Imperial- it’s a DR with a great second channel for lead? That’s the holy grail!

That Falcon Grande is the truth. Like, if I had to have just one amp, that might be one one. Super versatile.

The Falcon Grande is the sweetest sounding small amp that Ive ever played through. Portable, versatile, sufficient volume & takes pedals well. Great for doing small club & stuidio gigs ..it sounds even better when you're playing it!

Love your playing, feeling and demo. Great my friend!

They are all great!! For me the falcon grande! 🤟🤟👍👍

As soon as Tone King release a Sky King head with a 2x12 cab, they've got my money.

It’s joyous watching you play.

Winner is Human Nature by Michael Jackson. All the amps sounded great.

The Imperial MK2 head is amazing man! Once I save up I'm def getting it.

Imperial sounds so balanced and clear. I would go with that (if I could).

I have a newfound respect for your playing ... and these are all fabulous amps!

Falcon Grande is the best amp for me 🎸! But all Tone King Amps are great.....

Its literally taken me about a year to actually try all 3 of these amps as not kept in stock in UK shops generally. So had to find time to meet up with friends of friends etc. Anyway I wound up going for the imperial head and cab, it just sounded how I wanted it to, mines on order, supposed to come in around march this year.

Imperial. That bit you played between 5:02 and 5:30 just does something to a man. Amazing tone.

I bought the imperial mk2 a few years ago. I’ve played many boutique amps, own a vintage 68’ Princeton Reverb. Imperial, best amp I’ve ever played. Plus if you want to expand your sound pedals work so well with this amp. I will say I do have the combo with the eminence ‘33’ speaker. Just my two cents.

Love my imperial ii. The mid knob on drive channel is basically a 'more dumble deluxe' knob. Killer

I had the same choice between the Imperial and Sky King. I ended up getting the Sky King. The ultra linear swung it for me. Have had the amp a few years now. Still enjoy it very much. Good luck choosing!

I was looking for a video that had a well mic’d comparison of the Sky King and the Imperial, and Jay posts this a few hours later! Thanks. I say Sky King, but in turquoise.

I like the sky king the best. Just a little "something" extra and I felt like it matched up well with your playing style. Good luck. Love the channel.

My current rig is a Tone King Mk I (2007) and a Dr Z MAZ18Jr 2×10 ( 1×10 stock Dr Z and 1×10 Celestion G10 gold alnico) I run them in stereo using a Radial splitter. In the 50 years I've been playing I've never had tone this dynamic, organic and downright nasty! Guitars are, 1971 Sunburst Les Paul Dlx, 2020 Heritage 535 Artisan Aged Cherry, 1962 Fender Strat Relic Daphne Blue, 1978 Tele Daphne Blue! I got my bases covered and it's made these covid days actually enjoyable!! Thanks for the demos and I love your chops btw!!

Sky King is my pick. Most versatile sounding of the 3 to my ears plus all the tones from it gave me a big smile!

The Imperial head and cab is truly stunning! .. But a Sky King head and cab would be pretty epic too!

I’ve tried the Imperial and the Sky King. Honestly, the Imperial is just a great all-rounder and would be my choice. In the ‘for what it is worth’ department, I’ve also tried a Gremlin and just loved it.

I’m a little biased because I own the TKFG and absolutely love it but you sounded best and looked the most inspired playing the Sky King.

happy new years from nyc!! you are the absolute best!!!! I love tone king amps and feel you should get that BUDGET SKY KING! lol but JEEEEZ THAT FRIEDMAN GUITAR....CAN DO EVERYTHiNG!!!!!! STRAT TO LES PAUL!!!!

I played my first Tone King today (a used metropolitan) and let me tell you, probably the best on-board reverb I've ever heard. So creamy.

Imperial, it sounds great, looks great, has Reverb and Trem and the JJ6V6 are great Tubes!

Imperial. Lower wattage for studio use, essentially three amps in one that all sound fantastic, and hey, it looks great too is a bonus!

I think the green one gives you the best range of popular sounds. Gives you some video opportunities to try different cabs. I like the tan one in the linear mode, but the green one sounds like it's always in linear mode. I suspect Pentode is more for a lot of gain, but I'm not crazy about that. I don't think that's generally your thing either. My pick is greenie, but I can live with the tan one if you remove the Pentode switch.

Get them both, spoil yourself. You only live once, and the price never goes down

You can’t go wrong with any of them but I would personally go sky king it sounds amazing ( all of them do ) but the sky king has a magic to it I really like

I have a (Mark Bartel - era) Sky King. It's my favourite amp.

Oh man, thanks @jayleonadJ this is a video I wanted for a long time. Your friend @livingroomgeardemos had a Tone King Imperial mkii for a long while and I wanted one but I also wanted to compare against more models. This is that video. Amazing job, I'd take the Imperial after your review. 🤓👏

Sky king was the best. But I like the head and separate cab combo. Both sounded great.

