@@Glicksman1 musicianship has gone through the roof the past decades to the point where 50s-70s playing seems not obsolete, but pretty primitive. Probably because of the advent of online resources, better budget gear, plugins, recording possibilities etc.
@@fredriksvard2603 I think that musicianship has nothing to do with online resources, better budget gear, plugins, recording possibilities, etc. There were great musicians centuries ago and ever since. It was a fortunate thing that rock has always featured bands and artists who were great musicians, jazz as well. The great orchestras, pit bands at shows, etc. have always contained great musicians. I attended a Greek wedding where the band was excellent and the bouzouki player was a virtuoso. I do not think that "primitive" playing denotes lesser musicianship. Simple but sincere, soulful playing is often the best way to convey emotions and feelings.
@@Glicksman1 It's such a tired idea and a copout that modern players lack "soul" or "feel". When clapton arrived he was praised as a wizard and for his speed, when things evolved and kids got way faster and more complex the classic rock crowd fell back on b-but they don't play with feeling like clapton. Yes they do, and bends aren't = emotion. And it would be really weird if increased accessibility didn't pave the way for more talents, the learning curve is less steep and it's less frustrating to start out. I for sure didn't see many of these incredible teenagers, 20-somethings or even 8 year olds back in the 90s. The average youtube demo player is better than most of the commercial artists from 20+ years ago, and todays virtuosos are on another planet altogether.
@@fredriksvard2603 Well, I tried, apparently in vain, to explain my thinking on his subject but it is clear that you and I disagree. That's fine. So long.
I'm always amazed at how many different riffs and ideas he can shove into one video. Most reviewers play the same stuff over and over again but this guy is always searching. Great stuff
Yes I'm thinking about the new Gremlin head that uses a 5881 valve now and of course spk outs LoL digging the Falcon Grande as well w 5881 Not sure if I want to go 6V6 or not If so Imperial it is
@@ashkeld I have been using a 65 Reissue Deluxe Reverb for a while. I do play live occasionally. It’s a Fantastic amp. I put a Vintage EV12L (200 watt speaker) so it has unlimited clean headroom but loses the dynamics & sag I love. I’ve been looking at the TK for a while. Thinking of selling my Deluxe. Any feedback at all is much appreciated. Thanks
@@EdBenji why?! I just started a 3/piece punk band and I’m thinking of getting the TK Imperial MKII… is there something you know where I shouldn’t purchase this amp as my first real tube amp?! Edit: I’m freaking out man lol
deluxe reverb sounds best to my ears for both clean and driven sounds. just sounds pure and focused to me. the other amps ad something unique, but in adding you also take away. the deluxe has an unvarnished, uncluttered sound. In this demo. Peach audio quality has impressed me for a while now. I still want to know what they are using for their their recording setup....?
Been using a Tone King Imperial Mk11 for the last few years. It is a storming combo, great tone and fantastic flexibility. I think you have underplayed the attenuated high gain channel - put an HSS Strat through it and it will really scream in bridge position. Can’t recommend the Imperial enough!
Yep I attenuate only one tick on the knob and jack the volume and it is a screaming monster and sounds amazing. The cleans are just as good as any deluxe or twin I have owned.....hence the word owned. Because once I got the TK MKII I didn't need a fender anymore. Only complaint is no effects loop.
I have one also, and it's everything and more than a Fender Deluxe. I've had a couple real original blackface Deluxes, and I'd take the Imperial over them because it's more capable. The cleans are beautiful, and its lead channel easily gets into Marshall territory. I run mine with the Ironman attenuator at -3db, on the lead channel, with the gain on full, tone and mid-bite at about noon, and control it from the guitar and go from clean to scream.
For many years I had a Mk I Imperial in the turquoise color. This was in the mid 90's or thereabouts. The amp was amazing! I sold it and have regretted it ever since. It was in perfect condition too. As I'm old and decrepit now 😜, I'm no longer gigging. However... if I were, I'd buy another Imperial in a heartbeat. Great amps!! 👍 Having said all that.... the Two-Rock is a damn fine amp too. Hey it's only money, right? I'd also like an original '65 Shelby Cobra... like that's ever gonna happen. 😆
Fender deluxe reverb all day. There's a reason all the Nashville Guitarist. and Studio guitarist. use this amp live and in recording studios. The Imperial amp sounds real harsh to me.
