Tone King Imperial User Manual

Tone King “Imperial”

Vacuum-Tube Guitar Amplifier

User’s Manual

R1.0 12/6/2007

4401 Eastern Avenue, Bldg 45-2A, Box 38

Tone King Amplifier Company, Inc.

Baltimore, Maryland 21224

Thank You

2

Thank you for purchasing this Tone King Imperial amplifier. Please read this user’s
manual in its' entirety before operating the amp. If you have any questions or concerns
not addressed here, please feel free to contact designer/builder Mark Bartel at
[e-mail].

Contents

1. Basic Operation

Power Source 3
Power On, Power Off, Standby 3
Channel Switching 3

2. Rhythm Channel

Sample Setting 4

3. Lead Channel

Tone Control 5
Mid-Bite Control 5
Sample Settings 6

4. Using Effects Pedals

5. Reverb

6. Tremolo

7. Tube Functions

3

4

5

6

7

7

8

8. Tube Choices

9. Block Diagram

9

10

1. Basic Operation

3

Power Source

Important ! Your Imperial amplifier MUST be plugged into a properly grounded outlet. Do not
attempt to defeat or “lift” the ground of the AC supply.

Power On, Power Off, Standby Mode

When powering up the amp, you should start off with both the POWER and STANDBY switches
in the "off" position. First, turn on the power switch. This will apply power only to the tube
filaments. After turning on the power switch, wait about a minute, and then turn on the
STANDBY switch. The amp will then be ready for use.

When turning off the amp, turn off both the POWER and STANDBY switches. The order that
you turn them off is not important.

When the amp is operating, turning off the STANDBY switch will put the amp in standby mode.
In this mode, the tubes will remain heated, but the power supply to all amplifier circuits will be
cut off, which disables the amp. You might find this mode useful if you only want to shut the
amp off for a brief period of time, and you don't want to wait for the tubes to heat up again, as
you would if you powered down the amp.

Channel Switching

You can switch between the Imperial's two preamp channels (Rhythm and Lead) by using either
the channel switch on the front panel or the channel switch on the footswitch. When using the
footswitch, however, you must leave the front panel Channel switch in the Rhythm position in
order for the footswitch to operate properly.

2. Rhythm Channel

4

The Rhythm channel is voiced a lot like a classic blackface Princeton or Deluxe,
and is best for clean tones and slightly overdriven tones of this variety. Its'
voicing isn't really appropriate for heavily distorted tones.

Sample Setting

Here's a good sample setting to get started with this channel:

Volume Treble Bass

3 4 7