sound of its new speaker and cabinet design, and the enhanced sustain of its ultra-pure signal path. It also includes the breakthrough new Phase-4 output power control technology developed by Tone King, which gives you the sound of natural power tube overdrive and distortion at any power level from 0.1W to the full 40W.

Warm Woody Resonance, Efforless Sustain

The Metropolitan is a truly magical guitar amplifier with a sound all its own. The lightweight, resonant speaker cabinet is tuned and voiced as if it were a musical instrument unto itself, producing the perfect balance of warm, woody resonance and elastic feel, as well as power and punch. The ultra-pure signal path and automatically balanced and calibrated phase inverter give you an unusually effortless sustain, even on perfectly clean notes, and a bell-like clarity.

> READ MORE about the Tone King METROPOLITAN

Output Tubes 6V6GT(x4), Cathode Biased
Rectifier Tube 5AR4
Preamp Tubes 12AX7(x4), 12AT7
Speaker 1x12", Custom-Designed
More Specs

> BUY the Tone King METROPOLITAN

the Tone King Imperial

The Imperial delivers the authentic sound of the 1950s and the 1960s. It has the same raw, slightly unrefined tone and spongy feel of a genuine 40-year old vintage amp. With two preamp channels, reverb, and tremolo, the lightweight (30lbs), low power (20W) Imperial is the ideal small gigging amp.

First released in 1993, the Imperial was designed to capture the raw tone and loose feel of a genuine well worn vintage amp, and then take that sound further than an original vintage amp ever could. Over the years it has proven to be a favorite among pros and amateurs alike and can still be found on stage with many A-list acts across this country and abroad.

> READ MORE about the Tone King IMPERIAL

Output Tubes 2 x 6V6
Rectifier Tube 5AR4
Preamp Tubes 4x12AX7, 1x12AT7
Speaker 1x12"
More Specs

> BUY the Tone King IMPERIAL

Highly Recommended:

A Hands Down Favorite of the Owner of World Music Nashville

"One day a friend and a customer who I refer to as the tone guru walked in to my store with this Turquoise colored amp. He looks at me, smiles and says "you have got to hear this amp". It was love at first listen! It was the Tone King Imperial, a 20 watt, 30 lbs 1 X 12 combo. I looked at my friend and said " this is the best tone I have ever heard and how do I get one?" That's when I met Mark Bartell and became a Tone King disciple. If you love Fender amps from the 1950's but have not been satisfied with today's models, you must hear this amp!"

Larry Faragalli, World Music Nashville

"Mr. Faragalli is an accomplished guitarist, a recording engineer, and a talented pianist as well. His lifetime of musical experience and his in-depth guitar and amplifier expertise should be considered seriously."

Dave Johnson, Recording Engineer, Webmaster

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