Shop Keyboard Deals, Financing, and More

Tone King Imperial Mk II 1x12" 20-watt Tube Combo Amp with Attenuator and Reverb - Black Demo

20-watt 2-channel All-tube 1x12" Guitar Combo Amplifier with Power Attenuator, Spring Reverb, and Tremolo - Black
10 Write review Item ID: ImpMK2Blkd2

Demo Savings!

Save $269.50 when you buy this demo! What is a demo?

The price below reflects your savings.

$2,425.50
Demo Savings: $269.50

New for $2,695.00

Condition Notes:

The item is in excellent condition and is in perfect working order. Includes all original accessories. The item ships in its original packaging which shows some signs of wear.

This item was thoroughly inspected by our factory-authorized service team and is backed by Sweetwater's exclusive 2-year warranty. The images shown do not necessarily represent the condition of this particular item.

! 1 person has this demo item in their cart. Order now before it's gone!

3 more demos available starting at $2,425.50 !

Earn $122 back in Bonus Bucks† OR pay $102/month with 24 month financing*

Free
Shipping
Tech Support

Free Sweetwater
Support

Free 2-year
Warranty
Only 1 Left!

Add to Cart
Notify me about deals

Ask An Expert

Our expertly trained Sales Engineers are ready to help!

(800) 222-4700
What is a Sales Engineer?
Sweetwater Gear Exchange

Have one to sell?
Check out Sweetwater's Gear Exchange!
Learn More

Most Popular Accessories & Related Items

Tone King Imperial Mk II 1x12" 20-watt Tube Combo Amp with Attenuator and Reverb - Black
Only 1 Left!
$2,425.50
Add to Cart
Add to list
Back to navigation

Written By

Our Product Research Team

Get to know them!

Top-notch American Tones

Tone King has been handbuilding their flagship Imperial 20-watt 1 x 12" electric guitar combo amplifier for 20 years. Upon its release, it was one of the best-sounding American-voiced amps out there. Twenty years on, Tone King has improved on the design with the Imperial MK II. The MK II's two channels will sweep you through California cleans to syrupy, tweed-style overdrive. And the amp's tube reverb and tremolo further enhance the amp's vintage leanings. Factor in the onboard Ironman II power attenuator, and the Imperial MK II continues the model's rich legacy of top-notch tones.

Related Videos: Imperial Mk II 1x12" 20-watt Tube Combo Amp with Attenuator and Reverb - Black

A proven legacy

Tone King established their name and sound with the release of the first Imperial combo amp. Today, the Imperial MK II takes the best parts of that popular amplifier and adds a few player-friendly features that make it an even better powerhouse. The Imperial MK II boasts a cleaner-voiced Rhythm channel with a very usable warm breakup at higher volume settings. The Lead channel delivers a throatier tone that is modified by the amp's clever Mid-Bite control. If you love the tone of a vintage US amp but want a wider palette of tone, get your hands on a Tone King Imperial MK II.

Onboard Ironman II attenuator

Tone King installed their Ironman II power attenuator into the Imperial MK II for wide-ranging dynamic control. The Ironman II is engineered to bring your screaming tube tones to a whisper or any volume in between. Its reactive load technology ensures total transparency throughout the attenuator's range. That way, when you bring your volume down, your Tone King Imperial MK II still sings and responds with the exact same tone and feel as it would wide open.

Tube-driven effects

To further nail the vintage vibe of the Imperial MK II, Tone King outfitted these 20-watt combos with tube-driven reverb and tremolo. The spring reverb is controlled via a single, intuitive knob on the amp's faceplate that mixes in more or less of the effect along with your original signal. The bias-modulated tremolo circuit — a Sweetwater favorite — adds the pulsating movement to your tone that has found its way onto countless hit recordings in rock, country, blues, and beyond.

Tone King Imperial MK II Combo Tube Amp Features:

  • Combo tube amp with boutique-style American tones
  • 2-channel design offers Cali-style cleans and grinding tweed-style tone
  • Onboard power attenuator provides cranked tone at quiet volume
  • Custom-voiced Eminence Tone King 33 12" speaker
  • Bias modulation tremolo circuit delivers vintage-style pulse
  • Tube-driven spring reverb with wide-ranging control

What is Demo Gear?

At Sweetwater, we're so picky that what we call a "demo" is actually better than what most music retailers sell as "new" gear! Our gear hasn't endured hundreds of people a week plunking away at all the keyboards, fumbling through Stairway to Heaven on every guitar or playing with every fader and knob on a mixer or control surface.

What demo means to us is that we've had it out of the box, or maybe it was in a customer's hands for a few days and isn't "factory fresh" as a result. Every demo item we sell has Sweetwater's 2-year Total Confidence Coverage™ warranty, and has been tested and verified up to "new" specs by our factory-authorized technicians to make sure it's in perfect working order before we ship it to you.

