I have an original/non-MXR Timmy and it's one of my favorite ODs, second only to my KoT. My favorite thing to do with it is put it on a loud but clean amp and set the Timmy to just _barely_ break up a tiny bit. It retains all the scoopy clarity but adds just that tiny bit of throatiness right where I want it. It's one of the only dirt tones where I'm content without any tube breakup at all. Truly enjoyable for electric Clapton stuff, Knopfler, Lenny/Riviera Paradise pos. 2/4 sounds, etc.
I build a part for part repro and I can honestly say this pedal is priced fairly! For anyone saying that it cost to much for a simple circuit…I urge you to check prices on fuzzfaces 😅. The kot isnt cheap to build! Mike is using all nos Panasonic caps, Allen Bradley nos resistors (where they apply) and all other components are of the highest quality. More times than that you find pedal companies that build what people think is an amazing pedal just to find that they skimp out on something as simple as a 9 V jack. Analogman is one of the few pedal builders that still obtains those old school hand wired quality pedal building techniques!
The KoT is wired as red side into yellow side, OD into boost. You can order a mod where there are independent jacks for both sides of the pedal, for running each side into your loop switcher. You can also order it with the external toggle switch for Clean Boost / OD / Distortion, just like the Duke. The yellow side has a slightly larger mid boost than the red side, since it is intended for use as a boost after OD. There is also a higher gain mod that you can order for either or both sides of the KoT. It is equivalent to making the 12 o'clock gain setting at the 9 o'clock position on the higher gain model. It's just a single resistor change.
That's what it sounds like, for sure. And the trimmer for treble on this Duke sounds like it is doing nothing. EDIT: ah, fully CW it sounded like the KOT.
@@noahmoran2885 I just got one recently, and I really dig it, but it really needs the volume maxed, and I had forgotten it can run on 18v. Can’t wait to get home and try it on 18v.
To be fair, there is a great tone coming from the Duke. The boost setting was very close to the King. I’d be happy with either pedal if I were in a position to purchase one
The MXR sounds pretty good and I would definitely consider it if I were lookin for a drive. But, if I were looking for a King of Tone pedal, that King of Blues does it for me.
I've had the Duke of Tone for a couple weeks now. INSTANTLY became my favorite overdrive pedal. I sometimes push it with my Timmy by MXR. LOVE it!! Always enjoy your videos, BTW. Thank you!
Thanks again for another fine pedal demo. The best on the internet Imo. The Duke Of Tone sounds great. There's so many great drive pedals though. We might be living in the golden age of pedals, or at least a golden age of pedals. There's so many literally great drives and fuzzes out there that it can be overwhelming.
The money thing has gotten crazy, I’m guilty of gas just like the other guy but damn it’s hard to just pay for food, gasoline , electric, insurance etc! We all have become a slave to a piece of dang paper
@@kevinalfrey2633 why this mini bridges the financial gap perfectly. Good cure for GAS is to let another guitarist play your rig and listen well. Sometimes when we play we are so used to our own sound & think we need something else..when we don’t
Duke is great! Running it next to a Wampler Pantheon and love the combination of the two together. Especially when you can change the DoT flavor to match your musical craving for that moment.
I’ve found the trim pot in my DOT sounds best dailed back a bit. I’ve not seen anyone adjust the trim pot inside yet in a video. It made a positive difference in my experience
In the videos I've watched no one has mentioned a trim pot in the DOT yet (saw it here first.) Cool to know though. More adjustment options is always a good thing.
Yeah I haven't watched a ton of clips on it, but in one of the ones i did (I think SuperFunTimeHappyPedalShow), they mentioned in caption at the end that there was a trim for brightness that they realized after they shot the vid. But this is the first vid I've seen mess with it. I have the 68 Pedals clone. I'd be curious how the MXR compares with it too. I do think it's awesome that Mike got with MXR on this tho. Very very cool thing to do.
I love the fence analogy!!! I think about tone this way.. and what's most appealing is a very open sound... Natural and it breathes... But the fence is allowing most of it to come thru, but still restricting it some
MXR is one of the best pedal companies there is. Everything I have from them does it's job perfectly and they're built really well. Currently using the Custom Comp deluxe, Univibe, Shin Juku Drive, and reverb.
There’s a presence dial on the inside you can adjust. Turn it all the way right to 0 to sound more like the King of Tone/Prince of Tone. King of Tone comes stock with the presence dial on 0.
An interesting comparison would be the Duke vs the Prince as the Prince of Tone is more readily available through Analogman than the KoT. Appreciating the Duke would still be easier to acquire in the UK and the King sets the benchmark for tonal comparison, so no doubt about the great value this video insight offers. I think Prince vs Duke could arguably be the more immediate consumer question though??
I can't think of any other presenters that compliment each other more seamlessly AND deliver knowledgeable, funny, relevant material without personal criticism of any sort! Just brilliant and the high watermark (for me) others should aspire to! Great video lads. So uplifting, and when I have a crap day - I head straight to your videos! Cheers me right up! More dad jokes please!🤣🤣
Have had mine now for a couple of weeks and it is great! I have it sitting in front of a jcm clone and it really made things come alive. The Duke is well worth the money imo.
Andertons is absolutely selling me on Tone City pedals lately. Unbelievable. I will 100% be buying the King of Blues. I would like a Durple but not sure about shipping costs to the U.S. Andertons videos also sold me on a Greer Light Speed several years back. Had to have it.
I think a better head to head comparison would be with the PoT Prince of Tone. I have a PoT and also have the 68 pedals clone while I wait forever on the KoT wait list. Good job guys, none the less!
So what you are saying is you already have two Identical pedals and now you know there is a third almost perfect copy for only 60 available but you want to wait 5 years for one that is 5 times the price? Is this a collectable thing or am I missing something?
@@joetheman74 Well, there is always the choice of clipping diodes on the clones that might make a difference, but I don't use distortion mode so 1N914 for OD is fine.
@@suede__ No. There are subtle variations between them in the EQ. The KoT has more mid push on the boost side (yellow LED, left side.) The PoT also uses the higher gain mod on its op-amp gain. There may be other differences that I am unaware of.
I got a 68 pedals King of Clone after seeing a youtuber show that the circuit and parts are the same as the king of tone. Also side by side demoed and well .. yep. Happy with mine.
Yup same here too, the 68 pedals KoC is a great sounding pedal, though I do intend to get the Analog Man KoT when my name comes up on the list to pay my dues to to the inventor.
King of Tone & Blues can be tweaked to sound close enough to not matter but either of them can do things the other cannot as they are not precise clones. Different tonepaint for starters.
I had the Prince of Tone when it came out. In fact I got the mine from the 3rd shipment although I ordered it on day one. I sat there for about 2 hours trying to connect because of the thousands doing the same. I kept mine for 2 years and hated it. It has a mid range honk with no balz whatsoever and no serious cut. In my band it sounded muddy. Keep in mind it is just a modded BluesBreaker, If you want that get the Browne Application Carbon. It is truly transparent, zero mud with bags of headroom.
Engine A of the KOB is actually a Klone (if you break the rules and open the back). Engine B is an ok POT (they used the wrong value of one component). Great video, as always!
@@giovannivicari8615 I don’t recall. I have read that the original KOB’s were through hole components, and could be modded, but the later ones were all smc.
I have a DoT and I’ll say this: The tone is amazing - it’s just small sounding. It sounds like a small pedal. My thought is that MXR should’ve made it 12v-18v. It needs more headroom. Every time I click it on it just starts distorting unlike my KoT. Like I said earlier, unbelievable tone - just not the SAME as a PoT or KoT. Hope this helps.
Funny thing with "matching the controls" is most don't check to see if the dials are calibrated, even if they were, potentiometers often have varying resistance within a few percent.
I think a lot of people buy a KOT expecting an amp in a box pedal. It is not an amp in a box. The KOT is like a gain stage adder. It does a fantastic job at adding stages of gain to a great sounding amp when you just need more drive. It has worked extremely well with every amp I have tried it on. If you want a pedal to be your dirty channel then there are definitely better pedals. If you want to take your good sounding amps crunch or gain into the next few levels of gain then I don’t think there’s a better pedal. Think of this pedal kind of like a Klon. In that it is designed to add flavor to your amps tone. Not to be a channel all to itself..It will do that as well. Just not as well as other pedals that are designed for that purpose. It absolutely deserves the hype. I’m at the end of the waitlist. Getting ready to order my second KOT this week.
Do you have to get on the waiting list every time you want to buy a KOT? I bought one a few years ago and sold it. I wanted to buy another one but didn’t get back on the waiting list.
super close in the clean boost, more high end, less low end, and fizzier in the overdrive from the MXR...but of course more turning of the knobs can get you even closer! Didn't listen to the distortion....
I believe the Duke is actually modelled after the Prince with the high gain mod, which would explain why the Duke needs a lower gain setting to match Pete's older King. And if I remember correctly, the difference is the value of one component in the circuit.
I preordered two Duke of tone pedals then, a couple of days later, I got my email from Analog Man saying that my place on the waiting list had come up and I could order my King of Tone. Lol. Oh, and I also have the Tone City King of blues.
I played the Prince of Tone a little while back. It sounds really good! The high gain surprised me. But I didn't want to drop $200 for a used pedal. I might get the Duke though!
23:24 I don't know how happy other guitarists will be to wait 5 years for an overdrive, because many end up paying the $600 resale anyway, so in the end, you're indirectly charging $600 for the overdrive. Because most of the waiting list are probably not even guitarists and many must be double or triple accounts or more, hoping to buy several pedals to resell. If you would like to help provide guitarists with more access to the KOT, what you have to do is partner with a company that can make them under your terms and conditions, and thus all of us who want can access one, eliminating resellers.
This is how I eq my clean tone. Dial in as much high-end as I can without it being harsh.. then dial in the bass to match the high-end.. then roll in mids before the point it gets "muddy"
Apologies if already mentioned but I’m guessing that the reason for treble knob difference could be because in the king of tone you have trim pots for both sides that I’m sure effect the tone settings
to me, the Duke sounds like it has a little more mid range bias vs the total transparency of the King, but for my use, i'm looking at replacing a tube screamer on my board with one of these, so the Duke is getting me MUCH closer to transparent than a Screamer. I'm buyin it!
I think at times people hear differences where they want to hear differences, probably because they've waited 4 years for their pedal, or they've spent £1,000 on it. Sometimes there were very slight differences, but I don't know that you could say that difference is necessarily "better".
Very well done comparison! My apologies if this is a duplicate - I thought I’d typed a comment but do not see it anywhere. That Tone City pedal certainly is a bargain. However, the overdrive side is lacking fidelity/fullness to my ears compared to the KoT. On to the Duke of Tone. I spent months trying to hit Analog Man’s website at the right time on Wednesday to get a Prince of Tone but it just wasn’t happening. So I got Wampler’s Pantheon (Blues Breaker style) overdrive instead. It has 3 gain settings, 3 overdrive “voices”, an active Bass control and a Presence control in addition to the volume, gain and tone (treble) found on the KoT. Super versatile and a nice pedal. However, it doesn’t do the King of Tone thing automatically. I got a Duke of Tone a month or so ago and it took a while to dial the Pantheon in to mimic the DoT. You can get nearly identical feel/tone/overdrive with a some effort. Sometimes more controls isn’t necessarily better. For my pedal board and amp (Princeton Reverb), the Duke of Tone has a bit more upper mids than I might like but I don’t play in a band. Might be just the thing for live music. I’m going inside to see if that trim pot inside the DoT is a Presence control to turn it down. Thanks for pointing that out! For me, the DoT is a really nice overdrive. The 3-way boost/overdrive/distortion toggle switch on top is great and gives you a LOT of range. The overdrive has a distinctive voice but it’s kind of perfect for blues/rock and not as obvious as a TubeScreamer. Best of all IMHO the Duke of Tone gets an A+ in the “plays well with others” department. For now, I have DoT, Tumnus Deluxe (think Klon), Pantheon, then MXR Timmy - in that order. That way I have a clean-ish boost either before or after my two primary overdrive flavors. Together I can get just about any tone and/or overdrive feel I want.
Take a good compressor (Wampler Alter Ego) a J. Rockett .45 Cal and put it before a J. Rockett Blue Note Pro. Adjust to your taste and find out how they all add to each other for Marshall tones.
Great video…. That Tone City pedal was clearly a King of Tone clone. I think Engine A was on the distortion setting. I maybe looking at more Tone City pedals in the future it I need a specific sound that doesn’t break the budget.
I bought the duke and my only gripe is that there is a pretty substantial bass end roll off. That kind of thing is great if you're playing in a band with a bass but I personally am usually playing with a piano and maybe percussion so I need the bottom to stay. I'll use it for recording regular ensemble stuff where it makes sense but for solo or minimal instrument work I stick with my Wampler Belle because it has that adjustable bass knob and does a great job with that "transparent" sound
I did not find that to be true at all with mine. In fact, I have so much bass now that I had to drop all of the bass levels on my 10 band eq to minus 6 and my rig still thumps.
@@123Ir0nman Too bad, tho in my rig I could use the low end roll off (still waiting for DoT to arrive). I'm also armed with the Belle and loving it. Maybe you could stack the Belle with the Duke and compensate with Belle's powerful bass control? I'd love to hear any feedback on the Belle into Duke and vice versa stacking.
If you start to play with the internal trim pot on the king of tone, you will notice that you are backing off your tone knob, and it gives you more leeway, either taking away or adding to your tone control
Duke of tone in this recording sounds thinner/smaller and fizzier in the top end. Still a very close sound though. The feel always has a lot to do with how good a pedal is as well.
Good video. The funny thing is that all 3 are close enough that in either a live setting or recording, any differences aren't going to be noticeable for anyone to care. Or you might just have slightly different tone settings on your guitar or amp, depending on which you're using. I'm still on the waiting list for a KoT (have a couple years to go) so we'll see if I end up ordering one or not but these are all good options if you want that style of pedal.
Pete has a point on the differences in the controls, because the King of Tone might be more like "cut only", in that you "take away" when you turn down any from fully to the right (or "open") and the Duke of Tone might have "center 0" and to the right is plus and to the left is minus, or something like that. - Obviously they're not exact copies, but I'm sure they simply changed some things around logically or to make them more useful or whatever. - I do like when the likes of MXR take an existing thing, even something older of theirs, and then kinda update it to do something a little more or different, cause not everything has to be copied exactly or it would just be kinda boring.
MXR sounds a little bit scooped with more gain across the pot range and has different taper in pots. Very usable indeed but I prefer the AM due to the fact it has dual engine.
Guitar players are crazy! There are so many variables, when it comes to a guitar tone at a gig, and in a studio session. The stuff these guys are talking about pointless. It’s like they’re looking for a guitar that’s perfectly tuned. Impossible! But, that’s what makes it great. Those old recording consoles had channels that all were similar but different from the next channel. That’s what made those boards sounds great. I do get it, a great performance starts with a great tone. But, just as in tuning a guitar, you correct the intonation as best you can, tune it up, and let it ride. Love these brothers. Much love for the channel.
Great video but pissed myself when you plugged the king of blues in 😁 get some purple spay paint job done ✔️ would have loved to have seen a beringer in the tube screamer vid 😉 😇❤😈
Love the Duke of Tone. Still on the wait for a KoT, but i prefer the Kasleder Fx Toxic Twins for a Blues Breaker circuit. I obviously havent tried them all when it comes to Blues Breakers, but i have the 2022 external dip switch version of the King Tone The Duellist, the Kasleder Fx Toxic Twins, and the MXR Duke of Tone and the Toxic Twins is by far my favorite. Obviously these things are subjective, but i really advocate for people to try the Toxic Twins. Its phenomenal, and stacking the Duke of Tone into the Toxic Twins nails the KoT sound and more.
