Tone King Sky King... maybe

[jim1960]

I've been wanting to pick up a high quality amp for some years but haven't pulled the trigger on anything. I was leaning towards a Fender Vintage Reissue '65 Twin Reverb. Hard to go wrong with the classics, right? But then I came across the Tone King Sky King and I'm a bit smitten. Any of you folks have any experience with this amp?

[blue]

Originally Posted by jim1960

I've been wanting to pick up a high quality amp for some years but haven't pulled the trigger on anything.

And every year that you didn't pull the trigger, companies put out new amps. Some like Fender have put out a few new models over the years. The Bassbreaker comes to mind as something very cool and fun, and "different" for them. I'm a fan of those for an affordable amp if you dig the tonal range.

And some companies have, over the years, put out a TON of amps. A ton of great amps. And they are available at a savings used. My Favorite brand for used pro-level gear at a great price is Mesa. I always urge folks to wade through massive Mesa lineup of available used amps. The Marks, Express, Lonestar, Trans-Atlantic, Roadster/Roadking, the newer Fillmore and California Tweeds. The list goes on and on.

A little bit of research and you are likely to find a used Mesa you love. Because they have put out such a variety that there literally something for everyone! Yeah, there are often a lot of controls, in some cases too many! But there are simple ones too. The Fillmore and Cali Tweeds are straightforward and awesome and relatively close to the Tone King.

My personal choice for my post gigging (never a serious touring situation, just you local gigs and festivals) "amp for the rest of my life" is a Transatlantic TA-15, and I'll stack it up against any 5 to 15 watt boutique amp. I paid just around $700 for the head including shipping.

A Mesa California Tweed 40W (6v6) will run you $1,900 new. A Fillmore (6L6) 50W will run $1,700 new. Go used and save more.

The Tone King is awesome. But a $1000 more awesome? That's up to you.

[KevWind]

Only by reputation and a few review which are pretty good .

Then again in the $3k price there are a number of boutique offerings to choose

Off the top of my head, you may want to also check out Red Plate amps for example They basically have either Tweed or Blackface type offerings and for example Allen Hinds plays their Blackline series and makes great tones (if,,, that is any recommendation in your book)

https://www.redplateamps.com/amplifiers.html

[Paleolith54]

Originally Posted by blue

And every year that you didn't pull the trigger, companies put out new amps. Some like Fender have put out a few new models over the years. The Bassbreaker comes to mind as something very cool and fun, and "different" for them. I'm a fan of those for an affordable amp if you dig the tonal range.

And some companies have, over the years, put out a TON of amps. A ton of great amps. And they are available at a savings used. My Favorite brand for used pro-level gear at a great price is Mesa. I always urge folks to wade through massive Mesa lineup of available used amps. The Marks, Express, Lonestar, Trans-Atlantic, Roadster/Roadking, the newer Fillmore and California Tweeds. The list goes on and on.

A little bit of research and you are likely to find a used Mesa you love. Because they have put out such a variety that there literally something for everyone! Yeah, there are often a lot of controls, in some cases too many! But there are simple ones too. The Fillmore and Cali Tweeds are straightforward and awesome and relatively close to the Tone King.

My personal choice for my post gigging (never a serious touring situation, just you local gigs and festivals) "amp for the rest of my life" is a Transatlantic TA-15, and I'll stack it up against any 5 to 15 watt boutique amp. I paid just around $700 for the head including shipping.

A Mesa California Tweed 40W (6v6) will run you $1,900 new. A Fillmore (6L6) 50W will run $1,700 new. Go used and save more.

The Tone King is awesome. But a $1000 more awesome? That's up to you.

I coudn't agree more. Unless there is some very specific sound you just have to have, there is nothing as good and versatile for the money as a Mesa. Used, the value is pretty insane.

[Bob Womack]

At that price I expect the Cessna 310 to come with it - fueled up and with all the hourly inspections up to date.

Bob

[jim1960]

I appreciate the suggestions for alternatives. All but the Red Plate were amps I'd investigated at some point. I went back and took another look but they're not quite what I'm looking for. I watched almost all the video reviews for the Sky King and the clean tones that amp produces really do blow me away. The Reverb sounds to be a step above also.

