Just putting this out to fellow enthusiasts who might be considering the Royalist mkiii…. It’s awesome. Today I’ve played/compared a Marshall ST20H, Friedman TwinSister Head and ToneKing Royalist mkiii through a 2x12 cab loaded with Celestion V30 and G12H30. The guitar was a Gibson ‘68 LP custom reissue. The Royalist could be dialled back giving snap & quack with rich tone and dialled up with a lot of texture and grunt without going dark. It remains bright (but not too spiky brash) with the HF switch even at the high attenuation levels and yet remains rich throughout a range of volume. I didn’t really find compromise of note. It’s bright and rich all at once, has amazing woman tone and fantastic harmonic feedback loop/interplay and you can get there below 90db. That’s why I say it’s awesome. I was blown away by how much it put these other two amps in the shade. The ST20H is great fun for the UK price but IMO you’d have to be a die hard nuts Marshall fan to pay the US price when the Royalist mkiii is so far ahead in fidelity and feel. Plus the Royalist has the versatility of attenuation included which you’d have to buy separately to get the ST20H where you want it to be without going over 100db volume level. The Friedman TwinSister was also flat and dark compared to the Royalist. Its master volume works superbly as expected from Friedman but it didn’t have the same flexibility in tone or feel compared to the Royalist. It certainly didn’t allow for the same dynamic range. There was no snap or quack like the Royalist for lower gain settings and the harmonic interplay just wasn’t exciting like the Royalist. The woman tone and sustain was lack lustre by comparison. It’s amazing how much more alive the same guitar felt and sounded through the Royalist compared to the other two amps. Hope this helps some. Have a great weekend everyone. Cheers 🍻
Oh damnit. I blew my super twin reverb. It is so complex with equalizer et all it might be worth ripping it. So I started looking around... Now you got me! Reviews are always nice, but you should get an affiliate link man. Now let's see how I can get to that amount of money😮. It's weird. I listen with Bose headphones(over ear) and I can really hear those amp differences friggin good .
I have to say the lick that the captain put together from about 1:15 to 2:00 was magical. It sounded good enough to be on any hit record from the 70's or 80's. Clean, musical, and played beautifully. Great intro jam guys !!
What I love from all the demos of the Tone King I’ve watched so far is that it retains the Marshall raw edges in a way other US made versions don’t seem to. Dream amp!
This is exactly why I posted the long review I did in these comments two weeks ago. The Royalist is quite the Marshall variants in a box solution. Rich without losing it’s edge where other boutique brands may round off the edges a little too much. Through my 2x12 cab experiments I can honestly say I don’t think about reverb. It’s just so full and alive in tone and feel all by itself. I traded my Friedman TwinSister within a couple of days of writing my initial review. It’s not cheap but what you get in tone and feel makes it extremely good value at the boutique end of the market. 👍
I have the Magnatone and love it, The Magnatone Super 15 has a voice like no other amp, it is a magical voice!. I have been playing since 1966 and I have more gear than I can fit. I have over sixty amps. My opinion about showcasing amplifiers! Leave the pedals out of it, until you have shown all the different settings on the amplifiers, and make sure to post on screan when it's the amp, and when it's a pedal. I enjoy watching you guys, I like the one, I need more reverb on the phone lol. Thanks Guys.
Tone King makes what is probably the best all around amp in my view... build quality, tone and features ... not to mention aesthetic... can't beat it, at any price. I mean it doesn't get any better than the Sky King.
Nothing to do with the amps - both amazing in their own ways - but it's so great to see (or more appropriatly, hear) Lee ready to break out of the tried and true harmonic foundation and technique he's nailed along the fingerboard and now venture into braver improv exploits a la Pete.
I played one at chicago music exchange. Wish I had the $5k to drop on it. Best amp I’ve ever played, though I’ll admit I haven’t played a ton of amps. But that thing just let my music sing
Magnatone I'll admit I hadn't heard until your last video on them. Since then ...I need one! This just reinforced how absolutely golden they sound. Once I rob a bank I'll be right with you...
Perfect timing. I was just figuring out how to ask for a vid on what would be the best low price ($1K/L800) tube amp head for a beginner to grow with? Just something to think about when current options become too small.. Thanx! You guys are so timely. (I spent all day yesterday watching your NAMM vids)
Sounds great! is it just me or does the Tone King have a slight Jubilee flavor to it? anyway when I win the lottery I will be ordering both of these amps! Great demo as always guys!
I don't know if he does, but I feel like Pete should play the occasional wedding, as his style and tone are so (amazingly) emotionally powerful. Jeepers.