Pete is right. There is a bit of extra "grit" or "fizz" with the MXR version in their gain.. To my ears through headphones, the MXR sounds like a "pedal" where the original sounds more like a "tube amp". If that makes sense.
Great comparison! It sounds like they're almost identical in the boost mode and very close in distortion mode, but it's odd that in OD mode the King seems to be all about those creamy mids, while the Duke sounds super-scooped... and as I was writing this comment I got to the bit where you tweaked the internal pot of the Duke which seems to dramatically reduce the scooping. :D
It’s a win for the tone city! I mean it doesn’t look as good and your friends won’t go oooh! But it sounds pretty much the same, tricky most pedal sounds are available now at all price points, so I guess it come down to who you want to support and cork sniffing?
I bought a clone last year of the kot. For $67 off reverb from some builders in canada. It quickly became my fav overdrive / boost! I would put it up against any pedal shown here today!
Very interesting. The MXR one has a very MXR characteristic that my MXR M77 has. I've always said that I much prefer amp distortion over pedal distortion, because to my ears pedals have this "fakeness" to their distortion. To my ears (through youtube) the Duke of Tone has that fakeness while the KOT doesn't. I will describe it as this: Imagine that you have a nice piece of toast that is nice and warm and fluffy yet crunchy. That is amp gain, that is the KOT. Now imagine that you take that piece of toast and you put something heavy on top of it so it gently squishes. That is pedal gain, that is what I am hearing on the Duke of Tone. It is very similar to the KOT, but it feels squished, like the nice fluffy texture is gone and everything else stays the same but a tiny bit harsher. Edit: how does the Tone City copy sound way better than the official copy from MXR?
It's funny how the names are choosen. We have King of Tone the Big boy, then Prince of Tone, the brother of the big boy, and now the Duke of Tone the baby. Nice progression who explain exactly what these pedals do.😂👍
Another example of Anderton's gracious honesty! Can you do the same with the MXR Timmy please?
I love my MXR Timmy!
@@chipsterb4946 i had the timmy, got rid of it. it was ok, but not great. the prince of tone and duken of tone are much better.
@@louiscyfer6944 all depends on guitar, amp, and ultimately ears. I really like the Duke of Tone but still use Timmy too.
I have an original/non-MXR Timmy and it's one of my favorite ODs, second only to my KoT. My favorite thing to do with it is put it on a loud but clean amp and set the Timmy to just _barely_ break up a tiny bit. It retains all the scoopy clarity but adds just that tiny bit of throatiness right where I want it. It's one of the only dirt tones where I'm content without any tube breakup at all. Truly enjoyable for electric Clapton stuff, Knopfler, Lenny/Riviera Paradise pos. 2/4 sounds, etc.
I build a part for part repro and I can honestly say this pedal is priced fairly! For anyone saying that it cost to much for a simple circuit…I urge you to check prices on fuzzfaces 😅.
The kot isnt cheap to build! Mike is using all nos Panasonic caps, Allen Bradley nos resistors (where they apply) and all other components are of the highest quality.
More times than that you find pedal companies that build what people think is an amazing pedal just to find that they skimp out on something as simple as a 9 V jack. Analogman is one of the few pedal builders that still obtains those old school hand wired quality pedal building techniques!
And the diodes are impossible to find and can cost upwards of $50
The KoT is wired as red side into yellow side, OD into boost. You can order a mod where there are independent jacks for both sides of the pedal, for running each side into your loop switcher. You can also order it with the external toggle switch for Clean Boost / OD / Distortion, just like the Duke. The yellow side has a slightly larger mid boost than the red side, since it is intended for use as a boost after OD. There is also a higher gain mod that you can order for either or both sides of the KoT. It is equivalent to making the 12 o'clock gain setting at the 9 o'clock position on the higher gain model. It's just a single resistor change.
The Duke has the high gain mod that is optional on King of Tone pedals. That's why it has more gain.
That's what it sounds like, for sure. And the trimmer for treble on this Duke sounds like it is doing nothing. EDIT: ah, fully CW it sounded like the KOT.
Can you run 18V into the Duke for more clean headroom?
I believe you can.
@@JohnShalamskas I have one, and yes I have ran it in 18V and I had more headroom
@@noahmoran2885
I just got one recently, and I really dig it, but it really needs the volume maxed, and I had forgotten it can run on 18v.
Can’t wait to get home and try it on 18v.
"I see the sound, it makes me think of the fence" - the legendary Danish Pete @14:20 Keep it up man, you're awesome!
To be fair, there is a great tone coming from the Duke. The boost setting was very close to the King. I’d be happy with either pedal if I were in a position to purchase one
To be fair, that Tone City' KoB sounded (the same) really close.
And better than MXR
The MXR sounds pretty good and I would definitely consider it if I were lookin for a drive. But, if I were looking for a King of Tone pedal, that King of Blues does it for me.
Cool demo. I’m just glad we live in an era where we have so many options to choose from.
And no matter your budget, there is something that will get you in the ballpark of that expensive piece of gear you would buy if you had the money.
I've had the Duke of Tone for a couple weeks now.
INSTANTLY became my favorite overdrive pedal.
I sometimes push it with my Timmy by MXR.
LOVE it!!
Always enjoy your videos, BTW. Thank you!
This is my goal...
Thanks again for another fine pedal demo. The best on the internet Imo. The Duke Of Tone sounds great. There's so many great drive pedals though. We might be living in the golden age of pedals, or at least a golden age of pedals. There's so many literally great drives and fuzzes out there that it can be overwhelming.
‘The poverty of wealth’
Had my Duke for two weeks & love it. Stacks so well with my Gladio & for the price it’s one of the best minis. Just don’t expect unicorn dust !
The money thing has gotten crazy, I’m guilty of gas just like the other guy but damn it’s hard to just pay for food, gasoline , electric, insurance etc! We all have become a slave to a piece of dang paper
@@kevinalfrey2633 why this mini bridges the financial gap perfectly. Good cure for GAS is to let another guitarist play your rig and listen well. Sometimes when we play we are so used to our own sound & think we need something else..when we don’t
@@lewisratford2908 I agree with your statements .
Duke is great! Running it next to a Wampler Pantheon and love the combination of the two together. Especially when you can change the DoT flavor to match your musical craving for that moment.
Love my Pantheon! It can do everything from spot on Klon/Bluesbreaker tones to pretty awesome high gain sounds as well. Super versatile!
Nice video. It sounds like the DoT had its treble set higher at the factory than the KoT was set at.
I’ve found the trim pot in my DOT sounds best dailed back a bit. I’ve not seen anyone adjust the trim pot inside yet in a video. It made a positive difference in my experience
In the videos I've watched no one has mentioned a trim pot in the DOT yet (saw it here first.) Cool to know though. More adjustment options is always a good thing.
This guy did it: th-cam.com/video/yJYwvJjWMc4/w-d-xo.html
Yeah I haven't watched a ton of clips on it, but in one of the ones i did (I think SuperFunTimeHappyPedalShow), they mentioned in caption at the end that there was a trim for brightness that they realized after they shot the vid.
But this is the first vid I've seen mess with it.
I have the 68 Pedals clone. I'd be curious how the MXR compares with it too.
I do think it's awesome that Mike got with MXR on this tho. Very very cool thing to do.
I love the fence analogy!!! I think about tone this way.. and what's most appealing is a very open sound... Natural and it breathes... But the fence is allowing most of it to come thru, but still restricting it some
MXR is one of the best pedal companies there is. Everything I have from them does it's job perfectly and they're built really well. Currently using the Custom Comp deluxe, Univibe, Shin Juku Drive, and reverb.
thanks for telling us what you currently use.... as if anyone asked or if signal chain had anything to do with this video...
@@sethlover6498 You're welcome :)
There’s a presence dial on the inside you can adjust. Turn it all the way right to 0 to sound more like the King of Tone/Prince of Tone. King of Tone comes stock with the presence dial on 0.
An interesting comparison would be the Duke vs the Prince as the Prince of Tone is more readily available through Analogman than the KoT. Appreciating the Duke would still be easier to acquire in the UK and the King sets the benchmark for tonal comparison, so no doubt about the great value this video insight offers. I think Prince vs Duke could arguably be the more immediate consumer question though??
SEE: That Pedal Show.
analog mike says the duke sounds exactly like the prince of tone.
I can't think of any other presenters that compliment each other more seamlessly AND deliver knowledgeable, funny, relevant material without personal criticism of any sort! Just brilliant and the high watermark (for me) others should aspire to! Great video lads.
So uplifting, and when I have a crap day - I head straight to your videos! Cheers me right up! More dad jokes please!🤣🤣
I mean yeah but have you watched that pedal show?
The KoB sounds AMAZING!
I listened to this (not watching) while making breakfast, and the differences are sooooo minor - who cares, it captures the essence almost perfectly.
Have had mine now for a couple of weeks and it is great! I have it sitting in front of a jcm clone and it really made things come alive. The Duke is well worth the money imo.
Andertons is absolutely selling me on Tone City pedals lately. Unbelievable. I will 100% be buying the King of Blues. I would like a Durple but not sure about shipping costs to the U.S. Andertons videos also sold me on a Greer Light Speed several years back. Had to have it.
I forgot I had put myself on this list in 2017, and got mine direct from Analogman earlier this year. Just after I bought the Carbon. 😂
What’s the carbon? Brown amplification carbon? I’d never heard of it
So it really is a 5 years waiting list now. Glad I bought the Pantheon Deluxe.
I think a better head to head comparison would be with the PoT Prince of Tone. I have a PoT and also have the 68 pedals clone while I wait forever on the KoT wait list. Good job guys, none the less!
So what you are saying is you already have two Identical pedals and now you know there is a third almost perfect copy for only 60 available but you want to wait 5 years for one that is 5 times the price? Is this a collectable thing or am I missing something?
@@joetheman74 Well, there is always the choice of clipping diodes on the clones that might make a difference, but I don't use distortion mode so 1N914 for OD is fine.
Isn't the PoT just one half of the KoT?
@@suede__ No. There are subtle variations between them in the EQ. The KoT has more mid push on the boost side (yellow LED, left side.) The PoT also uses the higher gain mod on its op-amp gain. There may be other differences that I am unaware of.
I got a 68 pedals King of Clone after seeing a youtuber show that the circuit and parts are the same as the king of tone. Also side by side demoed and well .. yep. Happy with mine.
Yup same here too, the 68 pedals KoC is a great sounding pedal, though I do intend to get the Analog Man KoT when my name comes up on the list to pay my dues to to the inventor.
Yup 68 pedals KOC owner here and it’s a fantastic pedal!
King of Tone & Blues can be tweaked to sound close enough to not matter but either of them can do things the other cannot as they are not precise clones. Different tonepaint for starters.
I had the Prince of Tone when it came out. In fact I got the mine from the 3rd shipment although I ordered it on day one. I sat there for about 2 hours trying to connect because of the thousands doing the same. I kept mine for 2 years and hated it. It has a mid range honk with no balz whatsoever and no serious cut. In my band it sounded muddy. Keep in mind it is just a modded BluesBreaker, If you want that get the Browne Application Carbon. It is truly transparent, zero mud with bags of headroom.
Engine A of the KOB is actually a Klone (if you break the rules and open the back). Engine B is an ok POT (they used the wrong value of one component).
Great video, as always!
May I ask what the wrong POT value is? Can it be solved with some soldering?
Thanks
@@giovannivicari8615 I don’t recall. I have read that the original KOB’s were through hole components, and could be modded, but the later ones were all smc.
It's important to note Duke of Tone is modelled on a Prince of Tone which has the high gain King of Tone circuit
Mine has a dip switch to set between high gain and normal. I've always assumed that is standard in the PoT?
@@philwalker79 Oh maybe sorry, I only have the duke so I may be mistaken about the prince, duke is definately the high gain circuit though
I have a DoT and I’ll say this:
The tone is amazing - it’s just small sounding. It sounds like a small pedal. My thought is that MXR should’ve made it 12v-18v. It needs more headroom. Every time I click it on it just starts distorting unlike my KoT.
Like I said earlier, unbelievable tone - just not the SAME as a PoT or KoT. Hope this helps.
DoT can take 18v. I run mine on 18v.
I’m exactly one year away and have been waiting for four years already. Looks like I’m getting this pedal to hold me over.
Funny thing with "matching the controls" is most don't check to see if the dials are calibrated, even if they were, potentiometers often have varying resistance within a few percent.
potentiometers are commonly +/- 15 or 20 percent!
Best Tone City King of Blues demo ever.
I think a lot of people buy a KOT expecting an amp in a box pedal. It is not an amp in a box. The KOT is like a gain stage adder. It does a fantastic job at adding stages of gain to a great sounding amp when you just need more drive. It has worked extremely well with every amp I have tried it on. If you want a pedal to be your dirty channel then there are definitely better pedals. If you want to take your good sounding amps crunch or gain into the next few levels of gain then I don’t think there’s a better pedal. Think of this pedal kind of like a Klon. In that it is designed to add flavor to your amps tone. Not to be a channel all to itself..It will do that as well. Just not as well as other pedals that are designed for that purpose. It absolutely deserves the hype. I’m at the end of the waitlist. Getting ready to order my second KOT this week.
Do you have to get on the waiting list every time you want to buy a KOT? I bought one a few years ago and sold it. I wanted to buy another one but didn’t get back on the waiting list.
super close in the clean boost, more high end, less low end, and fizzier in the overdrive from the MXR...but of course more turning of the knobs can get you even closer! Didn't listen to the distortion....
I really dig the Duke! not midhumpy and can turn the tone and drive down...a very usable pedal to with my others...
I believe the Duke is actually modelled after the Prince with the high gain mod, which would explain why the Duke needs a lower gain setting to match Pete's older King. And if I remember correctly, the difference is the value of one component in the circuit.
In my KoT, the high gain side has a letter “H” painted on the chip in yellow 😂
You are correct. Analogman actually said the same thing. It’s based on the Prince of Tone, not the KoT. 👍
My KOT Serial Number is 4181, It is a V4 with Red Side High Gain, with Toggle switch on it.
I was hoping it wouldn’t, but the big box one really does sound better
I'm honestly shocked how different they sound. There's more unpleasant sizzle in the mxr and there's also less mid-low end compared to the KoT.
Yeah exactly
Just bought the tone city kob and got it today. Amazing! No need for the other pedals
This was the best pedal comparison video I've ever seen... Great job !
These are grail pedals for me. The new HNDX20 by PRS and the Marshall studio 20 are on that list as well so thanks guys! 🙄😁
Cool pedals. Haven’t watched an Andertons vid in a bit…was like hanging out with old friends watching Danish Pete and the Cap’n.
I preordered two Duke of tone pedals then, a couple of days later, I got my email from Analog Man saying that my place on the waiting list had come up and I could order my King of Tone. Lol. Oh, and I also have the Tone City King of blues.
So now that you’ve had them all, what do you think of each? Thx
Great video as usual......great work guys, always entertaining
I played the Prince of Tone a little while back. It sounds really good! The high gain surprised me. But I didn't want to drop $200 for a used pedal. I might get the Duke though!
The King of Blues was amazing.
Sounds closer than the Duke imo.
23:24 I don't know how happy other guitarists will be to wait 5 years for an overdrive, because many end up paying the $600 resale anyway, so in the end, you're indirectly charging $600 for the overdrive. Because most of the waiting list are probably not even guitarists and many must be double or triple accounts or more, hoping to buy several pedals to resell. If you would like to help provide guitarists with more access to the KOT, what you have to do is partner with a company that can make them under your terms and conditions, and thus all of us who want can access one, eliminating resellers.
This is how I eq my clean tone. Dial in as much high-end as I can without it being harsh.. then dial in the bass to match the high-end.. then roll in mids before the point it gets "muddy"
@ 27:51 Lee's "it's not that different is it!" comment killed me.
