Tone King Imperial MK II, Imprerial MK II User Manual

Tone King

Tone King Tone King

“Imperial MK II”

“Imperial MK II”“Imperial MK II”

User’s Manual

User’s ManualUser’s Manual

1.1 2/24/2015

Tone King Amplifiers A division of Premier Builders Guild LLC www.toneking.com

mail@toneking.com

Note from the Builder

Note from the BuilderNote from the Builder

Thank you for choosing the Imperial MK II guitar amplifier. The Imperial was the very first production model built by Tone King. It was introduced in 1993, and has been a favorite of guitarists for over 20 years now. The MK II update incorporates all that I’ve learned as an amp designer over these past 20 years, without changing the essential character of the amp. If anything, the MK II digs deeper for an even more authentically vintage sound and feel.

I designed the Imperial back in 1990-1993. At the time, I was inspired by listening to vintage amps such as the Fender Deluxe Reverb and the Fender Tweed Deluxe. It was clear that the authentic vintage amps had a certain mojo that was missing in modern amps. They had a certain feel that made you want to play them – a compliant, broken-in feel. They also had a certain transparency to their tone, a harmonic complexity, and an expressive quality that I couldn’t find in new amps at the time. My goal was to build a new amp that could capture that that vintage magic.

Being an Electrical Engineer, I was able to absorb a lot of the electronic necessities of such as design fairly readily, but I hit a stopping point when it came to the cabinet design. After prototyping electronic designs using a fine sounding vintage speaker cabinet, I became quite aware of the important role the cabinet can play once I built my first speaker cabinet, to disappointing results. After years of building test cabinets, experimenting with wood types, construction methods, and many other factors, I began to develop a sense for how to control the voicing of a cabinet to achieve the sound and feel I was after. The Imperial was the first of my designs to benefit from these efforts in cabinet design, and I like to think that this is why it is such a special amp that has been so successful for all these years.

Still, being primarily an experimenter, I never stopped trying to learn new ways to improve my designs. This new MK II design incorporates development work I’ve done over the past 20 years, and represents the best of what I can do at this time.

To be specific, the MK II is built using a layout scheme I’m calling “handwired board”, which I believe to be an ideal construction method to extract the best tone from any circuit design. It has great advantages in terms of component placement, wiring length, and wire routing, and has a real, tangible effect on the sound and feel of an amp.

In addition, the MK II includes the new Ironman/II attenuator, which I feel is a great advance in that it provides fletcher-munson volume compensation to correct for the way the ear perceives sound at low volume, as well a circuitry that compensates for the way the speaker operates at low volume, to preserve the experience of playing a cranked amp at low volume better than had been done before.

I thank you for your purchase of this special version of the Imperial, and I hope you enjoy playing it as much as I do.

Mark Bartel Tone King Amplifiers, a division of Premier Builders Guild LLC

Safety Instructions

Safety Instructions Safety Instructions

1. Please read these instructions, and keep them for reference.

2. Please follow all instructions described here.

3. Do not use this apparatus near water.

4. Clean only with a dry cloth.

5. Do not block any ventilation openings.

6. Do not operate near any heat sources such as radiators or heat registers.

7. Protect the power cord from being walked on or pinched, particularly at the plugs and at the point where they exit from the apparatus.

8. Only use attachments/accessories specified by the manufacturer.

9. Unplug this apparatus during lightning storms or when unused for long periods of time.

10. Refer all servicing to qualified service personnel. Servicing is required when the apparatus has been damaged in any way. For example, if the power supply cord or plug is damaged, liquid has been spilled or objects have fallen into the apparatus, the apparatus has been exposed to rain or moisture, does not operate normally, or has been dropped.

11. CAUTION: To disconnect the unit completely from the MAINS, unplug the unit. Turning the power switch off does not disconnect the unit completely from the MAINS.

