2025 NAMM introduced the TK Imperial tri-tube. So, 2026 introduces the TK Royalist. Makes sense.

[Saul Goodman]

 

[django49]

And supposedly shipping next month. The TKIP is incredible. If the Royalist was added in the bypass mode of the TKIP, you would have effectively 4 amp presets, all with access to the TKIP's Rev and Trem. That is blackface, tweed (tunable into D type tones) and pick your two fave M types.....JTM, Plexi, etc. The Friedman IR-D works well in that setup. Remains to be seen if and how much farther the Royalist goes vs the Friedman (hot rodded JTM). All demos of the Royalist I have seen have been impressive.

Effects in the loop (or otherwise) for great stereo setups. Selectable IRs.

And IF the forthcoming Wampler Pedalhead (50-60 tube equivalent watts per channel in stereo) is all it is made out to be, MAYBE very authentic TOOB-ish tones all from a pedalboard. (It uses "machine learning" to mate itself to whatever speakers you use). Looking forward to trying it all with my shop built cabs.....

Always something new to chase after....🙂

Edited January 26 by django49
re Pedalhead specs

[HamerHokie]

I was going to post this to the 'All Things Plexi' thread.  The Royalist is going to be pricey but it might be worth it. 

This guy does good pedal reviews, and he has already reviewed the Gainlord.  He will probably run a comparison between that and the Royalist once he gets his hands on one:

https://www.guitarpedalx.com/news/gpx-blog/tone-king-releases-royalist-sibling-to-its-runaway-successful-imperial-floor-amp-built-on-friedmans-all-tube-ir-platform

[django49]

Mine ships today. Looks like it should arrive shortly after the official launch date of Feb. 26.

There are still only very limited demos out there. Most likely there will be a handful posted by the end of the week. But based upon experience with last year's Imperial pedal, and past demos of the Royalist AMPs, I pretty much know what to expect.

Little bit of a headsup......When the first run is sold out, as happened with the Imperial, Tone King is saying the next run will not drop for 4 months. So, IF you want one, best to contact you pusher (er, DEALER) right away. Not sure how many my seller has, but they just received their shipment today.

[django49]

Should be here by the weekend. In the meantime........

TK has done a good job of making very versatile pedals with actual tubes. Looking forward to setting it up with the TK Imperial as the main preamp, bypassable with this as the alternative. Four presets and the RP could use either its own reverb or the IP's. And the IP's trem with either preamp. Pedalboard mounted stereo power amp (which effectively adds a fifth preset), of course, into shop built stereo cab.....A gadget or two in the stereo loop.....

Another example of an "old guy rig"....

[Saul Goodman]

8 hours ago, django49 said:

Should be here by the weekend. In the meantime........

TK has done a good job of making very versatile pedals with actual tubes. Looking forward to setting it up with the TK Imperial as the main preamp, bypassable with this as the alternative. Four presets and the RP could use either its own reverb or the IP's. And the IP's trem with either preamp. Pedalboard mounted stereo power amp (which effectively adds a fifth preset), of course, into shop built stereo cab.....A gadget or two in the stereo loop.....

Another example of an "old guy rig"....

I was thinking the same thing just now. 

[HamerHokie]

On 2/26/2026 at 11:14 AM, django49 said:

Should be here by the weekend. In the meantime........

TK has done a good job of making very versatile pedals with actual tubes. Looking forward to setting it up with the TK Imperial as the main preamp, bypassable with this as the alternative. Four presets and the RP could use either its own reverb or the IP's. And the IP's trem with either preamp. Pedalboard mounted stereo power amp (which effectively adds a fifth preset), of course, into shop built stereo cab.....A gadget or two in the stereo loop.....

Another example of an "old guy rig"....

How are you going to wire these together?  It seems to me one of the big advantages to these particular units is the effects loop and the IR outputs.  Can you combine them in such a way that it allows you to use the effects loop and IRs?

[django49]

Good question. Still exploring. Best way appears to be to use one as the master, the other as a slave in the loop. That way, you can bypass the master and pull in the slave for two added channels. Presumably with the Imperial as the master so as to keep the trem option. And the FX loop is switchable. I assume I would run that into the master unit.