Lee is so good at doing these videos. It’s like he’s got an innate talent to be a presenter. Been watching for years and always thought so.
a bit more low end in the KOT and slighty smoother imo but i like botth
Apologies if already mentioned but I’m guessing that the reason for treble knob difference could be because in the king of tone you have trim pots for both sides that I’m sure effect the tone settings
Sorry again, commented half way through video 🤣
Thanks for the shootout...I just went and bought a King Of Blues (but I won't tell if you don't).
I was most impressed by how good the King of Blues sounded compared to the KoT and DoT. Great job Tone City.
to me, the Duke sounds like it has a little more mid range bias vs the total transparency of the King, but for my use, i'm looking at replacing a tube screamer on my board with one of these, so the Duke is getting me MUCH closer to transparent than a Screamer. I'm buyin it!
I think at times people hear differences where they want to hear differences, probably because they've waited 4 years for their pedal, or they've spent £1,000 on it. Sometimes there were very slight differences, but I don't know that you could say that difference is necessarily "better".
Stack different pedals you’ll get any tone.
It’s worth getting ing the waiting list ., that time is going to go by and 4-5 years later your , like ., wow I could have gotten one ..
DemonFx and budget brands like Caline and Joyo have alternatives/clones on the cheap.
Got a 68 Pedals KoC
Works Perfect and Sounds like KoT
Nice touch using that purple telecaster
Very well done comparison!
My apologies if this is a duplicate - I thought I’d typed a comment but do not see it anywhere.
That Tone City pedal certainly is a bargain. However, the overdrive side is lacking fidelity/fullness to my ears compared to the KoT.
On to the Duke of Tone. I spent months trying to hit Analog Man’s website at the right time on Wednesday to get a Prince of Tone but it just wasn’t happening. So I got Wampler’s Pantheon (Blues Breaker style) overdrive instead. It has 3 gain settings, 3 overdrive “voices”, an active Bass control and a Presence control in addition to the volume, gain and tone (treble) found on the KoT. Super versatile and a nice pedal. However, it doesn’t do the King of Tone thing automatically. I got a Duke of Tone a month or so ago and it took a while to dial the Pantheon in to mimic the DoT. You can get nearly identical feel/tone/overdrive with a some effort. Sometimes more controls isn’t necessarily better.
For my pedal board and amp (Princeton Reverb), the Duke of Tone has a bit more upper mids than I might like but I don’t play in a band. Might be just the thing for live music. I’m going inside to see if that trim pot inside the DoT is a Presence control to turn it down. Thanks for pointing that out!
For me, the DoT is a really nice overdrive. The 3-way boost/overdrive/distortion toggle switch on top is great and gives you a LOT of range. The overdrive has a distinctive voice but it’s kind of perfect for blues/rock and not as obvious as a TubeScreamer. Best of all IMHO the Duke of Tone gets an A+ in the “plays well with others” department. For now, I have DoT, Tumnus Deluxe (think Klon), Pantheon, then MXR Timmy - in that order. That way I have a clean-ish boost either before or after my two primary overdrive flavors. Together I can get just about any tone and/or overdrive feel I want.
Wow first i’ve seen JM had used KOT. Pretty cool.
KoT is almost up to six years now. I put my name down on 8 August 2020, they're currently filling orders on 29 August, 2018.
Take a good compressor (Wampler Alter Ego) a J. Rockett .45 Cal and put it before a J. Rockett Blue Note Pro. Adjust to your taste and find out how they all add to each other for Marshall tones.
It’s my favorite overdrive I hope others will now have more access to it but I don’t think it will be exact.
Great video…. That Tone City pedal was clearly a King of Tone clone. I think Engine A was on the distortion setting. I maybe looking at more Tone City pedals in the future it I need a specific sound that doesn’t break the budget.
I bought the duke and my only gripe is that there is a pretty substantial bass end roll off. That kind of thing is great if you're playing in a band with a bass but I personally am usually playing with a piano and maybe percussion so I need the bottom to stay. I'll use it for recording regular ensemble stuff where it makes sense but for solo or minimal instrument work I stick with my Wampler Belle because it has that adjustable bass knob and does a great job with that "transparent" sound
I did not find that to be true at all with mine. In fact, I have so much bass now that I had to drop all of the bass levels on my 10 band eq to minus 6 and my rig still thumps.
@@MercilessGuitar151 what amp are you using?
There's a trimpot inside where you can adjust it.
@@xvekii3236 the trimpot inside is for making it brighter or darker. It doesn't adjust bass cut
@@123Ir0nman Too bad, tho in my rig I could use the low end roll off (still waiting for DoT to arrive). I'm also armed with the Belle and loving it. Maybe you could stack the Belle with the Duke and compensate with Belle's powerful bass control? I'd love to hear any feedback on the Belle into Duke and vice versa stacking.
I'm still waiting for my shot at buying it....put in my request to get into the que Friday May 11, 2018.
I think this video just sold about 100 Tone City King of Blues!
yep!
They were commenting how the mxr was a little brighter than the king of tone. It seemed to just be the difference in the internal trim pot settings.
If you start to play with the internal trim pot on the king of tone, you will notice that you are backing off your tone knob, and it gives you more leeway, either taking away or adding to your tone control
15-20% variance on any knob, try an A/B with the same new pedals , same settings and they wont be the same
Duke of tone in this recording sounds thinner/smaller and fizzier in the top end. Still a very close sound though. The feel always has a lot to do with how good a pedal is as well.