When you buy a Demo item at Sweetwater, you get:
  • 2-year Total Confidence Coverage Warranty™!
  • Products inspected and tested by our factory-authorized techs, guaranteed to function like new (or better)!
  • FREE shipping on most items
  • Equipment that will MEET or EXCEED your expectations!

Click HERE to browse our current inventory of Demo equipment. Purchasing demo gear from Sweetwater is a smart and safe way to save!

Additional Media

Guitar Amp Buying Guide

Warranty Info

Sweetwater's FREE 2-Year Total Confidence Coverage Warranty

Extra peace of mind at no extra cost.

  • Save money with FREE parts and labor
  • Get back to making music with the industry's fastest turnaround time
  • Fix it the first time with our award-winning, factory-certified Service Department
Learn More about Total Confidence Coverage
2 Year Total Confidence Coverage
$269.00
FREE!

Free 2-year Warranty

Sweetwater's 2-year Total Confidence Coverage™ Warranty gives you extra peace of mind at no extra cost.

Learn More about Total Confidence Coverage
Tools Icon

Save money with free parts & labor!

Fast Icon

Get back to making music with the industry's fastest turnaround time.

Award Icon

Fix it the first time with our award-winning, factory-certified Service Department.

Back to navigation

Tech Specs

  • Type: Tube
  • Number of Channels: 2
  • Total Power: 20W, Built-in variable attenuator
  • Speaker Size: 1 x 12" Eminence Custom Tone King 33 ceramic speaker
  • Preamp Tubes: 4 x 12AX7A, 1 x 12AT7
  • Power Tubes: 2 x 6V6GT (power), 1 x 5AR4 (rectifier)
  • Reverb: Tube driven spring
  • Effects: Bias modulated Tremolo
  • EQ: Tone control, Mid-bite control, 2-band EQ
  • Inputs: 1 x 1/4"
  • Outputs: 1 x 1/4" (internal speaker)
  • Footswitch I/O: 1 x 1/4" (channel, tremolo)
  • Footswitch Included: Yes, 2-button footswitch
  • Bias Type: Cathode Biased
  • Features: Cathode biased
  • Construction Material: Black and Cream finish
  • Power Source: Standard IEC AC cable
  • Height: 19.25"
  • Width: 22.5"
  • Depth: 10.5"
  • Weight: 44 lbs.
  • Manufacturer Part Number: Imperial Mk II - Black

What Makes Our Sales Engineers Great?

Sweetwater Sales Engineers are a world-class team of experts dedicated to you. Hand selected from across the globe, each brings a wealth of experience and expertise in the world of music gear to provide you with unparalleled service completely free of charge. Friendly relationships, real trust, and the right gear are only a call or a click away!

(800) 222-4700
Contact Your Sales Engineer
Back to navigation

Customer Reviews

0.0 out of 5

Customer Added Media

This product doesn't have any review media yet!

Write your review

Brilliant clean to mild breakup sounds at real world volume levels

If you are looking for fabulous Marshall-ish sounds, this is not your amp. If you want great clean to low-mid gain distortion sounds, this is your amp. Clearly based around the Fender Deluxe Reverb and Tweed Deluxe, the attenuator allows you to get those cranked sounds at much lower volumes. I use mine at home in my office, so I have to keep the volume very low. At stronger attenuation it's hard to get those cranked sounds to be lifelike. I find the extreme attenuation settings have a noticeable effect on the tone. So I back off a couple of ticks, and have found a happy medium. The reverb is glorious. The tremolo is nice, but I don't use that much. I've found that with the EQ it's best to just use your ears and forget about the knob number settings. For me, on the clean channel the treble is up high around 3 - 4 o'clock and the bass is almost off.
A funny thing happens with this amp. I find when I use it, (I have six amps in the room, so I have options) I play for long periods of time, and I somehow seem inspired. In other words, it makes me want to play more. There is a soul to this amp that the solid state and/or digital amps really don't have. It's the magic of tubes. Especially the power tubes being overworked. It's why these tube dinosaurs still exist. They have a little magic. It's the real thing. Not an emulation. I will say that this amp needs to be tweaked to your taste. It wants to be dialed in.
by Bill from Boston MA on
Music background: Former gigging guitarist

Retro------but "NOT"

