The Tone King Imperial Preamp is a Tone King preamp pedal, currently around $570.54. Close alternatives include the Bruno Cowtipper 35 and the Fender Bandmaster. It pairs well with the Z.Vex Super Hard On and the EarthQuaker Devices '- Speaker Cranker.

Tone King Imperial Preamp

Name: Tone King Imperial Preamp
Brand: Tone King
Price: 570.54 USD

Tone King · pedal

The Tone King Imperial Preamp is an all-tube preamp and DI pedal built from the same preamp and phase-inverter circuitry as Tone Kings Imperial MKII combo amplifier, running three 12AX7 tubes at high voltage. It offers two independently voiced channels, a blackface-style rhythm channel and a tweed and British-leaning lead channel, each with impulse-response cabinet and power-amp simulation for silent recording or DI use straight to a mixer or interface. Built-in stereo convolution spring reverb and tremolo are footswitchable per channel, and MIDI plus a USB editor allow up to 128 saved presets. Marketed as a portable, quarter-the-price way into the Tone King amp sound, it suits studio engineers, silent-stage players, and gigging guitarists who want vintage American tube tone without hauling a combo amp.

What stands out

“The Tone King Imperial Preamp is an all-tube preamp and DI pedal built from the same preamp and phase-inverter circuitry as Tone Kings Imperial MKII combo amplifier, running three 12AX7 tubes at high voltage”
— from the listing
“Standout weakness is bass response that some users find boomy or flubby depending on cabinet IR choice, and the lead channels overdrive has been described by at least one reviewer as thinner and more solid state sounding than the amp it emu…”
— from the community notes
“and midi plus a usb editor allow up to 128 saved presets”
— from the listing
“a blackface-style rhythm channel and a tweed and british-leaning lead channel”
— from the listing
“Marketed as a portable, quarter-the-price way into the Tone King amp sound, it suits studio engineers, silent-stage players, and gigging guitarists who want vintage American tube tone”
— from the listing

tube
lead
response
midi
rhythm
american
bass

Good for

Live
Silent Recording
Studio
Silent Stage

$570.54View on Reverb

Price updated Oct 24, 2026

Genres the Tone King Imperial Preamp is commonly used in

Alternative Rock
Blues
^cited
Inferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag.
Rock
^cited
Inferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag.
Classic Rock
^cited
Inferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag.
Electronic
^cited
Inferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag.
Metal
^cited
Inferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag.

Pedals that stack with the Tone King Imperial Preamp

Z.Vex Super Hard On

Zvex

22% match

$189via Reverb

What Z.Vex Super Hard On brings here leans toward clean boost — that's worth building a pairing around

Comes earlier in the signal chain

EarthQuaker Devices '- Speaker Cranker

EarthQuaker Devices

21% match

$109via Reverb

EarthQuaker Devices '- Speaker Cranker leans toward harmonically rich, and that's a real, usable character to pair with

Comes earlier in the signal chain

JHS Pedals JHS Whitey Tighty

JHS Pedals

18% match

shapes the dynamic responseShapes how the tone responds to picking dynamics rather than its frequency or gain. (dynamic → compressed)

Both lean toward dynamic and compressed respectively — close enough in character that they complement instead of clashing

Comes earlier in the signal chain

TC Electronic Mimiq Doubler

TC Electronic

15% match

$85.26via Reverb

sits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor.

Keep Tone King Imperial Preamp's dynamic voice out front: TC Electronic Mimiq Doubler goes after Tone King Imperial Preamp in the signal chain so its mid-forward voice doesn't muddy it

Comes earlier in the signal chain

Malekko Electro-Harmonix Memory Toy Analog Delay

Electro-Harmonix

7% match

sits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor.

Put Malekko Electro-Harmonix Memory Toy Analog Delay after Tone King Imperial Preamp in the signal chain, clear of Tone King Imperial Preamp's own gain stage — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)

Comes later in the signal chain

Strymon BigSky

Strymon

7% match

$679via Reverb

sits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor.

Strymon BigSky's ambient voice goes after Tone King Imperial Preamp in the signal chain — it's not there to compete with Tone King Imperial Preamp's own dynamic character — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)

Comes later in the signal chain

Behringer TO800 Vintage Tube Overdrive

Behringer

tonal match

$23.79via Reverb

Comes earlier in the signal chain

Behringer TO800 Vintage Tube Overdrive's own voicing points at a clean amp's front end, and Tone King Imperial Preamp delivers it

J. Rockett The Dude V2

J Rockett

tonal match

$187.78via Reverb

Comes earlier in the signal chain

J. Rockett The Dude V2's own voicing points at a clean amp's front end, and Tone King Imperial Preamp delivers it

Cheaper alternatives

Blackstar Dept. 10 Dual Distortion

Blackstar

95% similarity

$206.77via Reverb

similar tone character

Boutique & premium upgrades

Fender Quad Reverb

Fender

72% similarity

$750via Reverb