Such great sounding amps! I couldn’t decide between these two. Probably the Tone King für Recording purposes. For gigging its too heavy for me. The Maggie for gigging. ;))
I’ve been a huge fan of Tone King since barrel started in Baltimore years ago. So far I own the Gremlin head and Imperial mk 2 1-12 combo. The best sounding and best made amplifiers hands down!!! That les Paul’s tone was truly amazing!
I had my eye on the gremlin but now this royalist comes along and with the attenuation I;m not sure what to do.between the 2 amps you have what would you say is best part of the gremlin and main purpose for owning being that you also have the Imperial?
How about asking Dave Friedman to collaborate with one of his stablemates to produce an Anderton's exclusive amp with an Ac-30 style clean channel and a Be style drive channel? The Morgan Friedman...
That TK sounds great. I generally don't vibe with the Imperial (sounds good overall, just not my taste) but I'd consider the royalist if I were in the market!
tk offers much more, without attenuator you're probably gonna use a drive pedal to get your tone at a reasonable level, kinda missing the point of wanting the magnatone sound
Until I own every Magnatone model I doubt I ever buy anything else lol. I'm up to 2 and if you think they're too expensive you just don't want one bad enough. Tone King are killer amps too. The key to the Maggies is volume. They're pretty clean. Great cleane though.
Great amps! Lee and Pete , have you ever tried a Brunetti singleman 30 ? A well priced amp with a great clean sound and reverb It loves pedals, looks awesome en is well build. I played and tried many amps ( including very expensive ones ) and recommend you to try one . I bought one and am extremely glad I did . I'm very curious what you think about it . I think you love it too
We are truly living in the Golden Age of guitar amplification! Anyone with a good job and good credit can eventually get an amp which is comparable to any of the best amps ever made, and some of them are affordable to even average folks.
I would really like to see you guys make a video with a great plexi amp and a fryette powerstation to see if that can do it all with pedals etc to play at lower volumes. Cheers
They sound terrific! Q: With the Magnatone Super Fifteen, if you wanted to step out for a solo, apart from just picking harder or rolling the volume up, what pedal / type of pedal would you use? I have a telecaster and an ES-style semi-hollowbody with humbuckers.
Anything sounds awesome in front of it. Duke of Tone, Tumnus, Chase Bliss Brothers, whatever..Or stack some things. The amp just sounds incredible and doesn't lose it's touch sensitivity, even with pedals.
They had a video a long time ago about it. Amp is the most important part for good sound, so your Squier should still sound good. You could also consider upgrading your pickups in your Squier and that could help bring out the best sound. Here's the link: th-cam.com/video/Xu_plv2CTEM/w-d-xo.html
The Royalist’s tone controls are fantastic. Someone spent a lot of time on them. Likewise the gain structure throughout the amp. It’s exactly what I look for in an amp, leaning toward the cleaner side. I would not buy such an amp without at least tremolo, and reverb would be nice. Also, a sherpa to move it.
Speaking of Tone King and attenuators... is there a way to modify them? I need a -19dB instead of a -24dB setting for home use, and the Imperial mk2 doesn't have that. -24 is too quiet, and -16 is too loud, and if I had a -19 the amp would be truly perfect, I think.
@@ClaudioMartella I guess we have different views on what medium gain is. I put dirt pedals before time effects into a clean ish amp and have no problems 🤷♂️
I wouldn't think that a tank Reverb in there wouldn't sound bad at all but maybe they tried that and decided that they just wanted to get that tone explicitly the way they designed it?
oh lordy that intro was straight out of the Andertons top drawer. Pete's tone was magical
Nothing against the rest of the guys but I can always watch Pete and enjoy every note he plays.
Sounded a bit fizzy.
Just putting this out to fellow enthusiasts who might be considering the Royalist mkiii…. It’s awesome. Today I’ve played/compared a Marshall ST20H, Friedman TwinSister Head and ToneKing Royalist mkiii through a 2x12 cab loaded with Celestion V30 and G12H30. The guitar was a Gibson ‘68 LP custom reissue.
The Royalist could be dialled back giving snap & quack with rich tone and dialled up with a lot of texture and grunt without going dark. It remains bright (but not too spiky brash) with the HF switch even at the high attenuation levels and yet remains rich throughout a range of volume. I didn’t really find compromise of note. It’s bright and rich all at once, has amazing woman tone and fantastic harmonic feedback loop/interplay and you can get there below 90db. That’s why I say it’s awesome. I was blown away by how much it put these other two amps in the shade.