I think the imperial is gorgeous and sounds great but i think my favorite sounding was the sky king for sure

Nice sounding and good features - would buy if they did the big open fender sound as well

Imperial hands down. One of the best amps for that boutique “F” sound!

Jay! LOVE that you did this shootout. I've played most of the Tone King amps and own 2 (Imperial MK1 combo without attenuator & Falcon Grande) and used to own a Royalist!!! There is no wrong choice. Once you get one, you'll be hooked. One small correction on the info - the Falcon Grande has 5881 tubes not 6V6 You were REALLY feeling the Sky King. I could feel the enthusiasm in your playing and I think you like all of the options available. I'm with you on the looks though - the Imperial is the winner on that for me. Based on my ownership of 2 of these amps as well as demo'ing a Sky King, here are my standout pros and cons: Falcon Grande Pros: Looks, Easy Layout, 3 position voice switch is fantastic, unique feel and the lead voice is unique (heard it's supro based), dual inputs are fantastic and combined with the 3 voices and different guitars, I'm always finding more and more tonal options Cons: The Falcon Grande is a dark sounding amp. It records well, but in the room it's tough to get what I want out of it unless I'm using a bridge humbucker, especially on the rhythm voice setting. One thing to try is running a compressor in front. It adds some highs and opens up the tone a bit. Also try plugging in a Les Paul on the bridge HB into input 1 and set the amp volume to 3.5 (on the dial not o'clock), tone to 4 o'clock (almost all the way up), reverb 9 o'clock, reverb dwell at noon (this opens up the highs a bit), make sure the attenuator is only 1 or 2 clicks down so it doesn't compress too much and re-try the tweed and lead voices. This amp is indeed tweed style and the amp volume is in its Goldilocks zone with a HB at about 3-4 on the dial, like most tweed amps. The higher the amp volume goes, it not only overdrives more, it also adds more lows. Imperial: Pros: Looks, 2 channel, great punchy feel, mid-bite is amazing and gives lots of options on the lead channel. A les paul bridge HB into the lead channel with the mid-bite up around 6 is a GLORIOUS sound! Cons: Only thing overall is the Imperial can be a pokey bright amp with some guitars even with speaker break-in. This can also affect how well the amp takes pedals. The user manual instructs using pedals on the lead channel as the lead channel I believe does not have a bright cap. To me, the Imperial does not take pedals as well as a Deluxe Reverb RI. Also, on this MKII with the attenuator, there's an attenuator bypass switch for the rhythm channel. Try it with the attenuator bypassed and run the amp volume up to 4 -5 and see how you like it. My MK1 with no attenuator feels a lot more open and dynamic than the MKII head and cab I tried. Overall, still a super versatile amp though. Try it with a few pedals as well and on the lead channel one common mod is to swap a 5751 tube in place of the 12AX7 in V2. This brings the lead volume down closer matching to the rhythm channel volume. Sky King: Pros: 2 channel, Ultra-linear and pentode mode, mid-bite control, probably the most-versatile of the 3. I find the rhythm channel a bit smoother than the Imperials. I like both! Cons: HEAVY, the Sky King is the most expensive of the 3 Mark Bartel, founder and designer of Tone King said the Sky King was inspired by the Falcon Grande after he had got some time with the ultra-linear design. If I had to vote for which one for your channel, I agree with you - either Imperial or Sky King. Try them both with your tele, a 335 and a Les Paul and a few pedals while running the attenuators up and down and I think the answer will become more clear:) If you ever come across a used one, you should also try out a Royalist (15W or 45W JTM45 type with built-in attenuator). Have fun Jay and thanks again - I was so happy to see you (one of my favorite players) do this amp comparison.

Imperial. Versatile and such a beauty

Nice playing!

I think I'll vote for the Sky King, as much as the Imperial is just so beautiful! Rock on Jay!

SkyKIng !! More headroom with the 6L6's !!

Imperial MKII!! I have a combo coming in the mail as we speak!

I agree with most others. The imperial is the winner. They all sounded killer but the imperial not only has the tone and flexibility but damn that is one sexy ass amp.

For me it's the falcon. But that's me. For you I think the imperial. It's so pretty..

I felt the “togetherness” of the imperial works for your style more naturally. Both sounded great though.

You’re a real guitar player man. So good.

I didnt even get to the first 8 seconds of your show and already picked the Caline bluesky blue amp....JUST DO IT! You da Man, Jay! Stay healthy & Canadian, eh! P.S. Hope you invite Lance keltner for a jam...That dude got some smooth southern guitar licks that are smokin', and has a kool as F**k YT channel!

The cleans on the other 2 amps where fantastic but overall you should go with imperial the dirt on that amp can’t be beat by the other 2 amps so the blue imperial definitely

Just pulled the trigger on the Imperial! I have a couple of other 6L6 amps, wanted to see what the 6V6 experience is like!

personally, i think the Sky King may be the best sounding american voiced amp. ever. it truly masters the blackface cleans all the way through the big mid-forward tweed grind. the clarity and punch that it has, with that authoritative low end... it’s just killer. that said, i can’t believe they Tone King hasn’t made it available in a head w/ 2x12 cab setup. i personally need the head/cab setup and the combo would be an issue for me unless i could run it to a separate cab.

