Tone King Majesty 15 User Manual

Tone King “Majesty 15”

Tone King “Majesty 15”

Tone King “Majesty 15” Tone King “Majesty 15”

User’s Manual

User’s Manual

User’s ManualUser’s Manual

1.0 3/13/2014

Tone King Amplifiers
A division of Premier Builders Guild LLC
4401 Eastern Avenue, Bldg 46-3G, Box 38
Baltimore, Maryland 21224
www.toneking.com
[e-mail]

Note from the Design

Note from the Designer

Note from the DesignNote from the Design

Thank you for choosing Tone King’s “Majesty 15” guitar amplifier. The Majesty is a
genuine milestone for us, as it’s the first Tone King amp that delivers the best of the
vintage British sound.

qualities - good and bad - that define the sound of these iconic vintage British amps.
Then, relying simply on engineering know-how and past experience, I developed circuit
designs to deliver more of the good and less of the bad qualities, for an idealized version
of those iconic tones we all know and love. I made no attempt to duplicate the design
or construction of the originals, since my goal was to go beyond the limitations of those
classis designs.

As always, half of the design effort went into the voicing of
the speaker cabinets. The goal was to capture the low-end
thump, chunk, and presence of a certain vintage
“basketweave” 4x12 which is a big part of that sound, but
do it in a smaller, lighter, more convenient package – 1x12
and 2x12. This was the most difficult design I’ve done in
several years, since it was so entirely different from the
Fender voicings I had been familiar with. Regardless, I am
delighted with the sound of the Majesty cabs, and I think
they are an excellent match for the amp.

To top it off, I added a number of additional useful features.
I developed a special version of the Ironman attenuator,
with a reactive load tuned specifically for this amp, as well
as an extremely transparent effects loop and a very useful line-out circuit.

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The Majesty is inspired by the sound of the
early Marshall amps, and you will certainly
hear elements of the old Bluesbreaker, JTM45,
and JMP50 in the sound of this amp.
However, the Majesty is no mere clone of a
vintage amp. It is very much a new design
which captures the essence of those fine
vintage amps, but goes further as well.

I used the same approach to the design process
as I always have in the past. It all starts with
critical listening, in order to understand the

I thank you for your purchase of the Majesty,
and I hope you enjoy playing it as much as I
do.

Best Regards,

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

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Safety Instructions (Important !)

Safety Instructions (Important !)

Safety Instructions (Important !)Safety Instructions (Important !)

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.

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Contents

Contents

ContentsContents

1. Front Panel Controls 4

Instrument Input 4

Volume and Tone Controls 4

Presence 4

Effects Loop Bypass 4

Attenuation Control 5

2. Dialing In Your Sound 6

Starting Point 6

The Marshall Trick 6

Fat, Warm Clean Sound 6

Volume and Attenuation 7

Notes on Using the Attenuator 7

3. Back Panel Controls 8

AC Power 8

Fuse (Mains) 8

Fuse (Plate) 8

Power Switch, Standby Switch 8

Speaker Jacks, Impedance Switch 8

Calibration (Test Jacks, Screen & Bias Adj) 9

Effects Loop (Send, Receive) 9

Line Out 9

4. Calibration 10

When and Why to Calibrate 10

Tools you will need 10

Bias Current 11

Screen Voltage 12

5. Tube Installation and Replacement 14

Preamp Tubes V1, V2, V3 14

Power Output Tubes V5, V6 14

Installing Tubes 15

Replacing Output Tubes 15

Tube Quality 15

6. Warranty 16

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1. Front Panel Controls

1. Front Panel Controls

1. Front Panel Controls1. Front Panel Controls

(note: the illustration above shows the faceplate of the Majesty combo. The faceplate of
the head version is a mirror image of the one shown above)

Instrument Input

Instrument Input

Instrument InputInstrument Input

The guitar is to be plugged into the instrument input

Volume & Tone Controls (Treble, Mid, Bass)

Volume & Tone Controls (Treble, Mid, Bass)

Volume & Tone Controls (Treble, Mid, Bass)Volume & Tone Controls (Treble, Mid, Bass)

These controls should be familiar, as they operate in the same way as most other guitar
amplifiers. The Treble knob adjusts the level of high frequencies. The Bass control
adjusts the level of low frequencies, and the Midrange control adjusts the level of
midrange frequencies.

The Majesty is a non-master-volume design, which means that overdrive and distortion
are generated by both the preamp and power amp in certain predetermined proportions.
This makes it relatively easy to dial in the amount of overdrive and distortion you want
– it’s all under control of the single Volume knob.

Presence

Presence

Presence Presence

The Presence knob adjusts the level of very high frequencies (those above the range of
the Treble control), and does it in a way that is slightly different than the Treble control.
As you turn the Presence knob up, the level of those very high frequencies is increased,
as you would expect. But, the presence control has an effect on the “feel” of the amp as
well. At higher settings, the amp is punchier and more “raw” sounding, while at lower
settings is less “spiky”, with a more “compressed” feel.

It’s a good idea to get used to the specific effect of the Presence control, as it can really
help to dial in your sound for a particular room or setting. I generally set the presence
control higher in larger rooms, but keep it rather low at home.

Effects Loop Bypass

Effects Loop Bypass

Effects Loop Bypass Effects Loop Bypass

This switch allows you to bypass the effects loop. It’s always a good idea to use the
“bypass” position when you are not using the loop. If you have this switch set to
“enable”, then the signal will be passing through the effects loop circuitry in the amp,
even if nothing is plugged into the Send and Receive jacks. In the “bypass” position,
you are guaranteed that none of the effects loop circuitry touches the signal path.

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Attenuation Control

Attenuation Control

Attenuation ControlAttenuation Control

The Majesty contains a built-in Ironman precision attenuator, designed specifically for
this model. The attenuator allows you to reduce the volume level of the amplifier while
retaining the natural overdrive sound and feel of the amplifier. The tone and feel that
this amplifier is designed for are best achieved by a certain proportion of preamp
distortion to power tube distortion, so an attenuator is the best way to control volume
level while preserving that balance.

This attenuator uses transformer coupling and a precision tuned reactive load to best
preserve the natural tone and feel of the amp, even at very low volume. This is the
same general approach used in the highly regarded Ironman standalone attenuator.

There are many different approaches that can be used to generate overdriven and
distorted tones as a low volume. For example, master volume circuits, or a power
reduction scheme such as London Power Scaling have both been used successfully on
various amp models of other brands. However, for the vintage British tones that the
Majesty is designed to achieve, a good quality attenuator such as the built-in Ironman
is the best way to preserve tone and feel at very low volume, because it allows the
output stage to operate the same way at any level of attenuation.

The attenuation control determines the amount of power sent to the speaker, but does
not affect the operation of the output stage of the amplifier itself. The attenuator
absorbs and dissipates any excess power generated by the output tubes that is not sent
to the speaker.

The attenuator is internally connected between the amplifier output and the speaker
jack – the same way an external attenuator would be connected. However, the input of
the attenuator is not accessible, so you cannot use the built-in Ironman attenuator to
attenuate the output of some other amplifier.

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