The ST20H is great fun for the UK price but IMO you’d have to be a die hard nuts Marshall fan to pay the US price when the Royalist mkiii is so far ahead in fidelity and feel. Plus the Royalist has the versatility of attenuation included which you’d have to buy separately to get the ST20H where you want it to be without going over 100db volume level.
The Friedman TwinSister was also flat and dark compared to the Royalist. Its master volume works superbly as expected from Friedman but it didn’t have the same flexibility in tone or feel compared to the Royalist. It certainly didn’t allow for the same dynamic range. There was no snap or quack like the Royalist for lower gain settings and the harmonic interplay just wasn’t exciting like the Royalist. The woman tone and sustain was lack lustre by comparison.
It’s amazing how much more alive the same guitar felt and sounded through the Royalist compared to the other two amps.
Hope this helps some. Have a great weekend everyone. Cheers 🍻
Appreciated!
Oh damnit. I blew my super twin reverb. It is so complex with equalizer et all it might be worth ripping it. So I started looking around... Now you got me!
Reviews are always nice, but you should get an affiliate link man.
Now let's see how I can get to that amount of money😮.
It's weird. I listen with Bose headphones(over ear) and I can really hear those amp differences friggin good .
I have to say the lick that the captain put together from about 1:15 to 2:00 was magical. It sounded good enough to be on any hit record from the 70's or 80's. Clean, musical, and played beautifully. Great intro jam guys !!
Really?
What I love from all the demos of the Tone King I’ve watched so far is that it retains the Marshall raw edges in a way other US made versions don’t seem to. Dream amp!
This is exactly why I posted the long review I did in these comments two weeks ago. The Royalist is quite the Marshall variants in a box solution. Rich without losing it’s edge where other boutique brands may round off the edges a little too much. Through my 2x12 cab experiments I can honestly say I don’t think about reverb. It’s just so full and alive in tone and feel all by itself. I traded my Friedman TwinSister within a couple of days of writing my initial review. It’s not cheap but what you get in tone and feel makes it extremely good value at the boutique end of the market. 👍
Great playing in this video. Pete, your phrasing is just awesome. These are both amazing sounding amps. Thanks guys.
Tone King all day long. Especially since they are not too far apart in price. Pete’s tone absolutely blew me away.
Man the Tone King os just amazing. Have not heard an amp get me that sparked up in awhile.
That intro jam has got to be one of the best ever. Such a gorgeous feeling
I bought a Magnatone and it is awesome. I also have and love a Fender Deluxe Reverb and a Princeton Reverb.
Ooh, you lucky *x*x
I have the Magnatone and love it, The Magnatone Super 15 has a voice like no other amp, it is a magical voice!. I have been playing since 1966 and I have more gear than I can fit. I have over sixty amps. My opinion about showcasing amplifiers! Leave the pedals out of it, until you have shown all the different settings on the amplifiers, and make sure to post on screan when it's the amp, and when it's a pedal. I enjoy watching you guys, I like the one, I need more reverb on the phone lol. Thanks Guys.
That's tone King sounds glorious!
Tone King makes what is probably the best all around amp in my view... build quality, tone and features ... not to mention aesthetic... can't beat it, at any price. I mean it doesn't get any better than the Sky King.
Nothing to do with the amps - both amazing in their own ways - but it's so great to see (or more appropriatly, hear) Lee ready to break out of the tried and true harmonic foundation and technique he's nailed along the fingerboard and now venture into braver improv exploits a la Pete.
I’m with Pete. That Toneking is to die for. Amazing tones!
Anyone else have a real soft spot for magnatone amps without ever having tried one 😂
I do. My wallet doesn't.
I want one so bad, never played one.
I played one at chicago music exchange. Wish I had the $5k to drop on it. Best amp I’ve ever played, though I’ll admit I haven’t played a ton of amps. But that thing just let my music sing
I feel the same way about Soldano SLO-30 🤤
It’s the only amp where I could hear the quality even over TH-cam
Received my brig today. Thanks for a speedy delivery guys!
Wow. The tones of my teen years. 70’s😊. Beautiful amp.
They both killed it in that last jam!
Ahhh. Tonegasm! Lovely dose of Andertons dopamine as usual. 👌
Having such a good vibe! Makes you both play so awesome! Holy smoke! Lee is holding his ground! This sounds so freaking good, perfects sounds ❤
Brother Pete’s expression at 32:13 explains it all 😂‼️😂‼️
I'm a huge fan of Magnatone. Will probably play those for life. However, I don't really think you can go wrong with either of these amps.