The advice I always give to people looking to buy a guitar is to buy a guitar that inspires you. I can't think of a good reason why that shouldn't be the case with buying an amp. The Sky King inspires me. I'm not going to rush into the purchase though. I'm hoping to get some first hand opinions on what's good or not so good about the amp. I know there's no fx loop insert point but that doesn't bother me as it would some players. Other than that, I'm not seeing anything that raises any red flags for me.

[Aspiring]

I bought a Tone King Falcon Grande earlier this year after trying a Gremlin in the store.

The one thing I missed on the Falcon attenuator that I didn't expect is it doesn't have a line out / headphone out from the attenuator unlike the Gremlin. However I believe the Sky King has those features.

I will say that in equivalent price range I also picked up an axe fx iii that I run through studio monitors and as much as I love the Tone King the axe gets most of my play as it is so much easier and has so many good tones available as well as the convenience of one touch tone to setup a new preset.

Diving in with all the technical details has also helped me learn how to work with the Tone King controls better to dial in my tones on it as well.

Any rate the Sky King also looks tremendous and I love my Grande

You may also want to take a look at the amps being built by the founder / former lead designer from Tone King under his new brand Bartel amps.

Originally Posted by jim1960

I appreciate the suggestions for alternatives. All but the Red Plate were amps I'd investigated at some point. I went back and took another look but they're not quite what I'm looking for. I watched almost all the video reviews for the Sky King and the clean tones that amp produces really do blow me away. The Reverb sounds to be a step above also.

The advice I always give to people looking to buy a guitar is to buy a guitar that inspires you. I can't think of a good reason why that shouldn't be the case with buying an amp. The Sky King inspires me. I'm not going to rush into the purchase though. I'm hoping to get some first hand opinions on what's good or not so good about the amp. I know there's no fx loop insert point but that doesn't bother me as it would some players. Other than that, I'm not seeing anything that raises any red flags for me.

[Br1ck]

Carr amps are very good too. Are you gigging where you can use the power? Most people I know buy too much amp. If you don't need the power, why buy it only to attenuate it.

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by Aspiring

I bought a Tone King Falcon Grande earlier this year after trying a Gremlin in the store.

The one thing I missed on the Falcon attenuator that I didn't expect is it doesn't have a line out / headphone out from the attenuator unlike the Gremlin. However I believe the Sky King has those features.

The Sky King does have the headphone jack but that's not something I'll be using.

Originally Posted by Aspiring

I will say that in equivalent price range I also picked up an axe fx iii that I run through studio monitors and as much as I love the Tone King the axe gets most of my play as it is so much easier and has so many good tones available as well as the convenience of one touch tone to setup a new preset.

Diving in with all the technical details has also helped me learn how to work with the Tone King controls better to dial in my tones on it as well.

I gave some serious thought to a Kemper for a long time but I've developed an aversion over the years to software dependent gear. I understand that there's a big convenience upside in that your can wire it into your recording rig but software can get glitchy and there's no guarantee how long any company will support it. If I can avoid it, I do.

Originally Posted by Aspiring

Any rate the Sky King also looks tremendous and I love my Grande

You may also want to take a look at the amps being built by the founder / former lead designer from Tone King under his new brand Bartel amps.

I did take a look at the Bartel lineup but they're significantly more expensive. A comparable Bartel is going to run $4300-5000.

Originally Posted by Br1ck

Carr amps are very good too. Are you gigging where you can use the power? Most people I know buy too much amp. If you don't need the power, why buy it only to attenuate it.

The Carr Rambler was an amp I considered for a time but I think the Sky King is a better fit for me and the attenuation function is a big part of why that's true. The ability to dial down the volume without significantly altering the tone is a big plus in the studio and that's the primary function this amp will serve. The answer to your last question is tone, tone, tone.

[rockabilly69]

Originally Posted by jim1960

I've been wanting to pick up a high quality amp for some years but haven't pulled the trigger on anything. I was leaning towards a Fender Vintage Reissue '65 Twin Reverb. Hard to go wrong with the classics, right? But then I came across the Tone King Sky King and I'm a bit smitten. Any of you folks have any experience with this amp?