Speaker differences account for quite a lot, might have been good to see them swapped around. Sticking a brit-style speaker in a scooped fender-style amp is often pleasant as a contrast, too. Always felt that made a bigger difference than tubes, not that I'm any sort of expert at all.
I have the tone king imperial mark one without the power attenuator and I swapped the speaker out for a blue celestion g12m alnico speaker and it made such a huge difference. Not that it sounded weak or inferior with the stock speaker because it sounded great but it just took it to a whole different level with that celestion speaker and I'm really glad I made that move. So yeah you're right speakers can make all the difference even more so than tubes.
Nice demo Jack. I’ve had all of those and still have the Two Rock. The clean tones of the Imperial are to die for. However I preferred the Princeton to the Deluxe for my needs. The Two Rock sounds huge in a live gig situation. All great amps though, you can’t go wrong with any of them.
That’s what I’ve noticed…. Some ears may not hear I huge difference between these by themselves. But in a live setting….man oh man, I feel like a black face fender gets to sound too thin in a band, while the Two Rock has so much body and weight.
@@tigerhunter8878 exactly this. There are times when I can wind the wick up on the pair of Princetons that I use (both with Gold 10” speakers) but the Two Rocks always sound more “grown up” and fatter in a band mix.
I’ve been really considering getting the tone king for those classic American overdriven sounds, like I really loved the idea of getting the fender but I’ll never get drive without cranking it and the tone king just seems more versatile. Really love that the tone king has an attenuator cause then I can get overdrive at home too.
Give this dude a raise. Amazing ability to immerse himself in the style of the song he's playing without busting into some out of place blues riff or something non-germane. I could just listen to the playing in the background and be impressed. But Jack is also an amazing spokesperson! This has to be the most enjoyable demo comparison video I've seen in a long time. Is Jack in a band? Is he signed to a label yet? Git'r'done
I have the DRRI and I use a Tone-King Mini II attenuator and I love it. The TC Imperial sounds great. If I didn't have the DRRI I might go for that. The Two Rock sounds a bit darker, like the normal channel on the DRRI, but not as articulate. I am only going from the sound from this video.
I own a tone king falcon grande been playing many years ....yeah old....and this amp tone king is a beauty...covers the blackface ,tweed and an overdriven tube amp like Supro....really well...on expensive side but worth the saving up....
He’s a great player. I have the TK MKII and have had a DRRI in the past few years. What you don’t get from a video is how the amp feels. At any volume the TK’s touch response and sag are amazing whereas I found the DRRI like hitting a brick wall unless you were up around 7-8 volume.
Agreed about the Imperial's touch and feel. I usually run on the lead channel and roll the guitar's volume to control the gain, and when the amp starts to break up it's a blast. It just sings.
I play a Princeton Reverb RI, the 65 stock and with a few pedals from Catalinbread and JHS, built reverb and tremolo, I can cover so much ground it’s crazy and it sounds glorious lol. I just don’t need anything else. Now I do kind of have plans for the Marshall Studio vintage 20, but I keep putting it off because I am just so happy with the Princeton. Love this video jack!
Pedal platform is selling them short , he says!!! That dumb expression never existed years ago , the heart of the sound is the amp, and in this case a very fine sound indeed. Pedals are an add on and a fairly new development in the 60 years since these amps came into being. Dont tag an amp as a pedal platform, or focus exclusively on sounds achived with pedals
If I were a gigging musician I would not hesitate on the Two Rock or Imperial for their versatility, as long as the reliability is also there (I presume it is). As an old fart who's been playing in his living room for decades I would probably go for the Imperial for the attenuator, or just an even-lower-wattage amp. Current amp is a 15/7-Watt (switchable pentode/triode) Blackheart Handsome Devil heavily modified with a 3-way Voicing switch. Middle position of that switch is essentially blackface - big, bold, and dynamic with high touch sensitivity, fun to play on the edge of breakup with or without pedals. Using lower-gain preamp tubes yields lots of clean headroom. I like 5751 in V1 and 12AT7 in V2.
I’ve used the 65 deluxe reverb RI for a few years now and play almost exclusively clean. Loud enough for a 15 piece jazz ensemble, and sounds good enough at living rom volumes for home practice. Great amp! Super versatile!