Love the sheer exuberance over a great product like those amps; reminds me how joyous you both were when you reviewed the Strymon Cloudburst
When they get their hands on some great gear they just go off like boys in the garage. Love that!
Man.. Lee is dishing out some tasty lead work these days🤩
Magnatone I'll admit I hadn't heard until your last video on them. Since then ...I need one! This just reinforced how absolutely golden they sound. Once I rob a bank I'll be right with you...
9:10 Yes, I am watching. Keep up the great videos
The opening logo and Capt lick chuckled me. Thank you for making it
@20:34 I don't know what it is, but when Pete plays that D/G, it gets me every time
Gooooooooooood Morning to the UK ! ! ! ! These high range expensive amps never seem to disappoint . . . Thanks Guys
Perfect timing. I was just figuring out how to ask for a vid on what would be the best low price ($1K/L800) tube amp head for a beginner to grow with? Just something to think about when current options become too small.. Thanx! You guys are so timely. (I spent all day yesterday watching your NAMM vids)
Sweet sounding clean tones!
I just can't believe how much better Lee has gotten at jamming.
Cranked a magnatone once in a store. Was the greatest breakup tone id ever heard or felt.
Pete's Tele is indeed a special beast.
Sounds great! is it just me or does the Tone King have a slight Jubilee flavor to it? anyway when I win the lottery I will be ordering both of these amps! Great demo as always guys!
I agree. You nailed it. Has that midrange and compression of the Jub
Yeah only way more dynamic and less gain. In a good way.
I don't know if he does, but I feel like Pete should play the occasional wedding, as his style and tone are so (amazingly) emotionally powerful. Jeepers.
Wow!!! Great sound, chapeau!
Best Anderton's video EVER! ❤🏆
Such great sounding amps! I couldn’t decide between these two. Probably the Tone King für Recording purposes. For gigging its too heavy for me. The Maggie for gigging. ;))
I’ve been a huge fan of Tone King since barrel started in Baltimore years ago. So far I own the Gremlin head and Imperial mk 2 1-12 combo. The best sounding and best made amplifiers hands down!!! That les Paul’s tone was truly amazing!
I had my eye on the gremlin but now this royalist comes along and with the attenuation I;m not sure what to do.between the 2 amps you have what would you say is best part of the gremlin and main purpose for owning being that you also have the Imperial?
I don’t need a killer sounding amp. I need Pete jam with me for an hour every single day for a year.
How about asking Dave Friedman to collaborate with one of his stablemates to produce an Anderton's exclusive amp with an Ac-30 style clean channel and a Be style drive channel? The Morgan Friedman...
🙌
Love the intro jam! also lol @ midrange chickens
Any plans for more speaker/cab videos? Keep it up boys
That TK sounds great. I generally don't vibe with the Imperial (sounds good overall, just not my taste) but I'd consider the royalist if I were in the market!
Awesome amps 😊
These two amps sound so good I'm almost tempted to trade in my Martins and go electric.
It's only a few amps played in my life that sound like that unfortunately I thought I could find something better but now low and behold maybe maybe!
I have to agree with Pete. These are both my new favorite amplifier.
Tone King exploded onto the market in ‘93 in the middle of Magnatone’s 30 year absence with boutique quality & retro cosmetics.
tk offers much more, without attenuator you're probably gonna use a drive pedal to get your tone at a reasonable level, kinda missing the point of wanting the magnatone sound
Two fantastic amps, but i love the Tone King !!
The built in attenuators...not gunna lie, that's cool af...
Until I own every Magnatone model I doubt I ever buy anything else lol. I'm up to 2 and if you think they're too expensive you just don't want one bad enough. Tone King are killer amps too. The key to the Maggies is volume. They're pretty clean. Great cleane though.
I can only dream of playing into a Magnatone Twilighter
Great amps! Lee and Pete , have you ever tried a Brunetti singleman 30 ? A well priced amp with a great clean sound and reverb It loves pedals, looks awesome en is well build. I played and tried many amps ( including very expensive ones ) and recommend you to try one . I bought one and am extremely glad I did . I'm very curious what you think about it . I think you love it too
Circuit boards are fine as long as the tube sockets are mounted separately
We are truly living in the Golden Age of guitar amplification! Anyone with a good job and good credit can eventually get an amp which is comparable to any of the best amps ever made, and some of them are affordable to even average folks.
Wow I feel like Lee’s playing has gotten a lot better over the years!
as he should, he owns a guitar store and plays with great players.
Tone King MK3 combo is great.