Jim, what kind of styles are you going to play with this amp? Are you generally a clean player, or do you like a little overdrive? What kind of tones are you looking for? Any players you can reference? I've been following both the vintage and modern amp choices for a while so I may be able to come up some suggestions too. For pure clean tone, I've been a fan of Victoria amps, and I love their Reverb and Tremolo. I also like Clark amps. Both of these companies got their start building off of the classics of Fender.

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by rockabilly69

Jim, what kind of styles are you going to play with this amp? Are you generally a clean player, or do you like a little overdrive? What kind of tones are you looking for? Any players you can reference? I've been following both the vintage and modern amp choices for a while so I may be able to come up some suggestions too. For pure clean tone, I've been a fan of Victoria amps, and I love their Reverb and Tremolo. I also like Clark amps. Both of these companies got their start building off of the classics of Fender.

I'm mainly interested in clean tones. On rare occasions I'll use a bit of overdrive but that's not really my thing nor does it work for the kind of music I write. As for a player reference, I'm not looking to emulate anyone's tone. I'm really looking for the tone I feel would incorporate well into my own music. I've listened to a lot of amps along the way ...a LOT of amps. Many have been suitable but none have really grabbed my attention as much as the Sky King.

I'm not one to rush into a purchase. I've been mulling this over for quite some time and giving my interest a chance to wane. Sometimes that happens, sometimes it doesn't, but that's how I typically make bigger purchasing decisions. So I'm either buying this amp or I'm not buying an amp in the near future because if I don't pull the trigger on this one, the process has to repeat itself.

[blue]

Originally Posted by jim1960

The Sky King does have the headphone jack but that's not something I'll be using.

You never know! I never thought I would either. My Wife is working from home since March, and my kids are home doing "distance college". I crank my amp for power tube distortion while she is in conference calls, and they haven't woken up yet!

Also, If you live with people and don't want them to have to hear the 497th playthrough of that part you're trying to make automatic so you can sing over it, you may change your mind

Just saying, it's a fabulous feature to not need an outboard loadbox/attenuator to use headphones.

[jklotz]

Hiya Jim. I had a sky kind for about a year. I loved it for the clean tone, but ultimately it didn't work out for me. I was playing lead in a country band at the time and my findings were that amazing clean tone gave way to a more compressed, almost ratty sort of distorted sound when the volume went above 4, which is where I needed it to live in a live band situation. I could see where that tone would be useful in a different kind of band - Jack White could make use of it for sure. I didn't really get too much into the different voicings, and stayed on the rhythm channel for the most part. So it didn't work for me. In retrospect a twin reverb would have better suited what I was trying to do with it at the time.

Now, for studio, volume below 4, it has an amazing clean sound. Lot's of sparkly, full, bold, tons of note bloom. Tons of character too. Just make sure that unique sound will work in the context you will be using it in.

Hope that helped.

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by jklotz

Hiya Jim. I had a sky kind for about a year. I loved it for the clean tone, but ultimately it didn't work out for me. I was playing lead in a country band at the time and my findings were that amazing clean tone gave way to a more compressed, almost ratty sort of distorted sound when the volume went above 4, which is where I needed it to live in a live band situation. I could see where that tone would be useful in a different kind of band - Jack White could make use of it for sure. I didn't really get too much into the different voicings, and stayed on the rhythm channel for the most part. So it didn't work for me. In retrospect a twin reverb would have better suited what I was trying to do with it at the time.

Totally get that. I've no interest in playing in a band so it's not an issue for me but I can see where that makes this amp less than ideal for others.

Originally Posted by jklotz

Now, for studio, volume below 4, it has an amazing clean sound. Lot's of sparkly, full, bold, tons of note bloom. Tons of character too. Just make sure that unique sound will work in the context you will be using it in.

Hope that helped.

That's is helpful. Thanks. Your description of the clean tone is the impression I've gotten from the videos I've watched. I'm pretty convinced this is the tone I've been looking for. In my head it works.

[redir]

Those are two very different amps for sure. If you are into clean Tone you cannot go wrong with the Twin and you will for sure have a very lush spring reverb on it. Years ago I chose a Twin for that reason too, it's very clean and has a lot of power so if I want to dirty it up I can throw a pedal on the floor and it can handle it.