Tone King 33' break in period....

[19jmm68]

Wow......A month of playing my new Tone King Imperial has really made a difference in terms of how the speaker/amp now sounds.

At first there were a few harsh frequencies that my ears did NOT dig. Spikey highs and not much smoothness or creamy breakup.

Yesterday, however, it was like the speaker just went "poof" and spike was gone.....smoothness and slinky "bouncy" tones were coming out in spades.

It went from a speaker I hate to a speaker I now love.

Has anyone else observed this with their Tone King '33 speaker?

 

[Bikedude]

I don't know, but my TK Metro sounded pretty great from the first time I fired her up.

 

[ledzep618]

Sounds like a pretty typical speaker break in story, glad it worked out! Most people will at some point pass on a really great speaker because they are too impatient with the break in period.

 

[MadFrank]

I found exactly the same thing! i even foolishly swapped it out for a few others, but there was something in the sweetness and clarity of the Eminence that, thankfully, made me come back to it and persevere. It'snow the finest amp i have ever owned. i don't say this lightly, but after the speaker broke in some, and i figured out how best to eq it - wow! I'm even looking seriously at a Falcon as another flavour of the same dish!

 

[19jmm68]

Yea.....I knew it was a typical speaker break in story, but, I just wanted to hear some other similar stories to confirm my observations.

I could see where this speaker would cause you to get swap happy.....I bet it will even sound better in a year or 2 after I punish it!

That is quite an endorsement MadFrank! It definitely has a sweetness factor that puts in the upper echelon of BF type booteek amps.

 

[ken374]

Jet city's stock speaker sound good after a break in? (

 

[Rob_Angerer]

I would say 25-35 hours of gigging and the speaker breaks in nicely. Once broken in it's hard to find a better speaker for that amp. I wish I kept better track of actual time spent playing through it, but I didn't. The above is an estimate.

 

[woodylong]

My Imperial 33 did the same thing' it sounded good new' but about 10 hours of playing is started sounding different' better sounding smother' richer' just giver her some time to break in & you will lover her ever more.lol Now it sounds like a 40 year old amp.....

 

[MACS93EG]

I noticed after about 10 hours of playing time on my brand new TK Imperial that it started sounding better (smoother and less harsh on the top end)! I probably have close to 20 hours playing time on it now and it just seems to be sounding even better with more playing time on it! This amp loves HB's and P-90's if anybody is strattling the fence because there not sure that this amp sounds as good with P-90's/HB's as it does with TELES and STRATS! With my Collings 290 and Nik Huber Krautster II with HB/P-90 they both sound "Killer" through the Imperial!

Mac

 

[mumbleswitch]

I noticed after about 10 hours of playing time on my brand new TK Imperial that it started sounding better (smoother and less harsh on the top end)! I probably have close to 20 hours playing time on it now and it just seems to be sounding even better with more playing time on it! This amp loves HB's and P-90's if anybody is strattling the fence because there not sure that this amp sounds as good with P-90's/HB's as it does with TELES and STRATS! With my Collings 290 and Nik Huber Krautster II with HB/P-90 they both sound "Killer" through the Imperial!

Mac

+1 on the HB and P90's. I picked up my TK Imperial last week and have been playing my Les Paul Standard Trad Pro 50's neck using the Classic '57 Neck through the rythmn channel. Love it!! Smooth blackface cleans with humbucker growl. I also play a Fender American Special Tele with a humbucker in the neck. Both pickups sound amazing through the amp. Have about 10 hours on the TK "33" speaker and my ear fatigue seems to be diminishing. Couldn't be happier with it!!!

 

[Bikedude]

Does the Metro have the same speaker as the Imperial? Just wondered, because I can't believe it getting any better in my amp. I've had the Metro since early this year, and have about 20hr.s gig time on it, and if it gets better than this, I'll be exstatic!.

 

[19jmm68]

Since I started this thread, the speaker sounds even better. I have never experienced such a dramatic improvement in a speaker during break in period.

This amp is becoming one of my all time faves. I really love how useful the lead channel is in a band situation. It really cuts thru nicely.....I use it most of the time and just run pedals.