The Imperial has been Tone King's flagship since it first came out twenty years ago, an American-voiced combo known for spanky blackface-style cleans and gritty tweed tones. The MKII keeps that voice and works on what surrounds it: both channels are tuned for better-sounding overdrive, a smoother top end and more harmonic complexity.
The board is hand-wired, which Tone King credits with more midrange heft and better highs. The Rhythm channel is retuned for a smoother overdrive, and the Lead channel's Mid-Bite control tightens the low end for punch and cut. Tube-driven spring reverb and a bias-modulated tremolo are voiced to sit evenly across both channels.
What sets it apart from most 20-watt combos is the Ironman II reactive attenuator built in. Six steps of attenuation take the amp's cranked tones down to band or home levels while keeping the feel and response, with HF Compensation and a Rhythm channel Bypass switch to tune how it behaves. It runs 6V6 power tubes into a custom-voiced 12" Eminence in a Baltic birch cabinet built in the USA, finished in Brown/Beige, with a 2-button footswitch included.
SPECIFICATIONS
CHASSIS
Type: 20W Hand-Wired 1x12" Tube Combo
Construction: Handwired board, Baltic Birch USA construction
Finish: Brown/Beige
Dimensions: 10.5"(L) x 22.5"(W) x 20.5"(H)
Weight: 39 lbs.
POWER
Output: 20W
Tubes: 2 x 6V6, 4 x 12AX7, 1 x 12AT7 & 1 x 5AR4
SPEAKERS
Speaker: Custom-voiced 12" Eminence speaker
CONTROLS
Channels: Rhythm and Lead, Lead channel Mid-Bite control
Effects: Tube driven spring reverb, bias modulation tremolo
Attenuator: Ironman II, 6-step reactive attenuation, HF Compensation and Rhythm channel Bypass switches
INCLUDED
Footswitch: 2-button footswitch