I understand the purist retro thing but why don‘t they finally add an effects loop???
Super Fifteen has one!
I would really like to see you guys make a video with a great plexi amp and a fryette powerstation to see if that can do it all with pedals etc to play at lower volumes.
Cheers
It can. I have some videos using my sv20h and the power station.
The intro was great
The intro…. YESSS
Never seen Lee getting exited so much from gear
a most excellent vid guys, the sounds smooth as well as controlled guitar playing, from you both.
Sounds like the Royalist has a harmonic tube…around the 16:25 mark it’s easy to hear.
I wish it had spring reverb
Both amps sound amazing. Captain’s Rolex Submariner ref 16610 is also really nice.
Those are 2 GREAT amps!
Only a natural salesman could utter the phrase “ reassuringly expensive “ 💕ya cap
They sound terrific! Q: With the Magnatone Super Fifteen, if you wanted to step out for a solo, apart from just picking harder or rolling the volume up, what pedal / type of pedal would you use? I have a telecaster and an ES-style semi-hollowbody with humbuckers.
Anything sounds awesome in front of it. Duke of Tone, Tumnus, Chase Bliss Brothers, whatever..Or stack some things. The amp just sounds incredible and doesn't lose it's touch sensitivity, even with pedals.
at 20:13 that my was reaction to the Royalist in general 🤣
Have y’all reviewed the Mesa Fillmore 50? It has a similar identical circuit switching as the Tone King, with added benefit of spring reverb.
The ACDC tone at 14 minutes is what sold me
„The boost I‘m using is the Victory Duchess“. - It certainly is! 😜😂
Could you when showing amps give a look inside? How the amp is build. So to estimate how service is possible on them in 2…5 years?
I believe I won three times but never got anything but you guys are a long ways away
I've always been lusting after a Tone King (since I saw Knopfler using one) - would love to physically try one some day!
You will not be disappointed.
@@murphytoonzI second that.
Love mine.
He uses both the Royalist as the imperial. If he likes them they must be really good.
Curious how would a Squier or anything not as expensive than the guitars you used would sound on an amplifier of this excellence?
They had a video a long time ago about it. Amp is the most important part for good sound, so your Squier should still sound good. You could also consider upgrading your pickups in your Squier and that could help bring out the best sound. Here's the link: th-cam.com/video/Xu_plv2CTEM/w-d-xo.html
That mr.pete intro is a killer..
Not all have 1 attenuator Pete , the Skyking has 2 attenuators
The Royalist’s tone controls are fantastic. Someone spent a lot of time on them. Likewise the gain structure throughout the amp. It’s exactly what I look for in an amp, leaning toward the cleaner side.
I would not buy such an amp without at least tremolo, and reverb would be nice. Also, a sherpa to move it.
Oh, by the way, what about a Tone King Imperial combined with Tone King Royalist??? Best of both worlds!!! 😎
Speaking of Tone King and attenuators... is there a way to modify them? I need a -19dB instead of a -24dB setting for home use, and the Imperial mk2 doesn't have that.
-24 is too quiet, and -16 is too loud, and if I had a -19 the amp would be truly perfect, I think.
Firm believer that the only folks that really need fx loops are high gain amp users. Anything medium gain it sounds way cooler through the front imo.
If you like overdriven reverb and delay...
@@ClaudioMartella I guess we have different views on what medium gain is. I put dirt pedals before time effects into a clean ish amp and have no problems 🤷♂️
@@zipporaid i don't call cleanish mid gain, that's low gain for me
Does Lee own either of these brands though?
another lame post.
child @@mucho_macho
About the subscriber giveaway-how do you choose from subscribers? Is there a separate entry form (beyond subscribing)?
there is nothing like a great tube amp, don't care how much people push digital and katanas etc...nothing sounds or feels like the real thing.
What shoes are you wearing Captain Lee? Looking nice.
It's videos like these where it's absolutely unfortunate to not be there and hear the amps in person.
Great video! What do you think of the Royalist vs the Friedman Twin Sister?
Hey guys!
With the tone king attenuator can we play in an apartment? Without losing the depth and identity of the amp?
Thanks a lot
I wouldn't think that a tank Reverb in there wouldn't sound bad at all but maybe they tried that and decided that they just wanted to get that tone explicitly the way they designed it?
Oh man. That lick about 42 seconds in. 😮
is the Grandmeister 40 Deluxe the most modern Tube Amp or do you recommend something else?
That is some great jamming
Pete has a bit more pep in his step today😉
This company should hire me for their pitch man
Yeah you want to look really cool if you don't sound good sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't