I am pretty simple.....Most likely to use with a power amp and actual speakers most of the time, and NOT using the direct (IR) outputs. I do understand, there are ways to keep different IRs available for each of the 4 channels. The software editor seems to be highly programmable, all the more so if a person fools with midi. Something I have not done for years.

There seem to be a bunch of diagrams posted by users on line with discussion of how to make connections and maximize versatility.

[HamerHokie]

On 3/4/2026 at 6:30 PM, django49 said:

Good question. Still exploring. Best way appears to be to use one as the master, the other as a slave in the loop. That way, you can bypass the master and pull in the slave for two added channels. Presumably with the Imperial as the master so as to keep the trem option. And the FX loop is switchable. I assume I would run that into the master unit.

I am pretty simple.....Most likely to use with a power amp and actual speakers most of the time, and NOT using the direct (IR) outputs. I do understand, there are ways to keep different IRs available for each of the 4 channels. The software editor seems to be highly programmable, all the more so if a person fools with midi. Something I have not done for years.

There seem to be a bunch of diagrams posted by users on line with discussion of how to make connections and maximize versatility.

So what's the verdict?

[django49]

I DID set it up as I expected. I do not have it fully tuned in yet. My tentative set up, a work in progress mind you, is a compressor and boost into the TKIP, TKRP in the bypass, so 4 presets, plus the boost option (and the internal preamp on the Zero). The TKIP into a Thermion Zero stereo power amp. In the LOOP of the Zero, a couple pedals, stereo back into the Zero and then out to a pair of speakers. Tentatively, using a TC Electronics Stereo Chorus and delay pedals in the loop, but that is subject to change. Rev and Trem on the TKIP, so those option are covered. Part of my hesitation is the powering, so I do not have it wired up yet. The TKs use a high power (12v, 750mA) power supply, so my older supply does not do that. Meaning, a need to plug in the 2 provided TK power supplies, one for the other pedals and one for the power amp......Just need to make that all fit without a pedalboard that gets too cumbersome, esp with the  THREE large pedals. So it did NOT make it out to my jam yesterday.

I DO need to find the right balance with all those presets (4 built in attenuators really help!), but I essentially have two F type tones, two levels of M type tones and one (drive channel of TKIP) with a saturated tone that falls somewhere between a Tweed, Mesa and D types. And a boost to up the ante a bit when needed. 

Pedalboard is bigger than I would like, but it would seem to make the load in pretty easy.....Pedalboard (with mounted power amp), small-ish shop built stereo cab and guitar and accessories in a gig bag. One trip from the car!

So, I like it a lot but am not completely there yet. From all the hype, I guess it should be even better when the Pedalhead actually drops.....

[django49]

PS.....Note that some folks have suggested using an A/B switcher so that the full functionality of each preamp is maintained, without some perceived compromise from having one run through the other with the bypass.....For examples, different IRs on each channel. I MAY try that. Which, of course, implies one more metal box on the input side. 🤔

[django49]

So, evolving thoughts.....As much as I like the Thermion power amp, it is huge. I am going to try the Carvin(!) power amp. It is very small, pretty inexpensive and not as versatile, but does get the job done.....More than adequate power. It does have it's own brick power supply, but I can mount and hide that under the board. As to the power hungry TK pedals......Ordered a Voodoo 3+, which will also tuck underneath. With a pair of CURRENT doublers (each connected to a pair of 9V 500mA outlets) all the pedals can run without wall warts. The isolated outputs should keep noise from the other stomps under control vs having them daisy chained.  I will still need two 120v outlets (one each for the Carvin and the Voodoo) but if the worst case is that I run both cords to a power strip that is NOT on the board, I can live with that. If I CAN hide it under the board too, so much the better.

Yeah, this IS making the board even pricier.....But, with luck, all the pieces will be in place by the weekend.

[LucSulla]

I bought one of these for maybe a gig I have with a former American Idol finalist. His band works with IEMs and possibly a quiet stage. I'll probably bring a 112 cab and run it into a Fryette PS-2A for some stage noise should that be needed. 