Very nice Demo Jack, as always :) 64/65 Fender Deluxe Reverbs and Princeton's are my favorite amps all time. I did trade in my 65 Princeton special edition and upgraded to a tone king imperial. Really love the natural compression of the Tone King Imperial and lead channel which now is my main amp that I will never part with. Greer Light Speed, Nobles ODR, Timmy, Tumnus OD pedals all sound great through my Tone King. The other great thing about the Tone King Imperial is that its only 5lbs heavier than my 65 Princeton special edition so just a smidge under 40lbs.
I think the Tone King Imperial MKII knocked it out of the ball park. A fuller bodied more harmonically rich clean than either of the others. I also believe Fenders best amp for clean tone would have been better represented by the Blackface Twin Reverb. The Blackface Deluxe is better known for it's breakup.
Two Rock with the OD made me smile. Though the amp sounds less forgiving, less squishy, due to the 6L6. Gotta be a better player to make it sound good. I'm gonna go dust off my Rohr 15 now.
Lots of people can play, and and some lucky people have flawless technique, bends and vibrato. But VERY few people can play all kinds of super interesting stuff without sound at all like anyone we already know. That's a triple threat right there. Absolutely amazing playing.
Great choice! I have the tone king imperial mark one without the power antenna later but I'm cool with it because I play in a rather loud Fusion Trio so I'm going through earplugs like socks! But the tone and reverb is to die for. Even with the stock speaker it was killer which I replaced for a celestion blue g12m alnico which took that amp up next level!
Not when you compare its price to the hand-wired. I have the non hand-wired reissue and the Tone King. There is no contest. Live, the Tone King is three times the amp the deluxe is. The tones are better in every way and the attenuator adds immense value opening it up for almost any venue, from club gig to bedroom gig.
@@wordragon Agreed. My Imperial is my favorite amp ever. It's just the right size, it's plenty loud, and can sound huge when you push the lead channel.
The tone king is not hardwired but with 2 channels and the attenuation, it is just a better amp in every objective way except for price. Imo the price is worth it, this amp is useful at home and gig volumes. The DR has one ideal volume.
I recently got an Imperial mk ii, and also have a Deluxe Reverb. In my opinion there's quite a difference between the rhythm channel on the Tone King and the Fender. The TK clean tone is 'rounder'; it doesn't have the top end presence of the Fender vibrato channel (which I imagine is the absence of a bright cap), it has more mid range, and compresses a bit more - nicer under the fingers. The TK reverb is much more usable at higher levels. Then it has a completely different channel and the world's best attenuator. Just on the clean channel though, I find the TK sweeter and more fun to play. HOWEVER, the Fender vibrato channel does a certain thing, which some may miss. The high end presence and the super splashy reverb is a classic sound that only the Fender does. Its kind of a "trashy" sounding thing to me, but it has character and you hear when its gone. The bias tremolo in the TK is miles ahead of the optical circuit in the Fender, warmer, smoother and more 'throbby'. My 5 cents.
@@tz8559 just got the Deluxe Reverb tone master. Cannot tell the difference to a 65. The attenuator at the back is great for playing at home and you lose no tone. You can get that dirty sound at volume ten with 0.5w. So it doesn’t even annoy your neighbours. It’s lightweight and amazing for gigs. I’d go down fender route
Only Jack can make the DRRI sound better than the hand-wired deluxe Reverb! Good Lord every time I hear Jack play his chops are just better and better and his phrasing is just head-scratching and out-of-this-world!
Such a great review. Your playing and presentation is fantastic. I play 65 Deluxe Reverb RI and Princeton 65 RI. Love them both but ... thinking I might trade in all my amps and get the Imperial. On second thought time is better spent to improve my chops.
For me the Tone King sounds brighter, the Two Rock & Deluxe reverb sound very similar. Whilst the Hiwatt T40/20 isn't American, it would compare really well with these three. Myself I proffer the Fender Deluxe of the three here.
Me too. I have a rambler and Fender Deluxe Reverb 64 Custom Handwired. One isn't better than the others depending on what you want. But the Rambler brings a sweetness and more clean headroom. It is however a 6L6 based amp rated at 28W. But wow, what a great sound!