Good video. The funny thing is that all 3 are close enough that in either a live setting or recording, any differences aren't going to be noticeable for anyone to care. Or you might just have slightly different tone settings on your guitar or amp, depending on which you're using. I'm still on the waiting list for a KoT (have a couple years to go) so we'll see if I end up ordering one or not but these are all good options if you want that style of pedal.
Pete has a point on the differences in the controls, because the King of Tone might be more like "cut only", in that you "take away" when you turn down any from fully to the right (or "open") and the Duke of Tone might have "center 0" and to the right is plus and to the left is minus, or something like that. - Obviously they're not exact copies, but I'm sure they simply changed some things around logically or to make them more useful or whatever. - I do like when the likes of MXR take an existing thing, even something older of theirs, and then kinda update it to do something a little more or different, cause not everything has to be copied exactly or it would just be kinda boring.
The Duke sounds a lil more...fizzy (to me) on the top end. I think he could have tweaked it a little more to be closer to the KOT. (I think).
Now I've seen your Kernom Ridge video I just feel that every video you do on overdrive pedals should have that in it.
MXR sounds a little bit scooped with more gain across the pot range and has different taper in pots. Very usable indeed but I prefer the AM due to the fact it has dual engine.
Sounds pretty spot on!
where do you buy Pete's fingers to make it sound like that?
i will definitely buy one. In person. In Your Store, Dear Captain!
Brilliant idea about doing a clean tone segment some day!
Guitar players are crazy! There are so many variables, when it comes to a guitar tone at a gig, and in a studio session. The stuff these guys are talking about pointless. It’s like they’re looking for a guitar that’s perfectly tuned. Impossible! But, that’s what makes it great. Those old recording consoles had channels that all were similar but different from the next channel. That’s what made those boards sounds great. I do get it, a great performance starts with a great tone. But, just as in tuning a guitar, you correct the intonation as best you can, tune it up, and let it ride. Love these brothers. Much love for the channel.
Great video but pissed myself when you plugged the king of blues in 😁 get some purple spay paint job done ✔️ would have loved to have seen a beringer in the tube screamer vid 😉 😇❤😈
I saw Pete there a little after the 9 minute mark correcting Lee's pronunciation of "stook". "Stalk", lol!
Love the Duke of Tone. Still on the wait for a KoT, but i prefer the Kasleder Fx Toxic Twins for a Blues Breaker circuit. I obviously havent tried them all when it comes to Blues Breakers, but i have the 2022 external dip switch version of the King Tone The Duellist, the Kasleder Fx Toxic Twins, and the MXR Duke of Tone and the Toxic Twins is by far my favorite. Obviously these things are subjective, but i really advocate for people to try the Toxic Twins. Its phenomenal, and stacking the Duke of Tone into the Toxic Twins nails the KoT sound and more.
Nice Demo - Thanks
Pete is right. There is a bit of extra "grit" or "fizz" with the MXR version in their gain.. To my ears through headphones, the MXR sounds like a "pedal" where the original sounds more like a "tube amp". If that makes sense.
Great comparison! It sounds like they're almost identical in the boost mode and very close in distortion mode, but it's odd that in OD mode the King seems to be all about those creamy mids, while the Duke sounds super-scooped... and as I was writing this comment I got to the bit where you tweaked the internal pot of the Duke which seems to dramatically reduce the scooping. :D
...and then Tone City came along and destroyed everything. Serious bang for buck there!
2:54 you can see the wheels turning in Petes head. He wants to make a joke about Lee's hand gesture but he knows it'll be inappropriate...
It’s a win for the tone city! I mean it doesn’t look as good and your friends won’t go oooh! But it sounds pretty much the same, tricky most pedal sounds are available now at all price points, so I guess it come down to who you want to support and cork sniffing?
I bought a clone last year of the kot. For $67 off reverb from some builders in canada. It quickly became my fav overdrive / boost! I would put it up against any pedal shown here today!
Do you perhaps have the name of the builders?
very happy with my Pantheon deluxe as my KoT clone.
Very interesting. The MXR one has a very MXR characteristic that my MXR M77 has.
I've always said that I much prefer amp distortion over pedal distortion, because to my ears pedals have this "fakeness" to their distortion. To my ears (through youtube) the Duke of Tone has that fakeness while the KOT doesn't.
I will describe it as this: Imagine that you have a nice piece of toast that is nice and warm and fluffy yet crunchy. That is amp gain, that is the KOT. Now imagine that you take that piece of toast and you put something heavy on top of it so it gently squishes. That is pedal gain, that is what I am hearing on the Duke of Tone. It is very similar to the KOT, but it feels squished, like the nice fluffy texture is gone and everything else stays the same but a tiny bit harsher.
Edit: how does the Tone City copy sound way better than the official copy from MXR?
900k sub king of tone im in!!
Yes analogman have made also the Prince of Tone who is also a one channel too. But very nice this mxr it's a much smaller pedal. Nice news 👍😊
It's funny how the names are choosen. We have King of Tone the Big boy, then Prince of Tone, the brother of the big boy, and now the Duke of Tone the baby. Nice progression who explain exactly what these pedals do.😂👍
I've got one play it all the time ,they are good.🤑King Of Tone
Does the Duke have the high gain mod for OD that Pete's KOT doesn't have? Or maybe there's more clean mixed in on the KOT?