Rehearsed with it yesterday using a Quilter as a power amp, and it sounded really good. Also sounds great using the IRs direct into my MOTU M2 through monitors. 

[velorush]

Watching this thread and DSM Humboldt Simplifier videos with intense interest as I've started using the Tech 21 Screaming Blonde direct to FOH.

I get all excited about these more versatile boxes and think I need to buy, but then I crank up the (remember, $99, thanks to the HFC heads-up!) Screaming Blonde and have to ask myself, will it be that much better? 

[Saul Goodman]

21 hours ago, velorush said:

Watching this thread and DSM Humboldt Simplifier videos with intense interest as I've started using the Tech 21 Screaming Blonde direct to FOH.

I get all excited about these more versatile boxes and think I need to buy, but then I crank up the (remember, $99, thanks to the HFC heads-up!) Screaming Blonde and have to ask myself, will it be that much better? 

Yes

[django49]

Okay, so I cobbled together the pieces to bring out to a gig yesterday. A few quick pictures from the site.

The TKIP is the master, with the TKRP in the preamp loop. In front of the TKIP, in order, a Teletronix La-2A compressor, Brother AM (more or less a somewhat more obtainable King of Tone with built in Rangemaster---each side can be set as a boost, OD or distortion) and Love Pedal Super Six. TKIP out to a TC Chorus and delay/echo pedal that feeds into the small Carvin (cheap and affordable) stereo power amp, then into one of my small shop built stereo cabs. Power supply and power strip mounted underneath, so can run it all on one cord to be plugged into AC. Big sounds in a rather compact and light package. 

Tones? TKIP is pretty much a Fender Deluxe and a "Tweed".....The latter, with the boost in front, can get into that highly saturated Mesa or D tone realm. (Santana like?). Bypass the TKIP and the 2 TKRP channels are pretty much a JTM and Plexi. (Allman Bros, Gary Moore???) The TKIP as master allows the use of its built in Rev and Trem even when its preamp is bypassed. Meanwhile, if BOTH TKs are bypassed and the Super Six is selected (esp with some boost) we are into "Texas Blues" territory. (split the coils on the guitar and Pride and Joy, anyone?)

I may yet swap out a piece or two.

I like it. TWO fully tube preamps (with the PI) give a really nice set of tones on the fly, nevermind the digital power amp. Steve, a much better player than me, really loved the "blackface" tone, which is mostly what I used live yesterday. (I could say that the very versatile Huber Redwood {"Voice of  the Angels"} with BRW neck was part of the equation). 

All of which comes at a cost. Add up the pieces and you are well past $2k for such a board. Could you program some sort of modeler to get something similar? Sure. Cheaper? Certainly could be. How much does it matter in a live setting? YMMV. Do you hate diving into menus to program and tweak? I do.

FWIW,  the two amps (Imperial and Royalist) in 1 x 12 combo amp form are around $2700 each. Seems to me this is not a bad way to get there, with stereo, esp if you can fab your own cabs. And these each have essentially the exact tube preamp of the combo amps. And that includes an attenuator on each channel to make it adaptable to the gig.

I won't bore with details of the flexibility of each preamp...Plenty demos of that out there. Including ability to go direct and add IRs.

Is it better than my "old" board that largely gets to the same place? Jury is out. But I think this one is a lot of fun. Thumbs up to what TK is doing, Will be interesting to see if and how much better it gets when the Wampler "Pedalhead" piece drops later this year, presumably replacing the Carvin for an even more "perfect tone" for live use.

(If/when I settle on final configuration, I will lose the zip ties).

Edited March 29 by django49

[LucSulla]

This sound absurdly good and does just about everything from classic country to Mastodon. You do have to watch the brightness a little, but overall, muy impressed. My Hamer Studio with the DiMarzio 36th Anniversary pups in it sounds thunderous, even through this Avatar 1x12. 

Best part is I can go out of the XLR in the back of the tone king and so it all through IEMs and do a quiet stage. 

But you could absolutely push this through a 4x12 too and sterilize the front row. I'm mostly designing this to have an option to monitor via cabinet if I want to.