Need to preface this review with, "I am an old guy", and I've owned, played thru, and abused , most of the "Holy Grail" amps that modeling amps claim to emulate. That sweetspot, where the universe cracks open, and luscious, thick, no-no...very thick, tones and overtones make the sound matrix come alive, it pours out of this super corpulent , 6V6 driven flux capacitor. Make no mistake, I'm not describing nostalgia, I'm talking about live, vibrant, push, pop, sizzle, and bloom. This amp coaxes the very best, richest, tones out of every guitar I've plugged into it, and I play some classics. Picture Filmore East and West, only in a smaller manageable package, and hold on for dear life....that's not the end of it.This little guy has superior, well thought out, modern features that help you shape tones, and control the sonic limits that we all struggle with. I've only just begun to experiment with the Iron Man attenuator built in to keep you smiling and keep the police away from your door. Useful for countless applications, flexible and well planned for uses up to and including recording. Did I mention the build quality? It has the look of a Pierre Cardin Tuxedo, and is solid, no creaking, buzzing, or crackling. I easily imagine this baby still working 50 years from now, delivering the same richness and joy it does today.
by Steve Nowak from Detroit on
Music background: Varied

After 9 months of tonal bliss...

I love this amp. I bought a Mesa Boogie Express 5:50 2x12 eight years ago and re-tubed it a couple times trying to get this sound. Don't get me wrong, the Mesa is a great amp...it roars! But now it is the stand that the Tone King Imperial MkII sits on. The 6V6 tubes give the Imperial a creamy, warm crunch that is incredible. Even my wife notices the chimey sweetness of this amp. I mainly play a PRS 408 guitar through it, and it sound great on single coils or humbuckers. I always thought that the phrase, "This amp takes pedals great!" was BS, until I bought this amp. My all-analog pedal board sounds great feeding this beast. No need for an effects loop. Very versatile. I can dial up any classic rock sound I want. The attenuator can be used with both channels, or you can leave the clean channel unattenuated and attenuate the lead only. That lets you dial in any combination of sounds at any volume level you want. Hemmed and hawed for a year before finally pulling the trigger and buying it, mainly due to the high cost and not playing it in person. But Sweetwater is great and I have no buyer's remorse. Love, love, love this amp! In this case, I got what I paid for...a high-quality, well-built amp that produces that awesome, sweet, saturated, crunchy tube-amp tone I've been looking for for years.
by Peter from Dayton, Ohio on
Music background: Pianist. Folk/Classic rock guitarist. Non-professional.

Attenuator & High Frequency Switch are Killer!!!

This amp sounds as good as any black face style amp and is very easy to dial in with any guitar. If you've played through enough boutique amps you realize they all sound great it's just a matter of finding the flavor you like. What makes this amp exceptional is the built in attenuator and high frequency switch. I've always found that attenuators are useless beyond a few clicks in that the tone just falls apart at lower volume levels. This amp sounds and feels amazing even down to bedroom levels. This is the first amp that I've actually enjoyed playing at bedroom levels as much as when its opened up. It's expensive but I think its worth the premium price given its exceptional versatility. I have other amps I love: 64 Custom Deluxe Reverb (very similar tone), Dr. Z Z Wreck, Dr. Z Maz 18, and I enjoy them all, but this one is the most useful everyday use. Great service as always from Sweetwater.
by Joseph Kaspar from Miami, FL on
Music background: Semi-Pro

What an Amp!

What a great amp! I purchased this amp about a week ago and I am completely amazed at the tones it produces. I decided to upgrade from my Fender Super Champ X2 to the Tone King and I am amazed at the simplicity of the controls and yet the ability for this amp to change its character with a simple adjustment. Both amps are great and I have nothing but praise for the Fender, but this is a real step up! Build quality is second to none. The manual is extensive and I was happy to see that the manufacturer even specs out the best tubes to use. From the moment I plugged it in, I knew it was a winner.

Sean was extremely helpful as always and made the whole purchase very easy. I have never had a bad experience with Sean and the Sweetwater team. The amp is great and I look forward to future purchases.

I definitely recommend this amp. (The attenuator is a great feature on top of the stellar build quality.)

Rick
by Rick Michalik from Enfield, CT on
Music background: Fairly new to guitars but loving every minute

Hear from a Sales Engineer

What Do Our In-house Gear Experts Think?

Jason Filloramo

After switching from a Vox-style combo, I started recording and gigging with a Tone King Imperial Mk II. I play many styles of music, so I absolutely love how flexible this amp is. Its combination of high headroom, extensive sound-shaping controls, and onboard effects make it easy for me to dial in everything from clear jazz rhythms to aggressive and punchy American lead tones. Add in a variable attenuator, and I can get the guitar sound I need at the right volume for any venue or recording setup.
See also: Combo Amps, Tone King, Tone King Guitar Combo Amps
Close Close $2,000 Pick Your PRS Giveaway -- input your email address below to enter or click here to learn more.

See giveaway details & rules or check out our past winners!

Enter Now

Success!

Your email, has been entered to win this giveaway. Good Luck!