Contents

ContentsContents

1. Front Panel Controls 4

Two Preamp Channels – Lead and Rhythm 4

Rhythm Channel 4

Lead Channel 5

Reverb 6

Tremolo (Rate & Depth) 6

2. Back Panel Controls 7

AC Power 7

Fuse 7

Power Switch, Standby Switch 7

Footswitch 7

Speaker Jack 8

Attenuation Controls 8

3. Ironman/II Attenuator 9

Purpose of the Attenuator 9

Attenuator Controls 10

How to Use The Attenuator 10

HF Comp Switch 11

Rhythm Channel Bypass Switch 11

4. Getting a Great Sound at Home 12

The Effect of Your Acoustical Environment 12

Floor Reflections 12

Where to Place the Amp 12

Carpeting 12

Backwards Amp Trick 13

The Attenuator Can Help 13

5. Tube Installation and Replacement 14

Choice of Tube Types and Brands 14

Alternate Tube Choices 15

Installing Tubes 15

Replacing Output Tubes 15

Tube Quality 16

6. Warranty 17

7. CE Declaration 18

1. Front Panel Controls

1. Front Panel Controls1. Front Panel Controls

Two Preamp Channels

Two Preamp Channels ———— Lead and Rhythm

Two Preamp Channels Two Preamp Channels

The Imperial has two separate preamplifier channels, each with its own unique voicing. You can switch between the channels with either the “Lead/Rhythm” switch (on the front panel) or with the “Channel” switch on the footswitch. When using the footswitch, you should set the front panel switch to the “Rhythm” position. You’ll notice that the LED on the footswitch indicates the channel selected. When the LED is lit, the Lead channel is selected. When the LED is not lit, the Rhythm channel is selected.

Rhythm Channel

Rhythm ChannelRhythm Channel

Lead and Rhythm

Lead and Rhythm Lead and Rhythm

The Rhythm channel includes controls for Volume, Treble, and Bass. This channel is designed to deliver a “vintage 1960’s clean tone”. In previous versions of the Imperial, it had been suggested that this channel be used only for clean tones, since it’s overdriven sound could become a bit harsh. However, layout improvements made in this new MK II design have had a big effect on the overdriven tone of the Rhythm channel. It can now deliver a fantastic range of usable overdriven tones in addition to its sparkling clean tone.

The Bass and Treble controls act much like they would on a genuine vintage amp of this type. Here are two sample settings that demonstrate the sound that the Rhythm channel was designed to deliver:

Clean Rhythm Tone

Clean Rhythm Tone Clean Rhythm Tone

Volume Treble Bass Reverb

3 4

This is the clean sound the Imperial was designed for. Sweet, punchy, and balanced. Plug in a strat with the (bridge+middle) position, and you’ll get a nice ‘Sultans of Swing’ tone. Try the middle pickup position of a tele to get a nice rich sound with just the right amount of bite on top. Bridge pickup settings on any single coil guitar should give you a nice balance – great clarity and just the right amount of brightness.

Cranked Rhythm Channel Overdrive

Cranked Rhythm Channel OverdriveCranked Rhythm Channel Overdrive

Volume Treble Bass Reverb

8 5

Here’s a great setting that sounds like an old twin reverb run flat out on 10. It’s perfect for plugging in your telecaster and pulling out those Roy Buchanan licks. A strat can be great as well, using the bridge pickup. You may want to use the attenuator with this setting – it will be loud otherwise.

6 5

6 4

Lead Channel

Lead ChannelLead Channel

The Lead channel starts out with a Tweed style preamp, which drives a proprietary tone-shaping circuit built around the Mid-Bite control, a unique Tone King feature. This proprietary circuit transforms the basic tweed tone to more of a crunchy rock tone as you turn up the mid-bite control. This is accomplished by simultaneously tightening up the bass, rolling off the very high frequencies, increasing the gain, and developing a pronounced upper midrange peak. The Mid-Bite control is the key to dialing in your own particular sound on the lead channel, so you may want to experiment and observe its effect as you rotate it from 1 to 9.

Here are a few sample settings which demonstrate the tones that the Lead channel is designed to deliver:

Old Style Fat Clean

Old Style Fat CleanOld Style Fat Clean

Volume Tone Mid-Bite Reverb

2 3

This is a nice setting that has many uses. It’s a fatter clean sound than you get from the Rhythm channel, with a slight boxiness and a smooth top end. Plug in a telecaster, and it’s perfect for honky tonk or old time country music. Plug in a hollowbody jazz box, and you’ll get pretty close to Wes Montogomery or Grant Green tones.

Fat Tweed Overdrive

Fat Tweed OverdriveFat Tweed Overdrive

Volume Tone Mid-Bite Reverb

9 4

This setting is a nice chunky overdriven sound inspired by the sound of a tweed deluxe on 10. It’s great for blues playing, and really shines with single notes and double stops.

Rock & Roll Tweed Overdrive

Rock & Roll Tweed OverdriveRock & Roll Tweed Overdrive

Volume Tone Mid-Bite Reverb

6 5

This setting is more rock & roll, but still retains a lot of the ‘tweed deluxe’ character. It gives you a tighter bottom end and creamier mids than the previous setting, so it’s great for playing rock chord rhythms and singing single-note lines. When using this setting, I’m tempted to pull out some Billy Gibbons licks, or possibly something like ‘Cat Scratch Fever’, but I’m sure you’ll find many great uses for it.

+ 13 hidden pages

Tone King Imperial MK II, Imprerial MK II User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual