Tone King Royce: AC-voiced Tube Preamp
Classic British '60s amp tones captured using real 12AX7 tubes
The Tone King Royce is the third tube preamp pedal in the lineup, and this new model has a British AC voice. Making it perfect for fans of Vox amps who need a compact solution for their pedalboard.
Contents – Tone King Royce
Royce
The Tone King Royce uses three 12AX7 tubes to get the Vox AC-style amp tones and has two channels. It follows on from the Imperial and the Royalist preamp pedals, so if you are familiar with those, you will know what to expect from this latest version.
We also saw it being demoed at the Guitar Summit earlier this year, so we all knew what to expect and that it was due any time now.
Sixties Voice
This new model has a distinct 1960s tube amplifier voice, which is based on a Vox AC, so it has two distinct voices. Normal Mode and Top Boost Mode: the former is a vintage AC Normal channel with a warm, clear tone, and the latter is more aggressive gain with more chime. Exactly what you would want from a Vox-style amp.
Both channels are identical and independent, so users can set them up how they want. Each channel has the same controls: Volume, Treble, Middle, Bass, Cut, and Attenuation.
Built-in effects include a Spring Reverb and a stereo Tremolo. The reverb has Level and Dwell controls, and the tremolo has Depth and Speed controls.
Zero-Watt Power Amp
Like the two previous models, it has the zero-watt power amp, so it acts just like a real tube amp and includes the phase inverter stage, so it also feels like a real tube amp.
This pedal should feel like a tube amp and can also be driven hard, thanks to the IRONMAN attenuators that allow users to push into overdrive without having to crank the volume way up high.
Synergy
It also ships with the Synergy editor software and comes pre-loaded with 20 OwnHammer IRs to get you up and running. This is where you can set up the preamp speaker impulse responses, and they include studio microphones and ’70s API 312 preamps in the chain.
Connectivity
The pedal has a lot of useful connections, including stereo balanced XLR outputs with ground lift, and an FX send, a headphone output, and MIDI (allows access to 128 presets), plus USB-C (for connection to the Tone King Editor software).
Availability
The Tone King Royce is available now at Thomann and Sweetwater
More Information
Disclaimer: This post about guitar pedals and amps contains affiliate links and/or widgets. When you buy a product via our affiliate partner, we receive a small commission that helps support what we do. Don’t worry, you pay the same price. Thanks for your support!
This might also interest you