I like blue one!

Great review. 👍

I would pick the Sky King! Rock On 😉🤟

Sky King! Good luck choosing.

I own both the Falcon Grande and Imperial. Between the three, definitely the Imperial. In the rhythm channel it will give you enough juicy definition at low gain, and will turn into this lovely soup at higher gain. The tweed channel is a whole different amp with well defined mids, grit and aggression when you need it, love it. I don’t think you need ultra-linear in your case, it takes away too much. The SkyKing is too much definition imo, too stiff, reminds me of a twin.

I wish you would have done some funk with the Falcon Grande, it had the best overdrive and reverb, IMHO, but I needed to hear you play funk through the Falcon to see if it could pull the hat trick!!

Sky king does it for me!!

I've had all three, and kept the Sky King and Imperial Mk II. The Sky King is amazing sounding, and the Imperial Mk II is like a Deluxe on major steroids. Over time I used the Imperial a lot more because it's a little smaller, easier to carry, and the volume and sound fit into the things I was doing better, so I finally sold the Sky King about two months ago, though I love its sound.

My vote is for the Imperial. Love that amp. Deluxe Reverb clean channel and lead channel can do a bit of tweed or even into a bit of Marshall territory.

So yes I got a Gremlin head and was wondering what you think about the speaker cab ? I was thinking maybe w 5 watts and Alnico blue or gold for max headroom Are you happy w the V30 ?

Sky King for me but the Imperial is really nice too.

Go for whichever is the most different from what you already have with one of your other amps. I think the Imperial is probably too similar to your vintage Fender and the Benson's. I would go for one of the other two personally.

I would take the Imperial I guess :-)

Such sweet sounds! I need more practice

Sky King would be my choice.

your style sounded best in the Falcon Grande tbh

Sky King! Happy New Year Jay!

looks like you had the most fun w/ Skyking

Imperial!

Get the Imperial! That's the one I liked best any way.

I would get the Imperial. But you can't go wrong!

Hello Jay! Can you do a review on the Line 6 Pod go for various genres? I’d love to hear your feedback on that product

Falcón Grande for me🥰

TK Imperial it is! It seems like it has the most flexibility, what do you bloody to Sound wide-open with extended highs and lows, but also with the ability to get that mid push that I know my boy Jay Leonard J loves! If you get mad about the decision later, just blame me! 😁

Falcon Grande-- come on, Jay... you know it’s the right choice... :)

The Imperial is a classic. But my ears go with the Sky King (wrapped within Turquoise for optimal sonic enhancement).

I liked the falcon.

Jay ... You need that Imperial head + cabinet for the flexibility of using other cabs. And then you need a Gremlin. 😃

Imperial for sure

Money no object, I'd go imperial, but here in the UK imperial head and cab is double the price of the falcon, so I would go falcon, in the turquoise and white tolex

Impérial of course!

I've played all these amps. About two years ago I was at Sweetwater planning to buy a handwired amp. The Tone King Imperial sounds kind of boring really - flat, not very dynamic. Nothing really special about it. The Sky King sounds really good but it is very dark, and very very heavy. It is big. I ended up walking out with the Fender 64 DRRI. It was the best of the bunch, and only the Morgan PR36 sounded as good - but the reverb was broke. If I had to choose a tone king, however, I would go with the Falcon. Sounds really good and very flexible.

Imperial all the way!

If you're keeping it in the studio, I'd pick the Sky King...most versatile.

Sky King is one of the best amps ever made. It’s like having a blackface Fender, Marshall, and Standel 25l15 all in the same box.

I've been struggling with either the Imperial or Falcon Grande. I ended up pulling the trigger on the Falcon Grande. It just seemed to give me those dirty blues sounds better than the Imperial, from everything I've seen.

Imperial. You'll love it the more you have it. Surprised you didn't try a Bartel amp as Mark Bartel designed the Imperial and other Tone King amps.

The Sky King FTW!

You sound like Jay Leonard J no matter what amp you play, so I'd pick the one that sounded the best to my ears for most of the stuff you played and that's the Falcon Grande. I was a bit surprised to see that you didn't use your Telecaster. I thought that was you favourite guitar.

Hi, I have a Marshall JTM 45 amplifier and it's very difficult to enjoy it at home, what do you suggest I do, I'm thinking of selling it already, thanks

Just bought the Sky King based on this comparison.

The green one.

Falcon Grande

I'd buy the Sky King just to display

I'm just here for Jay's licks 🍿

8 seconds in, the amp for you is the imperial.

Tone King Sky King

Keep them all and become Steve's youtube voice...

Need Jay to do a Benson vs TK video: monarch vs imperial, chimera vs sky king.