Yes! My favorite category of amp, and a question I’m trying to answer. Have leaned more Tweed, and Brown, but think this style is where I really want to be? I think with a few pedals, I will be able to cover a lot more ground than just working my guitar volume alone with a 5e3? They are all out of my price range during COVID time! The boutique amps do have some features and tones that the Fender didn’t? I’m attracted to both the tightness of the Two Rock, and the SAG of the Tone King’s lead channel? Having a built in attenuator is pretty amazing... If price were no option, I think I would go for the Two Rock?
I can't believe the Fender is holding up this well to the Imperial. The Imperial DOES SOUND BETTER but wow! My 68 Cust Deluxe Rev is practically the same amp as the Imperial. Shocking. With his excellent playing, the amp choice is irrelevant.
This video is 2 years old and I'm still shocked by how crazy good Jack's playing is. He's up there with Greg Koch and TPS as far as ludicrous noodling skills in demo videos.
I want to thank you for not only your first rate playing but also the original compositions you used for your demo. That’s a big extra step toward a meaningful demonstration, and one rarely taken. Kudos! 👏🏽
Deluxe reverbs are loud enough but not always; it doesn't mean your band is too loud, it just means you need more volume, period, that's why they needed to make the Vibrolux. The black/silver face channels differ in sound other than trem and verb because the verb channel has one more tube stage not involved with the verb or trem. Also I would say a humbucker guitar would be needed here as well. In the '70s club scene on the West Coast and the Emerald triangle, the desired rig was a Les Paul hammering a Deluxe Reverb. I'm wondering also if the Imperial is a bit louder than the Deluxe because I'm really steering toward a Vibrolux.
I love the '65 reissue. It just has that sound I'm looking for. I think I could make it sound more like the others with a Rat and an R.C. Booster than I could ever make the others sound like the reissue.
Great tones and playing with so much feel, I know you like you tele and les paul, but to me the strat shows off your expressive talents so much better, there's another amp that I wish you would throw in the mix a Bognor Atma,, have you tried one ?, there's the combo but its also available in a compact head version, it also has a lovely Blackface tone channel 1, with the 2nd channel + voicing switches to allow a much more broader pallet of sounds either classic or modern, 18 watt but can be tamed with a selectable switch on the back, down side no reverb, but has a send and return effects on the rear when used with a boss RV-6 can create an authentic reverb.... Your thoughts please, and carry on with the excellent work
We have a 65 Reissue Deluxe Reverb up the ICMP in London and I can confirm that the clean sound is superb. It’s quite different to a Hot Rod Deluxe, partially due to that using a Celestion speaker, whereas the 65 Reissue sticks with the classic American toned speaker.
The Tone King - yes excellent and well made; made to last 30-50 years. The current Fender amps I have found very one dimensional. Only the USA Fender custom shop amps have the magic.
In short, my favorite sound is the Imperial, favorite power rating is the Two Rock. However I know that Tone King and Fender may have different ideas as to how loud 20 watts should be, so hopefully the Imperial is louder.
Excellent comparison. I'm a Fender traditionalist, been playing them since the 1960s, so I'm biased (hehe). My current amp is the Custom Vibrolux Reverb-Amp. If I were studio gigging, however, that Two-Rock would be a strong contender. Presumably it's less noisy, which is my main complaint with Fenders. The Imperial sounds great, too. Fenders often seem to have a fuller high end on the 1st and 2nd strings, leaving their imitators sounding more "wirey" in the upper registers, but I didn't hear that with the Two-Rock in this demo, as I think I did with the Tone-King.
It sounds like the Tone King has better high end (which makes it the winner to me), but that could just be EQ settings (the bass seems higher than I normally use it on my '68 Super Reverb and the treble might be a little lower). They all sound good.
superb playing. Maybe one of the best video from the channel👍❤️. 3 different flavors of clean. Two Rock for me, as a big surprise, because i found they usually sounds dark and have a lack of chime. (I would have loved to ear the 64 hand wound deluxe reverb in this video) EDIT: the deluxe 65 sounds insanely good for the price!
Great video, love all three amps. I own a Fender 64 DR and the Custom Shop DR RI and s much as I hate to say it, I prefer the Reissue. I have not been able to figure out why I think it sounds better to my ear but believe it has something to do with the cabinet and it’s impact on its tone. I also had to replace the vintage 64s speaker. I would be interested in anyone else’s experience
