Imperial Mk II 1x12" 20-watt Tube Combo Amp with Attenuator and Reverb - Brown/Beige Review

The sound you want, at the volume you need

This is not a cheap amp , but it is very flexible and replaces 3 other expensive amps[blackface, tweed, Plexi]. The built in attenuator is very useful, and means you can have the one amp in the studio, or live.Great tone, and super useful features.

---

Cancel Comment

Fender Deluxe Reverb Improved

I recently completed another pilgrimage to Sweetwater to try out some amps. Shout out to Mitch who I worked with and Grant who made sure we had amps available to play. Word to the masses, they will pull anything you want from the warehouse if you are a serious buyer. The customer service here is so amazing that I emailed the CEO after both of my trips here. The best retail experience… read more I have ever had, period. I live 6 hours away and was "closer" for Thanksgiving and still drove another 1.5 hours to come back. With all the reviews online, YouTube videos, and Sweetwater reviews I wanted to go through my thought process. I haven't bought an amp in years and I have been obsessing about this purchase. Initially I was interested in a Morgan PR12 or AC20 Deluxe, but after playing them at a guitar center in Dallas, I kept doing back to the Deluxe reverb they had. In addition, Dallas GC had a 60's original Princeton and Deluxe reverb that were absolutely amazing, but the pots were shot, some didn't even work, and they still wanted > $2500. Knowing that this was the clean tone that I wanted, and that I use a pedal board, the dirty channel was less important to me. At Sweetwater, I tried a Tone King Falcon Grande first and it was a great amp. Super responsive, but I wasn't a huge fan of the clean, tweed, lead switch. Next, I tried the Fender 64 Reissue Hand-wired Deluxe Reverb. Amazing amp. The reissue allows the use of reverb and tremolo on both the normal and bright channels. Great chimmey fender tone and I have to say even better than the normal amp. My issue with this amp, is that the Reverb takes a gigantic jump between 4-5 and becomes space ethereal at over 6. Overall, my second favorite. Third came the Mesa Boogie Lonestar. This amp is really the swiss-army knife of amps. Any tone, clean or dirty. The clean tone is actually pretty amazing despite the reputation that Mesa gets for its dirty channel. Tons of features. Not a big fan of the reverb knob on the back of the amp. In the end, this is the gigging musician's amp. Tons of features, tons of knobs. After over an hour of playing this, I feel like I just scratched the surface. In the end, I am only a weekend warrior and the added features were more overwhelming than helpful. Lastly, I tried the Tone King Imperial. This amp is what I have been searching for. The closest I have come to that vintage 64 deluxe that I played in Dallas. The slightest touch translates through the strings and it made this intermediate player better overnight. The reverb is just as good as Fender, but continuous in the transition from 1-10 and doesn't take the gigantic leap after 5. The lead channel is fantastic and has those fat tube tones. The attenuator allows me to play this in a tiny room in my basement or allows me to shake the house; a killer feature that I wish every amp had. The only downside is the Tremolo is mediocre, but for me not a deal-breaker. Sounds great with both my PRS and Fender American strat. Take the journey to Sweetwater or just buy it online.

---

Cancel Comment

Wow, what an amp

Wow, what an amp. At first the controls seem rather simple but after fiddling for a few minutes you realize how versatile this amp is. And allowing the attenuator to be applied to only the lead channel is a stroke of genius. The reverb and tremolo are also steller, and the mid-bite control makes a huge and really cool difference. I own a number of well regarded amps but this… read more one more than any other shows the true tone of my guitars and I plug straight in with no effects except maybe a boost, screamer or a Timmy to juice solos. You always wonder if an amp can be worth the price but in this case it just exudes vintage and quality. I still use my Carr Skylark for gigging because my pedalboard is dialed in for that amp and I'm too lazy to regroup, but when I play for joy at home I now plug into the Imperial MKII. I have never heard my Strat sound this pure. And they found the magic sauce for the attenuator. I've tried more than a few and this is the best.

---

Cancel Comment

Tone King

Loving this new toy! It goes great with my Lesters, my Strats, even my Tom Anderson. Takes me to my happy place evertime.

---

Cancel Comment